WEAR A WHITE POPPY FOR PEACE
|(photo: Romneya – designated the peace poppy blooms in many garden until November)|
After World War I British war widows, devastated by the loss of their husbands and family members, started the White Poppy for Peace campaign. They wanted society to work actively to prevent war. This symbol of working for peace was adopted by the UK Women’s Cooperative Guild and is continued today in the UK by the Peace Pledge Union http://www.ppu.org.uk
The White Poppy has been a symbol of active peace work since then in many countries, including Canada.
This work honours the war dead by seeking non-military solution to war. Modern warfare kills civilians and destroys the social and physical environment. War and the preparation for war are bleeding our economy and wasting resources that should be used for social justice.
We honour all those who have died and still die in wars. Remembering is not enough. Wear a White Poppy and Work for Peace.
Women in Black Victoria, BC has handmade and given away thousands of white poppies in the last 15 years. They are given out on the first Thursday of November, noon- 1 pm at Women in Black Silent Vigil on Douglas St. beside City Hall. For information on getting or making white poppies to give away:
Photo: UK veterans of war on Iraq wear white poppies on steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, UK