This is where war begins - silent vigil at Arms Fair

Catholics, Quakers, Anglicans and others gathered in force last night at an hour-long silent vigil on the eve of the Defence & Security Equipment International arms fair in London last night. Pat Gaffney of Pax Christi reminded those gathered that "this 'fair' first took place in London on 9/11/2001 - and same day as the attack on the Twin Towers in New York. Some might argue that this is where wars start - where the weapons and tools of war are traded."

Those gathered included several parish groups from London, members of religious congregations, justice and peace groups and the London Catholic Worker. Their message was clear: "This event does not take place in our name.We have a vision of the world where peace and security are created through just relationships, not through fear, threat or armed conflict".

DSEI claims to be the world's largest arms fair. It allows arms buyers and sellers to network and make deals. It has happened every two years since 2001 at the ExCel centre in London.

The event was organised by Pax Christi, Quaker Peace & Social Witness and East London Against Arms Fairs.

See also: ICN 5 September 2017 - No Faith in War prayers outside DSEI Arms Fair - www.indcatholicnews.com/news/33331

For more information about Pax Christi see: www.paxchristi.org.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/paxchristiuk
Facebook: http://facebook.com/PaxChristiUK
Support our work http://paxchristi.org.uk/about-us/support-us/donation/