|
|
|
|
|
|
Port of Call |
LAST UPDATE July 12, 2005
|
|
| site design imagesparkle.com |
|
|
| |
 |
| Interacting with "Halijan" children at Olcott Memorial School in Chennai |
Peace Boat worked with a number of local organizations to coordinate an intense programme of activities - including forums, a press conference, a school visit, cooking lessons at local people's homes and a study tour to learn about contemporary Indian popular cultural values embodied in "Bollywood" films. The aim was to give prominence to the various issues relevant to the upcoming World Social Forum, while offering a wide-angle snapshot of the city, as a way to make the most of Peace Boat's first visit to Chennai (Madras), a bustling city of over seven million people located on the southeast coast of India.
A group of "Harijan" (meaning God's Children) - as these children of the poorest segments of society were dubbed by Mahatma Gandhi - waited with great anticipation to greet their Peace Boat guests. Olcott Memorial High School, which offers free meals, uniforms, school supplies and pastoral care to its mostly Harijan student body is a shining example of dedication and ingenuity that is born of the harsh reality facing humanitarian organisations today. Despite receiving no assistance from the government, the school offers services far beyond basic literacy and numeracy. The results of the efforts of the staff, which include an infectious self-confidence among the students as well as a strong sense of community were obvious from the tirelessly enthusiastic way the students made the most of time they had with their international guests. |
|
|
 |
| "No More Hibakushas" (victims of nuclear weapons) photo exhibition at Madras University |
e anti-nuclear movement in India was gripped by a sense of urgency after the government, immediately followed by its counterpart in Pakistan, "went nuclear" in 1998. The announcements were accompanied by a new belligerance in foreign policy, which saw a rapid spiralling of tensions between the two South Asian nations. A group of Peace Boat participants met with members from the NGO, Journalists Against Nuclear Weapons, who after screening the documentary, ?gUnder the Nuclear Shadow?hdescribed the unrelenting nature ofthe campaigning work that anti-nuclear activists have been drawn into as they attempt to shift the pendulum of public opinion of the fourth most populous nation in the world back away from the drive to war. Working for change involves taking head-on the money and influence of the Vajpayee-led government - which continues to glorify its nuclear prowess and use it as a tool to seek the favour of its constituents - and takes an incredible amount of perseverance and vision.
The young Japanese participants, representing the only country to have been attacked with nuclear weapons, then presented a moving, graphic black and white photo exhibition entitled, "No More Hibakusha" (atomic bomb victims) showing the shocking reality of the effects of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Their oral presentations gave expression to an innate understanding passed down from previous generations who experienced firsthand the devastation that was visited upon them in the summer of 1945. Campaigning together with Indian anti-nuclear activists at a presentation at Madras University, reflected the solidarity between the two groups and the determination to continue the struggle for a nuclear-free world. |
| |
 |
| People gathered at Madras University for the World Social Forum-related People's Forum |
Peace Boat sought to strengthen its ties of friendship with the local people of Chennai through a joint appeal of the message "Another World Is Possible" at a People's Forum at Madras University. This was followed by a joint press conference onboard. The slogan was taken from the World Social Forum (WSF), which defines itself as 'an open space for discussing alternatives to the dominant neo-liberal processes, for exchanging experiences and for strengthening alliances and building coalitions among mass organizations, people's movements, NGOs and other organizations. |
| |
 |
| Press Conference Panelists speaking about the World Social Forum, as well as the Kashmir issue |
Peace Boat plans to call at Mumbai on January 16, 2004, the opening day of the upcoming World Social Forum, and in cooperation with the Tamil Nadu Social Forum organizers, Peace Boat is co-organizing several events to help promote community awareness about the WSF as well as local issues of concern.
Joint Press Conference
Peace Boat's first visit to Chennai with its appeals for peace, obviously struck a cord with members of the Indian press, who engaged actively with the message of the onboard conference. Peace Boat highlighted the aims and content of its various exchanges and educational activities organized in conjunction with local partners. The press conference was also an opportunity for the Indian, Pakistani and Kashmiri members of the Kashmir Onboard Forum to share their views and initiatives to bring peace to the region, with the Indian public.
WSF organizers from Mumbai, Chennai, Brazil and Japan also addressed the press to provide more detailed information about preparations for Mumbai 2004. They outlined the host of regional initiatives taking place around the world, including the European Social Forum, as well as various state-based and thematic social forums being organised in countries around the world. Organizers also announced details about the "Intercontinental Youth Camp" - an exciting opportunity for almost 10,000 young people from around the world to assemble and hold conferences, workshops and cultural events relating to issues such as sustainable development, media, militarization and globalization. |
| |
 |
| Local Chennai children drawing pictures about War and Peace |
Children's Workshop
Together with local WSF organizers from Chennai, Peace Boat invited 20 excited seven-year old boys and girls to come onboard the ship for a peace drawing workshop. Their teachers accompanied the children, while Peace Boat staff member Lisa Takayama helped coordinate the drawing workshop. |
| |
 |
| Peace drawings by these Indian children will travel the world with Peace Boat |
Under the theme of "War and Peace" the children of Nava Bharath Matriculation School used coloured markers and pencils to express themselves. There were numerous drawings depicting planes dropping bombs on houses, creating fires and causing suffering below, and thus showing what one child called the "Impact of War". One particularly vivid image showed a picture of a pretty house surrounded by greenery while the house next to it was covered in red scribble and black clouds, expressing war and destruction. The words, "No War Need Peace" were written below. Other pictures showed a ship, rainbows, trees, sunshine, flowers and people holding hands in a circle with messages such as "Unite for Peace" and "Living Peace". The works of art were inspiring and showed how naturally young children express their concern for a world without war. The pictures are now part of an onboard display and will be exhibited the various ports of call as we continue our global peace education voyage.
|
| |
 |
| Speaking out at the WSF Tamil Nadu and Peace Boat co-sponsored People?fs Forum |
People's Forum at Madras University
In the afternoon, press conference members traveled to the University of Madras for the WSF Tamil Nadu and Peace Boat co-sponsored "People's Forum". A range of issues were raised by the seven guest speakers, who included university professors, peace, human rights and women's rights activists. Several Indian speakers emphasized the significance of caste-base discrimination and communal violence as causes of conflict, and implored the 200-strong audience of the need to work together for the resolution of these long-standing societal problems.
Speakers from Peace Boat highlighted initiatives for peace in East Asia that create hope against the climate of fear and instability relating to the situation on the Korean peninsular, as well as the regrettable policy of militarization that is becoming apparent in Japan. We also spoke of the need for the anti-war movement to strengthen its alliances at the Asian regional level, and our aspirations for the WSF process to help build stronger coalitions for peace, particularly through the "War and Globalization Assembly".
Peace Boat participants from the anti-nuclear study tour made an appeal at the People's Forum by using posters to tell the true story of one Japanese man who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. Even without language to convey their story, their message was powerful, reminding the audience of the horror of nuclear weapons in an original and culturally creative way. |
| |
|
|
|
