Harsha Prabhu
Australia’s most easterly spot was the scene of a sunset gathering to celebrate kindness and goodwill towards all, as a way of towards promoting peace in the world.
While storm clouds gathered over Syria with the threat of yet anther war with global ramifications, Byron’s main beach responded with a jam session as one solution. Musicians and dancers from Mauritius, Japan, Spain, Chile, Israel, India, Uruguay, Greece, Italy and Indonesia – a veritable united nations – joined with other locals to create some happy, hippie beats and harmonies.
But there was a serious subtext to the shenanigans. As one speaker said: ‘We saw what happened in Vietnam and more recently in Iraq where false flag actions and intelligence of dubious provenance became a pretext for the slaughter of millions of innocents. We don’t want to see history repeat itself in Syria.
‘What is happening in Syria is a tragedy and it’s important that the UN be given time to find out the truth. But it’s not just chemical weapons we should be concerned about. It’s all weapons, including depleted uranium, white phosphorous and cluster bombs. There’s got to be a better way to resolve things than bombing each other.’
Byron Bay’s message to world leaders with their finger on the kill-now-ask-questions-later button is: ‘Press “pause”. Breathe. Take a chill pill. Do some yoga if you need to. But get real. Remember, the whole world is watching you!’
Protests for peace have been the most valuable ‘weapon in human history. Everyone should study non-violence and enact its principles. The leadership of Ghandi and Martin Luther King still remains a potent force.