Ayesha Gooneratne and Julia Spurzem

NEW YORK, Oct 4 2005 (IPS) — A new documentary titled “Peace One Day” portrays one man’s six-year struggle to convince world leaders to establish an international day of global ceasefire and non-violence.

“The film shows how one person with his heart in the right place and passion can make a difference,” said Ahmad Fawzi, director of the media division at the United Nations, at the film’s screening in New York, which was also attended by actress and U.N. goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie.

Gilley, a British citizen, documents his journey around the world and his meetings with heads of state, Nobel Peace laureates and U.N. officials. During the six-year filmmaking process, which started in 1999, he captured powerful scenes of people affected by war and violence.

Gilley’s trip to Africa, where he met children who had lost entire families to conflict, was an especially emotional experience, he said. In Somalia, a scene juxtaposing machine guns and orphans forms a striking image.

“The war has affected us severely,” one young boy says. “My mother and father are dead.”

During a visit to a hospital in Hargeisa, Somalia, Gilley encountered starving children and patients lying on the floor due to a lack of basic resources. He talked with an injured 16-year-old boy standing on crutches in the corner, whose glazed expression reflects his experiences as a child soldier.

“If it continues, it is not in our interest,” says the boy, who was recruited at age 12. “But if they want the fighting to continue, we will fight.”

Africa was not the only place where Gilley met with victims of war and conflict. In Israel, a woman who had lost everything solemnly told her story. “It’s like all your life only being able to look at pictures, not feeling their hugs and kisses… That unites us with the Palestinians and the Egyptians and tomorrow, the Syrian families.”

His engagement with ordinary people affected by armed conflict inspired Gilley to seek a resolution at the United Nations establishing the International Day of Peace on Sep. 21.

“Spending time with people who had suffered and who encouraged me to make the day reality changed everything,” he said. “I knew at that point I didn’t want to fail.”

Gilley was not the first person to establish an international day of peace. In 1981, the former Costa Rican president Dr. Oscar Arias introduced an international day of peace at the U.N. General Assembly. Gilley aspired to reinvigorate this resolution.

“Nobody heard about this day and it didn’t make people stop fighting. I wanted to create a global day with a fixed calendar date,” he said.

Gilley ventured to all corners of the world, meeting influential people like the Dalai Lama, Mary Robinson (former high commissioner for Human Rights at the U.N.), Simon Perez (former prime minister of Israel) and Amre Moussa (secretary general of the League of Arab States). They all agreed to a cause promoting peace.

“I think it is a great idea,” said U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, expressing his support for Gilley’s cause. “Any moment, whether it is a day or a week that we can give the combatants to pause, to think and reflect on what they are doing to their own people and to the environment will be a great achievement.”

Despite all this backing, Gilley soon realised that the process of creating a resolution and seeing it through to its adoption would require a lot of time and work. When the Costa Rican government backed down as the sponsor for the resolution, Gilley wanted to give up. “Part of me just wanted to stop and create a film about failure,” he said.

But the resolution was finally adopted on Sep. 7, 2001. Having reached his goal, Gilley’s enthusiasm was soon tempered by the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the onset of the U.S.-led war in Iraq. “Would the day work? That was the real test. I had to find a way to tell as many people as possible in a climate of war and terror that there is now a day of peace,” he said.

Gilley’s main objectives now include informing as many people as possible about the ceasefire-day and convincing combatants to work toward peaceful resolutions. “We will not stop until the ceasefire is reality,” the filmmaker said.

In efforts to spread ideals of peace, his organisation “Peace One Day” has arranged numerous celebrity-backed events, concerts and demonstrations. Gilley continues to encourage people to send in videos depicting how they mark and celebrate Sep. 21.

“This step can be more than symbolic. Where respected, it can have practical effect,” noted Ahmad Fawzi.

A sequel to the 90-minute film is in the works focusing on the actual implementation of ceasefires. Gilley wants to highlight the impact of individuals to enact change and the power of “one day”. “If we want to build peace we must start with one day.”

Gilley currently lives in London. Before embarking on the “Peace One Day” documentary, he worked as an actor and producer.