‘Invest in peace, not war’

As the UK joins airstrikes in Syria, our government continues an attempt to normalise war in the public imagination, implementing a plan to increase support for armed solutions in the wake of unpopular conflicts. The strategy, intensified by George Osbourne in July of this year, includes:

• Investing £50m to aggressively expand cadet forces across state schools (550 by 2020.)
• Arms companies and the military sponsoring new academies and influencing what they teach.
• Military personnel being fed into classrooms as speakers, recruiters and teachers.

All of this is taking place with virtually no public debate or wider scrutiny.

I became aware of the above thanks to The Unseen March – a short film produced by Quakers in Britain, featuring  concerned teachers alongside activists like Mark Thomas and Veterans for Peace campaigner, Ben Griffin. Designed to start a public debate on this issue, for me it’s essential viewing, now more than ever.

Over the next fortnight Jean, Shruti and I will be releasing final ‘3THW-Part 2’ films  – covering  very different themes. To kick us off, here’s mine – with thanks to filmmaker, Andrew Lee – aswell as our credited partners for supporting our tour.  To quote Paul Parker, of the above campaign and organisation, ‘invest in peace, not war.’

 

If you’re concerned about the militarisation of education, #unseenmarch suggest a number of ways you can get involved, from writing to your MP to approaching your local school; see here for more information: http://old.quaker.org.uk/Take-action#ask

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