All posts by Rob Fairmichael

News, February 2025

Nonviolent News, ,

Corrymeela 60

Corrymeela, the only existing peace and reconciliation group to predate the Troubles, is approaching 60 years at work. While the group that became the eponymous Corrymeela identified the site they wanted to purchase outside Ballycastle, Co Antrim, a former Holiday Fellowship venue, at the start of 1965, it was the summer of that year that they took possession and it only became an incorporated charity in December 1966. There will be Corrymeela Sunday events at Coventry (15th-16th March) coming up to St Patrick’s Day and then in the period 22nd – 31st August this year anniversary ‘open’ events will be held at the Corrymeela Centre that they hope will allow the generations who have been a part of the Corrymeela story to reunite and learn with people interested in carrying that story forward. 

Also look for more information to come around a planned trip to Taizé in early autumn; events in Dublin at the end of October 2025; a service in the Croí on 30 October to mark the anniversary of the centre’s 1965 dedication; a special anniversary concert in Belfast Cathedral on 22 November 2025; a service in Exeter Cathedral on 23 November; and a conference on Reconciliation for Easter 2026. Other events and ongoing programmes will also take place. Up to date information is available at www.corrymeela.org

Féile Bríde: Justice and Solidarity

Afri’s Féile Bríde takes place on Saturday 8th February at Solas Bhríde, Tully Road, Kildare with the title “Brigid’s Light: Illuminating paths of justice and solidarity”. Speakers are Niamh Ní Briain on Brigid’s call to action today: Defying militarism and protecting the Triple Lock, James Hennessy on Solar lights and the work of Development Pamoja, Catherine Cleary on Pocket Forests and Raghad Abu Shammala on Solidarity is key; musicians are Emer Lynam, Dee Armstrong, Lughaidh Armstrong, Gráinne Horan, Kate Moore and the Resistance Choir. The programme runs from 10.15 am registration and finishes after the final programme item at 4.20pm. Full price for the day, including lunch, tea and coffee is €35, concessions €25 (further donations to costs welcome). Bookings via https://www.afri.ie/category/feile-bride-2025/ or to Afri at 8 Cabra Road, Dublin D07 T1W2.

Sperrins gold diggers inquiry halted

The public inquiry into gold mining by USA-owned Dalradian in the Sperrins near Greencastle, Co Tyrone, was abruptly halted after two days in mid-January. Opponents of the mining were there in strength but Dalradian have been working on site since 2009 and first submitted plans to mine in 2017. Their commitment, under pressure, not to use cyanide there may hold but does not cover other toxic and environmental effects, or the possible use of cyanide elsewhere. The inquiry was halted over the failure of the Department for Infrastructure in the North to give the required notice across the border but may resume in late March. The NI Executive makes the final decision on mining. https://www.facebook.com/search/posts/?q=save%20our%20sperrins

Another miraculous appearance by St Brigid

In a stupendous and recurring miracle, around her feast day every year St Brigid puts in an appearance at the Department of Foreign Affairs at St Stephen’s Green, calling on the Irish government to act for peace (in accord with St Brigid herself), and, currently, to protect the Triple Lock which requires UN approval for Irish troops deployment overseas. https://swordstoploughsharesireland.org/ and https://youtu.be/hl4LHqSVU4o?si=4J4YiOaFBm7cpJRn

ICCL on new government programme

ICCL/Irish Council for Civil Liberties has looked at both negatives and positives in the Programme for Government with the former including the retention of the Special Criminal Court and the extension of police powers, and the latter comprehensively reviewing the criminal justice system, modernising the Coroner Service, and tackling the use of recommender algorithms. www.iccl.ie

Transformative approaches to housing

Housing is a critical issue in wellbeing. Housing ourselves in the wellbeing economy is an in person and online event on Friday 14th February taking place at WeCreate Centre, Cloughjordan Ecovillage, Co. Tipperary, E53 VP86 and online from 10am – 5pm. It aims to explore transformative approaches to housing that prioritise sustainability, inclusivity, and community resilience and is hosted by Cloughjordan Co-Housing in collaboration with the Irish Hub of the Wellbeing Economy Alliance which Feasta co-ordinates. Details at https://cloughjordancohousing.coop/making-neighbourhoods/housing-ourselves-2025/ and Feasta is at https://www.feasta.org/

Glencree on 50 years after Feakle talks

It is 50 years since Protestant church leaders bravely met the IRA in secret talks at Feakle, Co Clare, setting a pattern for dialogue which eventually paid dividends. Glencree marked this anniversary with an event in December. https://glencree.ie/events/feakle-1974/

CRIS/Community Relations in Schools at 40

Belfast-based Community Relations in Schools is marking 40 years work with schoolchildren in building understanding and friendship. They will be celebrating with a gala fundraising dinner on Saturday 15th March from 6pm to late at Titanic Centre Belfast, tickets £75. More details and about CRIS’s work at https://www.crisni.org/40-years-of-cris

WRI on Israel-Hamas ceasefire

A statement from the Executive of War Resisters’ International (WRI) on the Israel-Hamas ceasefire can be found at https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2025/wri-exec-statement-israel-hamas-ceasefire

Oisín Coghlan moving on from FOE

Oisín Coghlan who has been at the helm of Irish Friends of the Earth for 20 years has decided it is time to move on but with many achievements under his/their belt. https://www.friendsoftheearth.ie/news/announcement-oisin-coghlan-to-step-down-as-ceo-of-friends-of/

WBW course on Unarmed Civilian Defense

Among others, World Beyond War (WBW) has a 6 week online course (time recommendation 3 – 6 hours per week) on Unarmed civilian defense instead of war beginning on 12th May, course fee $100, concession as little as $25. It has a focus on the role unarmed civilian defense can play in resisting military force, invasion, occupation, dictatorship, and warfare. See https://tinyurl.com/84j96z3p for details. The WBW website is at https://worldbeyondwar.org/

Diasporas and peacebuilding

The January 2025 issue of Peace in Progress from the International Catalan Institute for Peace looks at the role of diasporas in peacebulding. https://www.icip.cat/perlapau/en/magazine/42-2/

Global Day of Action to #CloseBases, 23 February

World Beyond War, backed by many other organisations, is organising a global day of action to close military bases since they are “a critical piece of the war machine that must be dismantled. “ https://worldbeyondwar.org/closebases/

Organic Centre Rossinver

The Organic Centre in the heart of rural Rossinver, Leitrim looks forward to 2025 with the hope of brighter days ahead. As an educational charity, it specialises in promoting all things organic, sustainable living and biodiversity. The Organic Centre was founded in 1995 by local organic growers, and farmers. Developed on a 19-acre green field site at the foot of limestone hills beside Lough Melvin, it became a pioneering organisation, at the forefront of organic growing, and action for climate change. In the beginning there were 6 weekend courses which took place in 1997. Now, the centre looks forward to almost 40 courses ranging from growing to recycling workshops, stone wall building, cheese making, pizza oven building and more.

The calendar year now hosts a multitude of free seasonal events, including one to mark Brigid’s Day, Apple Day, Samhain, a Green Christmas fair, a large range of activities in Biodiversity Week in May and Heritage Week in August, to name but a few.  And coming soon is Potato Day, a free family friendly event, on Sunday 2th March from 12-4pm, with demonstrations, tours, and an onsite craft and food market. Regarding training for growers, the centre also hosts a now adapted, part time, funded course in organic horticulture, an opportunity to learn and be part of a movement, as policy makers nationally and internationally start to recognise the importance of organic agriculture for planet and health. The MSLETB Level 5 in Organic Horticulture closes for applications on Feb 10th https://www.theorganiccentre.ie/Learn/now%20part%20time%20horticultural-course

You can organise a tour of the centre as an away day with your work, school or family – just ring 0719854338.  You can go for a walk on the new Fowley’s Falls trail that links up with the Organic Centre, and end at the Grass Roof Cafe for tea and coffee. Check out the Organic Centre’s website and social media channels for more information on courses, events, and the onsite and online shop. https://www.theorganiccentre.ie/

Death of Ken Mayers

We regret to record the death of US peace activist Ken Mayers. Edward Horgan writes: “Ken Mayers, peace activist, member of Veterans For Peace US, and VFP Ireland Chapter, passed away at his home in Santa Fe New Mexico on 27th January. Many of you will have met Ken while he was virtually imprisoned in Ireland for almost 9 months after the peace action that he and Tarak Kauff undertook at Shannon airport on St Patrick’s Day in 2019. Ken was an inspiration to peace activists in Ireland, in the USA and worldwide, and in addition to his activism in Ireland he also attended and helped to organise peaceful protests in the US, Palestine, Korea, Japan and elsewhere. I have no doubt that Ken in Resting in Peace and the world is a better place because of his life’s work.” For photos of Ken Mayers in action, see e.g. https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/48187813206/in/album-72157616378924274 and https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/48863510693/in/album-72157616378924274

Principles and practices of peace education

The Open University has a free introductory short course (12 hours study) produced in collaboration with Quakers in Britain on how peace might be built in everyday classroom practice. It introduces layers of peace education for children and young people, including inner-peace and wellbeing; interpersonal peace through positive relationships and constructive approaches to conflict; and critical thinking about the world beyond the classroom. See https://www.open.edu/openlearn/education-development/principles-and-practices-peace-education/content-section-overview?active-tab=description-tab for details.

Editorials: Antisectarianism, Tiocfaidh ar lá

Editorials, Nonviolent News, , , , , ,

Antisectarianism

Antisectarianism in the Northern Ireland context is positive action to overcome sectarianism and sectarian divisions. Nonsectarianism is not ignoring sectarian divisions but deliberately treating everyone the same and avoiding, as far as possible, thinking in sectarian terms. Of course in the North awareness of ‘who is what’, what foot people kick with, is difficult to avoid and most people will have grown up with that awareness imbibed with their mother’s milk – this is almost literally true as surveys have shown even young children may be aware of the otherness of people across the main divide.

Antisectarianism and even nonsectarianism were often brave choices during the Troubles (and before) when expectations could be to stick to and support only your own perceived side or tribe. There are those who suffered physically or through ostracism because they were seen to be friendly to the other side. Although it is different, there was also bravery in the face of violence or the threat of violence, a prominent example is 15 year old Stephen Parker who sacrificed his life in 1972 trying to warn people about the bomb which killed him. Less bravery is required today in most circles in Northern Ireland, not all, but it still requires determination, and the blurring of some old divides does not mean they have disappeared. Other examples include those who painted out sectarian graffiti or who tried to assist at risk neighbours who were of the opposing ‘community’.

There are all sorts of assumptions made about ‘the other’ still, and the corollary is that all sorts of assumptions are made about ‘our kind’, and breaking out of that straitjacket can be a difficult task. Difficulties in deciding what is ‘sectarian’ come mainly from the overlap between religious-community (‘Catholic’ or ‘Protestant’) identity and cultural and political identity. In terms of voting strengths this is usually thought of these days as 40:40:20, i.e. 40% each identifying as Catholic/Nationalist/Republican or Protestant/Unionist/Loyalist, and 20% as ‘other’. Nationalism and unionism are legitimate political identities and it is unfair that anyone should be castigated for simply supporting either. But scratch at any of the three categories mentioned and you will find considerable diversity, and many of the 20% ‘others’ may still carry not just some beliefs from their background but some prejudices as well.

Norn Iron is certainly a long way from being there. Even people who think of themselves as nonsectarian may be far from that because they have never seriously examined their assumptions and carry prejudices with them.

One of the tasks which INNATE has sought to champion (largely unsuccessfully we might add) is telling the story of those people in civic society who did work for peace and nonsectarianism during the Troubles. A few of those stories have been told including some aspects of work by the churches and something like the, very significant, input of the Women’s Coalition to the Good Friday Agreement. The story of the Peace People is ‘known’, often with mistaken assumptions of one kind or another, but the story of other peace and reconciliation groups is not known. INNATE’s contribution in this area consists of some chronicling on our photo and documentation site https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland and a listing of peace groups https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Irish-peace-groups-listing-2024.08.pdf – though this latter includes groups all over Ireland and ones focused on peace internationally as well, over a longer time frame.

This work is not just for the purpose of giving credit where credit is due but also to show that there were people trying to provide alternatives and that republican, loyalist and state narratives that they had ‘no choice’ to the actions they took are simply untrue. It may be true that they did not see a choice, it may also be true that some did not look too hard. But the fact is there were alternatives which they did not, perhaps even could not, explore because of their belief systems and conviction in the power of violence. Of course those violent responses took Northern Ireland deeper into the mire and engendered violent responses from the other sides (of the three broad entities mentioned above – republicanism, loyalism and state). However INNATE’s stand has been it is pointless to be condemning violence in any situation without showing the possibilities of nonviolent alternatives; the old Troubles slogan coming from some conservatives to ‘root out the men of violence’ was counter-productive.

However occasionally we can stumble across amazing stories which we are unaware about in antisectarian action. The Books “Q&A” with children’s writer Martin Waddell in The Irish Times of 23rd November 2024 had one such story. Well into the interview, the interviewer, Martin Doyle said “The Troubles had a big impact on you” and Martin Waddell replied: “I had been keeping my eye on the small Catholic church in Donaghadee as there had been attempts to burn it. I saw some youths running out and laughing, and I went to check. I saw a thing like a wasp’s nest and that’s the last thing I remember.”

He continued “I was told that if I’d been six inches forward or six inches back, there wouldn’t have been a body. Apparently some sort of vacuum forms when there’s an explosion. The bomb went up and the church came down on top of me. Luckily somebody had seen me go in, otherwise I’d have just been buried. I had a big slice across my neck, but nothing vital, and was sliced across the right arm, my eardrums were burst, but I was more or less wrecked. Remember, I’d made the breakthrough, I’m now a professional writer but when I got blown up, I was no longer fit to do that. I lost several years.”

Obviously Martin Waddell did not know he was risking his life when he went to check on a church from across the main divide from him in the North. But he did. And the above was his matter of fact account of it with an extremely close shave with death and major personal repercussions. But it was a significant antisectarian action which deserves to be remembered.

There are many, many more stories of people’s bravery in standing up for antisectarianism and peace. But it needs work to uncover them before those involved die. And that work is needed to show that there were people who stood up for peace and antisectarianism throughout the Troubles, often in very difficult circumstances.

Tiocfaidh ar lá

Usually translated as ‘Our day will come’, this Irish Troubles era republican slogan could be adapted for peace purposes. While there are debates as to its linguistic appropriateness in Irish, the meaning is clear; our aims will be achieved. So long as it is removed from its previous context, and not understood in a triumphalist way, there is nothing wrong with it as a slogan. It is difficult to be optimistic in relation to peace in the world today when wars are seen as a method of resolving policy and when demagogic and xenophobic nationalism are so rampant.

We may plough on regardless, trying to build a better, more peaceful and just world when things are going to hell in a handcart, not least on global heating (where the ‘hell in a handcart’ metaphor is indeed appropriate). But how can we sustain activism when all around seems to be going in the Wrong Direction?

There are a number of answers to this and they exist on both micro and macro levels. It may be somewhat simplistic to list them in such a short form here, but needs must.

The first point, at a personal level, is to draw on our philosophical and/or religious beliefs and roots, and our reading of the past and history – which moves us quickly from the micro to the macro. We know from experience that, collectively, ‘peace through military strength’ is a recipe for disaster. Some people might well say, “Military strength was needed to defeat Hitler” but where did Adolf Hitler come from, what was the scenario from which he emerged? The answer, in longer term analysis, is surely from the mayhem caused by clashing imperialisms and war. Nationalism, antisemitism, and xenophobia were undoubtedly factors in Hitler’s immediate path to power but without that background of war, victory and defeat, his emergence would have been unlikely or impossible.

The ‘lifestyle’ precepts of both humanism and virtually all religions are in tune with ‘the Golden Rule’ – treat others as you would like to be treated yourself. People often play lip service to a humanistic or religious belief but avoid the very real implications. Killing people or treating them unjustly is not treating others as you would like to be treated.

There is of course always a danger in feeling we are right and everyone else is wrong; we may well have the right analysis of a situation but if we enter a tunnel of self-reinforcement, e.g. rejection coming to indicate we are on the right track, then there is a danger of self delusion. We always need to be analysing the appropriateness of our own analysis and actions. However it is also quite possible that we are part of a small band who have a clear and correct analysis of a situation; that after all, is how change can happen – a small bunch of people, perhaps seen as fanatics or dissidents start a ball rolling which gathers momentum. The kind of understanding shown in the Bill Moyer ‘Movement Action Plan’ outline of stages a successful social movement goes through is important in this context; the Peace People in Northern Ireland in 1976 is an exception to this rule in that it started large and then got smaller. See e.g. https://commonslibrary.org/resource-bill-moyers-movement-action-plan/

We personally also need to understand the power and possibilities of nonviolence. The ‘peaceful option’ is often quickly dismissed as impractical but there are many struggles, and the research by Sharp and by Chenoweth and Stephan (for example), which show it to be a strong and viable response to injustice and tyranny.

We should also not underestimate the power of individual, or small scale, witness. We have to be true to ourselves and our beliefs. However just as most businesses that are set up do not succeed, so most peace witness may not be particularly successful either, but if we not not try then we cannot be even moderately successful. If we sow seeds we may not be aware of where they grow or when they grow. We can stand up and not be counted. We can face clever and sustained opposition and the ignoring of our claims – the Irish establishment and media denial of changes to international neutrality is such an example where the response is always ‘things haven’t changed, nothing to see here’ when things are changing, slowly but surely, in a more negative and militarist direction.

But we can have small victories, and aiming for intermediate or even immediate goals which are very achievable, even if they are small, is important. In relation to Irish neutrality, the successful civil society challenge to the government’s “Consultative Forum on International Security Policy” and its legitimacy in 2023 was a small but significant spanner in the works for moving at that point to undo the Triple Lock on the deployment of Irish troops overseas. https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/albums/72177720309217408/ Celebrating our successes is something we may not be good at but needs done so that we, and others, can see that change is possible.

The world goes through phases of tension and détente, of conservatism and relative liberalism, and similar patterns can re-assert themselves in different eras, e.g. conflict between Russia and parts of western Europe. We are currently in a phase of tension and conflict with uncritical official responses to this. This will change and indeed has to change if humanity is to survive.

There can also be some success comes from unlikely or unintended sources. An example is the fact that Donald Trump, despite his threats over Panama, Greenland (and Canada!) and despite his MAGS ‘manifest destiny’ bluster may be less likely to engage in or support war than most other US presidents. Obviously with Trump nothing can be taken for granted so this is a possibility rather than a certainty and how the Russia-Ukraine war will proceed, or end, without US support for Ukraine remains to be seen. But despite early Ukrainian successes it should have been obvious to have had an early resolution – which was possible through negotiation in the early months of the war.

The coal Miners’ Strike in Britain in 1984-85 was a bitter industrial dispute where prime minister Margaret Thatcher was trying to break the trade unions, especially the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). She succeeded with lasting negative social and economic effects for those involved and their areas. The issue of carbon emissions was presumably not a concept to which Margaret Thatcher gave a moment’s thought but the closure of almost all coal mining in Britain led to a very considerable decrease in carbon emissions and thus a contribution to cutting global heating. ‘Events’ can have very divergent outcomes or repercussions, both negative and positive.

Pablo Neruda wrote about idealism and realism (in English translation) – “I love you, idealism and realism / like water and stone/ you are / parts of the world / light and root of the tree of life”. https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/46318259912/in/album-72157609617432905 Without our idealism we are sunk; without our realism we are detached and living in fairy land. In grim times such as these we need to hold strong to our idealism and our ideals because we need to be the yeast that makes things rise to a better future, indeed a future at all. We wouldn’t advise you to go around shouting “Tiocfaidh ar lá” but our day will come in the sun – and with solar power.

Eco-Awareness: Trumpism and the burning of Los Angeles

Eco-Awareness, Nonviolent News, , ,

Larry Speight brings us his monthly column –

The burning of Los Angeles this January has more than any other extreme weather event impressed upon many people across our island that climate breakdown is a serious threat to their everyday life. These weather events include the floods that engulfed Valencia in Spain in 2024 killing 216 people, the drought in faraway Amazon which has devastated the biodiversity of the region and caused hardship to millions of people and the powerful typhoons which wreaked havoc in many regions of the world.

It is too early to know the extent to which Storm Éowyn, which left 250,000 premises in Northern Ireland and 725,00 in the Republic of Ireland without electricity can be attributed to global warming. However, as all things are connected it is likely that climatologists will attribute some of its ferocity to human behaviour.

The reason for the Los Angeles fires’ seismic impact on people’s sense of impunity is the percolation of the thought through layers of emotional resistance that if the homes, schools, health centres, places of worship and leisure facilities of the richest people in the world, living in the richest country in the world, can be erased as if hit by a nuclear bomb then a catastrophic weather event can happen to any community including one’s own.

Another reason the burning of Los Angeles awakened many to the seriousness of climate breakdown is the mythological status of the city. Los Angeles is not only the sprawling home of 4 million people but the affluent neighbourhoods embody the attributes of one of the United States’ most persuasive moral narratives, the American dream. The term, coined in 1931 by James Adam in his book The Epic of America, refers to a composite of affluence, wellbeing, technological convenience, personal fulfilment and community cohesion contained within a setting of designed elegance brought about through individual initiative and hard work.

In the popular imagination the rich neighbourhoods that turned to ash is where the immortals lived and to see flames consume their wealth reminded us of our earthiness, that we are mortal. This is a positive thing, most especially if the realization widens our circumference of compassion and makes us steadfast in our effort to create a local economy and international economic order based on the fact that we are an integral part of nature.

The costs to nonhuman life caused by the Los Angles fires can only be estimated but we know that 27 people were killed, 100,000 people had to be evacuated, 14,000 structures were destroyed, more than 16,000 hectares burnt and the estimated financial cost is $275 billion. To put these figurers in a local context the number of people evacuated is the size of the population of Limerick or three times the combined population of Enniskillen and Omagh and its cost exceeds the annual block grant Stormont receives from Westminster by a multiple of 20.

While the fires raged data from the World Meteorological Organization confirmed that the average global temperature for 2024 was more than 1.5 C above the pre-industrial baseline breaching the target set by the 2015 Paris Agreement. New Scientist, 18 January 2025, reports that many experts in the field think that keeping the average global temperature below the 1.5 C target is unachievable in spite of the increasing use of solar and wind energy.

There is little doubt that the temperature of the planet will continue to rise if President Trump is able to implement the environmental policies outlined in his inauguration speech which includes ending the Green New Deal, exporting “American energy all over the world” and building “automobiles in America … at a rate that nobody could have dreamt possible just a few years ago.”

In the manner President Trump was able to persuade constituencies he had gravely offended to vote for him he could persuade a significant number of governments and business leaders worldwide to fall in line with his war against the biosphere in the hope of reaping short-term financial gains.

A psychological strategy Trump used was to persuade people to align their sense of identity with regressive nationalistic myths. Thus, if a person is repeatedly told that they can play a part in making their country great they may deduce that they can become great, as in significant, through supporting Trump.

In the international political arena Trump is using coercive control in the form of threats to get governments to align their stance on issues with his.

Another factor that comes into play in the mechanics of denial and self-delusion is that of simultaneously knowing and not knowing the unmentionable. Fintan O’Toole explores this in relation to the Catholic Church and the Irish State’s joint oppression of women and children from the formation of the Irish State up until the passage of enlightened legislation in the 1970s.

In his book We Don’t Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Ireland Since 1958 (2021) He writes:

Ours was a society that had developed a genius for knowing and not knowing at the same time.

Referring to a priest he says:

He knew that awareness is not acceptance, that seeing is not believing, that the obvious can remain obscure. (p.168)

Wilful blindness in the face of the obvious is not unique to Ireland but common across the globe as demonstrated by our anaemic response to the warming of the planet, our relentless extinction of nonhuman life, and the cruelty of factory farming in which animals, such as poultry, are denied the exercise of their natural inclinations and killed without every seeing the light of day.

The Labour government in the UK exemplifies this wilful blindness. Whilst they lament climate breakdown and the extinction of species they pursue the very policies that cause both. Like the priest referred to by O’Toole they act on the presumption that seeing is not believing.

The best way to detect the flaws in competing narratives and meet the ecological challenges of our time is to exercise our critical faculties and consider the legacy we ought to leave future generations whilst preparing for all manner of extreme weather events.

– – – – –

Women and justice during wartime: A comprehensive analysis

Nonviolent News, Readings, , ,

by Olga Karach, “Our House” (Belarus)

Wartime reshapes society in profound and often devastating ways, disproportionately impacting women by undermining their agency, autonomy, and justice. This article explores the systematic objectification of women during conflict, the normalization of violence, their exclusion from decision-making processes, and the neglect of grassroots efforts led by women. Additionally, it provides actionable recommendations to address these critical issues, emphasizing the importance of feminist approaches to peacebuilding.

Systematic Objectification of Women During Wartime

War dehumanizes women by reducing their identity to functions that serve societal, familial, or state agendas. This systemic objectification manifests in several forms:

  • Inspiration for Men’s Sacrifice: Women are expected to inspire men to fight, glorify their acts of violence, and validate their sacrifices. This role strips women of their individuality, framing them as tools of motivation rather than autonomous individuals with their own agency. The burden of emotionally supporting men, often at the cost of their well-being, becomes a societal expectation.

  • Reproductive Roles: Women’s bodies are weaponized during wartime, with an emphasis on their role as bearers of future soldiers. This utilitarian view pressures women into motherhood under the guise of patriotism, marginalizing those who choose not to have children. Societies often stigmatize and vilify child-free women, reinforcing patriarchal norms and criminalizing personal choices.

  • “Keeper of the Hearth”: The expectation for unwavering loyalty to men on the frontlines confines women to roles of emotional servitude. Divorce or separation becomes socially taboo, forcing women to endure unhappy or abusive relationships under the pretext of supporting their partners.

  • Household Psychologists: Women are burdened with managing the psychological struggles of male soldiers and combatants, often without acknowledgment or support. This responsibility becomes particularly oppressive when men exhibit aggression or violence, yet societal norms dictate that women must provide unconditional care and understanding.

  • Sexual Objectification: Wartime amplifies the objectification of women, reducing their value to their physical appearance or relationships with men. Women are praised or condemned based on their roles as the wife of a hero, the mother of a soldier, or other gendered labels. This pervasive objectification denies women their individuality and agency.

In essence, war transforms women from autonomous individuals into tools of the war effort, stripping them of their humanity and individuality.

The Spread of Violence and Exclusion

The normalization of violence during wartime creates a ripple effect that perpetuates systemic abuse and exclusion, particularly for women.

  • Domestic Violence: The glorification of combatants and political prisoners as “heroes” of the war often silences victims of domestic violence. Women in such relationships are frequently pressured to tolerate abuse, as society excuses violent behavior stemming from PTSD or war-related trauma. This dynamic leaves women trapped in unsafe environments, with few avenues for support or recourse.

  • Hostility Toward Refugee and Migrant Women: Women fleeing warzones, particularly from Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine, face unique challenges. These include physical aggression, psychological abuse, and targeted surveillance by intelligence agencies like the KGB and FSB. In exile, women human rights defenders often encounter heightened threats, compounded by inadequate support systems, leaving them isolated and vulnerable.

  • Marginalization in Decision-Making: The militarization of masculinity sidelines women from political and societal leadership roles. Feminist voices advocating peace and gender sensitivity are often dismissed, suppressed, or misrepresented, perpetuating patriarchal power structures and militaristic narratives.

  • Neglect of Grassroots Initiatives: Women activists, particularly those operating at the grassroots level, shoulder immense responsibilities, often filling gaps left by weakened state institutions. These efforts, while vital, are undervalued and unsupported, leading to widespread burnout among activists.

  • Exclusion of War-Traumatized Women: Women who directly experience war-related trauma or repression frequently lack access to necessary mental health and social support. This neglect pushes them further into isolation, hindering their ability to contribute to community rebuilding and leadership.

The spread of violence and systemic exclusion during wartime perpetuates cycles of abuse and marginalization, creating a hostile environment for women both within and beyond conflict zones.

Recommendations for Addressing Wartime Injustice Against Women

The challenges faced by women during wartime demand targeted interventions that prioritize justice, inclusion, and equity. The following recommendations outline actionable strategies to address these systemic issues:

  • Activate UN Resolution 1325: Governments and international organizations must implement UN Resolution 1325 to ensure women’s perspectives are included in peace and conflict resolution processes. Their exclusion perpetuates patriarchal structures and diminishes the effectiveness of peacebuilding efforts.

  • Promote Disarmament and Combat Militarization: Advocating for disarmament and resisting the militarization of society, particularly among children, is essential. The glorification of violence in education and media instills dangerous militaristic norms in younger generations, perpetuating cycles of conflict.

  • Support Marginalized Men: Men who reject militarized masculinity, such as conscientious objectors and deserters, need targeted support. Social reintegration programs can provide these individuals with the tools to rebuild their lives, promoting healing and breaking the cycle of violence.

  • Address Trauma and Prevent Conflict: Comprehensive trauma support for combatants and their families is critical to breaking the cycle of violence. Tackling domestic violence, particularly in families of former combatants and political prisoners, should be prioritized through mental health initiatives and community support programs.

  • Strengthen Grassroots Initiatives: Women-led grassroots organizations are essential for trauma recovery and long-term peacebuilding. These initiatives require increased funding, training, and institutional support to prevent burnout and ensure their sustainability.

  • Amplify Feminist Narratives: Feminist approaches to peacebuilding offer a vital counterbalance to patriarchal militarism. Empowering feminist peacebuilders and amplifying their voices can foster resilience against radicalization and militarization, creating a more equitable foundation for peace.

Conclusion

Women are disproportionately affected by the dehumanizing forces of wartime, from systemic objectification to the spread of violence and exclusion. Addressing these challenges requires a multifaceted approach that uplifts women’s voices, supports grassroots efforts, and dismantles patriarchal power structures. By implementing inclusive policies and amplifying feminist perspectives, we can create a pathway toward justice, equity, and sustainable peace.

This vision demands a collective commitment to challenging militaristic narratives and empowering women as agents of change in the pursuit of a more peaceful and equitable world.

–

The English language website of Our House is at https://news.house/ where this piece also appears.

Good COP, bad COP: Decision making at an international level

Nonviolent News, Readings, , , , ,

by Peter Emerson

The rules for decision-making in conferences like the recent COP29 in Baku were ‘agreed to’ in 1991.  The choice was either (i) majority voting; (ii) consensus, by which is meant everyone agrees; or (iii) consensus but, if it fails, simple or weighted majority voting as a last resort.  

To (iii), Saudi Arabia and its OPEC companions said ’no’ – it must be (their type of) ‘consensus’, with every country having a veto (the very opposite of consensus)!  And with huge encouragement from the US oil lobby, the parties ‘agreed’.  In a nutshell, everything was based on the principle (sic) of ‘either-I-win…-or-I-don’t-lose.’

Germany amongst others proposed a ‘double-majority’ process: so for example, if the small island states and the OPEC members both said ‘yes’ then, (like consociationalism in the GFA), ‘yes’ it would be.  

Everyone, apparently, likes the 4,500-year-old binary vote, and no-one, it seems, in the UN (or in Belfast) has considered the 2,000-year-old multi-option voting or, better still, the 250-year-old preferential vote.  And ‘no-one’ means none of the parties and, as far as I can see, none of the academics commenting on all this.  

So ‘consensus’ is the procedure, which means if “there are no stated objections to a proposed decision,” it is passed.  Or, in other words, decisions are subject to the veto, any country’s veto.

Then came the arguments, as in COP16 where it was argued, “consensus does not mean unanimity… one delegation does not have the right to veto.”  (https://www.carbonbrief.org/guest-post-the-challenge-of-consensus-decision-making-in-un-climate-negotiations/).  But ambiguities remain.  Hence, in Glasgow’s COP26, there were huge arguments over “phase out” or “phase down” – as always, all very binary.   

Overall, just as politicians in parliament’s don’t like compromise, so too, countries in the COPs will not accept a decision-making procedure which almost guarantees the final decision will be a compromise.

But the COPs are (still) dominated by the oil lobby.  Hence the call for a World Citizens’ Assembly in The Ecologist.

–

Peter Emerson is director of the de Borda Institute, www.deborda.org

Tribute to Tom Hyland

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by Joe Murray

We previously recorded the death of Tom Hyland; he died in Dili on 24th December 2024. There was a memorial mass and civic ceremony in Ballyfermot, Dublin in January and this was the tribute made by his good friend Joe Murray, former coordinator of Afri –

I think that anyone who knew Tom Hyland will agree that he was a unique human being. While not seeking to beatify him, he definitely had a rare combination of gifts, talents and flair.

Tom was kind, caring and generous and deeply felt the suffering, not only of other people but also of animals.

I remember walking with him through Ballyfermot or through town and he would rarely pass anyone who was looking for money without helping. His love for animals led him to be a dedicated vegetarian and his concern for people led him to be a great humanitarian – and to his setting up the East Timor Ireland Solidarity Campaign.

He had an extraordinary level of determination and commitment and once he took on the cause of Timor, nothing would stand in his way. He read, studied, listened and learned everything possible about East Timor and then threw himself completely into the cause of freedom for the Timorese people.

While he never lost his sense of humour or his humanity, he was single-minded and completely focussed on the cause. He was a regular visitor to Afri and often he would’ve heard about another atrocity committed by Indonesian troops and he would be devastated but, rather than giving up – he’d be even more determined to continue to support the struggle. I didn’t really believe that Timor would achieve its independence – the grip of the Indonesian occupation was so tight – and I used to wonder why Tom continued to put himself through such distress and trauma. But his example is a good lesson for those of us campaigning today on issues such as the genocide in Palestine and the numerous mindless wars happening around our world. We must never give up the fight!

He was creative when it came to campaigning. There are many examples of this but a particularly significant one was when Australian Prime Minister, Paul Keating made a nostalgic visit to Ireland, the land of his ancestors in 1993. Keating’s family left Ireland around 1855, as a result of evictions. To highlight Australia’s support for Indonesia, Tom organised a candle light vigil outside Dublin Castle, while the Prime Minister was being wined and dined inside, highlighting parallels between Keating’s ancestors and the eviction of people in East Timor under Indonesian occupation. A source within the Australian embassy told Tom afterwards that the Prime Minister was furious by the fact that his nostalgic lap of honour was marred by this protest.

Tom was extremely popular both at home in Ireland and in East Timor. I was privileged to have visited Timor on two occasions – once as the people prepared to vote for Independence and again in 2015 to accept an award from the President of East Timor on behalf of ETISC. I stayed in Tom’s house for the second visit and met many of his friends, students whom he was helping through college and his cats, of course.

I travelled into Dili with him on the back of his Honda 50 and it was like travelling with a global celebrity. Dozens of times on the short journey people waved and shouted ‘Mr. Tom’. When we arrived near his office, and were walking through a busy shopping area, Tom made a noise like he was calling chickens and this was echoed back numerous times…obviously a secret language that Tom had developed with the people in the market. I attended his class where he was teaching English to future Diplomats in his own unique way. During the class, one of his students asked him ‘Mr. Tom, can I take a half day’? Can you take a half day, Tom repeated… ‘you can in your bollix’!

So, if you hear this term being used by the Timorese delegation in UN negotiations, you’ll know exactly where it originated.

He was advised to speak to a solicitor in a company called Potter and Anderson. He asked the receptionist if he could see Mr. Potter. The receptionist asked who will I tell Mr. Potter is calling? Without a second’s hesitation, he said ‘his son, Harry’.

This sense of fun was perhaps Tom’s most distinctive feature. He had an exceptional sense of mischief and humour. There are many other stories of moments like these, far too numerous to mention.

In conclusion, Tom was a kind, compassionate, generous, determined, creative and funny man. He was a great friend and we miss him greatly. Ní bheidh a leithéid arís ann.

Billy King: Rites Again 326

Billy King, Nonviolent News, , ,

Billy King shares his monthly thoughts –

There’s gold in them thar hills…

…and that’s where it should stay… While gold does have some practical usages in fine tech and so on it mainly considered valuable for being valued, i.e. it is valuable as a store of wealth, a bit like crypto currency but in metallic form and less volatile in value – it is also comparable to celebrities being famous because they are famous. Humanity’s actual need for gold is relatively small today and could be met hundreds of times over by what is already extracted from the ground. Some of the uses of gold, such as the ‘gold standard’ or its use in dentistry (gold mining is a different kind of extraction but can be very painful) have been superseded by economic and technological advances.

So what is the point in ruining the Sperrins so Dalradian can make a profit? None. There are always less jobs than promised, they will disappear after a decade or two, while meanwhile farming and other developments, such as in tourism, are stymied or ruined. The recent public enquiry into the proposed goldmining there was quickly halted after a technical error by the relevant Northern Ireland government department not doing what they should have done. Two of the groups involved in struggling against an unwelcome extraction that you can look up are Save Our Sperrins (SOS) https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=save%20our%20sperrins (see the entry for 15th January 2025 on the collapse of the public enquiry) and Friends of the Earth in the North https://friendsoftheearth.uk/northern-ireland I have quoted before the Saw Doctors’ words (in ‘The green and gold of Mayo’) on prospective gold mining beside Croagh Patrick – “Do they think our greatest asset / Can be mined, dug up, and sold….” As with coal, oil and gas – ‘Keep it in the ground!’

Drill for the truth, baby, drill for the truth

‘There are none so blind as those who will not see’ is an aphorism about a disability, physical blindness, which does not insult those who have that condition. People who are physically unable to see usually develop other skills which compensate and many skills which sighted people are unlikely to have. The aphorism actually criticises sighted people who do not, because they refuse to, see what is in front of their eyes.

I do believe there is such a category as a ‘climate criminal’. Donald Trump, the most powerful elected leader in the world, fits that description with his denial of the human-based nature of climate change and his “We will drill, baby, drill” approach – which was even included in his inaugural address as president of the USA in January 2025, all happening at the time of the destruction by fire of significant bits of Los Angeles. The oil and gas industry bosses and owners are of course highly complicit in engineering cover ups and obfuscation of what is happening and why, and refusing to take the world and the vast majority of people into account due to their own selfish and destructive interests. Trump’s tech billionaire buddies are also climate criminals for permitting untruths to be told. Climate heating is, and will do, untold damage to our earth and its inhabitants with the poor, of course, suffering most.

It is difficult to come up with imagery about where we are. The best I can do is that the rich and powerful are driving a train with the rest of humanity on it. They come to a junction. One direction is clearly ‘Hell’ while the other is ‘Not hell but not quite heaven either’ (we are already far down the global heating track). The powerful are choosing to travel with the rest of the world to ‘Hell’ because they are, unlike everyone else, in Super First Class Climate Protected carriages which they believe are immune to the effects of Hell, and to travel the other direction they would have to transfer to slightly less comfortable carriages and they don’t want to do that because they know they are superior.

Getting the truth of climate heating across to those in denial is a subject much pondered in these pages by Larry Speight in his Eco-Awareness column. There are no easy answers. Telling the truth in different ways is of course part of it. But using personal relationships and getting people in the public eye to use their influence are important. And we, individual and ‘ordinary’ citizens, can show by our own example what to do in our travel and consumer habits. We ‘ordinary people’ in the rich world are highly complicit in global heating too.

Eventually, the truth of climate heating will trump denialism. But whether we arrive at the station marked ‘Hell’ before then is still a possibility.

Room for great improvement for Belfast Assembly Rooms

There is a wonderfully historic building in central Belfast which is in a woeful condition. It is historic for a number of reasons – the rejection of slavery, its connection with the 1798 rising, and with the preservation of Irish traditional melodies, and simply for being a prime meeting place when Belfast was ‘the Athens of the North’. In fact, in relation to the preservation of Irish traditional melodies, you could say it is perhaps the culturally most important building in Ireland. But it is currently, and very sadly, unused and near derelict. However one sign of the awareness of the risks to the building comes from its inclusion recently on the World Monuments Fund 2025 Watch List and it has been on the Ulster Architectural Heritage at risk list for a couple of decades.

It is where the 1792 harp festival took place, organised by the good Presbyterian citizens of Belfast, with Edward Bunting commissioned to record the music and thus preserve it for future generations – the old harping tradition was on its death bed after their prime sponsors, the Irish aristocracy, were long defeated and gone. It is where Henry Joy McCracken was court-martialled in ‘98 following the failure of the rising before being taken to be hung nearby. It is where Thomas McCabe intervened against a move to set up a slaving company (i.e. dealing in and transporting slaves) in 1786, a successful intervention in that Belfast continued to have no direct involvement in the slave trade though it did have trade involvement in selling salted beef and clogs to slave plantations as well as through individuals.

On a more prosaic and contemporary note the Assembly rooms are on INNATE’s Belfast peace trail where the INNATE coordinator loves to gently shock participants on the walk in telling of Thomas McCabe’s interjection by bellowing out his message “May God wither the hand of any man who will sign that document!”.

Used as a bank for a long time, the building then had intermittent cultural use – and it being a cultural centre is surely the appropriate course of action for the future. But it needs major work first. Belfast City Council has purchased a couple of iconic buildings, No.2 Royal Avenue and the wonderful art deco former Bank of Ireland on a corner of Royal Avenue for civic purposes. The Assembly Rooms building is currently privately owned but going to wrack and ruin. It needs urgent attention and deserves it. For more info see https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c87d8121lj3o and https://sluggerotoole.com/2025/01/17/the-inclusion-of-belfasts-historic-assembly-rooms-on-world-monuments-funds-2025-watch-list-is-a-game-changer/#respond

A migrant story

She came from a war torn country where she had been married young. We can call her Anna because that is certainly not her name. After her father and eldest child were killed in the strife in her home country, she sold everything she had and eventually ended up in Northern Ireland where she claimed asylum. One of her other children has a disabling medical condition. The first place she lived in the North she had to leave because it was attacked. Then in the racist riots of August 2024 she was personally assaulted and injured in the street with lasting effects, and she had to move again. During her time in the North her ex-husband, the father of her children, was killed in the strife in her home country. Thus she had the violent deaths in three generations of her immediate family.

She eventually received refugee status. Any one of the deaths mentioned above could break someone. While obviously deeply affected, she has been determined to keep moving forward and do the best possible for her children despite attacks in a place where she had escaped in order to be safe.

Not all migrants have as dramatic and traumatic stories and experiences as Anna. However we should of course be ashamed that in “Ireland of the welcomes” the welcome (hellcome?) she received included physical attacks on her and where she lived, inhumanity when extreme humanity was called for. Where some saw an unwelcome alien there was a resilient but hugely suffering human being who had been through tribulations which her attackers could probably not even imagine, and someone who has much to contribute if allowed to do so. Meanwhile some people reached out to try to help her.

May she now live in peace and be able to establish the life she wants for herself and her children.

Contrast

The names ‘Donald Trump’ and ‘Gustavo Gutiérrez’ are seldom uttered in the same sentence, I would imagine. Donald Trump is the president of the USA and aged 78. Gustavo Gutiérrez was a Dominican priest from Lima who died in October 2024, aged 96.

INNATE is a secular organisation which is happy to carry material or organise events in relation to connections between humanism and nonviolence or particular religions and nonviolence, and respect people of whatever secular or religious beliefs while being critical of the practices associated with any of these which are contrary to building peace and justice. In terms of parity of esteem I usually avoid sharing on my own religious beliefs and background which would be a variety of Christian. However, in moving some books recently I came across the Gutiérrez book, from the 1970s, “A Theology of Liberation” – he was one of the founders of the ‘theology of liberation’ movement in Latin America at that time, even called the “Father of Liberation Theology”, and I thought of the contrast with Trump.

Donald Trump has monetised the Christian bible, as well as made it nation-specific, in his Trump Bible; the bible is clearly a book he has little knowledge about, effectively thinking of it as a MAGA-manual. Monetising the Christian bible sounds rather like being moneychangers in the Temple, i.e. turning religion into a commercial enterprise. JC drove the moneychangers from the Temple in what to me seems like a good example of determined nonviolent action (though one conservative Christian once told me Jesus shouldn’t have done that as it gave Christians a bad name!). One joke about Trump and his desire to cut things (taxes, environmental regulations etc) is that he has already got the Ten Commandments down to six, and is working on the rest. He uses the bible and Christianity as a political prop and tool.

He also accused an Episcopalian bishop of being nasty in a presidential inaugural service when she called for him to exercise mercy in relation of migrants and people who are LGBT; mercy is usually considered a Christian virtue but Trump made it sound like a dirty word. Making the bible nation-specific, as the Trump bible seemingly does in relation to the USA, seems contrary to the ‘neither Jew nor Gentile’ part of the Christian New Testament. Trump was surrounded by billionaires at his January 2025 presidential inauguration whereas Jesus had plenty to say about those who loved riches. It was the German revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg who stated that the early Christian church was communist in consumption if not in production.

Gustavo Gutiérrez was an important and founding figure in liberation theology which opts for solidarity with the poor, something which seems totally in accord with Christianity and the ‘Sermon on the Mount’, while for Trump – where money is usually the bottom line – his beliefs seem to be more in relation to the ‘Sermon on the (Financial) Count’. Gutiérrez’ book, mentioned above, is overflowing with biblical references. He states clearly that “In the Bible poverty is a scandalous condition inimical to human dignity and therefore contrary to the will of God.” and that “Poverty is not caused by fate: it is caused by the actions of whose whom the prophet condemns….” (and then quotes Amos 2:6-7).

I stand with Gutiérrez.

Youphemisms

We all use euphemisms but sometimes there are ones we dislike or refuse to use, and what you use may not be something I would use. Language is always evolving so this is all a natural human process. The US English ‘restroom’ for what is commonly here called a toilet seems an unnecessary and inaccurate euphemism – and yet I might quite happily use ‘loo’ or even the southern terms ‘jacks’ (which may be medieval English in origin and also relate to the US English term ‘the john’, although the latter may also be connected with one of the inventors of the flushing toilet).

One US euphemism I refuse to use however is that someone has ‘passed’ when they have died. Passed what? Their final exams? To glory in heaven? From this earthly coil? No, not a term I find acceptable. And yet if referring to someone’s status in relation to being living or dead, e.g. on a letter coming for someone who is ‘no longer with us’ (another euphemism), i.e. dead, putting ‘Now dead’ seems too bald a statement and I might write ‘Deceased’ – which is simply another way of saying ‘no longer with us’. Death is kind of final and it is difficult not to be euphemistic. But, it is clear, I find some euphemisms a load of crap.

–

That’s me for now and the bold, bad January is over, I hope you weren’t badly affected by Storm Éowyn if you live in what was its path….unfortunately with global heating there is much more of that to come. But always look on the bright side, the snowdrops are well out, the daffodils are coming, some out, and we live in hope, so until next time, Billy.

INNATE Annual Report for 2024

Annual reports, Nonviolent News, , , ,

2024 was another year of ‘heavy going’ for those believing in nonviolence and the nonviolent resolution of conflict. Wars in Sudan, Ukraine and Gaza – and in particular European, including often Irish, responses to these illustrated a staggering lack of humanity, imagination and any meaningful resolve in moving to deal with them and then beyond them to grapple with the wider tragedies of global heating and global poverty and injustice.

In relation to INNATE’s media work, Nonviolent News was published in its full 10 monthly issues, with news supplements for the other two months. https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/category/nonviolent-news/ Issues for the email and web editions were typically 12 pages; the paper edition is just the first two pages of news. There is a huge amount of other material on the website and some of it is listed there (see home page). INNATE also published an account of Laura Coulter’s peacebuilding work in Northern Ireland context as a pamphlet, Building bridges, Bridging gaps https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Laura-Coulter-Building-Bridges-Final-24.12.pdf

The INNATE photo and documentation site https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland seems to have become an overnight success – after 16 years! Before August 2024 there had been typically 1,000 photos opened a week (you can see photos without opening them but to see the accompanying text or more details in the photo then it needs clicked on to open). The rate at which photos have been opened tripled or quadrupled in August and the period since then. There are 56 album topics on the site including a new one on Lex Innocentium/The Law of the Innocents 697 CE / 1997 / 2024. The INNATE coordinator spoke on Irish peace history at the Birr launch of Lex Innocentium 21st C. https://lexinnocentium21.ie/

StoP/Swords to Ploughshares Ireland, an anti-militarist and arms trade network which INNATE was involved in setting up in 2020 on an all-island basis, continued its work including trying to raise the issue of protection of the ‘Triple Lock’ on the deployment of Irish troops overseas which much of the Irish establishment, including Fianna Fáil, is so keen to ditch in an effort to be ‘good Europeans’ (= believers in EU militarisation) and NATO fellow travellers. Through involvement with Afri, the INNATE coordinator was part of a presentation on the Triple Lock to an Oireachtas committee. https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/53739610022/in/dateposted/

Although FOR England was the lead party in a webinar with Majken Jul Sørensen on nonviolent resistance in the context of Ukraine, based on her pamphlet on that topic, INNATE was a sponsor of this, along with Cymdeithas y Cymod in Wales, and initiated the discussion which led to the webinar. https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/2024/04/02/the-possibility-of-nonviolent-resistance-in-the-contemporary-world/

INNATE also hosted political philosopher Ramin Jahanbegloo during a visit to Northern Ireland in November in which he spoke at events for the Hume O’Neill Chair of Peace at Ulster University, Conflict Textiles, and INNATE, including an INNATE webinar on Nonviolence and Democracy Building. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp0OJ8mH2fA We have also been involved in discussion to help find suitable speakers on Northern Ireland for a major peace conference in Germany.

Meanwhile peace movement materials from and collected by INNATE covering nearly fifty years and which were donated to PRONI, the Public Record Office in the North, are being catalogued – 481 pages to date….

While wider work on peace trails has been in abeyance since Covid, there were numerous Belfast city centre and Ormeau peace trail walks run for individuals and groups, including one for the Migrant Centre Peace Project for whom we will be running a workshop on approaches to conflict in early 2025. https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/54080114989/in/dateposted/ As usual there was an INNATE summer social event in Belfast.

INNATE exists on a financial shoestring, is entirely voluntary, and depends on subscriptions and donations to keep the lights on, and we appreciate people’s generosity. A financial statement is available on request. There is the opportunity for anyone anywhere to be involved with work supporting INNATE, and most meetings are held remotely; if you might be interested in looking at involvement, we can have a chat. We also welcome unsolicited articles and photos for possible publication.

Rob Fairmichael, Coordinator, February 2025

News supplement to No.325, January 2025

Nonviolent News,

Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP): The work continues apace

The AVP community facilitated 41 workshops across the country in 2024, engaging a total of 416 participations. Two community gatherings were held to reflect on its work and community, to reconnect with one another, and welcome new volunteers. It has also been busy supporting volunteers through inductions, further training, check-ins, and debriefing sessions. In July a new coordinator was appointed, Lisa Oelschlegel, who has a wide variety of relevant experience. AVP Ireland is a community of volunteers inside and outside prisons who run experiential workshops in conflict resolution and restorative practices; AVP is for anyone who wants to learn to build better relationships, prevent conflict and resolve it when it occurs and who is willing to share his/her skills and experience. Workshops are non residential and are run mostly in prisons around Ireland and during week-ends. Contact at info@avpireland.ie and a new website should be available soon at https://www.avpireland.ie/

‘Close Collins Aerospace’ demo at Shannon

Following regular events at Collins Aerospace in Cork calling for its closure, an event will take place at Shannon at 12 noon on Friday 10th January at Collins Aeospace, Unit 1, Brookvale, East Park, Shannon, also calling for its closure. Collins Aerospace is a subsidiary of RTX, USA weapons manufacturer of weapons used by the IDF in Gaza. Organised by East Clare for Palestine https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=east%20clare%20for%20palestine

Video on feminist, antimilitarist view of peacekeeping

At https://kroc.nd.edu/news-events/events/2024/12/05/intersectional-beginnings-and-abolitionist-endings-decolonial-feminist-and-anti-militarist-theorising-on-peacekeeping/ Prof Marsha Henry discusses some of the issues in her book “The End of Peacekeeping: Gender, Race, and the Martial Politics of Intervention”. Source: Mitchell Institute, QUB, January 2025 Newsletter.

Mairead Maguire nominates Prof Qumsiyeh for Nobel Peace Prize

Mairead Maguire has nominated Prof Mazi Qumsiyeh of Palestine for the Nobel Peace Prize. She states that “the pressures of the Israel occupation on his people and the pressure on the environment that culminated in genocide and ecocide ensured Qumsiyeh pursued a life focused on peace-making, non-violent resistance, service to people, and service to nature.” More details at  https://www.peacepeople.com/nobel-peace-prize-professor-mazin-qumsiyeh-bethlehem-palestine/

Adi Roche given honorary degree by UCC

Adi Roche of Chernobyl Children International (CCI) received the honorary Doctorate of Arts from UCC in recognition of her work as ‘a humanitarian and educator of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, campaigner for peace and leadership as an anti-nuclear advocate’. The ceremony took place at UCC on 11th December and those attending included Anna Gabriel, Raisa Carolan and Marharyta Marozova, all of whom were abandoned to a children’s institution in Belarus as infants, suffering from a wide range of Chernobyl related disabilities and illnesses but whose lives were transformed thanks to the intervention of Irish humanitarian support. Adi Roche has led CCI to deliver over €108 million of humanitarian aid and services to the Chernobyl affected regions and the charity is already in preparation for the 40th Anniversary commemorations in 2026. https://www.chernobyl-international.com/

Irish CND welcomes Nobel Prize for A & H Bomb survivors

Irish CND has welcomed the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, the Japanese Confederation of Atomic and Hydrogen Bomb Sufferers Organizations, with the award presented at the annual ceremony in Oslo on 10th December. The award recognizes Nihon Hidankyo, in the words of Nobel Committee, “for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again.” Irish CND congratulated Nihon Hidankyo on the award of the Nobel Peace Prize, “recognizing the power of their courage and determination in exposing the ghastly truth about nuclear weapons, often while battling the personal scars of ill-health, social stigma and advancing age.”   However their statement went on to say “If nuclear weapons are ever used again, the scale of destruction will inevitably be far greater than that which caused such suffering to the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Far too many “near-misses” have already been documented. While nuclear warheads remain ready to fire, life on earth as we know it remains just minutes away from an apocalyptic end. We have been dependent on luck to avoid that fate for too long. Sooner or later, whether through malice, machismo, miscalculation or malfunction, that luck will run out”. Irish CND then called “on all states to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. We call on the leaders of nuclear-armed states, in particular, to heed the call of those who have experienced the utter depravity of nuclear warfare, and to put their countries’ stocks of nuclear warheads out of use forever.”

CAJ: Paramilitary transition, policing Sperrins activists, protest rights

Material in the December 2024 issue of the CAJ/Committee on the Administration of Justice publication Just News includes a piece by Prof Kieran McEvoy on information recovery from armed groups in the context of the Northern Ireland Troubles, and a piece by Marie Breen-Smyth on universal human rights and paramilitary transition. There is also a piece looking at an independent CAJ report on PSNI policing of environmental protesters/protectors in the Sperrins regarding gold mining with a number of areas of concern raised; this report, “Policing the Protectors: A Narrative Report of PSNI Policing of Environmental Protest in the Sperrins”, was launched in September 2024 and is available at https://caj.org.uk/publications/reports/policing-the-protectors-a-narrative-report-of-psni-policing-of-environmental-protest-in-the-sperrins/ The December issue of Just News is available at https://caj.org.uk/publications/our-newsletter/just-news-december-2024/ Meanwhile CAJ, PILS, EJNI and FoE in the North have launched a 44-page “Know Your Rights’ Guide to Protest” in Northern Ireland, with clear information and contacts for different areas of concern. Download at https://caj.org.uk/publications/submissions-and-briefings/know-your-rights-the-right-to-protest/ The links include https://www.iccl.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Know-Your-Rights-Protest.pdf which is the ICCL equivalent guide, “Know your right – The right to protest”, for the Republic.

Garda dossiers on children

ICCL/Irish Council for Civil Liberties has highlighted the issue of An Garda Síochána creating thousands of unlawful intelligence files on children under the age of 12 – some for infants as young as 42 days old – between 1999 and 2023.  This followed a Garda Inspectorate report in early December. Olga Cronin, ICCL Enforce Senior Policy Officer, said:  “……this is yet another unfortunate example of An Garda Síochána demonstrating a poor grasp of data protection legislation and does not augur well for Garda use of powerful technologies such as facial recognition technology.” Fuller details and links at https://www.iccl.ie/news/thousands-of-unlawful-garda-surveillance-dossiers-created-about-children-including-infants/

Journalists unlawfully spied on

In a further stage of a long running saga, in mid-December the UK Investigatory Powers Tribunal found that the PSNI and the London Metropolitan Police illegally spied on journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey who were involved in the programme No stone unturned looking at police collusion in the Loughinisland pub massacre of 1994. It was already established that the PSNI acted illegally in arresting them and seizing computer and other materials in their hunt for the source of leaked information. This was a further case regarding what was decided to be unlawful covert surveillance. More information online and in other media.

Death of Tom Hyland

We regret to record the death of Tom Hyland, founder of the East Timor Ireland Solidarity Campaign (ETISC) in 1992 where, in President Higgins’ words he made “a deeply significant contribution to the independence struggle and establishment of Timor-Leste” – which formally got its independence in 2002 from Indonesia and its genocidal level of violence, this followed a referendum in 1999. ETISC was effective at both Irish and EU levels. A bus driver by profession, Tom Hyland was also a co-founder of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign. He died in Dili on 24th December. Warm tributes included that from President José Ramos-Horta. Further information is available by using a word search.

Ramin Jahanbegloo webinar on nonviolence and democracy

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Canadian-Iranian political philosopher Ramin Jahanbegloo was in Northern Ireland in November 2024 and provided programme for Conflict Textiles, Ulster University Hume O’Neill Chair in Peace, and INNATE.

He spoke at an INNATE webinar on Nonviolence and Democracy Building on 28th November 2024. This was recorded and the video is available at https://youtu.be/sp0OJ8mH2fA?si=0GeaoahYVjGbwDYv     

The photo of Ramin Jahanbegloo below was taken in the Ulster University, Belfast, video suite at the start of the webinar

There is also a photo of Ramin Jahanbegloo at https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/54213009123/in/dateposted/ when he was speaking on Nonviolence and Empowerment the same afternoon.