Green parrots. A War Surgeon's Diary

"Green parrots" are small winged cylinders about four inches long that flutter over lands devastated by war. The product of sick minds with no conscience, these devices are in fact antipersonnel mines that have been designed to look like toys in order to rob children of their future. This book introduces us to the endless destruction that the "green parrots" have spread throughout the world, and in doing so raises an urgent question: Is it legitimate to accept war as an inevitable prospect for current and future generations? After appearing in numerous languages since it's initial publication in 1999, this English edition of Gino Strada's "cult" book is of particular significance: as limitless war is increasingly adopted as a practical and theoretical solution to global conflict, Strada's thoughtful, self-searching message of concern could not be more timely. Gino Strada, a surgeon, was one of the founders of Emergency, the Italian humanitarian society for the care and rehabilitation of civilian victims of war and antipersonnel mines. For over fifteen years he has worked on the front lines of Afghanistan, Iraq, Peru, Bosnia, Djibouti, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda, Cambodia, Sierra Leone, Angola and Sudan. Howard Zinn, Professor Emeritus of History at Boston University, is the author of A People's History of the United Statesand a columnist for the journal The Progressive. The appendix of Green Parrotscontains the complete text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, approved on December 10th, 1948, by the General Assembly of the United Nations, which begins by proclaiming: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." Two introductory texts by Gino Strada and Howard Zinn are published here for the first time.