ࡱ> -/, bjbj 4hh  10aJ:m:01MP4MM<1M :  Eradication of Poverty as a major step towards World Peace. Report from the Birmingham Womens Peace Meeting on May 15th 2008. Patricia Earle. During a week of activities to mark the 10th anniversary of the Jubilee Debt Campaign, which began in May 1998 with 70,000 people forming a human chain in Birmingham at the time of the G8 Summit, and whose purpose is to cancel the illegal and unpayable debt which is crippling many of the poorest countries in our world, Patricia Earle, Midlands representative of the Womens Federation for World Peace, brought together over 100 ladies (pictured) from more than 30 nations, in her home, to learn about and discuss this most important topic. After introductions, a video was shown which outlined the history of the problem, showing the positive effect which debt cancellation can have on the lives of ordinary people, and the challenges still to be met to convince western leaders of the urgent need to remove all of the debt burden. Following a talk by Pat (pictured), who argued the case very simply and clearly for everyone to understand, the voices of women from some of those poorest countries was heard. Expressing their heart were Halima from Somalia, Paulette (pictured) from Cameroon, Farai from Zimbabwe and Grace from Sudan. It was extremely moving to hear these four women speaking, all of whom had been forced to flee their countries, to feel their pain and to understand the very real suffering of ordinary people in many African nations, helpless victims of political turmoil and economic slavery. The floor was then open for a general discussion and, as is so often the case, the unique, compassionate heart and soul of women was expressed by a number of speakers, including the passionate voice of Mrs Jamila Qureshi MBE, who had travelled all the way from Coventry to be with us (pictured together with Patricia). Next we had a short drama, in which two women represented rich and poor nations respectively. The woman from the rich nation was hanging on the back of the other, preventing her from moving freely and being a constant burden. The dialogue between them made the point that unless the poor nations are free of the burden of debt, they will always be vulnerable and dependent and unable to develop a basic standard of living for all their people. There is an urgent need for justice, and the realisation of their true human dignity. We then had a time of prayer, with women of all faiths expressing the longing for real equality in their own unique ways and traditions, praying spontaneously, reading from the Koran and other holy scriptures, singing in Punjabi, and so on. This is always a very special time during our Womens Peace Meeting, possible only because of the intimacy and trust established during many years of meeting together. We concluded by singing Make Me a Channel of Your Peace. Everyone stayed to enjoy refreshments and to share more thoughts and feelings with one another in groups of two, three and four, scattered around the house. One group of ladies, Virginia from America, Joy from England and Elsa from France, represented over 250 years of life experience between them. Joy was our oldest participant at 95 years young! (pictured). Lets hope that the call for debt cancellation is heard by those who hold the reins of economic power, that the poorest of our nations continue to receive liberation from this historical burden, that the money and resources released are used wisely and fairly to benefit those in greatest need, and that eventually all people are blessed with the basic standard of living in terms of food, clean water, adequate healthcare, decent accommodation and the chance to receive an education for citizenship in this one world. b f  9 vEI^eph80 h&ihJh +hUth^(h^+h&ihJH*hJh&ihJ5H* hJ5hJ5CJaJ"b  F [gdJ 21h:pJ. 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