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Simon Phipps's personal commentary

By another name

Rare Statue

I was especially moved today walking through St Martin's Place in London and seeing again the statue of Nurse Edith Cavell. In those days where there was no Geneva convention to be ignored, she was murdered during World War 1 by the German military for facilitating the escape of wounded prisoners of war from Belgium.

The statues around London tend to be of great warriors and aggressive political leaders, so finding the statue of a woman is rare enough; finding a war statue of a woman is extraordinary. The figure is of human dimensions, dignified but humble in front of a larger obelisk. The inscription is sadly indistinct in the photo, but it was that which moved me the most. On the night before her execution, she said:

I realise that patriotism is not enough, I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone."

It reminds me of the poem by Steve Turner that ends:

Hate hate, Alan, I said. Hate hate.
It's the only hate worth having, Alan
and it comes by another name.

The more I read on the web (even in the comments to my blog) the more I think this could be the key.

posted at 12:32 AM (UK) | |