TV Channel

Thank you very much, Richard Morris. It is my great pleasure to introduce Moira Sheehan, the Mayor of Leichhardt Council and Programme Director at Sydney TAFE. Moira has an extensive background and continues to work for her community. She is the co-founder of the statewide network Protectors of Public Lands, which opposes the sell-off of historically protected parkland sites. She is also an active supporter of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the continuous improvement of public transport for all. Please welcome the Mayor of Leichhardt, Councillor Moira Sheehan. Thank you. Could I start by acknowledging the Indigenous people, by acknowledging that we are meeting on Gadigal land, and extend thanks and recognition for the stewardship of the Indigenous people of this land when it was solely in their care, and thank them for sharing this land with all of us. Swāmījī, fellow speakers, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. At a time when conflict looms large, how can we live in peace, and how can we promote peaceful solutions to conflict? Conflict is a part of the human condition. Sometimes we become internally conflicted; there is struggle, doubt, and transition. It is part of our condition. How we deal with it is what makes the difference. We must start with ourselves, in our local communities and families, in our schools, and in our local streets and neighbourhoods. It is that old saying, "Think globally and act locally." But at these times, it can feel like we are facing overwhelming odds in the support of peaceful pursuit. I am sure all of you have been bombarded—I try to turn it off as much as possible—by images of conflict coming right into our rooms, homes, and neighbourhoods. It feels overwhelming. In the face of that, people have different reactions. I look at the activist end of things because that is where I started, taking action in a public way. In the weeks before the most recent wave of killing and destruction began in Iraq, millions of people marched for peace across the world. Hundreds of thousands marched in Australia and Sydney. On the day the bombing started, 30,000 people gathered at Town Hall in Sydney to march for peace. The numbers marching are less now than before the bombing started. Does this mean people are changing their minds and supporting war? This is an impression we might get from some media. A recent poll shows a shift in how people think about the war, but I do not believe that is the case. I think people are reacting differently to conflict. When overwhelmed, they may want to withdraw and sleep for a while, literally. I rang a friend that day and said, "I'm heading down to Town Hall. What are you doing?" They said, "I think I need to sleep for a few hours." It was a very human reaction. It does not mean they have withdrawn completely from action or a sense of responsibility, but they need time to reflect before acting again. In the meantime, people are still marching. Everywhere I go, people are talking in workplaces, homes, and communities, grappling with what is going on, trying to make sense of it, and looking for a positive way forward. One difficulty we face is the sense of what our leaders are saying and doing. An awful lot of people go out and put a mark on a ballot paper for a particular person in politics, putting their faith in that person to do the right thing. If they feel that person is not doing the right thing, it becomes difficult. Where do we seek leadership at moments like this? People look for conviction in their leaders. History shows that strong leaders who show conviction and steadfastness tend to attract support. However, that can be for good or not for good. As an earlier speaker mentioned, perhaps the rabbi, there is a tendency to be so self-assured that one becomes incredibly arrogant. Self-assured, yes. Strong, yes. But leading in completely the wrong direction. I think we are in one of those moments, certainly in Western leadership, where there is a real conflict between what people put on their ballot paper in good faith and what they see happening at the leadership level. The global peace movement is very strong, urging people to gather in local communities, organise local activities, and bring people together in peace. Leichhardt has a local peace group, as do many other communities across Sydney, rural New South Wales, and other states. People are gathering in their local communities to work together for peace. A few stories from the Leichhardt group: We started with a picnic in a fabulous park on the waterfront near Rozelle Bay—a park we won through direct community action about 20 years ago when it was going to be turned into high-rise development. People arrived at that picnic after seeing it in the newspaper, including visitors from the States and the UK. They came to connect with others working for a common goal. We made connections we have kept. We went on a march in Norton Street, a trendy restaurant strip in Sydney. Seven hundred people joined us. Jimmy Little, who will be here today, sang songs on the steps of the town hall. Interestingly, it did not get into the local newspaper because sensational, conflicted stories tend to get coverage. It is difficult to get a good news story in. We also have local people who gather at shopping centres and hand out leaflets about peace, rallies, and organisations promoting peace through aid, meditation, or religious groups. A similar story played out with the refugee issue, bringing out people who had never before engaged in public activities. A family recently joined our peace group because they needed to reach out due to difficulties with the refugee issue in Australia. The whole family now visits children and families in detention centres in Sydney. That is their contribution. I am a bit puzzled by this, but I attempted to get various church groups to make a statement through council. It became impossible to reach a resolution. I will keep trying, but it seems internal politics in some institutions stand in the way of people speaking out and coming together around common statements for peace. It is the very small actions all put together that will make the difference because this will be a people's movement. We see that our leaders are not leading us where we want to go. Technology and our capacity to build a web around the globe is a real strength today. The fact that we can have so many people here from different parts of the world coming together in Sydney, which is a long way from many population centres, shows how the global village gives us an opportunity to come together for action like never before. These actions, built one by one, will make the difference in the end. Sometimes it takes courage to begin. You reflect, think, and then take action. It does not matter where the action starts, as long as it starts. Some people find it easier to speak in public or make strong statements. For others, that is not their way. What matters is that people do or say something. It reminds me of that old set of statements from the horrific experience of the Second World War, from which the United Nations was born: "When they came for the communists, I wasn't a communist, so I did nothing. When they came for the gypsies, I wasn't a gypsy, so I did nothing. When they came for the Jews, I wasn't a Jew, so I did nothing. So when they came for me, there was nobody left." It takes courage to start, but it gets easier as you go because the strength we gather from others in unity is the strength of this peace movement. What can we do? We can put a peace sign or message in a prominent place on our window or in the front garden. We can get on the internet, join a peace discussion, send email petitions, and talk to friends around the world. We can have a peace lunch, dinner, or barbecue with friends and neighbours. You can ask your local council to close your local street one day for a peace party. We did that recently, and it brought the neighbourhood together like nothing else—people talking across fences, coming out onto the street, and breaking bread together. You can join a local peace group, hand out peace messages at your local shopping centre, write to your local state and federal representatives calling for peace, and talk with and listen to your children, especially about the war and ways to resolve conflict by peaceful means. This is so important for young people; we must model for them what we expect. It is not "do as I say," but "do as I do." That is more important than ever for intergenerational peace and equity. We can visit refugee detention centres, get to know people from other parts of the world, from those areas most conflicted. Spend 15 minutes each day thinking or doing something for peace. Meditate. Write a letter to the newspapers. Donate funds to peace coalitions or aid organisations. We are a very wealthy people. I know some feel they do not have enough, but we are wealthy and can certainly donate to those less wealthy across the world. Little actions set examples and together grow to be big actions. Never underestimate the power of individual action. Thank you. Thank you very much, Moira. It is now my great pleasure to introduce His Holiness. Recording location: Australia, Sydney, World Peace Forum 2003