A PRAYER FOR PEACE

“There was never a good war or a bad peace.” - Benjamin Franklin

The New What’s Going On blog is prompting about “Yearning for Peace” this week. With all the wars and hostilities currently raging around the world it feels like we’re on the verge of the outbreak of WWIII. It seems that humanity is blind to the mistakes of the past and is ready to repeat them. If only we all were more active in seeking the peace we long for…

Peace

All round the world the long wars rage

As petty despots their egos inflate;

In bloody battles nations engage

Their hunger for gold they can't sate.

Insane dictators vie for power

Poor soldiers die by the score,

The warfare grows, enemies glower

A situation sane people all abhor…

The prayers for peace and calm won’t stop

A war that crazy men have started.

God will not render benefaction,

Unless people will take action:

Refuse to fight, and don’t be blinded

By lies, false promises of aspirants,

Perverted dreams of raving tyrants.

The helpless cries of all the blameless:

Children, old people, women, nameless,

Cannot be heard as prayers for peace,

Nor can their misery decrease.

Dethrone the cruel kings of crime,

Cast out heartless oppressors.

The clocks strike now the time

To rid ourselves of the aggressors.

The prayers for peace and calm won’t stop

A war that crazy men have started.

God will not render benefaction,

Unless the people will take action:

Refuse to fight, and don’t be blinded

By lies, false promises of aspirants,

Perverted dreams of raving tyrants.

Here’s the poem set to music and you can find all my music in my “Otidorchestre” channel or listen to it on YouTube, Spotify,  Amazon, Deezer, Flo, Pandora, and other music sharing sites.

TRAVEL TUESDAY #76 - ANZAC SHRINE, BRISBANE

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.” - Laurence Binyon

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel.

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us. Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only.

Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.  

The Shrine of Remembrance is located in ANZAC Square, between Ann Street and Adelaide Street, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. With its 'Eternal Flame', the Shrine is a war memorial dedicated to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzacs).

The Shrine of Remembrance is a major Brisbane landmark of cultural, architectural and historic importance and is a key component of the Queensland Heritage listed square and annually hosts ceremonies for ANZAC Day and Armistice Day (now referred to as Remembrance Day). A service marking Singapore Day (The Fall of Singapore, 15 February 1942) is held annually on the closest Sunday to the 15th, in remembrance of the losses of the 8th Division during World War 2.

Funds were raised by public subscription for a memorial to fallen soldiers in World War I and in 1928 a competition was held for its design. The competition was won by Sydney architects Buchanan and Cowper who proposed a Greek Revival structure. The Shrine took two years to build and was dedicated on Armistice Day 11 November 1930 by Governor John Goodwin with a dedication plaque.

Designed in the Greek Classic Revival style, the columns of the Shrine of Remembrance are built of Helidon sandstone, and the Eternal Flame is kept in a brass urn within the Shrine. The steps leading to the Shrine of Remembrance from ANZAC Square are made of Queensland granite. The 18 columns of the Shrine symbolise the year 1918, when hostilities ceased.

There is a crypt in the lower section of the Shrine of Remembrance which contains the World War I and World War II Shrine of Memories, which contains memorial plaques to numerous Australian regiments who fought during these campaigns. There is also a World War I memorial sculpture on the Shrine of Memories external wall.

Each year, on ANZAC Day, on 25 April, a Dawn memorial service is held at the Shrine of Remembrance, with wreaths being laid around the 'Eternal Flame' in memory of those who died in conflict. There is also a memorial service held each year on Remembrance Day, 11 November and wreaths are again laid at the 'Eternal Flame'.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

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POETRY WEDNESDAY - THIS CHRISTMAS

“Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting. It is happiness because we see joy in people. It is forgetting self and finding time for others. It is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values.” - Thomas S. Monson 

A poem for the season, which again this year has become  fraught with moredifficulties, discontent, insecurity and much melancholy. The world seems to be on a downhill slide with a cliff fast approaching… 

This Christmas

These days before Christmas:
The tinsel and the trees,
The carols and the candles,
The gift-buying and the gladness…

The Christmas spirit:
Peace and prosperity,
Love and kindness,
Joy to the world…

The Christmas story:
As reinvented by big business,
Where profit rules,
And lip service is duly paid …

And this year’s Christmas:
Trying to bring together family,
Salvage sanity and seek serenity,
Reduce the complex to the bare essentials…

And yet the world becomes more and more insane:
Terrorism and torture,
Murder and mayhem,
Horror and hate,
War and wickedness,
Lies and lovelessness…

This Christmas:
Gather around you those you love,
Seek peace actively;
Give to some strangers what they most need,
Forgive those who have wronged you;
Think of those who have lost all,
Change what you can for the better –
And find Christmas within your heart,
No matter what your religion is…

REMEMBRANCE DAY

“What a cruel thing war is... to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbors.” - Robert E. Lee

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day here in Australia. This is because the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month marks the signing of the Armistice, on 11th November 1918, which signalled the end of World War One. At 11 a.m. on 11th November 1918, the guns of the Western Front fell silent after more than four years of continuous warfare. Initially, when WWI ended, the day was known as Armistice Day but was renamed Remembrance Day after WWII. In the USA the day is known as Veterans’ Day.

Each year Australians observe one minute’s silence at 11 a.m. on 11th November, in memory of all those men and women who have died or suffered in all wars, conflicts and peace operations. This is a simple yet very effective way of remembering the massive loss of life and immense suffering that humankind has been subjected to in all of the various armed conflicts that have blotted recorded history. In Australia, Remembrance Day ceremonies are held in almost every city and town across Australia. All major cities have a Shrine of Remembrance and every town has a monument honouring the fallen Anzacs.

Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance and the Australian War Memorial in Canberra hold formal ceremonies that are very well organised and well-attended. This year, ceremonies will be very significant for the families of Australian soldiers recently killed in Afghanistan. The National Remembrance Day Ceremony includes a formal wreath-laying and will be attended by many high level dignitaries and diplomats. Australian’s Federation Guard and the Band of the Royal Military College will be on parade. Members of the public are of course also invited to join the National Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Australian War Memorial.

Lest We forget...

TERRORIST ATTACK IN NICE

“France cannot be destroyed. She is an old country who, despite her misfortunes, has, and always will have, thanks to her past, a tremendous prestige in the world, whatever the fate inflicted upon her.” - Pierre Laval

Yet another terrorist attack, yet more violence, yet more innocent people slaughtered. France is in mourning again and the whole world weeps with her. The violence of war is horrible enough, but violence against innocent people for whatever ideological or political reason is abhorrent and repugnant, a terrible affront to any civilised person’s humanity.

At least 84 people (including several children) are dead and 18 injured after a truck ploughed into a crowd of late-night revellers celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, in a terrorist attack described as the “worst catastrophe” in the French Riviera’s modern history. The driver of the truck involved was shot dead after ploughing into crowd in Nice. Along the famed Promenade des Anglais seafront, hundreds of terrified people fled as the truck of death left behind it mangled, bloody bodies strewn in its wake. The driver had fired a pistol several times before being shot dead by police. Identity papers belonging to a 31-year-old French-Tunisian citizen were reportedly found inside the 19-tonne truck.

French president François Hollande said France had been hit by a terrorist attack on its national day: “France was hit on the day of her national holiday, the 14th of July, symbol of liberty, because the rights of man are denied by fanatics and France is inevitably their target.” While a motive for the killing spree has as yet not been disclosed, officials are calling the incident a terrorist attack, the worst since a series of coordinated sieges across Paris killed 130 in November and likely the deadliest rampage ever by a lone attacker.

As Joachim du Bellay has said, “France is the mother of arts, of warfare, and of laws.” France will survive this attack and will join the rest of the civilised nations around the world to fight senseless violence that attacks the innocent. All of civilised humanity suffers with this latest bout of terrorism and is mourning in sympathy for the innocent lives lost.

POETS UNITED - SURVIVAL

“The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival.” - Aristotle

This week, Poets United has as its theme “Survival”. Violence is all around us and it seems that the world is embarking on a renewed cycle of warfare fuelled by extremist, fanatical views that place little value on life, civilisation and peaceful pursuits. Even in the home, violence rears its ugly head and abuse against those who are weakest causes much misery or even deaths.

Are we humans by our nature basically evil or are we fundamentally good? This question has been around for centuries and many a fine philosophical mind has tried to answer it. I would like to believe that humans are basically good and it takes effort to make humans evil. That is the optimist in me raising his voice. The following poem is my contribution to the PU Midweek Motif:

Survival

The arid sands of the desert hide a secret,

Ensconced deep in their dry, lifeless depths:

A seed enclosed securely in a tough carapace.

The sun glares and broils the hellish plains,

The wind howls and lifts up clouds of dust:

The seed awaits, for life knows of patience.

And years may pass, for deserts are timeless,

And nights may grow icy cold and freeze the earth:

A seed can bide its time too, its life suspended, frozen.

Our world has grown harsh, just like a desert,

Arid, merciless, sharp, cruel and hostile:

A human soul that is in goodness steeped, survives.

Around us evil thrives, and what has stood for centuries,

Is easily within a day destroyed by wanton fanatics:

The human intellect and its creative fire cannot be quashed.

Our fellow human beings have turned to wild beasts,

Grown hungry for the flesh and blood of others of their own kind:

A human heart that loves and hopes cannot be thus infected.

As seed awaits the desert rain to sprout and bloom,

All that is good in our humanity will rise and overcome malice.

As flower in the desert sets a hundred seeds to disperse them,

Our better nature and our innate goodness will prevail.

For it is the seed’s nature to germinate and flower,

And it is a human’s nature to overcome adversity,

To survive, to create, to nurture, and to flourish.

REMEMBRANCE DAY 2015

“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” - Winston Churchill

On the 11th day of the 11th month at 11:00 o’clock in the morning, Australians will pay tribute to the men and women who served our country during wartime. This is our Remembrance Day, originally called Armistice Day, to commemorate the end of the hostilities for the Great War (World War I), the signing of the armistice, which occurred on 11 November 1918 - the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

Armistice Day was observed by the Allies as a way of remembering those who died, especially soldiers with ‘no known grave’. On the first anniversary of the armistice, in 1919, one minute’s silence was instituted as part of the main commemorative ceremony. In London, in 1920, the commemoration was given added significance with the return of the remains of an unknown soldier from the battlefields of the Western Front.

The Flanders poppy became accepted throughout the allied nations as the flower of remembrance to be worn on Armistice Day. The red poppies were among the first plants that sprouted from the devastation of the battlefields of northern France and Belgium. Soldiers' folklore had it that the poppies were vivid red from having been nurtured in ground drenched with the blood of their comrades.

After the end of World War II in 1945, the Australian and British governments changed the name of Armistice Day to ‘Remembrance Day’ as an appropriate title for a day which would commemorate all war dead. In October 1997, then Governor-General of Australia, Sir William Deane, issued a proclamation declaring 11 November as Remembrance Day and urging Australians to observe one minute’s silence at 11.00 am on Remembrance Day each year to remember the sacrifice of those who died or otherwise suffered in Australia’s cause in wars and war-like conflicts.

In 1993, to mark the 75th anniversary of the 1918 armistice, the Australian Government exhumed the remains of an unknown Australian soldier from the Western Front for entombment at the Australian War Memorial’s Hall of Memory, Canberra. As Australia’s Unknown Soldier was laid to rest, World War I veteran Robert Comb, who had served in battles on the Western Front, sprinkled soil from Pozières, France, over the coffin and said, “Now you’re home, mate”.

Lest we forget…

MOVIE MONDAY - CATCH-22

“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.” - Albert Einstein

September 21st is the Autumnal Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the Vernal Equinox for us in the Southern Hemisphere. It heralds the official arrival of Autumn and Spring respectively. Equinox implies equal periods of light and darkness on this day, with (at the appropriate latitude, 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night from sunrise to sunset).

Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world also on 21st September. The United Nations General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. The theme of this year’s commemoration is “Partnerships for Peace – Dignity for All” which aims to highlight the importance of all segments of society to work together to strive for peace.

The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by resolution 36/67PDF document of the United Nations General Assembly to coincide with its opening session, which was held annually on the third Tuesday of September. The first Peace Day was observed in September 1982.

As it is Movie Monday today, I’d like to review a classic film that has its theme war, and delivers a strong anti-war, pro-peace message. It is Mike Nichols’ 1970 film “Catch-22” starring Alan Arkin, Martin Balsam, Richard Benjamin, Art Garfunkel, Jon Voigt, Orson Welles, and Bob Newhart. Everyone conversant with English knows and probably often uses the phrase “catch-22” to describe a dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions. Many people who use this phrase may not know its origin. It is the title of a brilliant satirical novel, “Catch-22” by Joseph Heller that mocks war, the military, and politics. The movie is based on this novel and it is an excellent book-to-film adaptation.

The plot concerns Yossarian (Alan Arkin), a bombardier who realises the impossibility of ever completing the required number of bombing missions to be rotated out of harm’s way. This is because his commanding officers (Balsam and Henry) are constantly upping the number of missions required once anyone gets close to that number. Yossarian decides his best bet is to try for a medical disqualification for flight under the grounds that it’s insane to fly these missions, and since he’s flying them, he must be insane. But the flight surgeon (Jack Gilford) declares anyone who realises the insanity of the situation must, by definition, be sane, and therefore must continue to fly – Catch-22!

I read the novel in the second form of High School and then watched the movie a couple of years after it was made. I enjoyed both immensely then, and since then have re-read the novel and watched the film recently, as an adult. The enjoyment has increased, as (obviously) has my understanding of both.

The movie shines in terms of film-making: The wonderful cinematography (shot in widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1), the sharp editing, the crisp sound, the great pacing, the excellent casting, the flawless acting, the incredibly complex staging of many scenes: all done to perfection. Mike Nichols has directed relatively few movies, but his list of titles is impressive: “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, “The Graduate”, “Carnal Knowledge”, “The Day of the Dolphin”, “Biloxi Blues”, etc.

"Catch-22" is very funny and tragic at the same time. The script and dialogue are witty and intelligent, and the theme is clear without needing to be shoved into the viewers’ face. Comparing this anti-war film with some recent similar films can only make one wax even more lyrical about “Catch-22”. Anyone who has had anything to do with the military, I think, can appreciate the insanity depicted and the futility and terrible waste that war is. You must watch this film and read the book if you have not done so!

HIROSHIMA DAY 2015

“Japan learned from the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that the tragedy wrought by nuclear weapons must never be repeated and that humanity and nuclear weapons cannot coexist.” - Daisaku Ikeda

In August 1945, during the final stage of the Second World War, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The two bombings, which killed at least 129,000 people, remain the only use of nuclear weapons for warfare in history. As the war entered its sixth and final year, the Allies had begun to prepare for what was anticipated to be a very costly invasion of the Japanese mainland. This was preceded by an immensely destructive firebombing campaign that obliterated many Japanese cities.

The war in Europe had concluded when Nazi Germany signed its instrument of surrender on May 8, 1945, but with the Japanese refusal to accept the Allies’ demands for unconditional surrender, the Pacific War dragged on. Together with the United Kingdom and China, the United States called for the unconditional surrender of the Japanese armed forces in the Potsdam Declaration on July 26, 1945; this was buttressed with the threat of “prompt and utter destruction”.

By August 1945, the Allied “Manhattan Project” had successfully detonated an atomic device in the New Mexico desert and subsequently produced atomic weapons based on two alternate designs. The 509th Composite Group of the U.S. Army Air Forces was equipped with the specialised Silverplate version of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, that could deliver them from Tinian in the Mariana Islands. A uranium gun-type atomic bomb (Little Boy) was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, followed by a plutonium implosion-type bomb (Fat Man) on the city of Nagasaki on August 9.

Little Boy exploded 2,000 feet above Hiroshima in a blast equal to 12-15,000 tons of TNT, destroying five square miles of the city. Within the first two to four months of the bombings, the acute effects of the atomic bombings killed 90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima and 39,000–80,000 in Nagasaki; roughly half of the deaths in each city occurred on the first day. During the following months, large numbers died from the effect of burns, radiation sickness, and other injuries, compounded by illness and malnutrition. In both cities, most of the dead were civilians, although Hiroshima had a sizable military garrison. On August 15, just days after the bombing of Nagasaki and the Soviet Union's declaration of war, Japan announced its surrender to the Allies. On September 2, it signed the instrument of surrender, effectively ending World War II. The role of the bombings in Japan’s surrender and their ethical justification are still debated.

In Japan, the survivors of the bombings are called hibakusha (“explosion-affected people”). The shock and great suffering in the wake of the bombings caused Japan to seek the abolition of nuclear weapons from the world ever since, putting in place one of the world’s most committed and extensive non-nuclear policies. More than 400,000 hibakusha (258,310 in Hiroshima and 145,984 in Nagasaki) are recorded in Japan.

This is a day to:

• Remember those who died and were wounded by the bombing of Hiroshima

• Remember all people of every nation who died and were wounded during World War II

• Assert the right of everyone on earth to live a life free from the fear of war

• Work for a world free from nuclear weapons

• Work to adopt peaceful use of nuclear power.

PEACE

“Yes, we love peace, but we are not willing to take wounds for it, as we are for war.” - John Holmes

The following is an excerpt from a message which a Romanian writer, Constant-Virgil Gheorghiu (1916-1992), sent to the South Korean people in 1972. Gheorghiu was persecuted in his native country for his liberal and anti-totalitarian views and sought refuge in France. His most important work La Vingt-cinquieme Heure is famed throughout the world. In 1974 he visited Korea and gave a lecture to the Korean people. This message originally written in French, was translated into English:

“You have lived through a long history of trials and tribulations, but you are not pitiable losers. Each one of you is the king. Do not forget this. Those of the powerful countries who commit aggression and impose their domination over others may not know that you are the kings.

Those who live in large countries, in the glory of victory, in wealth and boredom may not know the beauty of humanitarian love of those who hold hands and offer their sympathies to each other. They may not know the happiness that is created from hardships.

Have courage. Even the history of hardships could not take away your beautiful poetry, songs, and prayers. You possess the soul that the world has lost.

You, who possess the soul of the king! What you have created are not refrigerators, television sets, or automobiles. What you have created are the everlasting smiles and peace for mankind which could overcome earthly things and shed bright light. What I have said about the east from which the light may come may very well mean the small country of Korea where you live. There should be no surprise if one said that the tomorrow's light will rise from your country of Korea.

It is so because you are the people who have overcome countless hardships and come out victorious from each hardship. You are the people who raised your heads high with bravery, wisdom, and inner strength in the midst of trials and tribulations.”

peace |pēs| noun

1 freedom from disturbance; quiet and tranquility: You can while away an hour or two in peace and seclusion.

• mental calm; serenity: The peace of mind this insurance gives you.

2 freedom from or the cessation of war or violence: The Straits were to be open to warships in time of peace.

• [in sing. ] a period of this: The peace didn’t last.

• [in sing. ] a treaty agreeing to the cessation of war between warring states: Support for a negotiated peace.

• freedom from civil disorder: Police action to restore peace.

• freedom from dispute or dissension between individuals or groups: The 8.8 percent offer that promises peace with the board.

3 (the peace) a ceremonial handshake or kiss exchanged during a service in some churches (now usually only in the Eucharist), symbolising Christian love and unity. See also kiss of peace.

exclamation

1 used as a greeting.

2 used as an order to remain silent.

PHRASES

at peace 1 free from anxiety or distress. • dead (used to suggest that someone has escaped from the difficulties of life). 2 in a state of friendliness: A man at peace with the world.

hold one’s peace remain silent about something.

keep the peace refrain or prevent others from disturbing civil order: The police must play a crucial role in keeping the peace.

make peace (or one’s peace) reestablish friendly relations; become reconciled: Not every conservative has made peace with big government.

no peace for the weary = no rest for the weary.

ORIGIN Middle English : from Old French pais, from Latin pax, pac- ‘peace.’

MOVIE MONDAY - HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR

"A warless world will come as men develop warless hearts." - Charles Wesley Burns

A review of a classic 1959 film by Alain Resnais, “Hiroshima,Mon Amour” today. This is a film I have watched three times and enjoyed it immensely every time, was moved by it anew each time, was shocked and was forced to reassess my own soul each time, together with the film’s actors.

The year is 1959 and a young French actress has just spent a torrid night with a married Japanese architect. They are in Hiroshima, where she has been shooting an anti-war film. They find themselves embroiled in a white-hot passion and they are moved to disclosing their inner secrets to each other. She discloses to him her first love for a German soldier during the second world war in the French town of Nevers. The film is a love story, but it is not. It is an anti-war film, but it is not. It is a study of two people marked by tragedy, by loss, by disaster, but it is a hopeful document of renewal and rebirth.

The film relies on dialogue and images to reveal the souls of the two leads and the way in which their encounter changes them. The dialogue between the two lovers is also a conversation of their two pasts with each other. Each phrase exchanged between them is in juxtaposition with the mirrored images of their previous experiences. There is a rich interweaving of layers of images, symbols and metaphors. The growth of these two people is really revealing past destruction, the present peace they find themselves in is really an exposure of the recent war they have experienced, the love they are living through presently is really a sacrifice to the death they cheated in their past.

The script of the movie by Marguerite Duras is expressive, sensitive and revealing. There is poetry and great literary merit in it. Resnais has turned it into a magnificent film through his amazing direction and striking close-ups, the few locations used and his superb layering of images and scenes. The brilliance of the mise en scène is complemented by great acting, the masterly editing and the interweaving of past and present to create a powerful film.

The love story does not trivialise the tragedy of Hiroshima, but rather it makes it even more poignant and ultimately even more accessible on a personal level. The bombing of Hiroshima horrifies us and disgusts us, its significance on a world level makes us gasp with revulsion – on the other hand the personal tragedy of the two lovers makes us weep as our hearts are moved by their plight and as our hearts beat in sympathy with their own personal losses.

If you haven’t seen this film, go and get it and see it. It is a masterpiece of cinematic art, a film against war and a love story between two survivors. In the immense tragedies it documents, it is also a hopeful statement on life and love.