Friends fly kites
Friends from Bournemouth Coastal Area Meeting took part in the 'Fly Kits Not Drones' campaign
Sixteen members of Bournemouth Coastal Area Meeting took to Swanage beach for kite flying on 21 March, as part of the Fly Kites Not Drones campaign.
Friends decided to take part when they realised that the Area Meeting coincided with the worldwide call to draw attention to the use of armed drones. The event was organised by local Quakers Pat Yates and Kathy May.
‘Twenty-first March is Afghan New Year. Usually the skies are blue and the winds are strong. Children who used to look forward to this day to fly their kites have become too afraid to do so. Blue skies mean that the drones may come’, Pat told the Friend.
‘To signal our solidarity with the children and our huge misgivings about the growing use of armed drones, we are going to fly our kites on Swanage beach before Area Meeting. We hope that the kites will symbolise messages of peace to those countries affected by drones.’
Local Friend Terence Redman added: ‘Armed drones are terrorising whole communities, with innocent children and their families suffering increasingly from anxiety and psychological trauma.’
Pat reported that great fun was had, despite strong winds making it heavy going for novices, and suggested that it may become an annual event. Local Friends are already planning an anti-Trident protest in Bournemouth in April.
Fly Kites not Drones was established last year by the Voices for Creative Non-Violence UK. Organisations backing the campaign this year include Quaker Social Peace & Witness (QPSW), Pax Christi and the Drone Campaign Network.
QPSW provided participating Friends with kite-making instructions and educational resources on drones. Huddersfield Friends will hold a Fly Kites Not Drones event on 29 March.
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