LOCAL SCHOOLCHILDREN CALL FOR END TO VIOLENCE

More than 1'500 children from 15 Palma schools took part in the mass demo which marked the 38th annual School Day of No Violence and Peace, commemorating the anniversary of the death of Gandhi. The slogan for the day was Different Cultures, the Same World. Most of the schools had organised activities prior to the day, but the main event was the march from the Plaza España to the Parc de la Mar and the rally at Ses Voltes. The event is organised every year by the Human Rights group of Majorca. The children gathered in the Plaza España at 10.30am, and there were teams of monitors to lead them in singing various songs. The children set off along the Calle San Miguel with a piper and drummer at the head. From there they went to Plaza Cort, where a group of children delivered a letter calling for peace to Mayor Joan Fageda and to Maria Antonia Munar, the president of the Council of Majorca. The children carried banners and chanted slogans such as “We are and will be friends of peace,” or “We don't want war, we want peace”. At Ses Voltes, a manifesto for peace was read out and a representative from each school was invited on to the platform to receive a memento of the day. Children from the Sant Rafel school performed dances from various parts of the world, ending with what they described as the Dance of Peace. A minute's silence was held in memory of the victims of violence and the recent earthquake victims in El Salvador and India. Banners of peace were then presented to Llorenç Vidal, founder of the School Day of No Violence and Peace (accepted on his behalf by Pep Toni Fuster), Xavier Pastor for the work of Greenpeace (accepted by Marti Valles) and swimmer Xavi Torres on behalf of the Majorcan Olympic competitors.