Home Blog Page 154

People Choosing Peace: Kehkashan Basu (Canada)

By
admin
-
0

Kehkashan is the founder of the Green Hope Foundation, youth ambassador on the World Future Council, United Nations Human Rights Champion, and winner of 2016 International Children’s Peace Prize.

Our world today has more children than ever before, yet we continue to be one of the most marginalized and oppressed section of civil society. When I was eight years old and I founded Green Hope to provide a platform to engage, educate, and empower young people so that they could realize their rights. We believe in education for sustainable development and workshops and conferences called “Environment Academies” for school and university students to spread awareness about the environment and sustainability. So far, I have conducted over 100 academies and engaged more than 5000 students from over 100 institutions all over the world. I started Green Hope with a handful of friends and it now has over 1000 members and volunteers working in Canada, USA, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. We have planted over 11,000 trees, cleaned beaches, worked on species and habitat conservation, organized fund raisers to help the victims of floods and earthquakes, recycled several hundred tons of waste, engaged communities to adopt sustainable lifestyles and promoted the use of renewable energy. In my role as the voice of young person, I have traveled to over 20 countries speaking at over 75 United Nations and other forums, such as the World Bank, the European Parliament, Bonn Town hall, and youth festivals, campaigning for our right to a sustainable planet.

If we are to achieve sustainability then the world must also achieve peace. Peace is the basis of humanity and its absence is starkly evident in many parts of our world which are torn apart by violence and war, in which, sadly, children are the worst victims. The plight of Syrian refugees has been dominating news headlines for many months now. Every social media platform broadcasts haunting images of their sad plight, especially those of women and children, who inevitably suffer the most. Feeling sorry for them is no longer the solution and it is imperative that each and every member of civil society takes steps to alleviate their suffering as they have every right to a life of dignity like all of us.

I have always believed in turning words into action and recently decided to visit Syrian refugee children living in camps in Lebanon close to the border. We wanted this New Year to be very special for these children, and with the help of our members collected a large consignment of clothes, woolens, books, flasks and toys. A five-member Green Hope team flew to Lebanon in the first week of January with this consignment and visited camps housing the Syrian refugees. Over a two day period, we conducted six environmental workshops with each workshop targeting a specific age group. Several hundred children, ranging in age from seven to 18, attended our workshops. This was their first exposure to conservation issues and their enthusiasm was limitless. We discussed global warming, the impacts of climate change, the UN Environment’s “Beat Pollution” campaign , the need to go “plastic free” , how tree planting reduces the carbon footprint impact and the need to recycle and reuse so that they could reduce wastage in their camps and do “more with less”. Our workshops were extremely interactive and we used music, songs, art and quiz to communicate with the children. Each group painted their dreams of the future on white T-shirts that we gave them and their ideas and expressions were truly amazing. Since their camps are without electricity for most of the day, we also distributed solar rechargeable lamps which would enable them to study at night.

A dream of a peaceful, and sustainable, world can become a reality only if all sections of civil society, especially the marginalized sections, are involved and Green Hope will continue to reach out to them and empower them so that together we get “The Future We Want”.

See more about Kehkashan here.

Bertha von Suttner: A Royal Peacebuilder

By
Peace News Staff
-
0

Despite being born a countess, Bertha von Suttner was shunned by Austrian aristocracy, but it didn’t stop her changing the world.

Born in 1843 in Prague, Bertha’s noble family struggled financially and she worked as a tutor. She married in secret because of her in-laws disapproval and wrote news articles and novels.

She took a progressive, pro-disarmament stance, arguing that technology could reduce war, and she emerged as a leader in the peace movement.

She became famous (and a women’s liberation icon) as the editor of a pacifist journal, and she was friends with Alfred Nobel. It is said that she influenced his creation of the Nobel Peace Prize and in 1905 she was the first woman to solely win the Peace Prize.

She hoped: “That the future will always be one degree better than what is past…”

Playing for Peace: South Sudan

By
Gale Julius Dada
-
0

Despite a horrific civil war dividing the people of South Sudan, nearly 400 athletes just participated in a week-long peacebuilding event.

Young South Sudanese athletes from around the country participated in a national sports competition from January 27 to February 4 to promote peace. Athletes under the age of 20 competed in the government-run event, playing football, volleyball, and competing in field events.

“Sport can bring peace because in football there’s no one – there’s no tribe there, people cannot be separate,” said athlete Emmanuel Tobi. “In football, people can be together.”

Athlete Sarah Adeng agreed. “As we are there, in the compound, we just see ourselves as brothers and sisters,” Ms Adeng said. “We don’t see ourselves as coming from different regions – I just see myself, we are just in one country – a peaceful country.”

South Sudan’s Minister of Education Deng Deng Hoc Yai stressed the need for unity in his speech at the competition.

“We have seen how happy we can be together – and this is a great thing,” Mr Hoc Yai said. “We can always be happy if we choose to be happy, so unity is very important.”

“One day peace can come to South Sudan,” said athlete Melo Ateny, “but peace is going – the way that peace is going to come – we must be together as South Sudanese, we must put our aims together, stick together, talk together, eat together as South Sudanese. We can forget we are [from different tribes] then peace can come.”

Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General David Shearer also addressed the crowd, emphasizing what the athletes participating represent for the war-torn country. the event. “[It’s] an opportunity for people form right across the country – youth, and future leaders – to play and engage and remind ourselves that we are here for a greater purpose, and that is to seek harmony, peace, and prosperity in South Sudan.”

Breaking the Ice: Reducing Conflict for Ukrainian Children

By
Safiya Songhai
-
0

Anchor: Safiya Songhai

Nearly 1.6 million people are internally displaced after years of war in the Ukraine, and just over half of them are families with children. Ukrainian hockey ambassador Olga Dolinina was shocked by conflict in her homeland, so she decided to use her sport to help displaced children.

Ms Dolinina uses hockey to help kids connect with their new homes, deal with post-traumatic stress, and learn life skills.

“So through this project, this sports activity, children were getting together, and learning how to communicate peacefully with each other, and building resilience,” Ms Dolinina said.

Miss Dolinina and her team organized a festival called Break the Ice this year in Kramatorsk, which brought together 100 conflict-affected children, and their parents, from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

“First, the children get acquainted with each other,” said internally displace participant Vyacheslav, who attended the event with his wife Kristyna, and their children. “They expand their social circle. They learn to be members of society, they develop.”

“Such projects are necessary, as they help people overcome the consequences of this war.”

“Yes, they make new acquaintances,” agreed local participants Svetlana and Olga. “They are friends with internally displaced persons.”

“Not only children have met, but also adults,” said local participant Katerina. “So we believe it is a family experience. It unites all families, and the whole country, probably.”

The NHL donated table hockey equipment, and with other donations, Ms Dolinina was able to buy equipment for both a girls and boys ice hockey team in Kiev.

Ms Dolinina came up with the idea while in the USA on a sports mentoring program.

“Olga had come, knowing that she wanted to work with kids, she wanted to run this project for kids, and while she’s on the program she tells us: ‘I need to do something for my country, we are in the headlines for all the wrong reasons’,” said Brian Canever, from the Center for Sport, Peace, and Society at University of Tennessee.

“So, that’s when she came up with this idea, working with Susan Cohig,” Mr Canever said.

“It’s definitely had an impact in thousands of kids lives, in the Ukraine, who are the victims and the survivors of warfare and who she is helping develop an internal peace.”

“I hope that by looking at how people rest here, how they communicate with each other, the conflicting parties will understand that no war is worth it,” said Vyacheslav.

“I think that the conflict is temporary,” said Katerina, “because in our hearts, as in the name of this project, there is a lot of ice. As soon as the ice melts, at once everyone will unite.”

Cover photo courtesy of the U.S. Dept of State in cooperation with the Center for Sport, Peace, & Society.

People Choosing Peace: Ibrahim (Central African Republic)

By
Peace News Staff
-
0

Over the last year, the Central African Republic has seen a dramatic increase in levels of violence. An estimated two thirds of the country is controlled by armed groups and the province of Hotte Kotto is one of the worst affected. It is home to Ibrahim Abraham, and alongside our local partners, he is working to reunite communities.

I grew up in the province of Haute Kotto. It was once a peaceful and prosperous place. The resources were plentiful, people could grow their own food – we provided for the nation.

This region is home to four ethnic groups – both Muslims and Christians – who once lived peacefully together. When Muslims were fasting, they would invite Christians to celebrate with them. Christians would give their children Muslim names. We loved each other, supported each other.

But now everything has changed.

The conflict broke out in 2009, when I was 34 years old. Because Haute Kotto had an abundance of natural resources, agriculture, and diamonds, the rebel groups in our country decided to base themselves there. They could feed their conflict with diamonds and minerals.

People also came from neighboring countries, from Chad and South Sudan. They came with weapons and guns and started subjugating our people.

Because those people from Chad and South Sudan spoke Arabic, they began to associate themselves with the Arabic speakers in our community. That was the starting point for the division and discrimination in our society – because the local population starting looking at those who associated with foreigners, as foreigners themselves.

At the time the conflict broke out, I was at University in Bangui. The Muslim and Christian friends I had grown up with also came to University with me. We studied together for six years, but when conflict broke out in Haute Kotte, many of them returned home and joined the rebel groups. Once they had joined the groups, it was impossible for them to leave.

I was determined to tackle the issues of division in my community. I began working with community leaders and religious leaders, and together we began to talk to the armed groups in the region.

It is really important to talk with armed groups, because through this dialogue they become aware of the negative impact they are having. Through our dialogue, the leader of one of the armed groups decided to lay down his weapons and return to civil life.

Now, I work as the focal point for Femme Hommes Action Plus (FHAP) in the province of Haute Kotto, I am a peacebuilder, that is what I do, and our organisation trains others to work for peace too.

The is still a lot of work to be done in Hotte Kotto, it really is an abandoned place. There is no mayor, no leaders and no security. But we are working to support the population affected by conflict and violence, and to support young people to stay away from violence.

Photo: Jjumba Martin/Conciliation Resources

Source: Conciliation Resources

1...153154155...179Page 154 of 179