"Great ideas, it has been said, come into the world as gently as doves. Perhaps then, if we listen attentively, we shall hear amid the uproar of empires and nations, a faint flutter of wings, a gentle stirring of life and hope. Some will say that this hope lies in a nation; others in a person. I believe rather that it is awakened, revived, nourished by millions of solitary individuals whose deeds and works every day negate frontiers and the crudest implications of history. As a result, there shines forth fleetingly the ever-threatened truth that each and every person, on the foundation of his or her own sufferings and joys, builds for all."
Albert Camus, The Artist and His Time
If we don't stop the bomb who will take care of the flowers?
Neil J. Seattle, Age 9
I think that people want peace so much that one of these days government had better get out of their way and let them have it.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
During the week so many asked, was I alright, as there was no newsletter, last Wednesday.
No I wasn't ill in fact the opposite, I was quite high and the creative juices were flowing.
I had heard from Arsenio, you should remember Arsenio is the person who first contacted me from the Global Strategic Alliance.
Arsenio told me the Alliance was thinking of going to Baghdad for a prayer vigil and was asking all the people involved in the Alliance, myself included for our thoughts.
It only took me, less then a minute to reply and say I would be willing to go.
Then five minutes later my creative spirit, took over and I thought if I was going to Baghdad.
I should - as part of my roll for the Alliance is the setting up of the Global Children's Alliance. Think of a project to involve the children of Iraq.
Very quickly it was so very clear I knew what I have to do.
I came up with the idea of taking large rolls of newsprint paper and printing the hands of as many children in Baghdad as I could - to show the real truth about the war with Iraq and who will be the victims.
We don't have to read about them after they are dead, we can just look at the hands that used to be, to remind us all we didn't try hard enough for peace.
I picked newsprint over cloth to show the fragility of the children.
I / We/ Us have to protect them, as like the paper, they can be ripped apart by the hands of one person or three people and be gone forever. Not by the solders or the planes or ships, but by the Three Wise Men?
A few days later, Arsenio sent me another email to say that it had been decided that it was too quick to get the Prayer vigil for Baghdad together and they were now planning an event in New York at the UN.
While I will be happy to go over to the States and look forward to finally meeting up with Arsenio, Oscar Arias, Baltasar Garzon, Betty Williams, Deepak Chopra, Kerry Kennedy Cuomo, Roberto Savio, Ricky Martin and many others in the Alliance, and working with wonderful people to get the Global Children's Alliance website started with the IT people involved.
I felt so very sad and my soul was not at rest. I knew deep down, I am not doing enough, for the children of Iraq, as the handprints I was going to take may be all that is left of them if this war goes ahead. All that is left to remind us of their little lives.
I look again at the beautiful cast of two year old Caitlin's, hand, sitting here in my office and know, her mother and her father, my son, are not looking at her this week, kissing her and putting her to bed wondering, is this the last week she has to live, that someone on the other side of the world is right now deciding her fate, wanting to play Russian roulette with her life,.
While they are safe in their building of power, far away from the barrel of the gun or the blast of the bomb that may take her life.
I can cry about it, shout about it, or I can get off my butt and do something about it.
So over the weekend I wrote up the Hands of Peace Project and send a copy off to the Alliance for their approval and involvement.
Monday I was on the phone, if I couldn't start it in Baghdad, I can start it in Australia and what better place to start the project then at an indigenous school.
I phoned the headmistress at the school, I have already been to the school and we will take the handprints of around two hundred and fifty children next Monday.
I phoned the local newspaper and asked for rolls of paper, which I will pick up tomorrow. I have a few other things to beg and borrow yet. So if I knock on your door for help, think of the children before saying no.
I contacted a mate in Rotary and he put me on to the Rotary club nearest the school. As the project will take me overseas very quickly, I need to travel to as many counties as possible. The Rotary club is a good network for me to use having around 28,000 clubs worldwide.
A meeting is being set up between Directors of two Rotary Clubs and hopefully between them they will approach Rotary International Peace foundation for their support and help.
These simple handprints, I will start with on Monday have, no faith, no race, no hate, just hands of children all part of our Family of Humanity, all hands the same, no one more precious then the next.
Why should men in the power buildings be allowed to decide which ones will live and which one shall die.
I have only a few dollars left, but it doesn't stop me and it won't stop you.
What we all have - that is missing in the halls of power is a creative spirit that we must all start to use to come up with ways to make it a better world not for our children - but for all children. We must start thinking as one.
I will print each hand on Monday and think about the children's hands I was to print in Baghdad. I still want to add them to the same piece of paper after, I add the children from America, Britain, Palestine and Israel, North Korea and South Korea. So many hands to record.
Then Mister President and Prime Minister Howard and Blair - you tell me which ones are the hands of our enemy???
Let the printing begin.
Remember last newsletter I said don't go away I will need your help.
I will contact you again shortly if I can't beg or borrow tomorrow.
I have just put together over five hundred peace quotes, ready for the new GCA website.
The three above seem to fit how I am feeling today.
Kerry Bowden
Global Children's Alliance
A Family of Humanity
One Mind One Voice
www.onemindonevoice.org
Five minutes after sending this newsletter out, my creative spirit was at work again and it struck me like lighting it is not the Hands of Peace project. it is the
