Revitalising the planet
Anthony Fox presents a case for more cooperation
New Milton Meeting has spent time on how we might be able to ameliorate the current immigration crisis.
We opened our meeting with a quotation from Quaker faith & practice 23.36:
At the centre of Friends’ religious experience is the repeatedly and consistently expressed belief in the fundamental equality of all members of the human race. Our common humanity transcends our differences. Friends have worked individually and corporately to give expression to this belief. We aspire not to say or do anything or condone any statements or actions which imply lack of respect for the humanity of any person. We try to free ourselves from assumptions of superiority and from racial prejudice…
We are aware of the Quaker ethos: we encourage positive thinking and actions but discourage negative thinking and actions. So, we try to encourage love, harmony, cooperation and friendship, thus, sustaining ecological and environmental projects that are beneficial to the planet and human society appeals to Quakers. We dislike killing, war, avarice, greed and any motives that are detrimental to earth and its many peoples.
Quakers are aware of the great need to reduce warfare and destruction and to help with the reconstruction of countries that immigrants have been forced to leave. Our civilisation has reached a stage in the development of knowledge and technology where any part of this planet can be brought back to fruition and harmony with nature. What is really needed is cooperation.
What an opportunity this current massive migration of people presents to us. The warfare and strife-torn areas must be healed as soon as possible. We need to remedy the desecration of the earth’s resources and the damage and misery of the populations affected. We are aware that many of the areas where the refugees come from have become very difficult places to live in, due to a lack of water, poor soil quality, lack of trees and severe poverty. These difficult areas should be healed and refurbished. We believe this is an entirely practical suggestion.
Looking at our own country demonstrates what is possible. Many places blighted by industry are rapidly recovering: the slag and waste tips once so prevalent in the Midlands and northern England; and many of our canals were completely blocked up with rubbish and useless. How very different and how very much better these places are now. What is needed at this time are large and willing groups of people who are well educated and well supplied with inexpensive means to accomplish this work. What could be better than the people indigenous to those areas working together to improve their homelands? We believe that the current large immigration of peoples can be helped immediately with refuge and food. In the long term they can be helped with education and assistance to rehabilate their own homelands.
What should we do?
- All persons of fifteen-plus years of age to be able to integrate into our society, including a basic ability in the English language.
- We need to grow more of our own food. We have had two world wars in the past 100 years; indeed, in 1917, we were within three weeks of starvation.
- There are many basic and socially useful jobs, which are essential for the healthy life of our society that migrants should be allowed to work in.
- We should encourage all citizens to become as competent as possible in their skills and education.
- All ethnic and religious groups should be allowed to continue their own ethnic and religious traditions, while being integrated into our society. This means using the English language as the means of communication.
Incidentally, these ideas would help the world become a more ecological society in harmony with nature, provide a lot more land for growing food and assist with solving the current global warming crisis. Technology can help by revegetating deserts, rescuing people from hunger, installing solar powered water stills, providing solar electricity generation, adding humus into the soil in deserts, practicing soil remediation when soil becomes too salty or alkaline, and implementing solar powered water pumps and irrigation systems.
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