Letters - 26 January 2024
From Laying down of Q-CAT to Disappointed
Laying down of Q-CAT
We are saddened at having to lay down Quaker Concern for the Abolition of Torture (Q-CAT), which has acted on behalf of Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) for many years, recently as a linked recognised body, but has now become unsustainable because of the low level of direct engagement from Friends.
We wish to say a big thank you to those who have assisted and supported us, and for the encouragement we have received in our endeavours.
Those on our mailing lists have been with us upholding the concern and hopefully will continue to do so personally. Torture is still rife in the world. Laying down the charity involves right disposal of remaining funds. We have sent donations to Freedom from Torture, Redress and Reprieve, as organisations dedicated to the alleviation of suffering as the result of torture and to campaigning for its abolition. The remainder will pass to BYM, as required by our constitution.
It is important that records of the work and activities of Q-CAT be retained, as much as to show what has been achieved over the years as to be a source of background in the event of the concern becoming a major Quaker issue again at some time in the future, as we hope. An archive of these records has been deposited in the Friends House Library and once catalogued will be available to searchers.
Our choral work A Knock on the Door is one of the ways that the message about the iniquity of torture can be conveyed and if you belong to a choir you might consider putting on a performance of this. Q-CAT has thirty-nine scores to lend to Quaker groups. Contact Juliet Morton at julietmorton0@icloud.com if you would like to borrow some (only the cost of return postage is charged). Juliet will also be able to give you a link to a copy of the film of the first performance, which can be made available for rehearsal purposes.
Michael Hutchinson
Is eight billion sustainable?
I have raised in a couple of letters recently the question of whether Friends think that a population of eight billion is sustainable. No one has expressed an opinion.
I wonder if this video would help. It is about the likelihood that sources of fuel become exhausted, and the consequences for humanity. It is called ‘Civilization is running out of gas’.
Note that it makes no mention of climate change. It is on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5z5R6xqEG0.
Roger Plenty
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