Thinker’s Lodge, Pugwash, NS. Credit: NovaScotia.com/Google

Written by: Barbara Waldern

Inspired by this year’s On to Ottawa Caravan for Peace, caravan organizers have just begun another campaign. The Canadian chapter of Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (VOW) led the Caravan. VOW Canada started a two-week-long walk for peace on September 8, 2024, planning to cover 200 km from Halifax to Pugwash.

The History of Discussions on Peace and Nuclear Disarmament in Pugwash, NS

Pugwash is a small town in the north of Nova Scotia, off Northumberland Strait at the mouth of the Pugwash River. Pugwash is a Mikmaq word that means shoal. There sits the Thinker’s Lodge, a National Historic site, the location for a science conference that opposed nuclear weapons in 1957.

The Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs began when a concerned industrial magnate, Cyrus Eaton, brought together 22 scientists from the Soviet and Western blocs. The original conference leader was Sir Dr. Joseph Rotblat. Resumed in 2003 after a 44-year hiatus, the discussions continue regularly to this day. The project was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 1995. The Lodge attained the status of National Historic Site in 2008.

This destination was chosen because of its historic significance and the contribution of its users to the nuclear disarmament movement. Indeed, the main goal of the 2024 walk is help build political influence to get more states to sign the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

The Influence of the Indian Peace Movement

The walk is a project of VOW, Science for Peace and Jai Jagat. The latter has lead peace walks in India for many years. A contingent from India will join the walkers in Nova Scotia.

Jai Jaggat, on the Move for Social Justice, is a global campaign which embraces the Ghandian principles of passivism, social inclusion and alternative development, which describes itself as pro-people, pro-poor and pro-nature. It was born out of the mass movement for land rights in India known as Ekta Parishad, 30 years ago. Jai Jaggat translates as “Victory for the Planet.” Its two main concerns are climate change and conflicts. It tries to spur people, especially youth, to take up work to build self-reliance and collectivity. It promotes peace as a way of life.

Peace marches are a core program of Jai Jaggat. This campaign was launched in 2020 to coincide with the Global Peace March from India to Geneva, Switzerland of that year. Several marches from other countries converged there for meetings with UN officials. After a few discussions among all the march participants, they decided to develop the project into a 10-year campaign.

Walking is understood as a form of meditation, peace movement-building by gathering people to participate and unity-building by walking together for the same cause and communicating the same message to the public. The walkers wanted to complete 20 kilometers a day from Halifax to the 200-kilometer conclusion in Pugwash.

International Days for Peace in September

The timing of Walking Together for Peace, NS, 2024, is meaningful; September is the month of international peace culminating in the UN International Day of Peace on September 21. At this time, 100 walks for peace will happen concurrently, with 50 planned in India alone.

Every year since 1981, on September 21, the United Nations has been celebrating all the efforts to end conflicts and promote peace. Its theme is “Cultivating a Culture of Peace”. The activities of the day include walks as well as picnics, ceremonies and vigils with candle-lighting and prayers, art, songs and tree-planting.

Building Opposition to Nuclear Weapons and War in General

The danger of nuclear war is the most well-known peace issue. Indeed, imperialist aggression and militarism are intensifying and raising alarms about the real possibility of nuclear weapons deployment. NATO has renewed its commitment to nuclear arms and the possibility of nuclear warfare has been coming up with respect to Israel, Ukraine and the DPRK. Any activity to unify and rally mass opposition to nuclear weapons and call for disarmament is welcome. The Walking Together for Peace project in Nova Scotia is helpful in this regard.

Walking Together for Peace can draw newcomers into the anti-nukes campaign and the general peace movement, just as the On to Ottawa Peace Caravan did. The latter was successful in activating people, mostly women, who had had little involvement and even little contact with peace activism. Just as the Caravan did, the Nova Scotia walk has potential to provide education on broader topics such as the war industry, Canadian policies and engagements abroad, global militarization and specific ongoing conflicts.

Less knowledgeable and experienced participants could enter the march as a safe, healthy and friendly context, perhaps encouraged through personal contacts. Such people likely begin with an acknowledgment of the danger of world war and especially nuclear war. The experience of meditating and discussing peace, war and weapons opens up minds and hearts to more information and fosters deeper understanding.

Barbara Waldern is a peace activist residing in Metro Vancouver, BC, who, holding a Masters in social science, has worked in international educational support services.

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