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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 28, 2003)
Group forms peace team to help Iraqis \foices In The Wilderness began the Iraq Peace Team to live among Iraqi civilians and provide food and aid War hits home Aimee Rudin City/State Politics Reporter During the last several months, many civilians throughout the West ern world have voiced their opposi tion to the war in Iraq. In the United States, advocates for peace have overtaken the streets in organized marches for peace, sent thousands of letters to senators and representatives asking them to end the war and formed boycotts of prod ucts and people directly supporting the Bush administration. Although most major battles in Iraq have been fought, the war has not ended. Iraqi and coalition forces and civilians of many different nationali ties have died in the war. Coalition leaders have maintained that the war is necessary to ensure the safety of the world. “The safety of the American peo ple depends on ending this direct and growing threat,” President George W. Bush said in a press conference at the end of February. “Acting against the danger will also contribute gready to the long-term safety and stability of our world. The current Iraqi regime has shown the power of tyranny to spread discord and violence in the Middle East.” A handful of organizations have dedicated their efforts to showing the people of Iraq, and the world community, that not everyone be lieves in or wants the war. Voices In The Wilderness was es tablished in 1996 as a joint U.S. and U.K. campaign to end the economic sanctions and military warfare against the people of Iraq. Since its inception, more than 60 VITW dele gations have traveled to Iraq in viola tion of U.S.-opposed sanctions. VITW advocates nonviolence as a means for social change. The group opposes “the development, storage and use by any country of weapons of mass destruction, be they nuclear, biological, chemical or economic.” In September, VITW initiated the Iraq Peace Team, a group of revolving members who travel to Iraq to live among civilians and join in a stance of solidarity with the Iraqi people. Mem bers of the group bring aid and food to civilians in war tom areas. Kathy Kelly, co-founder of VITW and a two-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, has been in Iraq with the peace team for the majority of the last four months. She was on the ground when the U.S.-led bombing began in March. Kelly has been working with other Peace Team members to show soli darity with the Iraqi people. She re cently encountered several U.S. sol diers who questioned her and other members’ reasons for being in Iraq and explained their own. “Each of them has assured us they didn’t want to kill anyone,” Kelly said. “One young man said he was desper ate for financial aid to care for his wife and young child while struggling to complete college studies and work full-time. He felt he could gain some respect in this world and also help his family by joining the Marines.” The soldier told Kelly he hadn’t shot anyone, but he saw a U.S. soldier shoot at a civilian car carrying two adults and a child. Both adults were killed imme diately. The child survived. “They could have shot the tires,” the soldier said. “Some just want to kill.” Kelly said the majority of the sol diers have been respectful toward the Iraqi civilians and the Peace Team. She said many are already tired of the war and ready for the fighting to be over. “Looting and burning continue, here in Baghdad,” Kelly said in an e mailed letter back to VITW head quarters in Chicago. “I’m sick of war —disgusted to the point of nausea. I think all of us at this intersection, residents of A1 Fanar, journalists in the Palestine Hotel next door and soldiers on patrol, share the same queasy ill feeling. The line ‘War is the health of the state’ makes no sense whatsoever here.” According to VITW speaking coor dinator Laurie Hasbrook, there are still four members, including Kelly, in Iraq. A few groups have traveled to Iraq with the hope of placing their own bodies between the fighting and buildings like hospitals and food stor age facilities. These people, called human shields, operate on the hope that armed forces will see a Western face among a planned target and make the decision not to fire. Iraqi leaders often station the human shields in front of areas that could be considered military targets. “Our strategy is potentially danger ous, but that is a risk we must take in standing beside our brothers and sis ters in Iraq,” Organizer of the Human Shield Project Ken Nichols O’Keefe said. “There are literally billions of people around the world who are op posed to this war, yet our so-called ‘democracies’ in the U.S. and Britain are plunging us into it. We can, and we must, stop this war, and all we need to achieve this is a few thousand volun teers to migrate to Iraq.” Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth said the use of human shields by either side of the war was a criminal act. “If Iraq uses people as human shields, that is a war crime,” he said. “If the United States attacks targets that are shielded by civilians with Andrew Cutraro St. Louis Post-Dispatch Human shield Yukiko Muragishi of Japan passes a plate of food to U.S. Marines at a water treatment project in northern Baghdad on April 12. Seven human shields have been working to protect the plant from destruction. out demonstrating an overwhelming military necessity to do so, that would be a war crime, too.” Military forces have already killed several civilians acting as human shields. Many of the shields have been asked to leave the country, or have been deported to Jordan and other surrounding countries. Peter Bergel, executive director of Oregon PeaceWorks, said aid groups such as VITW are very different from the human shield movement, but both are forms of civil disobedience. “People are beginning to see that if they can risk their lives as soldiers than they can also risk their lives as peace advocates,” Bergel said. “We are primarily saying we want a dif ferent way of dealing with conflict.” For more information on aid groups, visit the Voices In The Wilder ness Web site at www.vitw.org. Contact the senior reporter at aimeerudin@dailyemerald.com. Review continued from page 1 ject matter. Ranging from bright, ex cited activity to serene landscapes, three photographs in particular stand out. “SamulNori” captures a man spin ning in midair while playing a percus sion instrument. The long white ribbon on his hat looks like a kite tail gracefully snapping with the motion of his body. “Jwibul nore” shows a curious night scene, which illustrates a tradi tional folk game where field embank ments are set on fire. Players twirl sticks like batons, creating large or ange circles of fire that sparkle in the night. Other photographs showcase bold masks and dance performances that signify the harvests and customs of a once agrarian society. The most notable photograph is simply called “Landscape,” a view near the Seonunsa Temple in Gochang, which is in the Jeollabuk-do Province. Photographed from behind, a hooded walker retreats down a path lined with old trees enshrouded in fog. The scene conjures this philo sophical passage from “On the Road,” a travelogue by writer Joo young Kim: “While on the road, I discovered that the things with the most global appeal were those that are the most Korean in nature. I also discovered that underlying the tra ditional ways of Korean relations is certain humility based on integrity and restraint. And because of this, the true beauty of Korea is subtle and free of artifice.” In addition to photographs, “Im ages of Korea” includes a glass case containing a sample of Korean crafts and traditional costumes. Of special interest are two elegant pipes that are approximately two feet long, a decorative painted screen and a lovely robe. Lastly, an impressive scholar’s desk connotes the sort of serious contemplation and careful writing to which many of us aspire. Sohn’s professionalism, drawing on her expertise as a program officer for the Korean Foundation in Seoul, Ko rea, shines in the exhibit, with prom ises of other intriguing Korean arts, film and scholarly lectures to come. Be sure to check out this exhibition before it leaves on Friday. Visit www.meetkorea.org for further details. Jen Katz-Buonincontro is a freelance writer for the Emerald. Andrea Cooper presents kr 1st l ia/s s>tor\A The story of Andrea’s daughter, Kristin, who com mitted suicide after being raped by a “friend” and falling into a deep depression. April 30th, 7pm McArthur Court Open to the Public for no charge Sponsored by the Panhellenic and Interfraternity Councils, Office of Student Life, Counseling Center, Womens Center and Alpha Chi Omega National Sorority 016368 Oregoi Daily Emerald end-af-the-p1 bakesale Monday, April 28 - all day, in front of the UO Bookstore All the homemade delicacies that can fit in one bake sale, held by your friendly Emerald staff members. We will be selling cookies, brownies, lemon bars, nmffins, donuts, cup cakes and much more. [^[/ All proceeds will go toward Emerald expenses. Yes, it has come to this! [Cgme in by, get some goodies and chat with IE staff.]
