My interest in disarmament and interfaith dialogue took me there, for although I do not personally identify with a religious affiliation, I recognize that religion can play an important role in conflict and peace. The morning sessions were interesting, including a speech by the president of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias. In one speech, given by the religions for peace director, he kept referring to "we, the people of religious faith," "we, who came here as religious people," "you, youth of religious faith..." and I felt a little out of place. Later in the day, the workshops were definitely geared towards "faith communities." I also was given a somewhat awkward "observer" status (as well as some other UPEACE students), which meant we could watch but not participate. After awkwardly watching for a bit, I left early.
Religious awkwardness aside, the campaign is exciting and has good goals. It is for the disarmament of nuclear weapons, the scaling back of conventional weapons, and a third goal which off the top of my head I can't remember now.
A guy from New Zealand spoke about the importance of raising public awareness about the threat of nuclear weapons. Most of us (fortunately) never see these weapons, and as such, forget they exist. But just because we forget about them doesn't mean they are no longer a threat. Furthermore, as we forget about them, we don't do anything about them. Obama is pledging for nuclear disarmament, but he can't do it alone.
That being said, the idea is not to raise fear, but rather awareness, followed by hope that we can actually tackle this challenge and create a nuclear-free world.
Those are my thoughts at 8:30 on this Sunday morning!
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