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All aboard the Peace Boat!
Heddwch to heiwa via Faslane
Emily Freeman
In July, twenty European young
people met to represent their
nations at Faslane 365. Joining
them at the blockade were twenty Japanese students from the
Global University, a programme
organised by the Japanese NGO
Peace Boat.
Following the blockade, five
of the young women from
Europe joined the Global University on board Peace Boat,
which makes four voyages each
year. Naomi Proszynska (15)
from Narberth, told her new-found Japanese friends, "The
reason young people don't get
involved more in these issues is
not because they don't care, it's
because they don't know about
them."
Georgia Coles-Riley (16),
another Welsh "veteran" of
arrest at Faslane said she often
felt helpless and cut off, but
meeting together with other
active and strong young people
 and actually doing something
about her beliefs - was so
empowering that it encouraged
her to do more.
Prior to Faslane, many of the
Japanese students had been
reluctant to join the blockade.
They felt unsure of their beliefs
and only wanted to observe. By
the end of the nine day voyage
to New York, together with the
young women from Wales, they
were planning their own NVDA
protest against the building of a
nuclear reprocessing plant in
Rokasho Village in Japan.
Heiwa is Japanese for peace/har-
mony (www.englishjapaneseonline-
dictionary.com) Heddwch is, of
course, peace in Welsh.
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