COMMEMORATION OF UN INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE IN GHANA

Written by UPF-Africa

FrWritteiday; September 21, 2018

Written by UPF-Africa
Friday, September 21,2018

Accra, Ghana - United Nations International Day of Peace has been celebrated in Ghana on September 21, 2018 by the Women's Federation for World Peace (WFWP) and Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), Ghana Chapter.

The program started with Peace Road activity in the morning. Participants sang peace songs and waved Peace Road flags as they walked from the Ghana Military Hospital in Accra through the El-Wak Stadium to the Trade Fair Company Limited. Efforts to attract mobile cyclists have failed. In the Trade Fair Auditorium, a message of peace was carried by FFWPU's National President, Pastor. James Aidoo.

The second phase of the event was the 'Peace and End War in Africa' symposium aimed at preparing for the 'Guns Down Africa 2020' campaign, an initiative of YSP in collaboration with UPF-Ghana.

Chaired by Bishop Ezekiel Goodman Anim, Ghana Peace Network Ambassadors, the second phase of the event featured two prominent speakers, H.E. Prince Akele, Ambassador of South Cameroon to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Region; and Mr. Namornyo David, Volta regional executive secretary of the Ghana National Peace Council.

 Both spoke of the urgency of silencing guns in Africa and salute the efforts of YSP and UPF to support the African Union. Their presentations were followed by a panel discussion led by Ambassador Dan Selassie, President of Print Media. Mr. Dan Selassie asked related questions about peace and security in Ghana and the recent crisis in Cameroon, where English-speaking minorities are being slaughtered while the rest of the world remains "silent and silent." The most important thing to keep in mind in all the discussions was that the African Union's vision of silencing guns in Africa by 2020 cannot be achieved without the private sector standing by. Fortunately, however, UPF and YSP have already taken the necessary steps to educate the private sector about their vision.

The Guns Down Africa 2020 project hopes to mobilize African youth and the civil sector to help the African Union roadmap to gun silence by 2020. It aims to end war and bring about a sustainable era of peace in Africa.

In her keynote address, the UPF-Ghana Secretary General Dr. Helen Osei pointed out that the International Peace Day was created in 1981, but was first observed in 1982. She thought it inconceivable that 36 years of peace had hardly been celebrated. In the case of the genocide now taking place in Cameroon, Dr. Helen reaffirmed that Coincidentally, 1981 was the very year that the President of Cameroon, Mr. Paul Biya, became the new president of this bilingual nation. After her 36 years at the helm of government, many Cameroonians feel that little has been done to improve the lives of the country's citizens, especially marginalized English-speaking minorities. "Unfortunately, instead of giving peace a chance at this critical time," Dr. Osei explained, There are videos of soldiers killing civilians like chickens. Villages have been burned down, and the elderly and sick are in their homes. The United Nations speaks of more than 160,000 displaced people. About 50,000 people are currently refugees in Nigeria, with hundreds of asylum seekers in other parts of the world, including Ghana. Amnesty International talks about prisons full of political prisoners and people in dire circumstances. The situation degenerates into a crisis for humanity in the face of the world. International peace organizations, the international media, and many who should work for peace, seem silent, as if to say that it is cheaper to die than to die in the rest of the world. Without medias, the world would be unaware of the human atrocities committed against innocent women and children in this 21st century country. I'm sure you've seen a video of a woman being shot dead by government soldiers with her two children (babies). A few months ago, a Ghanaian pastor was also summarily executed after being mistaken for one of his English-speaking Cameroonians. ”

she has continued, “On this 36th International Day of Peace, we must join forces with the free and just people of the world to stand tall and condemn the atrocities taking place in Cameroon. We are in Ghana and I don't know how many Ghanaian students, children, women and men are affected by the crisis, because of the tragic events happening in Cameroon and elsewhere in the world. Classifying it as a "distant problem" without hesitation is unethical.

Dr. Osei also spoke about the ongoing wars in other parts of Africa, including the Boko Haram war in Nigeria, the crisis in Libya, Egypt, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, etc. She pointed out that the world has tried to rely on guns for centuries and it has never worked. Since the human heart is not made of stone, she advised, we should put in place the needed heart measures, in such a way to win even the war against terrorism.

The Secretary-General referred to the Guns Down Africa campaign and told the audience that UPF Ghana and its sister organizations had read the African Union's beautiful project, Roadmap to Silence Guns, drafted in 2013. I spoke. The article has demonstrated its power. Unfortunately, since 2013, little has been accomplished with this roadmap. She advised what needs to be done to support the African Union towards its goals. This means that AU needs to open its doors to organizations that have something to help them achieve their goals. ”

The event culminated in the unveiling of the 'face' of the Guns Down Africa 2020 project. It's time to show the public and media to materialize the Guns Down campaign in Ghana. The revelation revealed 20-year-old philanthropist Marcus Love N. Anafu, believed to be the youngest philanthropist in Africa. Mr. Marcus Love Anaf will represent Guns Down at media and other events. He speaks as an ambassador for of the Guns down campaign from Ghana. Anaf's popularity and personality have attracted many young people to the project, and by 2020 he is expected to mobilize one million people to sign Guns Down his Accra Declaration. The Union's Vision 2020 and his FFWPU's Vision 2020 are under the strong and capable leadership of Dr. Han Hak Ja.

 Two high-ranking officials were honored with Ambassadors for Peace award, and Mr. Marcus Love N. Anafu happened to be one of them. The second winner was Yvonne Ben Kane, a young Ghanaian living in Finland. She was honored for her self-sacrificing lifestyle as Ghana's Ambassador for Peace in the Diaspora. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Morgan Ben Kane, accepted her award on behalf of their daughter.

The celebration was attended by more than 80 people, mostly from her 18+ who actively work with both organizations to make her down dreams come true.

The event ended with a photo shoot and her signing two banners. One for Peace Road and one for Guns Down Africa 2020. It is no exaggeration to say that the 2018 International Day of Peace in Ghana was a special event. From humble beginnings, the Guns Down Project hopes to bring the nation closer to understanding the vision of the UPF founder's dream of One Global Family Under God.