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CALL FOR AN ALL INDIA WHITE RIBBON CAMPAIGN FOR PEACE ON 15TH AUGUST


It’s been a year since people in INDIA registered a National level protest, against violence, on the 15th of August 2002.

Life has moved on since, apparently even in Gujrat. However, violence seems to be seeping into the routine… not necessarily in just deeds or words but also other inconspicuous acts - political or otherwise.

We, at the WHITE RIBBON CAMPAIGN FOR PEACE (WRC), feel that we should register our protest again this year on the Independence Day (August 15, 2003) as citizens of the largest democracy in the world.

We propose to all to plan a WHITE RIBBON CAMPAIGN on the 15th of August, as we did the last time… wearing white ribbons and distributing them to others.

The White Ribbon is being used as a SYMBOL of PEACE. The campaign is OUR symbolic protest against all kinds of VIOLENCE in any part of the country & even beyond.

Last year’s campaign demonstrated that the strength of peace loving people across the country far exceeds those who create or believe in Violence.

Let us come together again on 15th of August 2003 across the country to demonstrate our solidarity, to affirm our faith in PEACE & to show the powers that be that the MAJORITY in India SUPPORT PEACE & not violence.

If you agree with this, plz send us a short mail asap (preferably within the next two to three days) and we will mail you the basic guidelines on how to organize the campaign in your city / area / locality.

If you have any suggestions, plz feel free to write to us (within the next two days) as we have very little time left.

Please note: The White Ribbon Campaign is a voluntary effort of bringing people together to stand up for PEACE.

Cheers for Peace!
Anasuya Sengupta
Parvez Imam
Coordinators,
WHITE RIBBON CAMPAIGN FOR PEACE

Email:  whiteribbonindia@rediffmail.com


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The IMPACT of White Ribbon as a Symbol:
Frankly, we were not sure if using a white ribbon as a symbol would be of any use or appeal to anyone. But we were surprised by the responses of people in general and the student community who took it up. Some of the reasons cited by people who joined the campaign last year are:

-We wanted to express our opinion against the senseless violence in Gujrat, but didn’t know what to do. At least we can show our support for peace now.

-White Ribbon as a symbol gives visibility to people who care for PEACE. We were surprised to see how many people came out and wore it.

-It becomes a “talking point” – people ask what this is and we get a chance to talk about our stand against violence & the need for PEACE.
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MANIFESTO:
Justice is yet to prevail in Gujrat for one of the worst carnages in the country. Violence continues – not only physically, but in the kind of conversations we overhear, the gestures we watch people make: words and expressions of communal hatred and war mongering are all around us.

We may be confused about the kind of responses we should make, we may be uncertain about what we can do individually and collectively to make a difference. But all of us share a common sense of outrage and a quest for peace. We know that the politics of hate & division or calls of war will not help the people of the world. In our country, communalism turns our pride in plurality into a sad caricature.

It is about time that we expressed our need for peace and non-violence and stand together against all forms of violence. It is about time we stopped being the ‘SILENT MAJORITY’ because we are both unfortunately silent and fortunately a majority.

So say YES to PEACE & NO to violence. Peacefully!

*Wear a white Ribbon*
*Ask at least five other people to wear white ribbons*

We need symbols of peace, of secularism, of humaneness; we need to stand up and be counted.

Please share this request with as many people as you can.
Let us wear our white ribbons till the violence ends – both in deed and in word.

(White Ribbon For Peace Campaign) email:  whiteribbonindia@rediffmail.com

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