Supported by Academi Heddwch, Wales Arts International and Ruthin Craft Centre, this collaborative stitch project led by Ruthin-based artist Bethan M. Hughes was exhibited at Oriel Dory, Llangollen alongside the International Eisteddfod in July 2024. In November 2024, the film and some elements from Bethan’s project will be incorprated into a ‘project celebration’ exhibition at Wales’ Temple of Peace over 16-22 November.
In this short film, Bethan – with voices from participants and visitors – shares her inspiration:
Artist Bethan Hughes
“Each contributor’s signature has been stitched by them by hand, carefully and mindfully. I have embedded them into the finished quilt under lines of quilting stitches which echo the thousands of lines in the Petition. Each signature, each stitch, is a tribute to the women of 1923/4, a thread of connections, and a yearning for peace today.
When I saw images of the Petition, I was struck by the handwriting, and that each woman had been invited to sign her own name in her own hand, a rare opportunity at the time. I chose to work with simple materials, calico and black thread, to reflect the simplicity of the Petition’s paper and ink. The design echoes the fact that the Petition would be 7 miles long laid end to end.
Eleven stitch workshops were held with experienced and novice stitchers coming together to stitch, to chat and to make connections. Members of Merched y Wawr Rhuthun and others came to workshops in Ruthin Craft Centre, and I also held workshops in the North Wales Women’s Centre in Rhyl, in Llangollen and in Yr Ysgwrn, Trawsfynydd. Through the support of Wales Art International, an online workshop was held and we successfully received signatures from women in the United States of America. As I stitched each individual name into the 16 metre-long finished quilt, I reflected on the contributor and the old and new connections between us.
For many of the contributors, stitching their names was an action for peace today, just as our grandmothers took similar action a century ago. Through a quiet, thoughtful and honest action, women’s voices ring out and connect like a thread of peace”.
WCIA as a member of DEC Cymru, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), have launched a Middle East Humanitarian Appeal to raise urgent funds for people whose lives are being devastated by conflict.
Over the past year, conflict in the Middle East has devastated lives across the region, and millions have fled their homes in search of safety. Right now, millions of people across Gaza, Lebanon and the wider region are in urgent need of food, shelter and medical care.
DEC member charities are coordinating closely with each other and with local partners to provide lifesaving food, water, shelter, medicine and more.
In Gaza, the scale of need is overwhelming, with people already dying of hunger and disease, as well as injuries caused by the conflict. Food and clean water are desperately scarce and ninety percent of the population have been displaced, often multiple times.
In Lebanon, more than a million people have had to leave their homes in recent weeks. Shelters are overwhelmed, and hospitals are struggling to treat the thousands of people injured.
In the West Bank, vital water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure has been damaged by ongoing violence and families have been displaced from their homes.
In Israel, families of those held hostage desperately await news of their loved ones, tens of thousands of people are displaced and many more are dealing with trauma caused by the conflict. The DEC is monitoring the evolving situation and a number of DEC charities are ready to expand their response to include Israel.
The DEC brings together 15 leading aid charities at times of crisis overseas where there is significant unmet humanitarian need. Despite extraordinary challenges and risks, 14 DEC member charities are responding right now in Gaza and Lebanon and 8 in the West Bank, including British Red Cross, Oxfam and Save the Children.
Appeals to raise funds to support this work will be broadcast on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky today (17 October) following the evening news. BBC radio appeals will be broadcast throughout the day.
WCIA Chief Executive Hayley Morgan commented:
“People are experiencing a devastating loss of lives and a humanitarian catastrophe on an unimaginable scale. They are being displaced time and time again, with no safe place to stay. Access to basic food and healthcare is extremely limited, further putting lives at risk. The needs people have are overwhelming and humanitarian support is vital.
We ask everyone to donate towards this DEC appeal – building on Wales’ long and proud tradition of solidarity with people around the world. Your donation will help save lives by supporting DEC member organisations who are providing this vital and lifesaving aid on the ground to the people of Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon.”
DEC Chief Executive Saleh Saeed said:
“Millions of people, including many thousands of children, are dealing with almost unimaginable trauma. Many have been displaced multiple times and have no homes to return to. Now food and medical care is scarce and families face devastating choices to survive.
“DEC member charities are responding right now in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank, providing lifesaving food, water, shelter and medicine – this humanitarian support is a vital lifeline for millions of people in overwhelming need of assistance. But our member charities urgently need more funds to meet the huge levels of need. We are asking people to please donate now to save lives.”
Rachael Cummings, Humanitarian Director at Save the Children, who is just back from Gaza, said:
“What we are seeing right now is a humanitarian catastrophe on an entirely new level. There is nowhere safe for children and families to go.
“The rate that people’s health is deteriorating is extraordinary. Previously healthy communities are just wasting away. We are seeing increases in children with diarrhoea, jaundice, respiratory conditions – which are all illnesses that, when combined with extreme hunger, can kill a child in days.
“Children have also had their education completely disrupted for over a year and will bear the brunt of this conflict for years to come.
“We are doing all we can to respond to children’s needs and are urging the UK public to donate to the DEC appeal, so we are able to deliver the vital aid that children and their families, who have lived through this brutal conflict, so desperately need.”
The UK Government will match the first £10million of donations from the British public to the DEC’s Middle East Humanitarian Appeal to provide vital humanitarian assistance to people affected by conflict.
Anneliese Dodds, Minister of State for Development, said:
“The suffering of civilians impacted by the conflict across the Middle East is intolerable. Humanitarian support is urgently needed for the most vulnerable people. Charities play a crucial role in providing help to those most affected, and need your support.
“That is why we are matching public donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Middle East Humanitarian Appeal to provide urgent humanitarian assistance up to £10m. This will be used to provide life-saving aid including medical supplies, shelter and clean water to those who need it most.”
