Tag Archives: peace

A global crisis requires a global politics

Posted on March 12, 2017 by Eddie Playfair

A few days ago, on 10 March, Stephen O’Brien, the United Nations Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs reported to the UN Security Council on the largest humanitarian crisis facing humanity since 1945. Many global challenges vie for our attention, but … Continue reading →

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Four cousins went to war.

Posted on December 28, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

This is a very brief account of the lives of 4 young men from around a century ago; all members of the same Scottish family. The accounts are neither special nor representative and they form a tiny fraction of the story … Continue reading →

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Jean Jaurès: ‘what is courage?’

Posted on August 5, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

Jean Jaurès (1859-1914), member of the French National Assembly, leader of the Parti Socialiste Français and peace campaigner was an eloquent and compelling public speaker. One of his most famous speeches was his 1903 address to young people at the … Continue reading →

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Giving peace a voice.

Posted on August 4, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

In 2016 so far, we have witnessed the horrific murder of a British M.P., the Orlando massacre, brutal attacks in Nice, Munich and elsewhere. Shocking terrorist atrocities in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria and many other places account for nearly 10,000 … Continue reading →

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Getting the children to play nicely

Posted on October 4, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

Once upon a time the children used to play nicely. They had quite a lot of freedom and invented all sorts of very involved activities. They played singly, in pairs, in small and large groups.  They developed constructive, co-operative, competitive and territorial … Continue reading →

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Let Us Be Midwives! Sadako Kurihara

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

Let Us Be Midwives! An untold story of the atomic bombing by Sadako Kurihara, translated by Richard Minear Night in the basement of a concrete structure now in ruins. Victims of the atomic bomb jammed the room; It was dark—not … Continue reading →

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Nazim Hikmet: Hiroshima and Strontium 90

Posted on April 12, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

            I Come and Stand at Every Door (Hiroshima) I come and stand at every door But no one hears my silent tread I knock and yet remain unseen For I am dead, for I … Continue reading →

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A Warrior’s Lament by Nnamdi Olebara.

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

For remembrance day: A Warrior’s Lament by Nnamdi Olebara Now on the battlefield I know what faces me. It is death; my death. I do not hate those I fight; It is their deeds I hate. Those I am fighting … Continue reading →

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