A PLACE AT THE TABLE: A LOOK AT THE INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGNS TO BAN LANDMINES AND CLUSTER MUNITIONS AND HOW THE CAMPAIGNS ADDRESS THE NEED OF SURVIVORS
PSALM Photo and Art Exhibit Celebrating the International Day of People with Disabilities
Was Held December 5th and 6th, 2015
(Reception after each Mass)
St. Francis de Sales Parish Hall
View the Photo Gallery by Clicking Here
PSALM students will display a sculptural “table” with hand-painted plates representing the needs of people with disabilities andthe important efforts to meet those needs. Also displayed will be photos and other items to educate the public about our work.
A table is where people come together for nourishment, both physical and emotional. A table is where people meet to make decisions—in neighborhoods, nations, and the global community. “A place at the table” is a saying referring to a reservedplace for someone to sit at a table; an all-inclusive invitation to all.
Yet in many impoverished or developing countries, it is difficult for the disabled to find “their place” at the table. Thedifficulties include finding work, being able to feed their families, educate their children, secure health care, or find adequate housing. Their voices and needs are often ignored or dismissed.
Contamination from landmines, cluster munitions and other explosive remnants of war terrorizes civilians in more than half ofthe world’s countries and are a significant cause of disability. These weapons instill fear in whole communities, deepening poverty and acting as a lethal barrier to development.
Our faith calls us to it.
As disciples of Christ, we seek to make the peace which Jesus gives us visible in our lives and in our world. The Gospel and Catholic social teaching place our service of the poor and vulnerable and our work for justice at the center of Christian witness. That is why PSALM students are so passionate about eradicating landmines and cluster bombs. These weapons infringe on so many areas of life. They are the “war after the war”. Whether it is the loss of life or the immediate medical needs of the survivors, the inability to farm land for food and retrieve water, or the environmental affects of aged weapons that have been seeping into the ground. Our work is necessary because it is not enough to want peace, love and happiness. One must work to rid the world of what stands in the way of others achieving a more just and peaceful life.
St. Francis de Sales PSALM: PROUD STUDENTS AGAINST LANDMINES and CLUSTER BOMBS/WVCBL: West Virginia Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Bombs are students and citizens who for 15 years have been committed to educating the public about the devastation caused by landmines and cluster munitions and the indiscriminate nature of these weapons leading tothe destruction of innocent life, especially children, after wartime hostilities have ceased. We work to assist survivors, to prevent future casualties through our service projects, and contribute to the universal signature of the treaties banning landmines and cluster munitions by ALL countries.
Long after wars are waged some weapons remain a lurking threat to civilians in the peacetime that follows. Landmines are indiscriminate weapons that wait underground for years and sometimes decades maiming and killing children, farmers and everyday citizens who happen upon them. Here in the U.S. we don’t have to worry about our next step being fatal, but hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens around the world are not so lucky. These weapons are known as hidden killers, weapons of mass destruction in slow motion, or the perfect soldier which never sleeps or misses. It is not about politics or parties, it is about making sure kids can play and farmers can grow their crops safely. More than ninety percent of victims are civilians. With these weapons impacting communities in more than 80 countries and territories, the danger is very real. Victim assistance is a very important part of the treaties to ban landmines and cluster bombs. Countries that are party to the treaties have the responsibility and obligation to ensure rights of landmine victims are protected and their needs are met.
Pope Francis has expressed his solidarity towards victims of anti-personnel mines and praised the global effort to endthe suffering and casualties caused by anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions. Pope Francis points out that, “Anti-personnel mines are subtle because they prolong war and nurture fear even when conflict has ended. No child should live in fear of landmines!” “Let us give space to reconciliation, hope, and love that are expressed in the commitment for common good, in international cooperation to help the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters, in the implementation of policies based on our common dignity”.