Letters - 08 September 2023
From Faith and patience to Direct mail
Faith and patience
Beth Allen’s ministry (25 August) about her recent experiences of losing her husband and going through cancer treatment spoke deeply to me.
I have not lost my husband but have seen him suffering loss of strength and many medical problems and having to manage without two important operations that the now-debilitated NHS says it cannot provide for him.
And I do not have cancer as far as I know but am struggling with great loss of strength and mobility and with severe bowel problems that greatly reduce my ability to do things for myself, for Quakers, and for my family, which has been frustrating and depressing for me.
Beth’s ministry of faith and patience is a beacon for me, which will help me bear my own small cross better. Thank you, Beth Allen, for the example and the inspiration. And increased belief in my daily prayer: ‘Thank you source of Life for returning to me a new day of life.’
Lois Chaber
Outcome is not the cause
I have briefly met Rupert Read (4 August) a few times due to my own long involvement and concern for the future of the planet, most recently at a door-knocking day for Adrian Ramsay, co-leader of the Green Party.
At the plenary session I suggested that, if we are to truly remove the causes of the breakdown of the climate and the ecosystem, communities urgently need to begin economic rebuilding, based around the principle of sharing. Protesting or winning elections, albeit important, will not in themselves tackle the roots of the rot.
So I was rather disappointed by the duo’s unengaged responses. Though Rupert mentions citizen community action in his interview, I suspect he’s still talking about protest rather than reconstruction within the community.
What the Earth is suffering from is infinite globalised industrial development and growth, while the planet is crying out for a global growth of low-impact, steady-state, ‘indigenous’ economic lifestyles. It’s also what human beings need, faced as we are with a phenomenal level of mental health breakdown as our inner good/God cries out for connection at a time of desperate depersonalisation, individualisation and false ambitions, which characterise the current economy.
The fact that we plunder the Earth for resources to use industrially, so destroying the planet, is an outcome, not the cause.
Andrew Sterling
A possible peace initiative
An article in the news (21 July) concerned the Northern Friends Peace Board’s meeting about the war in Ukraine. This describes a contribution from Charlotte Cooper who works for British Yearly Meeting peace team. She had previously attended a peace movement-organised summit, and gave an account of the event highlighting the value of listening to different perspectives, ‘the latter not always being comfortable in the face of such violent conflict’.
I found Charlotte’s words interesting because I too have been trying to put myself in Russian shoes, and have attracted negative attention, including from family and friends. Yet it is forgotten that twenty-seven million Soviets died fighting fascism in world war two (twenty million Russians). Combined with Napolean’s invasion it is not surprising that Russians are concerned about what happens on their borders. Which is not to condone the Russian invasions of Ukraine, Chechnya and Georgia.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union there was a verbal agreement with the United States that NATO would not move into its border countries. This understanding was put aside by George W Bush. This indignity was compounded by the Western-backed neo-liberal economics which brought the country to its knees and served only the benefits of organised crime. Anyone serious about understanding what happened is advised to watch TraumaZone on YouTube. It is truly shocking.
My train of thought as to a way forward stems from a photo I saw a couple of years ago in the Guardian, of Vladimir Putin hugging his two infant daughters. Like any dad he loves his daughters to the extent that he prevented one from moving to the United Arab Emirates with her son. Maybe she realises that one day the Russian people will turn on her father and was seeking sanctuary. He in turn realises that he cannot protect her there. A defector from Putin’s security team has described how the president is paranoid about the welfare of his family.
With this in mind, I have envisaged a time when the Russian people have turned on their leaders. I have tried to communicate with the Scottish National Party and Friends in Ireland, with a view to either country acting as a safe haven for the families of war criminals, as it is recognised among commentators that there is currently no ‘ramp’. So far, I have received no response. Yet once these men realise that their families are safe, and are being befriended by Quakers, they might feel inclined to give themselves up via the same countries and sent on for trial at The Hague, rather than facing the wrath of their countryfolk. Imagine that Quakers have reached agreement with either the governments of Scotland or Ireland, and a group travels to Russia to speak with people in power. This is coordinated by Friends House Moscow.
I would be pleased to hear from any Friends who have ideas as to a way forward in this conflict and who are prepared to think creatively.
Neil Crabtree
In the same storm
‘Weathering the storm’ – a good Thought for the Week from Tony D’Souza in the 18 August issue. ‘We are all in the boat with the fishermen.’ True, but as someone said at the beginning of the Covid lockdowns, ‘we are not all in the same boat… but we are all in the same storm’.
This, together with its implications, is obviously still true today when we consider the state of the world, income, housing, health, levels of education, even whereabouts in the country we live.
I would also like to bring to readers’ attention to an interpretation I remember once hearing of this New Testament story, that when the Nazarene, as Tony calls him, said, ‘Peace, be still’, perhaps his words were addressed to the frightened disciples, who on hearing them immediately became calmer, and hence in their eyes the winds and the waves subsided and there was calm…
Rosemary Mathew
Playing for peace
I was recently in Edinburgh at the Fringe, and I saw a remarkable performance of peace songs. I recommend that as many people as possible go along. It is an uplifting series of songs and stories of women who have taken a stand against war.
Morna Burdon has written it and performs it with joy and sincerity, celebrating the courage, inventiveness and determination of women worldwide in their campaigning to prevent war.
The emotion is high and we almost took hands as she sang about embracing the base at Greenham.
It is described in the Fringe programme as having ‘Tears, laughter, hope’, and that just about sums up what for me was a vibrant hour.
This would be a joyful hour to put on at a Meeting house, in the place where the Journeymen once performed, and would stimulate further discussion. For more information please see: www.mornaburdon.com/gies-peace.
Lyn Pardo
Direct mail
It was good to see some coverage of the Independence from America event in the Friend. Just one small point, the event was organised by CND and the Menwith Hill Accountability Campaign; it is a campaign rather than a group. The Menwith Hill Accountability Campaign (MHAC) does have a website, https://themhac.uk where more information is available.
The letter given to inspector Holly Nicholls asking to meet with the Menwith Hill director is still awaiting a reply. For a communications base there are some weak points, including an apparent inability to respond to letters and an absence of letter box on the gate!
Martin Schweiger
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