Concerned about recent events in the Middle East, about two dozen people gathered at Mechanic’s Park in Biddeford to rally for peace at dusk on Sunday. A downtown march is in the planning stages, organizers say. Courtesy Photo

BIDDEFORD — About two dozen people gathered at Mechanics Park on Sunday for a People for Peace rally.

“Folks concerned with the escalation of unrest in the Middle East after the assassination of Iranian General Soleimani, committed to getting together for the first of what we hope will be ongoing peace events here in the Biddeford-Saco area,” said organizer Holly Culloton.

Culloton said several of those attending shared their concerns and then the group sang together and took the time to recognize they were standing on sacred Wabanaki land.

Eileen Foley, also an organizer of the event, said it began to form as she and others were feeling helpless about the situation in Iran and Iraq. A rally seemed like a way for people in Biddeford to get together for peace, with no political or religious affiliation, she said.

“Our hope was to provide an opportunity to get together,” she said on Monday. “I think people are frustrated and feel helpless, and it seems to me anyway that the big marches are great but not everyone can go, or are not sure phone calls or marches make a difference.”

There were young and old alike at the rally, said Foley.

Culloton said the youngest was 19, the eldest, 87.

“I was glad we did it,” said Foley, who noted people from Saco as well as Biddeford attended. “It seems people are looking for a way to gather.”

A march in downtown Biddeford is planned for a date to be determined in the next couple of weeks, Culloton said.

“We all believe that peace is the answer, not war,”she said.