On the International Day of Peace join PeaceWorks at a showing of the film “Joyeux Noel” about the WWI Christmas Eve ceasefire.
Participate in a discussion on ways to put an end to war
Frontier Cafe
Fort Andross, Brunswick
Monday, September 21
7 p.m.
FMI: 371-2077
There will be a suggested donation of $5.00
Is the UN designated “International Day of Peace” anything more than a slogan? Can we expect combatants around the world to stop warring for 24 hours on September 21st? Rather than an easy answer, this question generates profound discussion of the complex reasons for war. Who decides about war? What makes people do the fighting? What prevents many people from saying “no” to war? Can we find more creative ways of solving conflicts?
Since its origin in 1982, tremendous efforts have been made to use September 21 to focus on global health. Shooting has stopped long enough for UNICEF and World Health Organization staff to vaccinate many thousands of children against polio; to give time for relief workers to reach civilians in need of food, water and medical supplies. Malaria, diarrhea and hunger are all preventable causes of childhood deaths as, I may say, is war. Nasra Hassan, former Chief of UN Peacekeeping Best Practices Unit, has said: “Ceasefires were a message of hope to people, a temporary solution which offered the time and space for an enduring peace to be negotiated and implemented.”
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, opened the 2007 International Day of Peace with these words: “I call for a day of global ceasefire: A 24-hour respite from the fear and insecurity that plague so many places. I urge all countries and all combatants to honor a cessation of hostilities. I urge them to ponder the high price that we all pay because of conflict. I urge them to vigorously pursue ways to make this temporary ceasefire permanent.”
Please write or call your Congressional Representatives encouraging them to support a global ceasefire. It is beyond time.
This event is co-sponsored by American Friends Service Committee; Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space; Physicians for Social Responsibility –- Maine Chapter; Social Action Committee of Brunswick Methodist Church; Veterans for Peace; Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom.
