The recent Batley and Spen by-election saw ugly attempts to divide communities on the basis of religious and political quarrels from other parts of the world. This small town in the north of England had already experienced the murder of its MP by an extremist, five years ago. More recently a teacher was forced to hide for his life after receiving death threats from other extremists. Then the election campaign exploited divisions from the Indian sub-continent.
This has no place in our society. The UK is home to communities from all over the world, from different religious, ethnic, social and political backgrounds. We can become torchbearers of a way of life that brings people together across community boundaries, acknowledging differences while also celebrating our shared life.
The Magna Carta Foundation exists to promote peace, by investigating and identifying the probable causes of conflict in any part of the world. The events of this by-election are a sharp reminder of the need for community and political leaders in the UK to overcome barriers and build community, in a place that needs healing of divisions. Jo Cox, the murdered MP, famously said that we have ‘more in common than that which divides us’. She was right, but it is a constant challenge to act this out in our personal and public lives.
The trustees of the Magna Carta have many years’ experience of working for peace, through personal links with people of all communities, as well as organised efforts to cross barriers. These included a series of conferences from 2002 onwards, organised by the South Asian Development Partnership, first dealing with issues arising from violence in Gujarat, India, and then responses to the 7/7 bombings in London. Young people engaged with high profile political, business and community leaders to seek constructive ways to build relations between individuals and communities. The focus was on seeking understanding, building trust and proactively ‘reaching across’ to people who were felt to be different. A DVD-based education resource ‘Friends, Strangers, Citizens: Life in Britain post 7/7’, was widely used by schools and community associations.
Children and young people, who are the worst affected by conflict and yet often the least heard, were given a voice to share their experiences and express their longings for peace, through another series of conferences in which they were the main speakers. The message was best summed up in the words of one of the young speakers:
"We must go on working until the power of love is greater than the love of power."
The conferences have had a powerful impact on those attending. The young people involved spoke of the change in their own lives and their on-going commitment to work for peace. One of them travelled to Pakistan to support children affected by the Taliban attack on their school. Another set up a Peace Group in her school, which still continues actively.
We have seen the effects of all these initiatives in better relations and communication between communities in the UK, and greater awareness of issues globally. More recently, Magna Carta’s cutting edge research is bringing new insight into the complex factors that lead to conflict. The mission continues as the threats also continue. It will go on until the goal of peace is reached.
