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| Rod Harbinson |
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| The Road to Peace: five panellists provide their varying perspectives |
The first panel discussion to take place on the 40th cruise addressed the pivotal issue of peace. This theme challenged five people of diverse backgrounds to provide a personal commentary on how they believed a path towards peace should be forged. What followed was 90 minutes of intense and impassioned dialogue. As people are doubtlessly shaped by their life experiences, it became clear that regional events and issues often formed the mainstay of each contributor's line of reasoning. For example, Kurt Swenson of Canada spoke of how his visit to Bali immediately following the 2002 terrorist attacks and living close to the World Trade Center in New York prior to 2001 forced him to realise how interconnected the world community has become. Kurt appreciated the need to put aside feelings of revenge and anger in order to move forward and learn from experiences to create more durable solutions to conflict. Kang Je-suk from South Korea, underlined the heated issue of US military presence around the world. She reasoned that the international community would be taking a step in the right direction if we started to curtail US hegemony and recognise the form of 'terrorism' employed by the Bush government through its neo-colonial foreign policy. Similarly, Monica Mucheru, outlined how certain regional conflicts tend to have a spill-over effect whereby innocent third parties outside the region may pay the price, such as the recent terrorist attack on an Israeli-owned hotel in Mombasa by anti-Israeli terrorist forces. Finding an internal solution by the relevant parties to stop third parties being affected was a key point urged by Monica. By the end of the forum, there were copious numbers of hands being raised as the audience felt stirred by the debate and desperately wanted to contribute. Although we may not find the formula to world peace onboard Peace Boat, we are definitely creating a critical mass of participants putting in place their thoughts and actions to achieve peaceful solutions in the world. |
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| Panel Discussion - Monica Mucheru, Kang Je-suk, Kurt Swenson, Aya Sasaki, Norio Osawa |
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| The Road to Peace: five panellists provide their varying perspectives |
JAMBO! Habari gani? The Swahili-speaking squad of guests from Kenya and the Peace Boat crew of 'CCs' (or communication coordinators, who work as translators and interpreters) came together on four occasions to teach participants the national language of Kenya, or 'Kiswahili'. Although English is also the official language and is taught in schools, Swahili is the most common language which speakers outside rural areas, or of different tribal languages, use to communicate with each other. In any case, it is always beneficial to be able to utter at least a few local phrases, even though Peace Boat participants are only in Kenya for a few days. Apart from teaching the basic greetings, small talk and shopping lingo, our Kenyan friends taught us several traditional songs including 'Malaika' and the onboard favourite, 'Jambo Bwana', meaning 'Hello to you'. The catchy, friendly Jambo Bwana tune shot to number on the Peace Boat charts in an instant, and participants could be heard singing it cheerfully, particularly at night with a beverage in hand and the exciting thought of Peace Boat's arrival in Africa on the first day of the new year. |
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PEACE BOAT is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. |
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