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Thoughts on Peace
Vigil participants
speak up on resolving conflict peacefully
Wednesday September 11, 2002
At 10 a.m. on September 11, the Vigil
for Peace at Confederation Park, is still proceeding quietly.
A small group of participants sit inside a white tent, chatting quietly
among themselves. A large, hand-drawn sign that says Vigil for Peace is
taped to the opening of the tent.
Inside, candles burn on a long table divided with stacks of pamphlets and
booklets describing various local peace programs. Occasionally, someone
straggles in to look through the material, and sign the guestbook or a relevant
petition.
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| Marion and Emma Wilke-Whithinton sign the
Book of Remembrance |
At one point, a mother comes in with her child.
The child signs a scrapbook with a drawing of the outline of her hand.
On the surface, participants appear to be quiet, likable, even passive.
It becomes clear, however, in conversations with them that passive is
exactly what they are not. They all believe strongly that violence only
breeds violence, and they all have their thoughts on resolving conflict
peaceably.
_______________________________________
"Nonviolence must
be taught in the schools."
"[Resolving
conflict nonviolently] is also about personal activity. It's getting people
together. Not having one church over there, and one church over here.
It's time to get people together."
—Judy Beckgaard,
Peterborough Unitarian Fellowship
_______________________________________
"[Nonviolent
conflict resolution] is something that has always been a concern for me.
I had the privilege of being a teacher, and was working with finding other
ways than violent ways of resolving conflict all the time… On my
own simple level, communication [is the most successful nonviolent way
of resolving conflict]. At higher levels, in government, I realize it
is more difficult to bring negotiations to the table, but I still think
it can be done."
—Elaine Orgill, teacher
_______________________________________
"It's not easy to sum
things up in a question or two. But the Alternatives to Violence program…
I cannot recommend it highly enough. [The focus] is on learning different
techniques of handling conflict in a nonviolent manner and learning some
of the roots of your own violent impulses."
—Mark Jokinen
_______________________________________
"Economic
and military issues go hand in hand. You can't divide the two. Peace for
the world means economic development and equity."
—Sheila
Howlett, Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace
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