Slideshow image

By Katherine Murray 

“Peace Train Canada is a resurrection of the peace movement.”  - Dr. Walter Dorn, advisor to Peace Train Canada 

On my coffee table is a copy of the Beatitudes from Jesus’s sermon on the mount and a copy of the Hebrew prophet Isaiah’s oracle of the wolf and lamb, the calf and lion lying down together, eating together.  Both are visions of life rooted in peace, justice, and transformed relationships intended by the Divine. I keep them in view to remind me of these alternative ways of living and being and to do the necessary work within myself that will lead to the work of creating a peaceful and just world.  

As part of that work I travelled with Peace Train Canada to the United Nations (February 28-March 08) to attend the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.  What an amazing experience! I was deeply moved and grateful to gather with people from all around the world - government leaders and civil society members, in solidarity for the purpose of prohibiting nuclear weapons. The experience deepened my awareness of our common humanity and that we are all one. I felt like a citizen of the world. 

Much was learned over the course of the week about the hard and dedicated work of scientists, lawyers, government members, civil society, academics, and investigative journalists to make the world a safe, peaceful, and just place to live for all on this earth, our shared home. In this global forum Peace Train Canada made their presence and message known giving a statement in the plenary session to the states parties encouraging Canada to sign and ratify the treaty as part of our vision that Canada invest in creating a culture of peace. Further to this cause we were able to meet with Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations Michael Gort and staff Meline Svadijian and Christopher Gibbins. Connections were made with other Canadians present -Green Party leader Elizabeth May, Senator Marilou McPhedran, Setsuko Thurlow - nobel peace prize winner, and Jennifer Simons of the Simons Foundation. One Italian parliamentarian expressed curiosity about a peace train movement in Europe. Peace Train Canada was also able to host a fun evening of music and singing, widening connections and bringing a further unifying presence. 

I continue to distill the experience of the Peace Train to the UN. I lament the incalculable horror of nuclear weapons, their capacity made starkly clear in the sessions and reinforced by the presence of Japanese survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And I am inspired and encouraged by what I learned - that even one person can make a difference. As Peace Train organizer Bernadette Wyton wrote in her poem, Hold Your Ground, “If there is darkness, Be light. If there is suffering, Be love.”  It is imperative to realize our agency as human beings on this planet. Civil society engagement is crucial to pressuring states on prohibiting nuclear weapons and to creating a peaceful world. A representative from Guatemala put it this way, “Peace is not impossible. It is a shared responsibility.”  The wolf and lamb can lie down together.

---

Photo:

1.Members of the Peace Train who attended the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons pose inside the UN building in New York after meeting the Canadian Ambassador to the UN. (photo submitted by Katherine Murray) 

2. Katherine Murray takes a selfie in the UN meeting where the Third Meeting of State Parties to the Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was held.