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| Special Report - Peace Day |
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| Colourful peace mural by Team SPACE |
As people around the world gathered in protest
on January 18 against possible US-led war in Iraq, Peace Boat joined
in the display of international solidarity for peace by holding a
designated 'Peace Day'. Although some people may think that everyday
ought to be Peace Day on the ship, we felt that it was important to
show our concern for the rising escalation of aggression and possible
international conflict, even if we were in the middle of the Atlantic
Ocean with no immediate audience. Moreover, the special occasion was
a good opportunity to help passengers learn more about current world
events and why advocating for peace is so important. |
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| Play for Peace with Papi from South Africa |
During the day, our specialist engineer of peaceful
fun, Papi Oganne, from the international NGO 'Play for Peace' (www.playforpeace.org),
led a large group of people in simple games that got people laughing
and smiling in an instant. The objective of Play for Peace is to 'bring
children from conflicting cultures together through cooperative play
to promote positive relationships among people who have a history
of inter-cultural tension.' Although our participants are mostly all
Japanese and are of different ages, the games Papi taught allowed
people who ordinarily may not bond together, to share a common interactive
experience and be on friendlier, closer terms than previously. One
such game was where two people link different body parts as various
directions are given, and end up swapping partners in a flurry of
excitement when the words 'People To People' are called out. In this
way, the simple but cooperative games helped to strengthen the culture
of peace and friendship on the ship. |
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| Inspiring words from the `A Culture of Peace is Possible` workshop
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Peace Boat's 'Team SPACE', (Share Peace Art Culture
Energy) used their creative spirit and painted a series of outdoor
panels which depicted some of the ideas and symbols that participants
have encountered so far on the 40th voyage. For example, the HIV/AIDS
'red ribbon', and handprints and faces from people of different race
and colour. Also being displayed were banners appealing for peace
made by participants from the onboard 'A Culture of Peace is Possible'
workshop. The 40-person delegation carried these visual pleas for
peace with them to the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil
(www.forumsocialmundial.org.br) from January 22-26. Meanwhile indoors,
participants put together an exhibit of photos and text about the
devastating impact of the world's first atomic bomb dropped in 1945.
The display described Hiroshima and Nagasaki before and after the
bombing and made a wish to the world for the elimination of all nuclear
weapons and the realisation of a genuinely peaceful international
community. |
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| Team SPACE singing 'One Thought One Feeling' (Hitotsu no Omoi) |
Four personalities from four different continents, including 'Ahmed` from Palestine, Rosana Velasquez from Venezuala, Ryosuke Naito from Japan and Papi Oganne from South Africa, spoke about what peace means to them. Some people spoke of their scepticism about the existence of real peace, given the constant and widespread violence throughout the world, and the normalisation of conflict in some regions. Others mentioned that they don't usually use the actual word 'peace', but rather talk of human rights, non-violence, security or freedom. Common to all four people's understanding was the idea of peace being something that you can spread from one individual to another, in a personalised way. As Rosana remarked, 'It is an individual reaching out to others, doing whatever I can to bring happiness to those who are in an unfair situation just because they were born in the 'wrong' place and have to suffer the pains of war, violence, hunger and poverty. For me, peace means helping to make the world an easier place to live for those who for some reason have not the basic needs and liberties that all persons deserve.' |
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| Rosana Velasquez from Venezuala imparts her ideas about peace |
Those who visited Masai Mara Nature Reserve, where
the Maasai people graze their livestock and have the right to shoot
animals if they are attacked (unlike in a National Park where the
wildlife and natural environment supposedly take precedence), were
able to communicate with some Maasai people as well as enjoy the natural
surroundings. Interestingly, participants learnt that settlement programs,
such as The Mara, have only been reluctantly accepted, as the nomadic
Maasai have traditionally scorned agriculture, and land ownership
is a foreign concept. A group of 30 lucky participants embarked on
a ten day overland trip into Tanzania to visit Lake Manyara, Serengeti
National Park and Ngorongoro Nature Reserve where they were treated
to a visual feast of remarkable wildlife and breathtaking scenery.
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| Peace Boat's
40th Voyage index |
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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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