Upcoming event
Peace demonstration Peace for Ukraine, 2 October 15.00 to 16.00 Dam Square Amsterdam, International Day of Non-violence
Unfortunately, the war in Ukraine is still going on. We think it is outrageous and tragic that five children per day are dying in Ukraine (underestimation) and we think that their lives should be spared. We are shocked by the stories about mass graves as well. Adults should all live in harmony with each other so that children can play. We would like to see peace in Ukraine and in all other countries in the world. We are also deeply concerned about threats being made to use nuclear weapons, as has been done recently. However, there is also hope. The negotiations on grain and the resumption of grain exports show that negotiations make sense, such negotiations should also take place on peace. We also believe that all countries should sign the nuclear weapons ban (Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons).
That is why Peace SOS is organizing a silent peace demonstration on Dam Square in Amsterdam on Sunday 2 October 2022 – on the International Day of Nonviolence – from 3 to 4 PM. We will either stand in a circle of silence or we will walk in circles on Dam Square. Are you coming too? Bring along signs particularly saying ‘Stop the war’, ‘We want Peace’, etc. Looking forward to seeing you!
Correspondence
Open letter – Reaction to President Raisi’s speech at the United Nations General Assemblee 77
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, H.E. Dr. Ebrahim Raisi
Bussum, 25 September 2022
Your Excellency,
Greetings from the Netherlands in Europe! The press section of the Iranian embassy in the Netherlands sent us your speech for the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly. We are grateful for the opportunity to give our feedback.
But first please allow me to briefly introduce myself and Peace SOS.
Open letter – PLEASE EXTEND THE TRUCE, LET ALL CHILDREN PLAY IN YEMEN
Your Excellencies, Your Highnesses,
As citizens, our hearts cry for all the people in the world suffering from violence, starvation and illness due to war. This applies especially for the children and people of Yemen. The situation is tragic. According to David Gressly, the humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, the numbers of people in need are still staggering. Over 23 million people –almost three-quarters of Yemen’s population – now need assistance.
Nevertheless, the truce brings hope to the Yemeni people. According to OCHA Yemen, since the truce began civilian casualties decreased and humanitarian access was enhanced.
Open letter
Open Letter – Let All Children Play in Ukraine and the rest of the World, a call for Peace
Your Excellencies,
We are very shocked by the situation in Ukraine. Many lives have been lost. Refugees are seeking shelter…
We reiterate our call of January 21st this year and kindly ask you to:
- Respect life
- De-escalate the situation
- Sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
Peace SOS for Ukraine
Thank you for your presence at Dam Square, thank you for your support for the people in Ukraine.
Dam Square – Sunday 27 February / Peace for Ukraine event organised by several organisations. Thanks also to Gemeente Amsterdam.
Dam Square – Sunday 27 February / Peace for Ukraine event
Projects
Providing vegetables, fruits and clothes to displaced families in camps in Yemen
Ebrahim Saif of Peace SOS Yemen has been providing emergency aid to 120 displaced families in camps in Dobah Kharg, Al-Shamayatayn Directorate, Yemen. The health of the people in the camps is bad and deteriorating fast, as they do not have enough food and due to the...
Helping the children and staff of a juvenile home in Taiz, Yemen
For almost six years now, the ongoing fighting in Taiz and blockade of main roads in and out of the city has resulted in the evacuation of its juvenile home. There is hardly any support for the children and staff, despite their desperate need for it. The lack of food...
Food baskets for the people in Taiz, Yemen
To help vulnerable displaced families in different areas in Taiz Governorate, Yemen, Peace SOS donated food baskets to 270 people, including 98 children, 63 women, 70 men, 29 elderly, and 19 people with special needs. The distribution took place in late March 2022 so...
Latest blogs / Interviews
Niger could face its worst food crisis in the next few years
This is what can be deduced by following the second part of the 6th assessment report Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) made public last Monday. Produced by 270 scientists from 67 different countries, the summary of this report has been validated by the...
The need for peace between Pakistan and India
Background In the present world Pakistan and India are two neighbouring countries in South Asia. Both of these countries obtained independence from British colonial rule in 1947. This resulted in the biggest migration of humans in history when 20 million inhabitants...
Education is the key to peace in Myanmar/Burma
INTERVIEW By: May-May Meijer In front of my online zoom screen, I’m looking at a youthful-looking lady from Myanmar – or Burma, as Aye Kari Soe (AS) prefers to call it. She is living in the Netherlands, but many of her family and friends are in Burma. I am very...
Niger could face its worst food crisis in the next few years
This is what can be deduced by following the second part of the 6th assessment report Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) made public last Monday. Produced by 270 scientists from 67 different countries, the summary of this report has been validated by the...
The need for peace between Pakistan and India
Background In the present world Pakistan and India are two neighbouring countries in South Asia. Both of these countries obtained independence from British colonial rule in 1947. This resulted in the biggest migration of humans in history when 20 million inhabitants...
Education is the key to peace in Myanmar/Burma
INTERVIEW By: May-May Meijer In front of my online zoom screen, I’m looking at a youthful-looking lady from Myanmar – or Burma, as Aye Kari Soe (AS) prefers to call it. She is living in the Netherlands, but many of her family and friends are in Burma. I am very...
A WORLD IN WHICH ALL CHILDREN CAN PLAY
During the war in Syria we had contact with the girls Noor and Alaa. At the time, from a besieged Eastern Ghouta, they made an appeal for help. Fortunately, they are now safe. Sadly, for many other children and adults, this is not the case; they are still living amid the violence of war or in refugee camps. By sharing calls like those of Noor and Alaa, we aim to amplify voices for peace. These kinds of powerful images also show that we as adults have a responsibility to ensure that we treat each other well, so that A world in which all children can play becomes reality.
Other sources of inspiration also underlie this aim. Such as Loesje’s poster, and an interview with someone on UNICEF Radio 1 who said that children were completely silent in the refugee camps. Our mission is broadly formulated: to promote peace via peaceful means, human rights and to end poverty. We also want to give a voice to other people and organizations that are committed to this. Especially if they come up with innovative solutions.
To everyone who can hear me we are in danger please help us before it's too late #EastGhouta#Syria #SaveGhouta pic.twitter.com/321YhYjWow
— Noor And Alaa (@Noor_and_Alaa) February 19, 2018
Public Peace Negotiations in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square (2017). Organized by Minds of Peace.
For more information on the work of Sapir Handelman of Minds of Peace, see this short documentary that aired on BBC:
Books
The Frontlines of Peace by Séverine Autesserre
I had the opportunity to hear professor Séverine Autesserre lecture about her new book The Frontlines of Peace. She stresses the need to put “local actors in the driver’s seat.” Séverine paraphrases Paul Lederach, who believes that the best solutions to any conflict come from the people experiencing it. Nevertheless, she believes that top-down building remains crucial, because it can help to reinforce the achievements of local inhabitants.
Here I Am by May-May Meijer
Here I Am, is my book about my experiences with psychosis, depression and forced hospitalization. You might wonder why this book is paid attention to on the website of Peace SOS? During my psychosis, God showed the world through his eyes. His love for everything that lives. The bushes that seemed to want to touch me, the soil in the ground and all the organisms living in it, the snails communicating with each other. That is why I often say that we need to respect and cherish life. Life on earth is all interconnected.
World Peace: And how we can achieve it by Alex Bellamy
In his book World Peace: And how we can achieve it, Professor Alex Bellamy states that he thinks of peace as the absence and prevention of war and the management of conflict through peaceful means, implying some form of legitimate civic order. By ‘world’ peace he means the extension of these ideas globally. World peace doesn’t come from institutional arrangements or economics alone, but must also live within the hearts and minds of people.
Battling Injustice: 16 Women Nobel Peace Laureates by Supriya Vani
Supriya Vani interviewed many Nobel Peace laureates with the goal of inspiring people to work for peace. She wrote a preliminary article about her book for the website of Peace SOS, which can be found here.
The Women Nobel Peace Laureates are all beyond brave and inspiring and it is hard to mention only a couple of them. Bertha von Suttner wrote the book Die Waffen nieder! (Lay Down Your Arms!).
Peace SOS
info@peacesos.nl
IBAN: NL37TRIO0391163124
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registration number: 65947355
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RSIN: 856328789
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