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The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice

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A Night of Peace

Students and parents at Squannacook Elementary School came together on December 8, 2005, to organize “A Night of Peace.” Students read their “peace poems” and other messages of peace with the crowd and parents shared homemade Afghan dishes that they had researched and learned to prepare.

Fred Goldberg (back right), Sadiqa Basiri (back middle), with the American participants of the Learning Partners Exchange.

Sadiqa Basiri, the founder of the Omid Learning Center, and Awista Ayub, the Education and Public Relations Officer for the Embassy of Afghanistan in Washington, DC, both spoke. Parents, teachers, students, members of the community, and local newspapers all attended the event. Most importantly, the students received the photos and translated letters from their pen-pals.  The Advocacy Project published a press release detailing the event.

On this page you will find samples of the students’ poems, excerpts from their own evaluations of the event, and testimonials from parents.




AP Outreach Coordinator Stacy Kosko encourages the two student emcees. 






The photos are all courtesy of photographer John Love of Nashoba Publishing, Massachusetts.

Throughout the evening, students shared excerpts from poems they had written using colorful Nepalese peace bracelets as inspiration. Many of the students incorporated things they were learning from other subjects – like tsunamis in science class – into their poems.

Here is a selection of their pictures and poems:

“Peace is” By Sloane Peace is a giant wave Covering the world  Not a tsunami Just love

“My Peace Bracelet Message” By Blake To me peace tastes like a sweet candy That everyone wants to eat

“My Peace Bracelet” By Bryan Peace looks like all of the bright flowing flags Combined Peace looks as if it were a pot of shining gold Everyone can see Peace look like countries are getting Trusting relationships Peace sounds like everyone buzzing together in a Beehive Peace sounds like a stream running down a cliff going on forever

Untitled By Dylan Peace looks like the ocean drowning all the hatred, in it's deep dark grasp. Peace sounds like, all the guns and missiles stopping, and everybody greeting each other with happiness. Peace is a wave of love.

“Metaphores” By Kyle Peace is a colorful rainbow That should go all around the world Peace is a burning candle That can’t be blown out

Untitled By Mia Peace is a charm bracelet Each charm stands for a girl smiling At her new right to go to school

“My Peace Bracelet Message” By Aaron To me peace looks like communication With everybody being friends With each other Peace is nomadic It travels across the world Peace has no certain favorite place Because its favorite PLACES are here and there and Everywhere Peace, the nomadic person Stays in every place it goes to At lease a week, at most a month The places peace tries to go most Are places where disasters happen

“My Peace Bracelet Message” By Samantha Peace looks like everything It’s in the wind It’s in the grass It’s a baby smiling And it’s in us too

Untitled By Veronique Bringing love to children across the ocean In simple little letters Our voices are important We’re one step closer to a war-free world

“My Peace Bracelet Message” By Julia To me, peace looks like a warm sunny day with no clouds And me playing outside with my friends To me, peace sounds like a little bird singing in the early morning Sitting in its nest with its tiny wings resting on its soft feathers To me, peace tastes like my grandma’s gingerbread men That are fresh out of the oven With its raisin eyes And its spicy, sweet candy buttons Peace looks like a child Smiling its whole life

“Peace” By Bryan Peace is an enormous sailboat, gliding across the world to different places Peace is a colorful rainbow that spreads out love and harmony to each culture To give a voice and a good spirited heart The outline of peace is happiness and love that Touches everyone’s mind Peace is a leaf falling from the tree Spreading all around the wide world dissolving into people’s hearts

Parents look on as students open their letters.	Ben, a Learning Partners student, examines Afghan jewelry and clothing.

The day after the event, students were asked to write reflections of Peace Night. 

Peace Night emcee Sloane addresses the audience.












Awista Ayub, from the Afghan Embassy, speaks about the importance of girls' education.



Bryan describes the evening:

“The Night of Peace was a very exciting evening.  As me, my mom and my friend Miles were driving up to the school we saw greeters giving people programs, peace anthologies hanging on the walls, decorations all around the small lobby an enormous cafeteria and people coming in.  Then about one hour later… we could finally get the letters.  I bolted out of my chair, grabbed the letter and immediately opened it.  Inside was a picture my pen pal drew, the letter he wrote, his name and my letter.  After the guest browsed through the letters we had Afghan food.  Throughout the night we looked at jewelry and ate food.  The Night of Peace was very successful.”

Miles writes about the event and his new pen pal:

“Peace Night was even better and even different than I expected… The Afghan food was pretty good.  Everyone wanted to try mom mom’s (and my) tamarind potatoes.  Tamarind is a kind of Indian date that is used a lot around there.  My letter was soooooooooooooooooooooo cccoooooooooool!...  I remember that [Mohammed] liked playing volleyball, loved apples (7 out of 8 of the pictures he sent me were of orchards), was 12 years old, and wanted for us to keep writing to each other.  Peace Night was great and I hope other people can enjoy this spectacular project.”

Mia gives Peace Night high grades:

“Peace Night was really cool!... We learned about [Afghan] food  and our new pen pals.  Mine is 12 years old and her name is Zahura.  We watched [AP director Iain Guest’s] movie and read parts from our poems throughout the night.  They were short but powerful…  Near the end we sang and danced to a song from Afghanistan about brotherhood… All together, after many days of rough drafts, I give Peace Night and A++!!”

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