Catherine Filloux
I have been visiting Still Waters in a Storm for many years. Yesterday the students at SWIAS listened to my short play “Photographs from S-21.” Though they are young, they understand violence, crimes against humanity and they listen. One student said, “They killed people who cried, that’s why the child didn’t survive.” Another girl nodded and said, “The Khmer Rouge.” The students asked all the relevant questions about the play. They looked at the photographs I brought in with such compassion. I had the feeling of being at a kind of peace summit. What is present in the room at SWIAS is hope. Still Waters. When I was in Northern Ireland with the amazing activists Pauline Ross and Claudia Bernardi, we listened to children on both sides of Ardoyne Road in Belfast. They had all the answers about peace. I am not being romantic. They knew everything. What happens after they grow up? Stephen Haff holds peace in his hands. Again I’m not being romantic. Go see him. You’ll see.