Sada-e-Watan
Sydney ™
sadaewatan@gmail.com
Zohra Aly
The Hills
Sydney resident Zohra Aly heads to Creators of Peace conference in
Switzerland
Niki Burnside
The Hills-based head of an organisation
promoting peace worldwide hopes to bring its message home. Creators of Peace
was launched 25 years ago as a way to encourage conversation and eradicate
barriers to peace.
Zohra
Aly, the coordinator of its Australian
division, will attend the anniversary conference later this month in Caux,
Switzerland at a time when she said its message was more important than
ever.
“Every day you wake up and something else has happened in the world
and it’s not one nation that’s being targeted – everywhere there’s something
going on,” Ms Aly said.
The organisation runs Creators of Peace Circles,
including regular events in The Hills, that aim to create dialogue among women
from different ethnic and religious backgrounds.
They first began
operating in the area in 2009 when plans for a mosque in Annangrove created
some backlash in the community. A Muslim, Ms Aly said she was motivated by the
need for those with different beliefs to find common ground.
“I’m really
looking forward to having these women come together, so that hopefully we can
be that one little step forward – these circles are about how you can be the
change you want to see in the world,” she said.
“One of the things that
attracted me to the Peace Circles initiative was that women could get together
and share their stories and have the chance to see how the other
lives.”
Nine delegates from Sydney will
attend the conference in Caux, one that Ms Aly said would reinvigorate them in
their own communities. There are plans for more Peace Circles later in 2016 in
Galston, based on ideas gathered in Caux.
“I think The Hills is a wonderful place to live. It’s a
very diverse community and everyone feels very welcome,” she said. “I'm looking
forward to coming back with renewed energy and enthusiasm and to having more
circles in Sydney.”
