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Quarterly sent from our site: Nonkilling.org.
"Nonkilling art explores the spirit and practice of how to prevent, respond to, and to improve individual, social, and global well-being beyond killing." —Glenn D. Paige |
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Nonkilling Arts Research Committee Letter: Vol. 6, N. 2 (April-June 2022) |
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Dear NKARC members and friends,
This Issue of the NKARC Letter is about our common humanity. South Africa’s anti-apartheid hero late Dr. Desmond Tutu who passed away on 26 Dec.2020, used to say, “Differences are not intended to separate to alienate. We are different precisely in order to realize our need for one another. We can be HUMAN ONLY TOGETHER.” ----From BELIEVE by Dr. Desmond Tutu. |
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1. Nonkilling Poetry
Peace Threads
About Threats to Civilization
Is there a threat to Civilization
or is that a pessimistic interpretation?
Is there a threat to traditional peace
or is that an awareness
of an emerging nonkilling peace?
Is there a threat to global unity
Or is it a dangerous search for
Totalitarianism?
--Francisco Gomes de Matos, Recife, Brazil
Three responses to the above from Anoop Swarup and David E. Evans, Australia, and Jocelyn Wright, South Korea.
Threats to civilization will always be,
Either for a pessimist or an optimist.
Traditional peace is perhaps elusive,
Affirmative 'nonkilling' peace is real,
It is more about humanism to the core,
It is principled and nonnegotiable,
Neither for unity nor a quest for power,
Be it for totalitarianism or for division,
Even for faith, liberty, and freedom,
'Life' is eternal as is our own existence,
Worrisome indeed if 'life' is question
As is our trust in civilizational ascent,
'Life' is our own genesis and the survival,
'Nonkilling' is its alfa and the omega.
-- Anoop Swarup, Melbourne, Australia
Eternal questions
Begging an answer
Don't question the goal
Affirmative Nonkilling, and,
Peace in our time
So don't lay down tools
There's work to do.
No time to relax
Serve where you can
Meanwhile be happy
With your service
For if you are not,
The world is in even more strife
--David E. Evans, Fullarton, Australia
Global Peace Treaty
Post-COVID,
The Global Ceasefire threatens to lapse
Unless Nations heed our call
A call for international peace,
Perpetual peace,
For all
This significant symbolic act –
If only it could be achieved –
Would decrease violence and killing on a global scale,
And allow the redirection of military budgets to invest wholesale
In better social infrastructure,
Peace education,
And environmental needs
As advocates,
We need your help, Nations.
Please,
Hear our pleads!
--Jocelyn Wright, Mokpo National University, South Korea
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2. Nonkilling Song
(i) “Stop This War” from MOSAÏQUE
The musical group MOSAÏQUE’s poet founder Jayant Guha writes: “Surojit Chatterjee, one of the leading musician and singer of Bengal, and I were discussing over the telephone how we are helpless in a situation when a country is ravaged by invaders and innocents are dying and uprooted as it is happening in Ukraine and other parts of the world. But then we said that we can at the least lend our voice in protest against WARS. I wrote the poem, Surojit transformed it into a song so here is the original version… Thanks to Victor Latyshev, originally from Ukraine but residing in Saguenay, Quebec, who recites the first few lines of the chorus in Ukrainian and supplied the script.” In NKARC we are always challenged by “rain of pain” and how to transform it in a rain of Hope. No More Killing. Music video (5.07 min.).
(ii) The Earth Day song –“Garbage!” by Bill Steele, sung by Pete Seeger
A year before the first Earth Day observance on April 22, 1970, American folk musician Bill Steele wrote one of the environmental movement's anthems. It was a nationwide environmental "teach-in" for 20 million participants. The song still resonates (3.54 min).
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3. Nonkilling Video
- BREATHING IN (4.10m) film by Marc Silver , written by Elin Kelsey. Average of 600 million breaths we breathe in our life time.
- SIMPLE like a Leaf (1.37m) film by Marsha, guitar by Ronnie from Fabricant de Futur, Spain.
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4. Nonkilling Nonfiction
Spirit Wrestlers: Doukhobor Pioneers and Their Friends (2022) by Koozma J. Tarasoff, Canada.
A new book on Doukhobour history, philosophy and culture has just been published with 459 pages and 340 images, and as a free eBook online. This 2022 book is a continuation of Tarasoff’s 2002 work ― Spirit Wrestlers: Doukhobor Pioneers’ Strategies for Living. The author, an anthropologist uses the technique of common set of questions in developing the biographies. The answers about practicing nonkilling tradition, support of Leo Tolstoy’s teachings, and the link to nonkilling Russian folk culture stand out. Website: http://www.spirit-wrestlers.com
Book review: David Swanson of WorldBeyondWar.org in an insightful review of this book, writes: “Tolstoy said the Doukhobors belonged to the 25th century. He was talking about a group of people who have traditions of refusing to take part in war, refusing to eat or harm animals or put animals to work, engaging in communal sharing of resources and communal approaches to work, gender equality, and letting deeds speak in place of words …as a form of nonviolent protest. You can see how such people might have run into trouble in a Russian empire or the great nation of Canada. One of their most important historical events is the Burning of Arms which happened in 1895 in Georgia. With roots in Ukraine and Russia, with members living in those countries and throughout Eastern Europe, as well as Canada, the Doukhobors might draw attention in this moment of war fever more than the Mennonites, Amish, Quakers, or any of the other communities of people who have struggled to fit into a war-extraction-exploitation-mad society.”
Full review: "Can We Learn Anything From Russian-Canadian Pacifists?" By David Swanson |
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5. Nonkilling Visual Arts
Artwork of Aquil Virani (from the website):
Awarded “Artist For Peace” by the collective “Les artistes pour la Paix,” Aquil Virani’s work blurs the line between art and activism. He uses painting, drawing, filmmaking, writing, graphic design, installation, and participatory art processes in his work. His collaborative artworks honouring murdered Québec City Muslims was delivered as a gift to the Centre culturel islamique de Québec. The commemorative portrait series by Virani of the 6 men killed implores the viewers entitled, “Québec - Ezzedine Soufiane. Mamadou Tanou Barry. Khaled Belkacemi. Abdelkrim Hassane. Ibrahima Barry. Aboubaker Thabti. Say their names”. The commemorative project is an installation featuring six large-scale painted portraits of the murdered men, created using acrylic and spray paint. More on Virani’s Jan 29 killings portrait series.
Aquil Virani’s work has been also exhibited as part of “Canada’s Self Portrait” project at the Canadian Museum of Immigration in Halifax and the Stewart Hall Art Gallery in Pointe-Claire, Quebec. Curator Celine Le Merlus writes, “his approach, which aims not simply to assert a personal point of view on a pressing social issue, but also to facilitate opportunities for others to express themselves freely – to speak and be heard – is characteristic of all of Aquil’s work.”
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6. Nonkilling Movie
BELFAST – written and directed by Kenneth Branagh
Award-winning movie by Kenneth Branagh is about sectarian love and hate, trying to grapple with choices that many choose to make to leave their homelands. Reviewed by Christy Lemire for RogerEbert.com: “....Within the steady hum of the threat Buddy and his family face is an impossible decision: Do they stay in this neighborhood where they’ve lived their whole lives, where everyone knows everyone, or do they move somewhere safer and start over? Pa’s work has been taking him to England for weeks at a time as he tries to pay off his debts—maybe the whole family should just join him there? Or perhaps a city that’s idyllic but far away, like Vancouver or Sydney? The achingly romantic final shot signals their choice in a way that hits harder than any of the nostalgia that came before it.’
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7. Nonkilling Concert
Cyber Bullying, Suicides Prevention and Music: My Name is Amanda Todd
Jocelyn Morlock’s heartfelt elegant classical composition won the prestigious Juno award in 2018, conducted by maestro Alexander Shelley. The piece inspires hope, empathy and solace. (12 min).
My Name is Amanda Todd | Life Reflected | National Arts Centre (nac-cna.ca)
Amanda Todd was a vibrant 15-year-old from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia who loved singing and expressing herself through music. Amanda Todd tragically took her life on October 10, 2012 after suffering for years from cyber abuse, harassment and bullying at school. Amanda posted a poignant video on YouTube, using a series of flash cards, speaking out against bullying and sharing her story. The message of hope, empathy and tolerance she expressed in her video has since caused a worldwide groundswell of support, and is now being used by educators and parents to support anti-bullying measures. Carol Todd, Amanda’s mother, continues to spread Amanda’s message through The Amanda Todd Legacy.
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8. Nonkilling Theatre
“Change the World One Play at a Time”: Playwright and Activist Rahul Varma on Socially-engaged Diasporic Theatre in Canada by Anouck Carsignol
Anouck Carsignol interviews Montreal playwright Rahul Varma. Comprehensive deep dive into the rationale and history of Teesri Duniya Theatre of activism. Playwright’s insightful responses to the interviewer’s probing questions are relevant as demands continue to grow globally for decolonisation of mind and consciousness. About Varma’s plays, Carsignol writes: “What stands out in Rahul Varma’s productions is his artistic rendition of historical facts and multi-layered socio-economic issues, staged in different locations and interpreted by a very diverse cast of actors. Through his plays, he contributes to informing a large public on a wide spectrum of inter-connected themes which cover globalized capitalism, environment and development issues (Bhopal 2001), the marginalization of Indigenous people in Canada (The Land where the Trees Talk 1998), migration and exploitation (No Man’s Land 1995), the interplay between domestic violence and racism (Counter Offence 1995), war and occupation in Iraq (Truth and Treason 2017).”
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10. Nonkilling Installation
Illuminations projected by New York artists on UN buildings to highlight the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons’ (TPNW) first anniversary
Kathleen Sullivan writes:
“Just in time for the first anniversary of the TPNW’s entry into force, we lit up the UN with messages for all nine nuclear armed nations — JOIN THE TREATY! Several intrepid souls gathered together (again) to project our demands on UNHQ, and create powerful images to amplify calls for nuclear abolition. The Illuminator Collective supported New York City artists and activists to illuminate the South wall of the iconic United Nations Secretariat building designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer and the Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier. The illuminations projected on to the UN, designed by artist Ivy Arce, called out each of the nine nuclear armed nations — in the order in which each country developed its nuclear capability — to join the TPNW. The messages read, “Nuclear Weapons are Illegal, United States Join the Treaty! #nuclearban” followed by Russia, the UK, France, China, Israel, India, Pakistan and North Korea; and were conveyed in the corresponding country-specific, lingua franca to send a direct message to their leaders.” Here you will find a google drive with loads of photos, videos and the files for Ivy’s design that we projected seven stories high !
With love from NYCAN, - Kathleen, Robert, Seth and Brendan
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11. Nonkilling Philosophy
Nonkilling Philosophy Reflections: the sham of non-existence and the Russo-Ukrainian War of 2022 by Clay Edwards
Edwards writes: “It is one thing to generate things including materials or products that give us advantages in life, sometimes above others of the human family. It is entirely another to direct and redirect power, to give power to others and have it returned, which is really the essence of wielding power. This means the world is in a very dangerous predicament. Putin's rhetoric is a litany of excuses for his generating military action against Ukraine. Such is what Plato termed "bare rhetoric", talking about justice without instructing in justice. For Biden's part, he is also generating military action by proxy, equipping Putin's Ukrainian opponents…”
Resisting Militarism: Mission Impossible? By Sean Howard
In this thoughtful essay Sean Howard notes: “In his 2013 book A New Therapy for Politics, psychologist Andrew Samuels writes of the importance of “denationalizing the psyche, stopping the pattern in which individuals are educated to think like states” — the most catastrophic consequence of which is the tendency in crises, and especially in war, to identify with states not just as people but parents (Mother- and Fatherlands) to ‘whom’ we owe allegiance. Such basic category errors also act to ‘justify’ collective punishments of whole peoples — e.g. brutal blockades and boycotts of ‘Russia’ — for the sins of the personified state.”
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12. Nonkilling Research
Predicting Genocide in an Age of Anthropogenic Climate Change: An Interim Report by Mark Levene
In this rare report on deeper understanding of predicting genocide, Mark Levene writes: “Severe problems of overpopulation, environmental impact, and climate change cannot persist indefinitely: sooner or later they are likely to resolve themselves, whether in the manner of Rwanda or in some other manner not of our devising, if we don’t succeed in solving them by our own actions. How should we understand the wellsprings of genocide?”
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13. Nonkilling Security Reflections
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15. Nonkilling Symposia/Book Launch
Two nonkilling keynote events on Friday, April 08, 2022:
(1) 9 a.m. (EST) - A Summit and book launch at George Mason University of Elsevier’s Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace and Conflict
(2) 12 noon, Nova Southeastern University of Florida is holding a keynote presentation by Professor Leslie Sponsel, entitled, ”Nonkilling Approach within Peace Studies: Human Nature and The Yanomami of the Amazon and Human Nature”
For co-ordinates, see posters below: |
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Nova Southeastern University of Florida is holding a Zoom presentation by Professor Leslie Sponsel, entitled,” Nonkilling Approach within Peace Studies: Human Nature and The Yanomami of the Amazon and Human Nature” on April 8, 2022, 12 noon. |
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The Yanomami of the Amazon have been characterized as a primitive tribal society engaged in chronic endemic warfare. This view has been repeated regularly and uncritically in the Hobbesian echo chamber. Application of the nonkilling approach to reconsidering the Yanomami refutes this characterization and provides a new perspective on their culture. Thereby it challenges Hobbesian political ideology as well.
The pioneering research of political scientist Glenn D. Paige in developing the nonkilling approach within peace studies is introduced. Then his nonkilling approach is applied to the anthropological study of war and peace. The Hobbesian political ideology of human nature as inherently and inevitably violent and warlike is critically analyzed and refuted. Evidence from archaeology and ethnography reveals that war is very recent in human prehistory and uncommon.
About Prof. Leslie E. Sponsel: he earned a B.A. in geology from Indiana University, and M.A. and Ph.D. from Cornell University specializing in biological anthropology. In 1981 he joined the University of Hawai`i (UHM) to develop and direct an Ecological Anthropology Program. Among the courses he teaches is ANTH/PACE 345 Aggression, War and Peace.
He was one of the founding members of the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute of Peace at UHM and a contributor to the development of the independent Center for Global Nonkilling. Also, he was a founding member and the first chair of the Committee for Human Rights of the American Anthropological Association.
From 1974-1981 through several field trips to the Venezuelan Amazon he studied the behavioral ecology of animal predation by Yanomami and other Indigenes. Thereafter he turned to Thailand for research on Buddhist ecology and environmentalism, more recently on sacred caves. Among his books are The Anthropology of Peace and Nonviolence, Spiritual Ecology: A Quiet Revolution, Nonkilling Anthropology: A New Approach to the Study of Human Nature, War, and Peace, and Yanomami in the Amazon: Toward a More Ethical Anthropology Beyond Othering.
Roland Joseph (Moderator) is a Ph.D. candidate in Conflict Analysis and Resolution at Nova Southeastern University (NSU). He is interested in investigating the experience of scholars promoting the nonkilling paradigm to anti-nuclear weapon activists and nuclear realists and to what extent this new paradigm can contribute to addressing the risks associated with the existence of nuclear arsenals. Mr. Joseph is a member of the Research Committee on Non-killing Security and International Relations at the Center for Global Nonkilling (CGNK). In Haiti, his own country, he coordinated and led training sessions on peace, non-violence, nonkilling, and conflict resolution for more than ten years at Centre Caraibbeen pour la Non-Violence Globale et le Developpement Durable (Caribbean Center for Global Nonviolence and Sustainable Development).
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Last Word
The Need for Simplicity
by Francisco Gomes de Matos
Some say Humanity has very much achieved
In the Arts, sciences, technology
but in sustainable Peace have
we succeeded? In dealing with
Climate change have we been
realistically relevant ?
In interacting globally have we been simple, solidarity-building?
A life of deep simplicity will
reenergize our Spirituality
In such spirit let’s do our humble share and show how
we locally and globally for human health we effectively care |
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In a nonkilling world
LIFE is given total primacy
Nonkilling is a supreme blessing
Humanity should cultivate it
FGM
As always, looking forward to your inspiration, suggestions, and comments. Please note this Letter comes out quarterly. Deep gratitude to everyone who contributed and pointed to the material for the Letter.
Be Well, Stay Safe.
Nonkilling Regards,
Bill
Bill (Balwant) Bhaneja
Coordinator
NonKilling Arts Research Committee (NKARC)
Center for Global Nonkilling (CGNK)
www.nonkilling.org
"Nonkilling Culture crosses all the lines." —Glenn D. Paige
Nonkilling is THE measure of Human progress
[THIS IS AN INTERNAL NEWSLETTER OF THE NKARC. COPYRIGHT FOR ALL MATERIAL IN THE NEWSLETTER REMAINS PROPERTY OF THE SOURCES/WRITERS/ART CREATORS]
[Previous NKARC Letters are available on Nonkilling Arts page of CGNK site]
Stay in contact also on Social Networks
- Please feel free to contact NKARC Letter's coordinator at billbhaneja@nonkilling.org.
- You can also follow the Center for Global Nonkilling at these social networks:
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Center for Global Nonkilling (CGNK)
3653 Tantalus Drive Honolulu, Hawai‛i 96822-5033 United States
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