WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- Ela Gandhi, granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi, Tuesday unveiled a new series of artwork to be featured on the Nonviolent Peaceforce Federation's peace bonds.
The Nonviolent Peaceforce is a non-governmental organization that brings together philosophies and ideas from its smaller member organizations worldwide. Funds generated by the peace bonds go toward supporting the work of unarmed peacekeepers around the world, with the cost of bonds ranging from $10 to $500.
After two artists presented their grand prize-winning peace bond designs, Gandhi, in a dark blue sarong with gold stars, emphasized the importance of peacekeeping through examples from her famous grandfather's life.
She described her grandfather as a middle-class lawyer with middle-class ideals. When he arrived in South Africa he had several pieces of baggage and wore suits like his contemporaries. He left the country empty-handed, wearing the baggy clothing characteristic of grassroots Indian workers.
"Seek one's own truth and follow that truth," said Gandhi of her grandfather's guiding principle in life. This year marks the centennial celebration of Satyagraha, a movement Mahatma Gandhi used to passively resist violence.
She noted that the peaceful, non-violent resistance of the suffragettes in the United States inspired her grandfather's non-violent protests.
Gandhi used common circumstances to describe the increasingly hostile world.
"We are living in a world that is getting more and more violent and brutal," she said. "People are so intolerant of slow drivers or people who change lanes on the road."
She said this brutality comes from within and encouraged those in attendance to continue to peacefully fight this trend.
David Grant, executive director of the Peaceforce, used examples of members of the organization to demonstrate the effectiveness of the program's peacekeeping around the world.
Two weeks ago, 15 peacekeepers with the Peaceforce were attacked in Sri Lanka. None of the peacekeepers were significantly injured and later, the Sinhala gang who attacked their bus apologized and became involved in reconciliation with the peacekeepers.
At the end of the conference, Grant encouraged the attendees to invest in peace efforts by buying peace bonds.
Gandhi, an endorser of the Peaceforce involved in encouraging peace around world, reminded people of her grandfather's efforts to spark large-scale protests to end British colonialism and affirmed much more is needed.
"It was a long walk to liberation," she said. "We have a longer walk to go."
