Carlisle One World Centre has been delivering activities under our latest theme year, Collaborations for Peace, which runs from July 2022 to July 2023. With ongoing conflict around the world, including Ukraine, and across the Middle East in mind, each month we are hosting a peace vigil at Carlisle Cathedral with members of Carlisle Refugee Action Group and Carlisle City of Sanctuary in partnership with local groups. To date these partners have include Anti-Racist Cumbria, coinciding with the theme of the UN International Day of Peace on 21st September – End Racism, Build Peace, Amnesty International and the Quakers.
In September, Mina Banisaied, Chair of the Carlisle City of Sanctuary Group and trustee of Anti-Racist Cumbria read the following:
Tonight I represent Anti Racist Cumbria where I am a Trustee. Their aim is to make Cumbria the UK’s first anti-racist county and I am proud to be a part of it.
Tonight we talk about peace and I thought I would share the dictionary definition. There are many uses but the two key ones are as peace as a noun.
The first meaning of peace explains peace as;
freedom from disturbance; tranquillity.
The second meaning explains it as;
a state or period in which there is no war or a war has ended.
As we stand together tonight and call for peace, ask whether you are mostly able to live in peace yourself? Can you live your life without fear of disturbance because of the colour of your skin, your sexuality, your religious beliefs?
If the answer is yes, does your peace ever come at the expense of some else’s?
What do you do to bring peace?
Do you simply be nice and hope it will come?
Or do you fight the injustices you see?
The very word peace brings a sense of calm.
But achieving peace is not always calm, sometimes we must demand peace, sometimes we need to stand up and take action to achieve peace.
What actions do you take to push peace forward? Are you not racist, or are you actively anti-racist? Are you fine with people being LGBTQ+ or do you fight for their rights as much as you fight for your own? Are you a bystander to poverty and injustice, or do you stand by those impacted by poverty and injustice?
For the many, without justice and equity, they will never know true peace
So tonight I ask you to remember that peace does not mean passive.
In October, the Carlisle Amnesty Group reflected on prisoners of conscience around the world and on their choices to protest through peace.
The most recent vigil on 4th November, held with the Quakers focussed on countries where people’s human right (as set out in the UN Charter on Human Rights) to Conscientious Objection is not recognised in Law. They all have compulsory Military Service in various forms. The penalty is different from country to country but in some it results in economic and social depredation, ie. you are barred from university or from some professions. In others it will result in prison and/or fines. It is persecution for refusal to take up and support armed military training and action. These people are standing for peace by saying there is another way to resolve disputes and conflicts. The countries are: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Greece, U.A.E., Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, North Korea, South Korea, Singapore, Turkey, Israel, Russia, Norway, China, Thailand, and Iran and we stood around flags and reflected on them all.
There will be no vigil in December so the next vigil will take place on Friday 13th January 2023. If your group would like to join COWC as a vigil partner please do get in touch. We are also planning a visit to Rose Castle in the new year and to work on a project with them and we will hold more talks and events on the theme.
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