Quakers

The Quaker UN Office has launched an on-line consultation on food security. Please see the screen shot of the announcement from the The Friend (UK),below. (Click on the image to go to the link. If you choose to type the link into your browser, please note that it is case-sensitive.)

Of course, food insecurity in a major issue in Southern and Central Africa. I don’t know the figures from other countries, but data shows that 25% of South Africans go to bed hungry.

Please share with your meetings. If people have a few minutes, and have on-line access, it would be good if members could answer the survey. Let’s give a strong response from Southern Africa!

Warm regards

Nancy Fee

From The Atlantic

The impressive and inspiring show of solidarity at France’s unity march on January 11—which brought together millions of people and more than 40 world leaders—was not necessarily a sign of good things to come. “We are all one” was indeed a powerful message, but what did it really mean, underneath the noble sentiment and the liberal faith that all people are essentially good and want the same things, regardless of religion or culture? Even if the scope is limited to Western liberals, the aftermath of the assaults in Paris on Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket has revealed a striking lack of consensus on a whole host of issues, including the limits of free speech, the treatment of religions versus racial groups, and the centrality of secularism to the liberal idea. Turns out, we are not all one.

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