Scoil Bhriocáin in Ros Muc, Connemara, and has St Colmcille’s Girls National School in Swords, Dublin, have become the first two schools in the State to sign up to the Fly Kites Not Drones peace project for children.
Fly Kites Not Drones was inspired by the tradition of kite flying in Afghanistan and by a young boy called Aymel, who lost his father as a result of a drone strike. The project seeks to draw attention to the war still ongoing in the country, and to devastation caused by US killer drones.
Former Galway county councillor Seosamh Ó Cuaig and Independent TD Clare Daly are spearheading Fly Kites Not Drones in Ireland and the project will culminate with children from Scoil Bhriocáin and St Colmcille’s flying kites on March 21 to mark the Afghani new year.
Seosamh Ó Cuaig is confident the project will spread throughout the country. The Fly Kites Not Drones website allows children participating in this programme to look at a wide range of subjects from the physics of kite flying to history, geography, ethics, and human rights. Dep Daly said: "Thousands of adults and children have become the victims of Washington’s drone war. It was initiated by President Obama, but further revamped by Donald Trump with even more devastating consequences. And to think these weapons are transported via Shannon airport and Irish airspace. It is appalling."
