07 August 2006

Coventry Women and Peace in Middle East

Two recent stories in the Evening Telegraph highlight local activism on the issue of peace:

Mary Simpson went to Israel on a peace mission but was locked up, interrogated and ordered out of the country.

She was among a delegation taking children's books and messages of goodwill to groups of women in Bethlehem and the Palestinian town of Ramallah.

Avril Newey has been so incensed by the Israeli bombings of Lebanon that she began a one-woman protest at the back of Cathedral Lanes, between Holy Trinity Church and the cathedral ruins. The mother of one, of Belvedere Road, Earlsdon, said:

"I was watching the telly and was so moved by a Lebanese woman who talked about the destruction of her land that I decided to do something. I'm ashamed of how little our government is doing to stop the conflict. I believe what Israel is doing is wrong and I think much more should be done to try to create peace. I was ready for some criticism but everyone who has spoken to me has been supportive of my stance."

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