A Christmas Truce in Ukraine
Is it possible to stop the terrible bloodshed in Ukraine – even for one day? Christmas Day?
The International Peace Bureau is calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine for Christmas. Sound far-fetched? Not at all – in fact, it has happened before.
Back during World War One in the trenches of Western Europe, late on Christmas Eve 1914, British soldiers heard German troops in the trenches opposite them singing carols and patriotic songs and saw lanterns and small fir trees along their trenches. Messages began to be shouted between the trenches.
The following day, British and German soldiers met in no-man’s-land between the trenches and exchanged gifts, took photographs and some played games of football. They also buried casualties and repaired trenches and dugouts. After Boxing Day, meetings in no man’s land dwindled out.
The day became known as the 1914 Christmas Truce.
Today, the IPB is asking people to sign a petition calling for a Christmas Truce in Ukraine. By signing this petition, you state your support for negotiation efforts and attempts at conflict resolution through non-violent means for peaceful ends.
This appeal is made taking into consideration all the tens of thousands of deaths and the more than a hundred thousand casualties that the invasion of Ukraine has caused – The lives of soldiers, families, and civilians that are being destroyed because of this unnecessary war.
You can add your name on the IPB website
Christmas is a time of rejoicing in thanksgiving for the many gifts God has blessed us with in our lives as we celebrate together the birth of Jesus.
It would be very meaningful to have a Christmas truce and hope that it will continue and end this war. We do not want to have a 3rd world war. Our low trust level of Putin’s behavior and lack of compassion makes us more cautious to try it.
Good luck with North Korea!