Bringing peace to Hamilton

Despite the cold weather, hundreds gathered in downtown Hamilton for the twenty second annual Gandhi Peace Festival on Saturday, Oct. 4. in support of the peace movement.

“I am happy today to be here in the company of people who understand that we live in a time where there are more wars than ever,” said guest speaker Itah Sadu, an entrepreneur and community builder in the Toronto area, in her keynote speech. “In the spirit of Gandhi and Mandela, we can walk in a non-violence expression of resistance.”

The festival had humble beginnings as a community event, but has grown to include a range of entertainment, guest speakers, an award ceremony and a peace walk.

“In the beginning, we used to do a potluck dinner,” said Jay Parekh, the Chair of the Gandhi Peace Festival Organizing Committee. “The numbers have grown […] this year a little bit less because of the cold weather, but last year we had over 500 [people].”

The festival aims to promote non-violence, peace, and justice, and build community among peace and human rights organizations. This year, the theme was Nelson Mandela’s Life and Legacy.

Leo Johnson, a new member of the festival organizing committee, was invited specifically to help the festival with this new theme. For the last four years, the festival has been centered upon the life of Gandhi, but this year they have taken a new approach.

One of Johnson’s goals is to encourage the peace movement in Hamilton to grow beyond the single-day festival.

“What I’m hoping to do with my involvement is make a platform where people from all walks of life in Hamilton can project themselves […] not just at this event but on an ongoing basis, said Johnson. “Be it the ebola situation in West Africa, the situation in Syria, the situation in Ukraine, I believe that the festival and peace movement in Hamilton should be present.”

Johnson was a refugee who fled from Liberia during the civil war, and came to Hamilton in 2006. Since then, he has started his own community building organization called Empowerment Squared and has received numerous awards including the YMCA Peace Medal. He is also a graduate from McMaster University in the Political Science program.

The festival has been around since 1993, and continues to work towards creating a permanent community of peace in Hamilton.

“I don’t believe the culture of peace and the movement of peace is the lifespan of an event,” said Johnson. “I think it’s every day.”

The festival is sponsored by the McMaster Centre for Peace Studies, the India-Canada Society Hamilton and the City of Hamilton.