PCI | Narrative History - PEACE CHILD INTERNATIONAL

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THE REST OF THE STORY

BY THE MAN WHO LIVED IT - DAVID WOOLLCOMBE
INTRODUCTION
“I am probably the last person who should be telling the story of Peace Child because I cannot possibly be objective about it. Also, having tried and failed to ensure that “…the ability of future generations to meet their needs is NOT compromised…,” it’s impossible for me to be relaxed about the consequences of that failure – of which all our efforts in Peace  Child were a part. The 1980 version of Peace Child was set in the 2020's and dreamed of a world at Peace, with poverty and nuclear weapons a distant memory and the environment on the mend. Instead the 2020's have given us Trump and Covid, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, genocide in Gaza and a suicidal lack of interest in saving the biosphere that supports all life. Dylan Thomas famously told us not to go gentle into that last good night but to – “Rage, Rage! – against the dying of the light!”  It should be the rising generation doing the raging, and  I write this History to remind them of the courage and the vision of those young people, their parents generation,  who raged against the insanity of the Cold War; who were the early pioneers of Sustainability – who carved a place for young people’s voices to be heard in the corridors of both political and corporate power. I write it to remind them of their generation’s challenge which is nothing less than to save life on earth. Tearing up Green Deals, joining right-wing parties, and burying themselves in a cacophony of digital distractions – is never going to achieve this!  Remembering the outrageous aspirations of the early Peace Children – their energy, their confidence – just might.  So, with those reservations,  here is my memory of the Peace Child story.
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