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PROFILE: Jill Gough, CND Cymru - An enduring
passion for
peace
Kelvin Mason
One wonderful thing about Jill
Gough is her passion for peace.
Volunteer national secretary for
CND Cymru since 1991, and
editor of its bilingual magazine
Heddwch since 1994, Jill is an
inspiring constant in the tumult
of activism in Wales. She is one
of the people who make things
happen, and in 2006 was pivotal
in Social Forum Cymru.
In 1980 Jill resigned as a
deputy head teacher to start a
family. The same year Britain
made the baleful decision to permit deployment of US cruise
missiles at Greenham Common
and Molesworth. "I thought it
was pointless teaching my kids
to clean their teeth while
Thatcher and Reagan conspired
to ensure they wouldn't live
long enough to benefit," Jill
recalls. "Maybe it's my archaeologist training, but I would like
there to be people in the future
as well as some remnants of the
past for them to dig up and
learn from!" So she made the
decision and became active, first
with Preseli anti-nuclear group
and later as secretary of Aberystwyth CND , today part of
Aberystwyth Peace and Justice
Network.
A different flavour
Having lived in Wales since she
came to Cardiff University in
1970, Jill learned Welsh and is
committed to the nation. "There
is a different flavour to CND in
Wales," she says, "stemming
from traditions of pacifism and
non-conformism; activism is
more anarchic." Though there is
no friction between CND
Cymru and the organisation in
England, quite the reverse,
CND Cymru has fully taken on
board opposition to nuclear
power as well as weapons. So,
from protesting at Greenham to
opposing the dumping of
nuclear waste in Wales, successive governments ensured Jill
has never been at a loose end.
Our underlying problem, Jill
believes, is a democracy that
amounts to dirty politics done
by greedy men behind closed
doors. Peace is a moral issue,
capitalism makes it political:
arms dealers ensure there is
always war. "I see my role as
helping people access tools to
act democratically," Jill says. She
does not, however, expect every
activist to be as full-on as herself: "We pick up the baton and
run with it for as long as we
have energy, then pass it on."
The running has to be fun
though, fuelled by joy and love,
because Jill knows we have to live
like it's a world worth saving.
Kelvin Mason is an activist and
organiser in Aberystwyth
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