NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007

December 6th, 2007

Editorial Each year the Commission holds its November meeting at one of our colleges. We have visited

Editorial Each year the Commission holds its November meeting at one of our colleges. We have visited St Mary’s Hull, All Saints York and St Augustine’s Scarborough and this year we will be at St Mary’s Middlesbrough. We have always been impressed by the presentations which have shown considerable insight and knowledge of those aspects of justice and peace issues which resonate with young people. We look forward to another stimulating meeting. At this time of the year we think of Remembrance Day services. Bruce Kent asks: “How should we remember the horror as well as the courage of war? From cemetery to cemetery there would come only one answer from soldiers, sailors, airmen and civilians killed as a result of conflict. ‘If you want to honour our memory, work for the abolition of war.’” Win Logan from Middlesbrough, who does so much for the refugees and asylum seekers, writes of her first hand experience of how hard their lives can be. And we are very grateful to Anne Tracy, who teaches RE at All Saints, York for sending some of her students’ work. Chris Dove Note: the views expresses in this newsletter do not necessarily coincide with those of the Commission

“Befriend an Asylum seeker” On September 25th about forty of us, including twenty five young people from Carmel College, gathered at the Carmelite convent for one of our monthly vigils. The reason for our vigils, in a different place every month, is to show our solidarity with those seeking asylum, to remember those who have been detained or returned to dangerous situations, and to raise awareness of the number of people who await, with great trepidation, the early morning knock on the door which signals detention for them too. Many of these people are destitute and exist on handouts and help from sympathizers. Many people who have been refused asylum have been in Britain for a long time – in the case of my friend Joseph 14 years. A long time of uncertainty and stress, never being sure of what will happen to them. Some have ended their own lives rather than be sent back to the situation from which they fled. Fear has been their daily companion. Some asylum seekers with us at Carmel gave testimony about the reasons they fled from their homelands. It was very hard to hear – oppression, starvation, rape, torture, murder. Jean-Michel spoke of his longing for his five children and his extended family. “Why would I leave them to come here if I didn’t HAVE to?” he asked. Sadly when Jean-Michel arrived home that evening he received news from the Democratic Republic of Congo that his 17 year old son, Rudy, had been shot dead. One can only try to imagine Jean-Michel’s heartbreak. Although it has been declared that arbitrary detentions of children is wrong, it is still happening. In the past two years nine children have been detained who were pupils at Sacred Heart School, Middlesbrough. Six were returned, with their parents to unstable countries with appalling human rights records. Three of these children were only three years old. What can we do about it? Send an avalanche of letters, emails etc to Gordon Brown, the Home Office, our MPs, demanding action and compassion. Give generously to Justice First, a local charity set up to help asylum seekers who have exhausted all appeals and are at their most vulnerable. The Mary Thompson Fund also needs funds to help those whose housing and benefits have been withdrawn. Offer your friendship – as our friend Juste says, “Befriend an asylum seeker – you may change his life” You may also change your own. Win Logan

Study War No More It often feels there are no areas of life untouched by the corruption of multinationals and oppression in one form or another. This is especially hard for young people who are struggling with money, trying hard to make a living and get an education. An increasingly important question for young people today should be the ethics of their education. 2007 marked the launch of Study War No More, a project examining the influence military companies such as BAE Systems, QinetiQ, and Rolls Royce exert within university departments. The data reveals that 26 universities received funding from these companies. Many received high levels of funding for specialist areas, the majority going to departments of engineering, chemistry, physics and computer studies. The 20 universities belonging to the Russell Group boast of securing 65% (over £1.8billion) of UK Universities’ research grant and contract income in 2004/2005. Nottingham, one of these, for example, between 2001 and 2006, has received a minimum of around 40 different contracts for R&D development from military organizations. These contracts are for varying time periods, and values which range from £15,000 to almost £10 million. Are students and academics aware of how their research might be used? And, have they been made aware of, and therefore fully considered the moral basis of their work? In recent years, peace and security issues have moved to the forefront of people’s lives and concerns. The young especially, are starting to ask themselves what they can do to address these issues in their daily lives. It is hoped the project will continue to grow as the raw data is collected, thus becoming a self-updating record of military funding of research and development within UK universities. The aim of Study War No More is to contribute to the growing awareness and concern for transparency, honesty and accountability within research and development. Acting as a direct challenge to the secrecy which has traditionally surrounded military research and development, the report challenges future generations to make informed choices about their education, and how it is funded. Study War No More is a collaborative research project undertaken by the Fellowship of Reconciliation with the Campaign Against the Arms Trade. Visit www.for.org.uk for further information.

Is this “Joined up government”? The government has approved arms exports to 19 of the 20 countries it has identified as “countries of concern” for abusing human rights, according to the annual report on its weapons exports. These countries include Saudi Arabia, Israel, Colombia, China and Russia. Source: The Guardian Weekly 03.08.07

Aviation and climate change Another example of the disconnection between government departments is aviation. An article in the Fellowship of Reconciliation’s Peace by Peace for Autumn 2007, notes that the 2003 White Paper on Aviation planned a massive expansion in UK airport capacity to allow for doubling of the number of passengers between 2002 and 2020 along with a doubling of air freight between 2002 and 2010. This expansion was supported by a further Department of Transport report in 2006. At the same time the government is seeking to reduce the UK’s contribution to climate change. Since 1990 UK carbon dioxide emissions from aviation have increased by 125% and they are still increasing. A researcher for Friends of the Earth, Maud Grainger, investigated the connection between aviation and climate change. She found that the aviation industry is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gases. Aircraft emissions have a greater warming effect because they are released at altitude. Commercial aviation accounted for about 20% of total UK climate change. The military are large emitters of carbon dioxide, and according to a report from the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, military aircraft are likely to produce proportionately more emissions because of their special performance requirements.

Cost of war If you want to get some idea of what the war in Iraq is costing,[estimated $8 billion a month] have a look at these websites: www.costofwar.com. shows a counter like a taxi meter, with the numbers increasing every second. It is truly frightening. www. casualties.org gives the numbers of US military killed and wounded , which, as at September 2007, stood at 3,801 and 27,753 respectively. The numbers of Iraqi casualties is unknown but estimates can be found on: www.iraqbodycount.net Another way to count the cost of war is to note that, according to the UN Development Fund for Women, whereas in the 19th century civilian casualties accounted for 5% of the war dead, in World War I, the total number of civilians killed had climbed to 15% of total wartime casualties, in World War II, civilians made up 65% of the victims of war. By the mid-90s, civilians were over 75% of the war dead. And today, over 90% of those killed in war are civilians. I never hear our politicians or military chiefs acknowledging these facts.

Religion, War and Peace The reflections and poems below are by Year 10 students (age about 15 years) at All Saints School, York. We had just come to the end of a module on Religion, War and Peace for the GCSE RE course when the request for material arrived from Chris. They chose ideas and themes they wanted to share with a wider audience. I think you will agree that the young people impress by the insight and maturity of their writing. Anne Tracy Bethany Hoggarth Hall

If your dad killed, Would you? If your Granddad shot a child Would you? Just because other generations did things Should we? We are the next generation. We decide what happens now. It’s our choice. Let’s make the world greater than ever before, A place you would be proud for your children to live in. Let’s heal the wounds of previous wars, Stop the violence, the suffering, and the pain. Give the hungry food and the homeless homes. We have the power now Let our voices be heard And our actions be noted. Let no more die in war.

Sarah Mills

Jesus would never carry a gun. I think that no matter what the situation is, or what a so-called leader thinks, that war should never be the answer. All war does is cause damage, hatred and death. Face it, war is just another word for death. You see it all over the newspapers that another soldier has been killed, another village wiped out. Is it the public forcing the leaders or is it the leaders who just decide to go war without thinking about the consequences? Take for example the Iraq war. There was very little thought of what the consequences would be. There was just worry about weapons of mass destruction, even when they had already been searched for and not found. Jesus would never carry a gun. When the option of violence was put on the table Jesus said to turn the other cheek. But everyone seems to have forgotten.

Ellie Brindle

As soldiers battle in Iraq they fear for their lives. Underneath a brave mask a young man cries inside. Their families back in England pray that they are safe, And hope their sons, brothers, dads, come home in haste.

But what we don’t think is that Iraqi families too Hope their friends will return among the merry few. Pacifists, Quakers pray for no more war That swords and bombs will be against the law. And I wish for the future, all warfare end, Iraq to be a peaceful place and all injuries to mend.

Patrick Murphy

Why does our world not live in peace? All these counties fighting each other While citizens cannot afford food. Adults and children dying every day Just because a country wants more territory. Lives being lost and people injured, Planes in the sky Guns held high Lives blown away. Countries keep fighting Why?

Elliot Purcell

The war against Iraq was just in my view, because although the Iraqis might not have had nuclear weapons it was still a dictatorship and Saddam Hussein killed and tortured his own people to get what he wanted. The population of Iraq was not free and should not have been threatened into voting for someone who was wrong for the country. Although there are no official numbers, the people who were being killed and tortured during the regime should have been enough to show something was wrong in the first place. Saddam also threatened neighbouring countries with war. So the war against Iraq was for the greater good. Some of the assaults on Iraq were unjust, such as the Shock and Awe tactics that were used, but it is difficult for a modern war to be a Just War. When Thomas Aquinas wrote his Just War Theory in the 13th century, there were no bombs. His ideas therefore can’t always be followed today.

Sarah Owen

The war against Iraq was unjust. I think this because it did not follow the rules stated by Thomas Aquinas in the just war theory. In it he says that war must be a last resort, which I do not think the war was. The war was started because Iraq was believed to be hiding weapons of mass destruction. I personally believe that a more thorough search could have been conducted before beginning a war. The just war theory also says that targeting civilians is not allowed. However, many innocent people were killed. Finally, there has to be a chance of peace after the war. However there does not seem to be much chance of this occurring in Iraq.

Peter Tasker

Nuclear weapons are evil and should be destroyed. You can’t limit the destruction that will occur when someone uses nuclear weapons. It is like a time bomb set up in the world, everyone living in fear, waiting, expecting, knowing that a nuclear bomb could be dropped anywhere in the world. Nuclear weapons cost millions of pounds to make and research. If everyone who has nuclear weapons disarmed then maybe this money could go to end hunger in poor countries. These things can all be achieved if there is worldwide nuclear disarmament. So why don’t the leaders of the world stop making these weapons, now?

Cluster bombs – yet again A new international treaty banning lethal cluster bombs is expected in the next 12 months. The government claims that some kinds of cluster bombs are safe but the evidence from Lebanon and Iraq shows this to be false. The UN team coordinating the clear-up of unexploded bombs said: We can categorically state that we are finding large numbers of unexploded M85 submunitions that have failed to detonate as designed and failed to self destruct afterwards. In effect these weapons are more dangerous than other types because the self destruct mechanism makes them more problematic to deal with. In August The Foreign Affairs Select Committee report on the Middle East said: We conclude that the failure rate of ‘smart’ cluster bombs could be as high as 10%, again significantly higher than the government’s estimate of 2.3%. The Quadripartite Select Committee stated in their report: …even ‘smart’ cluster bombs may have a failure rate which may be between 5% and 10%. The potential to inflict death and injury on innocent non-combatants entering the field after the engagement is therefore substantial. The UK used 2,100 artillery shells containing 102,900 M85 submunitions in Iraq in 2003. We need to tell the government that this is unacceptable. Please write to your MP, the Prime Minister or Foreign Secretary urgently. Source: Landmine Action Please …. If you find this newsletter of some use to you or your church perhaps you would consider sending a donation to the Treasurer: Nan Saeki 55 Moorgate York YO24 4HP. It would be very much appreciated.

Commission contacts Barbara Hungin Chair 01642 784398 Sr Mary Walmsley CJ Secretary 01904 464919 Nan Saeki Treasurer 01904 783621 Chris Dove Editor 01947 825043 email: dove.whitby@phonecoop.coop or 22 Blackburns Yard Whitby YO22 4DS website:www.ayton.info/middlesbroughjp Jan 19 “Opening Doors – Opening Hearts” English Martyrs, York

Diary 2008

A Prayer for Peace Living Lord, ignite in us a passion for justice and a yearning to right all wrong. Strengthen us to work for peace in the land we call holy: for peace among Jew, Christian and Muslim, for reconciliation between communities, for harmony between faiths. Inspire us to act with the urgency of your quickening fire, for blessed are the peacemakers, they shall be called children of God. Amen Ramani Leathard Pax Christi