A day for peace
PHEROZE L. VINCENT
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Attempts were on for a global ceasefire on September 21, which is the International Day of Peace.
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The International Day of Peace is observed on September 21, by the United Nations. In 1981 Costa Rica proposed the day and from 2001 it was given a fixed date and declared as a global ceasefire day. Efforts are made to ensure at least a day’s ceasefire in combat zones.
The “Peace Bell” is rung at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, to inaugurate the day. The bell is cast from coins from children of every continent. It was a gift from the Diet, Japan’s parliament, and is referred to as “a reminder of the human cost of war.” The inscription on it reads, “Long live absolute world peace.”
The observance began in the backdrop of Iraq’s 1980 invasion of Iran that became the devastating Eight Year War. The Soviets too had entered Afghanistan in 1979.
This year, Peace Day is being celebrated in Honokaa, a former sugarcane plantation town in Hawaii, US. This year on September 19, Hawaii’s best musicians host the “Drums, Not Drugs” concert. There is also a Student Peace Poster Contest on the theme “Peace is being.”
The Peace Parade happens at Honokaa and Federal Heights, Colorado, in the U.S., at 12 p.m. (local times) on September 20. On September 21, a similar parade in Rochdale, U.K. will be led by Britain’s Sports Minister Nancy Dell’ Olio.
The U.N. also calls upon people to hold a 24-hour peace vigil. People around the world observe a minute of silence at 12 p.m. local time.
A million acts
There is also a campaign for a million acts of peace. The campaign, led by four Rotary World Peace Fellows is trying to get one million people to commit an act of peace, and register it online. Acts of peace can be as simple as learning a new language, reading an alternative news source, befriending a person from another culture or doing volunteer work.
For details check out www.peacedayparade.org/ www.rochdalepeace.org/ www.idpvigil.com/ www.millionactsofpeace.com/
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