Keep The Peace



International Day of Peace

This is a special day,

not a crazy day.

 

The 21^st of September

is International Day of Peace.

The United Nations established

this day in 1981 and it was

first celebrated in 1982.

Here, in Australia,

a plane flying overhead

is not frightening…

no bombs are being dropped. 

 Kids have the freedom t

o receive a good education

and our roads are free of landmines.

 Not everyone is as lucky.

I’ve walked through

the tiny tunnels in Vietnam,

and wondered how the local people

 lived in them for so many years…

 I wandered through Aki Ra’s

landmine museum in Cambodia

and heard of the amazing work

he does, clearing landmines

every day

with very primitive equipment.

 Red Hands taught me about

the induction of children

into armed gangs,

where they are supplied drugs

 until their addiction ensures they

 remain with their captives.

I’ve wandered the streets

of Northern Ireland,

and seen the remains

of overnight battles.

I’ve seen fear and worry

in the eyes of children

from war zones

and heard their incredible stories.

 Sometimes, it’s good to be serious…

 

International Day of Peace is also

Global Ceasefire Day.

This day allows everyone,

everywhere to have a day away

 from violence.

It is hoped war and conflict

 can cease for a day…

and relief workers can finally reach

 areas they are otherwise

unable to get to. 

People in these areas can be

 provided with the care

and supplies they need.

 They can enjoy a day

free from the drone and whistle

of falling bombs

and the sound of gunfire.

 

A few facts and figures on

The Impact of War

2 million children…

killed in conflict

in the last ten years.

(That’s almost ten times

 my town’s population

killed each year… all children.)

Over a million children

have been left orphaned…

(and many then fall into Child Gangs,

 where lives are filled with killing

 and mixed drugs

or are abandoned

and left to scavenge

for food on rubbish tips.)

Over 6 million kids have been

seriously injured

or have been left

with permanent disabilities

or scarring.

Many of these children have no

 access to the equipment

and resources our children receive

 to assist with their disabilities.

Over ten million children

are left with serious

psychological trauma

after living through conflict.

They are just children…

they were unlucky enough

 to be born in dangerous places.

Conflicts cost us in other ways…

 environmentally – the hills of Vietnam

 are still struggling to overcome

the effects of napalm…

Women are often abused and raped

during times of conflict…

Financially, conflicts are expensive…

And, carelessly dropped

and forgotten war equipment

 and weapons can lead to

 further damage – especially

when children try to sell these

 for scrap metal

and lose limbs from explosions.

I almost feel like I am in

 a beauty contest…

“and, I want world peace!”

I’d love to see a day

where no battles were fought…

imagine.

Today is also

World Gratitude Day.

I’m grateful to live

in such a beautiful country.

Pictures from the

International Day of Peace

facebook page.

 

ANZAC - Lest We Forget

Anzac Day 

Australian & New Zealand

Army Corps

They shall grow not old...
as we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them,
nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun,
and in the morning,
we will remember them.

A beautiful story,

told to most primary children

during Anzac Day discussions

 is that of

 Jack Simpson Kirkpatrick

and his donkey. 

Born in England, he fought as an Aussie soldier, dropping the Kirkpatrick from his name.  He was a field ambulance stretcher bearer and carried wounded soldiers from the field... And then he saw the donkey.  For 24 days, Jack and the donkey walked back and forth over the battlefields, whistling and carrying the wounded, bullets swiping the air around them. 

Every soldier knew him. 

He was their hero... 

Rightly so...

He rescued over 300 men. 

 (and yet, faulty paper-work

and red tape mean that

requests to award him

the Victoria Cross

have been denied.)

Anzac Day is a great day

for Anzac biscuits! 

Anzac biscuits are so good. 

 They would be cooked

with love by wives,

mothers and girlfriends

and placed into tin boxes. 

They would be sent to the war...

 and the soldiers would eat them,

 thinking of their

loved ones back home. 

 Amazingly,

the biscuits would still

be fresh!

(apologies - crooked photos!)

Recipe:

1 cup rolled oats
2 tablespoons boiling water
³/₄ cup desiccated coconut
1 cup sugar
1 cup plain flour

125g (4oz) butter
1¹/₂ teaspoons bicarbonate soda
1 tablespoon golden syrup

Combine rolled oats, sifted flour, sugar and coconut. Combine butter and golden syrup, stir over gentle heat until melted. Mix soda with boiling water, add to melted butter mixture, stir into dry ingredients.   Spoon dessert spoonfuls of mixture on to greased oven trays; allow room for spreading. Bake in slow oven 20 minutes. Cool on trays. Makes approx 36 biscuits.

Pictures from here, here and here.

Woohoo!!

No Housework Day 

Ok, Ok...

this is Every day at my house!

  There is another day today.

  A much heavier day. 

 Today is Day of Remembrance

of the Victims

of the Rwanda Genocide. 

 In 1994, Rwanda was ripped apart. 

 In less than 100 days,

800 000 people (mostly Tutsis)

were slaughtered. 

Politicians and people with the power

to prevent the slaughters

were killed first. 

 People were killed in their homes...

 on the streets,

wherever they were hiding. 

Most were killed by machetes,

clubs or knives. 

It is estimated that about

200 000 people

were involved in the killings. 

Not only were women forced

to watch as their families

were killed, many were also raped

 and mutilated.

Most women who survived

 were either pregnant

or infected with HIV/AIDS (or both)

 as a result. 

This lady’s name is Odette. 

 Her son was born after multiple rapes. 

 She is also infected with HIV/AIDS. 

You might remember the movie:

 Hotel Rwanda, which tells the story

 of Paul Rusesabagina. 

He owned a hotel,

was married to a Tutsi

and had three children with her. 

During the 100 days of killings,

 Paul manage to provide refuge

for over a thousand Tutsi refugees

and his family. 

 Some people took refuge

inside churches. 

The Nyarubuye Roman Catholic Church

was shelter to thousands of Tutsis

 – until they were killed there. 

 Kathy Reich (think Bones)

was one of the forensic scientists

 who worked at naming the victims.

The bodies of the killed

were not allowed to be buried. 

 They were thrown into lakes,

 rivers and streams. 

They were left on the road

 and inside homes.  

 There’s no denying

that this is shocking.

  100 days of bloody violence,

death, rape and mutilation. 

 The Rwandan Genocide

is something which should

never be forgotten. 

Photos from here, here,

here and here.

Relive the Holocaust

As of this moment, your business is being boycotted.

You are now banned from public life.

You are stripped of citizenship.

You can forget dreams of marriage.

You’re now banned from entering parks.

Government workers – you’ve just been fired.

And, you must register everything you own.

Feeling scared? Worried? Angry?

Everything that belongs to you and your community...

places of worship...

places of value...

...overnight, they were all burned to the ground... looted...

Windows were smashed and your people were attacked.

30,000 of them were forcibly taken.

They were sent to concentration camps.

30,000 – in one night.

War breaks out and you are now forced

to wear the yellow Star of David –

a beacon, to draw your enemy to you.

You are ordered out of your home and

forced into crowded, shared accommodation.

Curfews now apply and you cannot leave your home.

Every day, up to 1000 people are taken away on trains.

You don’t see them again.

You escape and go into hiding.

You are hidden in an attic, living in silence above a shop. Moving might draw attention to your presence. You live in fear... constant fear.

And then... they find you.

You are forced into a train.

Arriving at a ”camp”, you are forced to line up.

You become separated from your family.

Women, children, the elderly and the sick are in one line.

The men are in another.

The men are sent off to work.

They live.

You are sent for a shower.

“It’s a good shower – it’ll disinfect you.”

Forced to strip, you enter the shower chamber,

surely with some fear.

Instead of water, gas falls down on you.

Your older brother is sent to a labour camp.

Camp life is hard.

Every day, he is forced to perform hard labour.

He is fed barely enough to sustain him.

He shares a bed with two other men.

There is no pillow... no mattress.

All around him, men are tortured and some... killed.

His hair is shaved.

He is forced to wear prison clothes,

which are too big and prison shoes, which are too small.

On his arm, he now bears a tattoo.

A number.

Now, the Nazis are realising that their reign is drawing to an end.

They begin to cover up their atrocious acts.

They bury the ashes of the murdered in huge pits.

The gas chambers are destroyed.

Your brother is at Auschwitz, one of the main camps.

He is one of the last prisoners,

weary from years of labour and starvation.

He is forced to march towards another camp.

In January, 1945, hope arrives in the form of the Russians.

Your brother is among the remaining prisoners

and is released.

Your brother is free.

His family have all been killed.

He has no home.

He has a tattoo... a constant reminder.

But, he is free.

In my old school library, turning pages of the dusty encyclopaedia, I first learned of the holocaust. It was a little too much for me to comprehend. Over the years, I’ve learned a little of the holocaust.

In 1933, Hitler came to power in Germany.

This is when the holocaust (sacrifice by fire) started. Twelve long years later, the holocaust ended when Hitler was defeated.

The Nazis targeted the Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses and the disabled. People who resisted were killed.

11 million people were killed during the holocaust. (I’ll put that into perspective. On January 24^th, 2011, the Australian population was 22,541,665. During the holocaust, the equivalent to half of Australia’s population was killed.)

Six million of these people were Jews.

Over a million were children.

There were six execution camps.

One camp had four gas chambers.

Each chamber could murder 6,000 people a day.

24,000 people... A day...

In one camp...

Today is the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the victims of the Holocaust.

Tonight, I plan to light 11 candles,

one for each of the million victims of the holocaust.

http://history1900s.about.com/od/holocaust/a/holocaustfacts.htm

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/1647509ef7e25faaca2568a900154b63?OpenDocument

http://www.holocaust-history.org/