I was approached by Anne Yarwood in June 2016 with an idea of conveying the suffering and injustice taking place in Israel and Jerusalem in a play, which Anne felt my drama skills could portray.
My experience playing the young Arab lady in ‘Take Two’ was an eye opener for me to the extent of injustice and suffering these people were going through. I felt the character was alive in me, speaking out to the audience her message of ending the pain and suffering of her and her people, and she was reaching out to the audience to spread the word of peace and to seek help for her people.
I felt my body was acting as a vessel to carry out the voice of many people who are crying out for help from the world. I felt chosen to use my acting skills to project out the spirit of this young lady and many more in her position.
The whole play was a big prayer to the world for world peace.
Peace Direct is an international charity dedicated to supporting local people to stop war and build lasting peace in some of the world’s most fragile countries.
The world is battling war and violence, and deadly conflict tears across communities around the world. It touches and destroys lives from Paris to Peshawar. Our work has never been more urgent.
Led by local people, we tackle the causes of violence at the root, and rebuild lives after war has torn communities apart. We are dedicated to making peace a practical option, ensuring local people have the skills and resources to make it a reality.
We believe passionately in non-violence and the power of local action. Local people are central to the resolution of their own conflicts. Peace is not sustainable if imposed from the outside.
At the heart of all our work lies the belief that that when local efforts to build peace are acknowledged and supported, the world will be a more peaceful place.
STORIES FROM PEACE DIRECT
Holocaust Memorial Day 2018: atrocities past, atrocities present – HERE
Holocaust Memorial Day 2018
Words can make a difference – both for good and evil. Words have the power to restore hope and heal divides. Dialogue and mediation can halt outbreaks of violence and sitting down and talking with your enemy can prevent tensions from spiralling into conflict. But words also have the power to divide. Hate speech can all too easily create a culture of violence and persecution and lead to atrocities.
The theme of Holocaust Memorial Day in 2018 explores the power words hold. We see this in our work every day. From using words to stop young people from carrying out suicide attacks, to negotiating with militia leaders to secure the release of child soldiers, words play an integral role healing divides, as much as they do in causing them.
These seven stories are just seven of the many reasons we continue to strive for peace – built brick by brick from the ground up. As 2017 draws to a close, we thank you for your continued support to all those fighting for peace in the most fragile places in the world.
Tomorrow’s Peacebuilders Awards 2017: meet the winners HERE
On Human Rights Day, a day commemorating the brave and inspiring activists that stand for a better world, we are announcing the winners of our 2017 Tomorrow’s Peacebuilders Awards. Over the last few months, the Peace Direct team has reviewed 268 applications from 57 countries and elected three of the most exciting and innovative peacebuilding organisations as winners.
Peace Talks: my experience of violence and of building peace: Michael’s Story – HERE
‘’Despite all the news, all the headlines about the crisis and violence in Nigeria, we will build peace. Peace is possible if all hands are on deck.”
‘’Their hearts are broken because of the war. It is my job to heal them.”
– Buddhist religious leader who works to rebuild trust between Hindus, Christians, Muslims and Buddhists following years of civil war and violence in Sri Lanka.
Two fearless women win prestigious award for human rights activism in conflict zones HERE
Two fearless female activists, Gulalai Ismail from Pakistan and Gauri Lankesh from India, have won the prestigious RAW in WAR 2017 Anna Politkovskaya Award for their courage speaking out against extremism against a backdrop of armed conflict.
This award is testament to the power local people have to make a difference to thousands of lives.
The power of one peace activist in Pakistan: Sail’s story – HERE
Have you ever been a situation you wanted to challenge, but did not know how? When you live in a violent, conflict affected area, the stakes are even higher. Yet here is the story of Sail, one young man who has changed minds and prevented extremism in his community.
Scilla Elworthy and Carolyn Hayman founded Peace Direct in 2003.
Scilla is a peace builder, and the founder of the Oxford Research Group, a non-governmental organisation she set up in 1982 to develop effective dialogue between nuclear weapons policy-makers worldwide and their critics.
She served as its executive director from 1982 until 2003, when she left that role to set up Peace Direct, a charity supporting local peace-builders in conflict areas. WIKIPEDIA HERE
Anne met Scilla years ago in connection with starting an Electronics for Peace Group.
DAVOS 2017 – LEADERSHIP REPORT – Rising nationalism, international tensions, runaway climate change. It’s tempting to despair of humanity at the start of 2017. Instead of giving up, though, people are working to improve the world around them, whether through entrepreneurship, art, innovation or acts of personal courage.
INSPIRING people’s stories are here and include Tom Szaky and Yusra Mardini – HERE
Tom Szaky (photo above) – This man wants you to recycle everything. I mean everything: cigarette butts, diapers, toothbrushes. He’s the founder and CEO of Terracycle, a social enterprise that uses new technology to “up-cycle” waste into products, turning foil drink pouches into slouch bags, among other feats. His work has galvanized nearly 64 million people around the world into recycling action and offers an alternative business model at a time when research suggests there will be more plastic than fish in the sea by 2050.
Yusra Mardini – “Yes, I’m the girl who swam for her life, then swam at the Olympics. Now I want to tell you another story. It’s about my other name, my other identity. You see, my name is refugee. At least, that’s what they call me. Me and those 21 million others forced to flee persecution, war and violence.” Now living in Berlin and speaking up for the world’s displaced, Yusra tells her story HERE.
Refugee Statistics from UNHCR (2016) HERE (United Nations High Commission for Refugees)
We are now witnessing the highest levels of displacement on record.
An unprecedented 6 million people around the world have been forced from home.
Among them are nearly 5 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18. Of these – 17.2m UNHCR and 5.3m Palestinians UNRWA
There are also 10 million stateless people who have been denied a nationality and access to basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement.
Refugees resettled in 2016 – 189,300
Where are the world’s displaced people being hosted – 30% Africa, 26% Middle East and North Africa, 17% Europe, 16% Americas, 11% Asia and Pacific
55% of refugees worldwide came from 3 countries – South Sudan 1.4m, Afghanistan 2.5m and Syria 5.5m
Top Hosting countries – Turkey 2.9m, Pakistan 1.4m, Islamic Republic of Iran 979k, Uganda 941k, Ethiopia 792k
Amidst urgent advocacy, practical and emotional support for us all, when stricken…There’s the snuggle- into -a -woolly -jumper COMFORT. Sugary cake, birthday candles, watching Detectives on telly …reaching out for a “last” choccy. And HUGS.
I used to think signing off a note with “HUGS” was naff. No longer! Being enfolded, is what us children need. THERE’s so much bloody misery around !!!
One reason I’m resilient, I believe is because as a tiny child, I was hugged. Sat on my Father’s scraggy little knees, enfolded by his large hands or on my Mother’s knee; snuggling my head on her billowing breast. Held….
Now I’m 84. My friends and I “enfold” many a wonder and an horror. More and more, I love the bodily comfort of HUGS. D’you agree, dear Readers ?
See ‘Poems to hold on to’ by Diamond Twigg & Sophie Hannah – HERE
Theopholous Isambard Kingdom Brunel is the name we’ve given the brown spider, come to hang over the kitchen table. Two brilliant Engineers.
Theopholous first wove a web attached by guy ropes to the curtain on the left and lamp to the right. THEN the lamp was moved. Next day, web gone! Woven back again by this evening.
( Thoughts of Mr. Brunel & the Great Eastern iron ship…. AND the New Forth Bridge Engineers)
Problem is …..no passing food. Does Amazon sell dried v. small flies , on line?
We are worried !!!!
Recommended: Deborah Cadbury ‘Seven Wonders of the Industrial World’ plus accompanying DVD -recreates the stories of the most brilliant pioneers of the Industrial Age – Bell Rock Light House, Brooklyn Bridge, the London Sewers HERE
Visit the London Greenwich Planetarium to take a tour of the Universe and experience the wonders of the night sky with expert commentary from real astronomers. Fly to the heart of the Sun, go to distant galaxies, see the birth of a star or land on Mars –READ MORE HERE
Vertigo Sea is an exhibition featuring two remarkable installations by acclaimed artist and filmmaker John Akomfrah – expressing the feeling of what it is like to be at the mercy of something vast and presenting an opportunity to meditate upon our place within the world, against the immense spaces and epic timescales evoked by the films; they remind us of our interconnectedness and the diverse, ghostly community that shapes who we are –READ MORE HERE
Anne Yarwood
24-1-18 (Anne’s Birthday) The Tadpoles of IC 410
23-1-18 Ribbons and Pearls of Spiral Galaxy NGC 1398
20-1-18 Old Moon in the New Moon’s Arms
3-1-18 The Helix Nebula from CFHT
28-12-17 Recycling Cassiopeia
8-12-17 Clouds of Andromeda
7-12-17 Tether in Space
28-11-17 Juno spots a complex storm on Jupitor
21-11-17 Big Dipper over Pyramid Mountain
17-11-17 Major Fireball Meteor
10-11-17 Williamina Flemings Triangular Wisp
9-11-17 NGC 1055 close-up
24-10-17 Where your Elements came from
4-10-17 The Soul Nebula in Infrared from Herschel
1-10-17 Concept Plane – Supersonic Green Machine
30-9-17 Portrait of NGC 281
24-9-17 How to Identify that Light in the Sky
20-9-17 The Big Corona
18-9-17 Orion above Easter Island
15-9-17 100 Steps Forward
7-8-17 Spiral Galaxy NGC 1512 – The Inner Ring
24-7-17 A Hybrid Solar Eclipse over Kenya
22-7-17 Apollo 11 – Catching Some Sun – Pix by Neil Armstrong on 2-7-1969
20-7-17 IC 1396 – Emission Nebula in Cepheus
27-6-17 Artistic Impression – The Surface of TRAPPIST-1f
27-6-17 The M81 Galaxy Group through the Integrated Flux Nebula
25-6-17 The N44 Superbubble
17-6-17 Saturn near Opposition
13-6-17 The Great Nebula in Carina
9-6-17 M27 – Not a Comet
6-6-17 The Case of the Missing Star
5-6-17 Highlights of the Summer Sky
29-5-17 Beneath Jupiter
28-5-17 Collapse in Hebes Chasma on Mars
27-5-17 Comet Clark is near the Edge
20-5-17 A View Toward M101
11-5-17 The Multiwavelength Crab
9-5-17 Big Dipper above and below Chilean Volcanoes
7-5-17 Star Formation in the Tadpole Nebula
5-5-17 The Bull’s Eye and the Young Moon
4-5-17 The Perseus Cluster Waves
2-5-17 Approach above Sunset
1-5-17 Cooling Neutron Star
26-4-17 Mt. Etna lava plume
24-4-17 A White Battle in the Black Sea
22-4-17 Between the Rings
21-4-17 NGC 4302 and NGC 4298
16-4-17 Life-Enabling Plumes above Enceladus
11-4-17 Man, Dog , Sun
9-4-17 Comet Hale-Bopp over Val Parola Pass
8-4-17 Zeta Oph – Runaway Star
5-4-17 Filaments of active Galaxy NGC 1275
2-4-17 NGC 602 and Beyond
30-3-17 Young Stars and Dusty Nebulae in Taurus
22-3-17 Central Cygnus Skyscape
20-3-17 The Aurora Tree
14-3-17 A Dark Winter Sky over Monfrague National Park in Spain
A picture celebration of family and friends’ imaginings: skilful play, with all forms of Creativity
THIRSTING FOR WATER – WELLS FOR INDIA
‘Thirsting for Water’ tells the story of a 30 Year Search for Water in one of the most demanding regions of the world.
The story is set in three main regions of the desert state of Rajasthan, North West India:- first, the Thar Desert where 26 million people live, where the projects are focused in the ancient kingdom of Marwar, (which is the local language word for ‘Land of Death’). The second area is the saline desert area around the Great Sambhar Lake. The third area is the Aravali Hills and mountains where 3 million people live. The Aravali Hills were once thickly forested but these trees were cut down to leave barren hills and denuded valleys. The tribal peoples could no longer hunt and gather the forest products but have had to develop agricultural skills.
In each of the three areas Wells for India, working with its 25 partners has been able to demonstrate that by harvesting rain water the land can be transformed, sustainable supplies of drinking water given to 1.5 million people, rivers regenerated and whole valleys becoming once again green.
Ghost towns have transformed themselves into vibrant communities.
Mary and Nicholas Grey
The Gallery shows photos by Jon Willis of the Wells for India project
Nicholas and Mary Grey, Khanpa School
Ramsahai Purohit
Laxmi Chand Tyagi
Shashiji Tyagi and Dr Prakash Tyagi
Pandit Jeevat Ram Sharma
Community Well, Dudu 1974
Irrigating the desert land by building wells at Gokulpura
AFPRO Office, Udaipur
Aravali Hills stripped of trees
Women of Rajasthan
Women of Rajasthan
Women of Rajasthan
Jodhpur City water system in earlier times
Nilgai – half deer, half cow, sacred,wild, powerful and destructive of crops
1986-89 severe drought – a lonely child in the desert
Sambhar Salt Lake – dry in the summer months
Wowen’s Group
Development of water sources by deepening ponds with wells nearby
Village crafts
Water pots being filled
The Bakra Nagal Dam – a new temple of resurgent India
Harrapappa achaeological site
A simulation of Harapappa as it was 5000 years ago
Ramnaghar anicut with irrigated crops
Ramnaghar anicut with irrigated crops
Villagers placing water pipes into the trenches
Villagers digging trench for water pipeline
Taanka
Beries in base of pond at Akhadana, Bap Block
Uncovering a berie in base of pond
Drawing water out of the berie
Ranakpur Temple in the distance surrounded by forest
Rivers are flowing in Alwar – due to harvesting by TBS
Rawara Pond after deepening – Water is Life !
Water is Life ! So cranes from Siberia and every creature gather at the pond
Children at the Asha Home – morning prayer
The Thar Desert – the most populated desert in the world
Mary Grey and Shashiji Tyagi discuss the dry Sangari pond
The long walk for water across the desert sand
The search for water – the burden for women and children
Khejri tree -able to survive in drought
Bhalu village – at the top of a sand dune
Dwellings at Bhalu village
Taanka – a family storage tank
Children being taught on a sand dune
Mr Sharma gets SHG’s agreement to enclose pastureland in Chaperiya village
Trenches and earth banks along the contours of the hills
Apna Sansthan’s leader shows us the newly-constrcuted gully plugs down the hillside
Apna Sansthan’s leader shows us the newly-constrcuted gully plugs down the hillside
Woman walking through field; showing how Water harvesting check dams gives abundant wheat crops
One of our inspiring Stories in 2017, was a young friend’s commitment to raise £1,000 for the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM).
Now we read of the charity’s effective work to prevent suicide in the young-male population in the UK – READ MORE HERE
WATCH What happens when you put eight men in a room with The Duke of Cambridge – HERE
CALM’s new research shows:
84% of men in the UK say they bottle up their emotions
Nearly half said they suppress their emotions often or at least once day
Almost two in three (62%) 18-24 year olds saying they regularly hide their true feelings
The most common reasons men cited for not opening up about their emotions were not wanting to worry anyone (43%) and preferring to sort it out themselves (49%)
Men were also found to be much less likely than women to open up face-to-face (63% v. 72%), over the phone (16% v. 27%) or by text (17% v. 27%) about their feelings
Many men are feeling the pressure to ‘man up’ and bottle up their emotions, despite the fact the majority of people (52%) feel comfortable when a man opens up and half of us say we’re glad that a man has opened up to us
Listing Stories of friends’ achievements in the Ascot, Windsor, Slough, Bracknell, Reading areas of Berkshire UK, currently and as legacies from the 1980s –
Bill Carey Craft Workshop, WEB Bus education, Play Centre Old Magistrate Court, Light House Peace Yurt, ‘Take Two’ Palestine- Israeli play, Play reading group, Wordsmiths writers’ group, Festival of the Dark, Windsor Homeless project, PARITY: equal rights for men & women, Scar healing in Sarajevo, Windsor International One Act Play competition, ASCENT Environment Network & Festival, Quiet Garden retreat at 30, Granny Kettle Wood: high court action to preserve trees, Wildlife in Ascot, Save Heatherwood Hospital, DOCS: Defend Our Community Services, ‘How Come We Didn’t Know?’ exhibition NHS privatisation, Community access to Ascot Races, The ‘Just Walk’ to Palestine, Surrey Swans: Gender fluidity group, Collections for CALM: male suicide, The Circle Works at 30, Values & Visions Foundation, Wells for India at 30, Mindfulness classes, INSECT ARMAGGEDON
Cobra uses information & communication technologies to help local communities document & promote their own solutions to sustainability challenges & inspire others locally, nationally, internationally – Watch inspirational video: self- reliance & sustainability HERE
*1000 Under 5’s die every day globally, from diarrhoeal diseases.
WASH : Managed Water, Sanitation, Hygiene is a dedicated UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG-6). 2010 accepted as a BASIC HUMAN RIGHT.
2.1 billion people lack safely managed drinking water. 4.5 billion people lack safely managed sanitation.
* WaterAid UK – 1981 founded by UK Water Industry. Works in partnership with local organisation in 37 countries helping poor communities bring water and sanitation close to home. It also works to influence government water policies. President Prince Charles – HERE
Last 50 years increased useage – population growth & rising expectations in Western world. Agriculture is one largest footprints of water use eg nearly 1,800 gallons water to produce one pound beef; 576 gallons for one pound pork; 108 gallons for one pound corn.
*IFAD : International Fund Agricultural Development
Recognition of Indigenous people’s resourcefulness, including adapting to climate change. 370 million people worldwide. Sensitive to the environment, adaptive capacity, resilience, able to modify their behaviour – HERE
*COBRA PROJECT: FACING UP TO CHALLENGES WITH LOCAL SOLUTIONS.
Cobra uses information & communication technologies. (ICT) to to help local communities document& promote their own solutions to sustainability challenges & inspire others locally, nationally, internationally –HERE . Watch the inspirational video: self- reliance & sustainability
