UNderstanding Peace
Have you ever been to a church service where “the peace… which passes all understanding” has been mentioned? That phrase has always intrigued and, to be honest, slightly annoyed me, even when offered as part of a frequent and final blessing. Is the concept of peace really so difficult to understand?
On Remembrance Day 2017, Rotary International and the United Nations held a joint international peace conference at the United Nations offices in Geneva, Switzerland “to celebrate the two organisations’ shared vision for peace.” At once I knew I had to go: perhaps I would find some answers to this question. And the crossword-solver in me noticed that any attempt at understanding peace has to begin with the letters UN!
“In 1945”, the programme told me, “nearly 50 of the …delegates … at the San Francisco conference to draft the UN charter were also members of Rotary.” So Rotary helped set up the UN. Now in 2017 in Geneva I began to see how far Rotarians’ work worldwide in Peace-building has inspired members of the UN to do whatever it is they do.
And what do they do? The UN is working hard to achieve 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, and I heard many speakers over the two days referring in particular to number 16: “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions”, which chimes most closely with Rotary’s first Area of Focus: “Peace and Conflict Prevention and Resolution.” One aspect of what was said caught my attention and began to provide an answer, if not to my understanding of peace, then at least to understanding what we could do to promote it:
Refugees
The brilliant Keynote Address given by the Canadian Ambassador to the UN, Rosemary McCarney, on the Friday night, entitled “The Current Refugee Situation: A challenge to Governments and Civil Society”, taught me that one practical and effective form of peacebuilding would be to work at developing our relationships with refugees. They come in increasing numbers these days to live in our communities when fleeing persecution, slavery, conflict or war somewhere else in the world.
That thought dictated my choice of Workshop on the Saturday. In an impressive room which boasted one of the most breath-taking ceilings I have ever seen, I listened to some world experts on a panel explaining in more detail how we could go about “Linking Humanitarian Assistance and Sustainable Development: A means to Avoid Conflicts”. Α Deputy Director of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and a couple of Rotarians from Bogotá and Minnesota, amongst others, explained the importance of integrating refugees into our businesses, our clubs, our schools and our communities. Segregating such people in enclaves and camps such as Le Jungle in Calais does absolutely nothing for the cause of fostering peaceful relations or preventing conflicts breaking out.
But helping “our” refugees fill in essential forms to apply for a job, to gain a driving licence or even to join a community service club, like Rotaract or Rotary; helping refugee children in local primary schools learn English by listening to them read in their literacy hour; opening our hearts and homes to others allows us to build a sense of peaceful coexistence for these newcomers to a different world. At the very least this softens any future flashpoints of conflict.
As the Conference ended, I heard that over 1800 people from 87 different countries had flocked to Geneva for Remembrance Day this year. The global importance of what we had been discussing became clearer: especially when I left the building past the world flags standing to attention outside the UN. They reminded me of the Opening Ceremony of a Rotary International Convention, when the flags representing 330+ countries with active Rotary Clubs appear on stage in front of thousands of Rotarians. These flags represent many different people from many different places and backgrounds taking the time to talk to each other about the difficulties we all share. That seems to be a very positive sign, if not for understanding peace, then at least for reaching a peaceful understanding of our joint concerns.
The concept of peace does still pass my understanding, I think, but the UN Rotary Day had opened my eyes to one way of doing something about it. Doubtless 2018’s Rotary Presidential Peace Conferences around the world will offer us more insights: each allied to one of The Rotary Foundation’s six Areas of Focus. Why don’t you join us at a Peace conference in February, March, April or June? Details are here: https://my.rotary.org/en/news-media/office-president/presidential-conferences. I will be attending the one in Coventry which is closest to home and marries two of our most important current concerns: Disease Prevention & Treatment and Peace. See you there?