St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

Kosovo 'Kids for Peace'

There is conflict in our street. Big time. All I did was ask the man opposite to park his huge Parcel Force van a few yards further up outside our house. So there would be room for our car too.

His reply was basically: 'I'll park where I like and don't you dare park in the middle of your space so there is no room for me'. The actual words were not printable here!

And my family was in uproar: 'Who does he think he is?!' 'We'll park in shifts so he can't'. 'He's not going to treat us like this.' ...

But then the bright rays of some amazing children from Kosovo fell across our thinking. Children where ethnic groups have been in conflict for generations. Vat-fulls of blood spilled. Countless lives lost. Whole communities decimated. And all because 'we can't let them get away with that'.

The children of Kosovo have taken their own initiative - by forming 'Kids for Peace' clubs. The first was born in 2000. Today 344 children, in 14 clubs, are making peace come alive - with a passion and maturity beyond their years. For they will be trapped in poverty unless peace finally comes.

They have even launched their own multi-lingual newsletter, aimed at the kitchen tables of families and desks of leaders throughout the region. To share activities, ideas, poems and words of encouragement. Not only within the clubs but also with schools and leaders from different ethnic groups.

It is easy to grasp how passionate for peace these 10 to 15 year-olds are. The ceremony to mark the launch of their first newsletter was delayed when Kosovo experienced the worst ethnic clashes since NATO and the UN took control in 1999. But as violence raged, Albanian and Serbian Kids Club members took action and marched hand-in-hand for peace to the village where the drowning of three Albanian children had triggered the conflict. Finally the launch ceremony took place. 81 children: Albanians, Serbians, Croats, Bosnians, Roma/Ashkali sang the club's peace anthem: 'I'm a girl, I'm a boy…. let's live in harmony.'

And in my street? I dropped a note: 'Please feel free to park your van wherever you want. If you could be considerate I would be grateful. But no matter what you do we will not retaliate'.

If the Kosovo kids can lead the way how can we not follow?

Peter Meadows

Peter Meadows is Head of Church Action at World Vision UK. 'Reprinted (slightly abridged) with permission from World Vision's free e-mail newsletter WorldView - www.worldvision.org.uk/church.'

	*St Luke's Church, Eccleshill - The Link* magazine** The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period. June 2004, Page 9.
Home Page. Index of articles: by subject, by date. In this issue: (June 2004) Vote! The Passion (2), Song: Come to me, Islamic racists? Kosovo Kids Other articles on race & faiths.	Kosovo 'Kids for Peace' There is conflict in our street. Big time. All I did was ask the man opposite to park his huge Parcel Force van a few yards further up outside our house. So there would be room for our car too. His reply was basically: 'I'll park where I like and don't you dare park in the middle of your space so there is no room for me'. The actual words were not printable here! And my family was in uproar: 'Who does he think he is?!' 'We'll park in shifts so he can't'. 'He's not going to treat us like this.' ... But then the bright rays of some amazing children from Kosovo fell across our thinking. Children where ethnic groups have been in conflict for generations. Vat-fulls of blood spilled. Countless lives lost. Whole communities decimated. And all because 'we can't let them get away with that'. The children of Kosovo have taken their own initiative - by forming 'Kids for Peace' clubs. The first was born in 2000. Today 344 children, in 14 clubs, are making peace come alive - with a passion and maturity beyond their years. For they will be trapped in poverty unless peace finally comes. They have even launched their own multi-lingual newsletter, aimed at the kitchen tables of families and desks of leaders throughout the region. To share activities, ideas, poems and words of encouragement. Not only within the clubs but also with schools and leaders from different ethnic groups. It is easy to grasp how passionate for peace these 10 to 15 year-olds are. The ceremony to mark the launch of their first newsletter was delayed when Kosovo experienced the worst ethnic clashes since NATO and the UN took control in 1999. But as violence raged, Albanian and Serbian Kids Club members took action and marched hand-in-hand for peace to the village where the drowning of three Albanian children had triggered the conflict. Finally the launch ceremony took place. 81 children: Albanians, Serbians, Croats, Bosnians, Roma/Ashkali sang the club's peace anthem: 'I'm a girl, I'm a boy…. let's live in harmony.' And in my street? I dropped a note: 'Please feel free to park your van wherever you want. If you could be considerate I would be grateful. But no matter what you do we will not retaliate'. If the Kosovo kids can lead the way how can we not follow? Peter Meadows Peter Meadows is Head of Church Action at World Vision UK. 'Reprinted (slightly abridged) with permission from World Vision's free e-mail newsletter WorldView - www.worldvision.org.uk/church.'
Top of page.	This web page was last updated on 6th June 2004.