Fox’s Ocean of Life and Light swept over the Ocean of Death and Darkness recently in Bradford.

After staying at home during the 2001 Bradford Riots, many Bradfordians, including myself, vowed to do whatever they could to ensure that the recent visit by the English Defence League (EDL) went off peacefully. All it takes for evil to triumph is for people of good will to do nothing. Countless community and faith groups came together to influence public opinion and to provide diversionary events for young and old throughout the district. An unlikely force in all this was 3km of vibrant lime green ribbon – symbolic of hope and new life – donated to Bradford Women for Peace by a religious charity. We are a small, multi-racial, multi-faith group of women – students, retirees and every age in between – who came together to find positive ways of building peace in the often difficult weeks leading up to the EDL’s visit. We built on each other’s skills and networks, understanding that we did not have the luxury of time to build up relationships and trust before acting. Two outside groups that we rapidly learned to trust, and who supported us throughout, were the council and the police.

The Thursday before was spent cutting ribbon while learning our newly composed Peace Song (Thanks, Annie). On Friday morning some women began tying ribbons to lamp-posts and such street furniture throughout the city while the rest gave out Peace Ribbons to passing shoppers. Many received them eagerly. A few marched past stony-faced. Many felt that nothing could be done. My cheeks began to ache from smilingly saying, ‘Yes there is, you can wear this ribbon to show that we want peace and that we’re better than all that’. I was enormously encouraged by how many people, young and old, black, brown or white, seemed to believe me, and to go away slightly hopeful and sporting their green ribbon. My husband at the other end of town mid-morning reported a fair sprinkling of ribbons visible. Every half an hour or so, as quickly as the ball of ribbon could be wound up again, we formed a circle and sang and threw big balls of ribbon across the circle to build a peace web. Soon, not only shoppers but also police officers and taxi-drivers were sporting green ribbons. In addition, green banners and drapes were hanging from buildings near the proposed EDL site. I was as high as a kite and took several days to come down to earth.

Saturday’s events were well publicised. I went from prayers at the cathedral to he peace carnival at the top of the town, where there were several Quakers, to the ‘We are Bradford’ event at the bottom, where Bradford Women for Peace’s banner was received with grins from the police and cheers from the demonstrators. My husband listened to the EDL speeches: much the same as any speeches at any demo with the usual minority looking for trouble. A lesson there too.

By nightfall Asian families were bringing the police Iftari: food from the meal breaking their Ramadan fast – quite unimaginable even a few years ago. Many ghosts have been laid to rest, and Bradfordians can look to the future to work together to resolve our many problems.

Bradford Women for Peace met in the Joseph Rowntree rooms at the Carlisle Road Business Centre in Bradford.

Comments

• Posted by geriatrikid on September 09, 2010

  What an uplifting and encouraging report of a great example.