THE PEACE BOAT
While
at the World Peace Forum in Vancouver last June, we were
intrigued to find that the programme for the last day included a visit to the
Peace Boat, MV Topaz, which would be moored at the docks for 24 hours. We
had never heard of this, so we were keen to find out more. When we arrived we
were amazed by the size, it is a 30,000 ton passenger liner, about 50 years
old, with beautiful art deco interior, but fully modernised engine-wise.
The
organisation was started in 1983 by a group of Japanese students, as a regional
trip around South East Asia aimed at keeping alive the memory of war to
prevent such horrors ever happening again, by connecting people in different
countries with similar memories and living with similar effects of
conflict. The first international voyage was made in 1990, and since then
the Peace Boat has visited more than 80 countries, bringing more than 25,000
people together. Now there are three global voyages and one short Asian
voyage each year, The ship becomes a floating
community of about 900 participants, visiting ports around the world, there are
up to 50 guest lecturers, artists, representatives of NGOs giving a programme
on the voyage, with other events meeting students and others in the countries
visited. Because of the many interesting places visited and the high
standard of food and accommodation, many adults paying full fare participate,
thus allowing students and young people from poor communities to have
subsidised fares.
While
we were on the boat, we had a final discussion forum entitled "making the
earth whole - an integrated peace agenda" with speakers Senator Doug Roche
of Canada, and Dr. Mary Wynne-Ashford,an
inspirational speaker, President of International Physicians for the Prevention
of Nuclear War. She is an inspirational speaker with a talent for
making one feel all is not hopeless, and that women are crucial for improvement
in the linking together of issues of poverty, environment, peace, etc. We
must press for more education, especially of girls. We then had a final lunch
in the ship's dining room, with a group of enthusiastic Canadian trade union
activists.
Please
look at the website of the Peace Boat - www.peaceboat.org - you will find it
interesting.
Rosemary
Addington.