Creating a Peace Nation
Jill Evans referred to the Jewess, Nurit Peled-Elhanan, who tried to teach peace between Jews and Palestinians. She was critical of all the textbooks portraying their neighbours as vile Arabs riding camels and hence indoctrinating children to view them as enemies.
They were never referred to as doctors, teachers and musicians and so forth. Children were therefore conditioned ready for military service and the necessity to kill neighbours. She was forced to retire from her university post in Jerusalem.
Her own 13 year old daughter was killed by a Palestinian suicide bomber. However, she did not seek revenge. According to the lecturer from the Rhondda, who is the current CND Cymru Deputy-Chair, Nurit expressed characteristics similar to those associated with Waldo such as mercy and empathy, compassion and forgiveness, and a willingness to walk in other people’s shoes.
She said Waldo was prepared to listen to people in their own languages as he regarded the preservation of a language akin to the preservation of a community. She emphasised there was a difference between negative peace and positive peace.
The former refers to the absence of war while the latter refers to nurturing a community and society living without fear, respecting everybody, and ensuring equality to everyone.
Such an achievement she said is above conventional politics as it involves accepting all and sundry as neighbours, not just those who live next door, in unity with what was central to Waldo’s outlook on life. Working on cooperation and not confrontation.
She said that Wales’ Peace Academy intends, by 2030, to ensure there are no jobs in Wales involved in the production of war weapons and not a single acre of land will be in the hands of the Ministry of Defence.
In that sense one has to look beyond hopelessness and light a candle in the darkness. That is what the women of Wales did a century ago when they organised a peace petition. And the 567 women who were fasting overnight recently were aiming in the same direction.
The Annual Lecture was held at Aberystwyth on Friday, September 26th. Next year it will be held at Mynachlog-ddu, Pembrokeshire, when the artist, Meirion Jones will be the lecturer.
Waldo Walk
On Tuesday, September 30th, on Waldo’s birthday, when he would have been 121 years of age this year, the annual Waldo Walk, organised by Menter Iaith Sir Benfro, from Bethel Chapel Vestry, Mynachlog-ddu to the nearby Waldo Memorial and back. The poem ‘Preseli’ was read by Eirian Wyn Lewis at the Memorial and refreshments were provided back at the vestry.
Dadorchuddio plac yn yr Archifdy
A plaque to commemorate Waldo Williams was unveiled at the Pembrokeshire Archives, Haverfordwest, on his birthday, September 30. In the photograph, left to right: Hefin Wyn, Cymdeithas Waldo; Councillor Maureen Bowen, Chairman Pembrokeshire County Council; Dr Simon Hancock MBE, Chairman Haverfordwest Civic Society and Teifryn Williams, Waldo’s nephew who unveiled the plaque on behalf of the family. Ysgol Caer Elen pupils were also present to read the poem ‘Cofio’ and similarly Hefin and Simon read the poem ‘Preseli’ in Welsh and English. Prendergast School and School House, where Waldo was born, was situated on the Archives site. His father, John Edwal, was the headmaster. A reference was made to the occasion of the unveiling of the original plaque in 1998 by James Nicholas who uttered the immortal words “let the eternal light shine on the soul of Waldo Williams”.
