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Campaigning

There are lots of ways to get involved in FoR's campaigns. We want all our members to become activists and we believe it is part of our job to help that happen. Below you can read about all the ways we're seeking to campaign for peace in our world, and how you can get involved. This page is updated regularly so do check back as well!

1. The Drones Quilt

The Drones Quilt is a new project of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (England)

The quilt is a work of advocacy. It’s a really simple project designed to raise awareness about drones and remind the government that often, the victims of drone attacks are civilians, people like us who haven't asked to be involved in conflict, who are afraid, alone and innocent. Each square of the quilt is made by someone like you, who writes their name and then the name of a civilian victim on a square of fabric. These are then sown together to create a visual petition.

Drones are remotely detonated weapons, they can be used in the Middle East, for example, but detonated by someone in Nebraska. They reduce human beings to dots on a screen, tiny blobs of light in the control room of an army base.You can read more about drones, and why we believe they're immoral and ineffective by visiting the Drone Wars UK blog maintained by FoR's fromer director Chris Cole The quilt restores humanity to those killed or maimed and reminds people that for every single victim of a drone there was a real person with loves, desires and a life.

We want to take the quilt to Parliament next year as part of our Called to be Peacemakers Conference 2013 to advocate on behalf of those killed needlessly. Britain is already involved in the drones industry and wants to be more so, this is unacceptable and barbaric.

It’s easy to get involved:

1. Using the Drones Quilt website at dronesquilt.wordpress.com, read some stories about people killed or maimed by drones. Choose a story that resonates with you.

2. Cut a square of fabric 30cm by 30cm.

3. Sew, write, embroider or paint your name and the name of someone killed by a drone onto your square. Be as creative as you can!

4. Pop it in an envelope and post it to Peace House, 19 Paradise Street, Oxford, OX1 1LD

5. Tell people! The more squares, the bigger the quilt, the more impact.

e-mail jessica AT for DOT org DOT uk with any questions. Happy quilt making!

2. Write to your MP

We would also encourage you to write to your MP about both the Drones Quilt and to encourage them to put pressure on the cross parliamentary committee tasked with investigating armed drones. You can find out our who your local MP is here.

Previous drones campaining: Downing the Drones at DSEi

Young activists from FoRE, the SPEAK Network, Student Christian Movement and many others have joined together to nonviolently protest against the UK's use of armed drones. After assembling outside the Houses of Parliament for the Stop the Arms Fair coalition's media stunt and lobby of MPs, over 30 activists travelled to Liverpool Street to protest outside Reaper drone manufacturer General Atomics' new London office.  Watch the action. Watch why we took the action.

"The 'PlayStation mentality' that surrounds drone killings is discomfiting. Young military personnel raised on a diet of video games now kill real people remotely using joysticks. Far removed from the human consequences of their actions, how will this generation of fighters value the right to life?"

Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur and Hina Shamsi, Senior Advisor at New York University

3. CND Protest- Don't Replace Trident

On the 1st April, the Fellowship of Reconciliation will be in attendence at CND's protest "Stop Fooling with Nuclear Weapons" to call on the government to scrap Trident. We as protestors will be suggestings alternative ways of spending the Trident budget (£100 billion!) You can read more here. Let us know if you'd like to join our group.

4. Protest against a military college on the Mount of Olives

Over the last couple of months, protestors have been working hard to block plans for a military college to be built on the Mount of Olives, a place of peace for many major world religions. You can keep up to date with the campaign here as well as find out how to take action.

5. International Non-violent Peace Making

FoR supports a huge variety of campaigns and projects that promote non-violence and peace all over the world through it's International Peacemakers Fund. You can read about some of them here.

FoR's Campaigning e-newsletter

You can get up to date campaigning actions once a month by signing up to our e-newsletter, it contains details and resources for writing to MP's, protesting, petition signing and similar. You can also request a Campaigning Pack- e-mail jesica AT for DOT ord DOT uk.

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