Dublin rally for Peace & Non-violence

www.worldmarchireland.com

www.theworldmarch.org

Email: worldmarchie@gmail.com


Plans, plans, plans. The best laid plans go awry, as the saying goes. From Napoleon’s Russian campaign to Arsenal’s Champions League efforts, we can never know what will happen in the future. So it was, when I planned to go along to last Saturday’s ‘Peace and Non-violence rally held in Dublin’s Grafton Street.

My Amnesty colleague, Ram, had sent out an email to interested parties about a fortnight ago and I decided to go to it. However at about 10:30 on Saturday morning Ram rang me to tell me of his flu symptoms. The bright and cheerful gentleman sounded depressed and unhappy – something associated with a cold. I was asked to help in his absence and accepted the request.

Arriving in the centre of the city, and after some time hanging around Heroin Corner (Ballast House), a group of us (myself, two lovely South American ladies and a long haired fellow from New Zealand) made our way up through Grafton Street and, once we got to the top of that posh part of the city, we were met by Krisztina, a gentle, kind-hearted woman from Hungary. She is a fine example of humanity and her energy and sincerity is almost unbelievable.

She has a microphone and is speaking towards an audience of largely indifferent members of the public while my New Zealand colleague, Ross, is discharging a string of expletives aimed at Obama and other world leaders. He blames them for destroying the world and, even though I wouldn’t agree with him 100 per cent, he seems quite genuine.

I fetch Krisztina a cup of tea – she wanted honey with it but they didn’t have any of that sticky stuff – from a nearby branch of Insomnia. As I serve her the refreshment a small crowd gathers. Placards are given out and, like a prayer service; we recite a Pledge towards a Non-violent world:

On this day, we interrupt for one
moment the rush of our daily lives.
we remember the lives lost in wars and
all the lives affected by ordinary acts of
violence or discrimination……………

We commit ourselves to work to strive
towards a world of non-violence.

We pledge to work for the day when
nuclear weapons will be eliminated from
the face of the earth.
We pledge to honour every human life.

We ask for a true understanding of non-
violence as a way of life and a
manifestation of that which is truly
human.

We reject all forms of violence, and seek
peace in our own hearts, working with
others to overcome the social violence
and injustice that plague humanity.

We aspire to persuade and reconcile,
rejecting the impulse to impose or seek
revenge.

We make a growing commitment to
Follow the rule that reminds us to treat
Others as we want to be treated.

A human future is possible…it’s song
echoes in the depth of our hearts and its
construction is a task filled with
difficulties but also with joy and
meaning.

Peace, Force and Joy to everyone!


After awhile walking and talking at the top of Grafton Street, the placards and banners are taken down and about half a dozen of us go over to the nearby Wagamama restaurant and the talk is good natured. My plans for the day didn’t include a trip to a posh eatery, but it was worthwhile as I feel I’ve made new friends. It’s good to have a few surprises in life and my Saturday was spent (not intentionally) in good company.

This, though, was a positive experience for me. Hopefully I’ll get to see these nice people again and also that Ram will get over his flu. Thanks go to: Krisztina, Andrea, Genny, Ross and Dolly. It was good to be in your company and a potentially dull Saturday in central Dublin was rescued. Confirmation that the capital is changing, despite the recession, into a ethnically diverse city and that, in my view is a good thing.

To finish, here is more about the World march for Peace and non-violence:

‘This is the first world March to circle the earth calling for the end of war and nuclear arms, and the elimination of violence of all kinds.

The intention of the March is to:

Advance towards the eradication of nuclear weapons; the progressive and proportional reduction of non-nuclear arms; the signing of non-aggression treaties among other nations; and the renunciation by governments of war as a way to resolve conflicts.

Recognise and celebrate the best qualities of all the Earth’s diverse cultures and peoples.

Merge the wills of people everywhere to end the scourge of war.

Generate a worldwide social consciousness that condemns all forms of violence (physical, psychological, racial, religious, economic, sexual), which is currently so widespread and accepted by societies everywhere.

A global consciousness that universally condemns violence.’

Obviously people in the INLA were listening to this message, as that criminal organisation finally announced, over the weekend, to wind up its business of murdering people. One positive outcome anyhow. Plans, plans, plans.