In these sad, anxious times, pearls of hope are rare and truly valuable. Thankfully, here are a couple to contemplate…

In 1988 a group of Israeli and Palestinian women got together and did something extravagantly unlikely: they founded a peace movement. Women In Black. Regularly standing together in sombre clothes, their silent vigil sent out a gentle, friendly message of hope across the world.

‘We are silent because mere words cannot express the tragedy that wars and hatred bring. Our silence is visible. We invite women to stand with us.

‘We wear black as a symbol of sorrow for all victims of war, for the destruction of people, nature, and the fabric of life.’

The Women In Black network soon spread to many countries. More than twenty years ago its message reached Armidale, my hometown on the Northern Tablelands of NSW. Ever since then, on the last Saturday of each month, outside the old Courthouse in the centre of town a group of women have stood in silent WIB vigil. For peace.

Gratefully we tune in to those Palestinian and Israeli women who are calmly........

© Pearls and Irritations