Patricia Cockrell

Broschiertes Buch

Sketches from a Quaker's Moscow Journal

Beschreibung

The iron curtain was giving way or at least becoming permeable in the age of perestroika. After writing letters for 20 years while teaching Russian at two schools in Exeter, Patricia was at last successful in setting up an exchange with a school in Moscow, and in 1992 she was awarded a grant to establish a hospice in Exeter's twin city - Yaroslavl. She negotiated some time off from family life and gave up her job in order to promote the growth of civil society in Russia. She retrained in conflict management, mediation, diplomacy and other skills and in 1993 was appointed to represent Quakers in Russia and to work with others to establish a Friends House in Moscow. At a time of challenging social unrest, she lived in Moscow and travelled widely from the Caucasus to the Arctic working on Quaker concerns for peaceful relationships and for the sick, the vulnerable and victims of violence and war. Patricia and Roger live in Lewes not far from their children and grandchildren. All profits from the sale of this book will be donated to Friends House Moscow.

Autor

As a child of refugees, Patricia has always been disturbed by dislocation, violence and injustice and intrigued by identity. Victims of war, ecological disaster and desperate poverty are forced to migrate and to do their best to survive and sometimes to reinvent themselves.Fluent Russian gave her access to the richness and complexity that is Russia, as described in the Sketches, and a part-time study of Arabic at Sussex University allowed her to get by when serving as an ecumenical accompanier among refugees and displaced people in Palestine and Israel. Reflections from this experience were published in Olives and Barbed Wire.Perestroika was a fertile time for the development of civil society in Russia: Patricia worked on hospice development and helped with the establishment of NGOs to support vulnerable people; she also organised workshops in peace education and management. This was also a time of dislocation as large numbers of migrants fled from wars and persecution, or returned home after years of exile and found someone else living in their houses. Based in Moscow, Patricia travelled widely meeting all manner of people.Inspired by William Penn, an early Quaker, who said that our task is to mend the world, not retreat from it, Patricia continues to work for a cleaner, greener, fairer, more inclusive and peaceful world.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: New Generation Publishing
• Seitenzahl: 282
• Erscheinungstermin: 25. Oktober 2021
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 203mm x 127mm x 17mm
• Gewicht: 342g
• ISBN-13: 9781800310285
• ISBN-10: 1800310285
• Artikelnr.: 62890864