A Quaker banner in front of Eurosatory, 14-18 June 2010. Photo: Wikimedia Commons CC-BY-SA-4.0
‘People of faith need to take back the words “security” and “defence”.’
French connection: Christopher Hatton on Eurosatory 2022
Back in March, the organisers of Eurosatory 2020, the French ‘defence and security’ exhibition, cancelled this year’s event in Paris. It would have been the world’s largest weapons trade fair, selling military equipment from tanks to missile systems. The organisers indicated that they couldn’t protect the health and safety of visitors and exhibitors, but it does not appear that they were equally solicitous for the millions who are living in fear, dying or being injured by the armaments on sale.
In the same week António Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, called for a global ceasefire during the coronavirus crisis, saying: ‘The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war. The threats we face as a planet, health pandemics and climate change among them, demand a coordinated international response with no room for continuing to waste resources on armed conflict.’
In the pope’s Easter message he also called for ceasefires in all conflicts: ‘May Christ our peace enlighten all who have responsibility in conflicts, that they may have the courage to support the appeal for an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world.’ He condemned arms manufacturing and said the pandemic should spur leaders to finally end long-running wars.
People of faith need to take back the words ‘security’ and ‘defence’ from the military. We need to restore these terms to their true meaning: defending people from real risks like pandemics, climate change, racism and injustice. It is stating the obvious when we say sophisticated weaponry stockpiles did not protect those suffering Covid-19. Instead, we saw the impact of limited investment in national health systems compared to generous spending on the military. In many conflict-ravaged areas of the world health systems have collapsed, and no amount of weapons system can prop them back up.
This crisis is teaching us about compassion and fairness, and the ability of societies to make all their citizens safe. Our current efforts are rightly focused on preserving life; we have been heartened by the huge efforts made to this end, and by the strengthening of communal bonds across many nations. The past and future weeks have been and will be painful for our societies. We must not allow a return to the old ‘business as usual’, the one that sells death and destruction as so-called security.
Therefore, Stop Fuelling War invites you to help transform the next Eurosatory (13-17 June 2022) from an exhibition of blatant and shameful military activity to peacebuilding for true human security. We encourage you to act using all available means, knowing that excessive exaggerated military spending is not the Christian path to ensure safety, welfare, justice and healthcare today.
Christopher is on the steering committee of Stop Fuelling War.
