Quaker Roots is a community of Friends building a creative, vibrant and radical Quaker response to the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) arms fair.
Several Quakers from Central England will be participating. If you’d like to join them, in London, or by upholding Friends’ witness in a local or online Meeting for Worship, anyone interested can speak to Pete Doubtfire at the Peace Hub.
DSEI will take place in London in September 2023; the four day event provides an opportunity for more than 1,500 companies to display their products and services to 30,000 visitors from around the world, many from military delegations, police and security departments, and private security companies.
Quaker Roots are calling on Friends to Witness at the ‘No Faith in War Day’ on Thursday 7th September. In order to be impactful and supportive we are asking Friends to let your life speak, for yourself, God and for those who are silenced due to the Arms Trade – such as those we heard from in our event the Human Cost of War.
Refusal to fight with weapons is not surrender. We are not passive when threatened by the greedy, the cruel, the tyrant, the unjust. We will struggle to remove the causes of impasse and confrontation by every means of nonviolent resistance available.
Quaker faith & practice 24.10
There are several ways to witness at DSEI in 2023:
- Peace Pilgrimage in your local area (in the build-up to DSEI)
- Peace Pilgrimage Oxford to DSEI (5th-11th Sept)
- No Faith in War Day (set-up week: Thurs 7th Sept)
- Walk of Witness to arms company HQs (Mon 11th Sept afternoon)
- Vigil on the eve of DSEI (Mon 11th Sept evening organised by Pax Christi & QPSW)
- Meeting for Worship on opening day of DSEI (Tues 12th Sept)
- Other witness in your local area – any local meetings who would like to hold worship in solidarity at 1pm on 7th September would be welcome, and there will be an online meeting hosted by Northern Friends Peace Board and Woodbrooke.