Peace parade

Artists and children gathered at the headquarters of the Arab League to deliver a unanimous message, "We want peace". Doaa El-Bey attended

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In the spectacular finale of the 'peace parade from the land of peace' project, the multinational participants gathered in the lawn of the Arab League headquarters to chant, "We are looking forward to a new dawn where peace will reign and our hopes be achieved." Together with the artists, children visualised the idea, spending the whole morning and afternoon painting 60 three-dimensional wood doves and 191 150cm by 150cm surfaces representing the 191 participant states, respectively -- even despite the scorching weather.

Children used bright colours, with an emphasis on blue and orange, writing out multilingual slogans: Let the sun rise, La paix est pour la vie, Peace is best... Professional and amateur artists too used bright colours, emphasising the word "peace" and the dove motif. Helwan University Fine Arts College student Marwa El-Shazli, applied her acrylics with enthusiasm even despite her belief that the children could delivered a stronger message. Shams El-Sallab, a retired art teacher, testified to the event allowing him to "translate" his strong feelings about the need for peace. "It is our duty to spare our children," he said. For his part Omar Rashed, a young artist from Bahrain, expressed his firm belief that art can teach children the true meaning of peaceful coexistence. All participants wore the same white T-shirts with the Arab League logo in green on the front and the peace symbol -- further evidence of the unanimous message.

The event was held in the framework of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Arab League: "an Arab event organised in 'the house of all Arabs' to reflect the civilised aspirations of peace for the Arab states and the world", as Abbas Moussawi, a prominent Bahraini artist and one of the main organisers of the project, put it. The peace parade took off from Bahrain in 2000, its last annual stop taking place in Geneva last year, sponsored by the United Nations with 192 participating states. This time round each child was asked to jot down his hopes on a piece of paper to be placed in an elegant box with his name on it; by the end all the boxes had been placed in a big chest -- to be opened on the 75th anniversary of the Arab League. "The fact that children are delivering their message to future generations gives hope for the future," Amr Moussa, Arab League secretary- general, said, placing his own folded message in the chest and asking adult participants to follow suit.

The children's messages mostly reflect optimism and hope, with Mariam, a 10- year-old Egyptian from Saint Fatima School, confident that grown-ups will listen to her desire to grow up in a peaceful world, though her friend Amena was not so sure. Razan, a Sudanese girl, wrote that without peace, there would be no hope. Teenagers from Indonesia, Pakistan and Malaysia wrote of their desire for peace to reign. Over 200 children took part in the event, whether they were representing Egypt or foreign diplomats. The parade was sponsored by the Bahraini ministries of information and foreign affairs, the Bahraini Embassy in Cairo, Peace 2000 and other projects.