Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
COMMUNITY MEMBERS CALL FOR PEACE
Scores of people attend peace rally outside Historic Chester County Courthouse
WEST CHESTER » “Imagine there’s no countries, It isn’t hard to do, Nothing to kill or die for, And no religion too, Imagine all the people living life in peace.”
The words to “Imagine,” by John Lennon, a victim of gun violence, filled the Historic Chester County Courthouse steps during Friday’s annual “Peace Day” rally as about 60 participants recognized the International Day of Peace.
The event was sponsored by the Chester County Peace Movement. For more than a decade, the group has met at the High and Market streets intersection on Saturday mornings.
The United Nations declared Sept. 21 as the permanent date for the International Day of Peace in 1981. This year’s theme was, “The Right to Peace — The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70.”
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the UN General Assembly in Paris on Dec. 10, 1948. It recognized the inherent dignity and equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human race.
State Rep. Carolyn Comitta, D-156, wished the crowd a happy International Day of Peace.
“Things don’t happen unless people care and take action,” Comitta said.
She called for the right to peace and “a lot of heart, guts, a lot of action.”
Comitta called for the preservation of dignity of all people.
“We stand up with our brothers and sisters and will not let anyone to be discriminated against,” she said.
West Chester Mayor Dianne Herrin said we “cannot look elsewhere for peace … we cannot look outside of ourselves for justice.
“Things don’t happen unless people care and take action.”
— State Rep. Carolyn Comitta, D-156
“We have to fight for justice first in our homes. Peace is the way. This is the
way we change the world.”
Herrin called for a partnership.
“We can work together to create a culture of peace — one day at a time.”
Rabbi Lawrence Troster, of Kesher Israel Congregation, said that he often greets others with “Shalom,” which when translated from Hebrew means “peace.”
“We have come into being to praise, honor and love,” he said. “Let love and justice flow like a mighty stream.”
Phoenixville Mayor Peter Urscheler is fighting indifference.
“When you live a life of comfort it is easy to not ask
questions,” the mayor said. “We must always remember that we are imperfect people in an imperfect world.”
Amelia Rayburn, of the Domestic Violence Center of Chester County, said that peace begins at home and we need to support, counsel, advocate educate and shelter.
Akbar Hossain, law school graduate and a member of the Norristown Planning Commission, said that we should not forget those for whom peace is just “a figment of imagination.”
A common theme of the event was voiced by Dean Johnson, of West Chester University.
“When there is no peace,
there is no justice,” Johnson said.
Sophie Lynne, who represented transgender rights and is an educator and advocate from Phoenixville, noted that a transgender person often faces a lack of peace.
“If a person can’t go to the bathroom in a public place, there is a definite problem,” she said. “We should not let others suffer while we stand by and fail to react.”
Eighteen speakers and musicians addressed the audience, for about three to four minutes each during the 75-minute event.
At dusk several in the audience solemnly lit candles to recognize Peace Day.