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-----Original Message----- From: Voices in the Wilderness <kkelly@igc.org> To: Kathy Kelly (Kathy Kelly) <kkelly@igc.org> Date: 24 November 2001 17:34 Subject: vitw update Dear Friends, On Sunday morning, (November 25), at 9:00 a.m., several family members who lost their loved ones in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon will lead the DC - NYC Walk for Healing and Peace. We'll set forth from the front gates of Georgetown U. (Press Release follows). Joining the walk will be two representatives of Voices in the Wilderness UK, Matt Barr and Milan Rai, the Voices UK coordinator who has just returned from a European tour with encouraging accounts of new collaboration between Voices and several European groups committed to nonviolent direct action. Matt and Mil will join our next delegation to Iraq which departs from New York City on December 4. Ramzi Kysia is already filing reports and updates from Baghdad (see website); we'll do our best to remain in touch with you, from Iraq, during the seven weeks that follow. Looking further ahead, we hope many of you can come to NYC January 20-22, 2002 for a teach-in and action to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King's call for nonviolence. Please see our website to register. (http://www.nonviolence.vitw.org Finally, and with apologies for the length of this update, we offer an account of our recent effort to purchase 4,000 stamps, other than flag stamps, for a postal mailing. When Andrew Mandell and Danny Muller politely made this request, the postal mail clerk called the Chicago police. The next day, Andrew was interviewed by a federal postal mail inspector. His reflection follows. Dr. Hannah Arendt believed that even in the darkest of times we should be able to expect some illumination which would probably come not from theories or abstractions but from the flickering and uncertain light which some men & women are somehow able to kindle, against most of the odds, and shed over the time they are allotted on this earth. In these raw times, we place great hope in the light offered by those who've said: "Our Grief Is Not A Cry for War." Sincerely, Kathy Kelly, Voices in the Wilderness, Chicago office PRESS RELEASE Family members of 9/11 victims to lead DC—NYC peace walk: OUR GRIEF IS NOT A CRY FOR WAR FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Danny Muller: 773-447-3964 November 24, 2001 Melissa Muro or Joe Proulx: 646-208-2098 Washington, DC— Amber Amundson, whose husband Craig was killed in the attack on the Pentagon, wrote shortly after the attack, “I call on our national leaders to find the courage to break the cycle of violence.” Sentiments like these have come from others who lost spouses, children, brothers or sisters. This week some of these mourners are going beyond words, joining a walk that will link the two cities that were struck. Their message to all they meet as they walk or assemble along the way: Our grief is not a cry for war. The group of survivors and friends will set off at 9 AM Sunday, November 25, from the front gates of Georgetown University in Washington, DC (37th and O Street). They will arrive the next Sunday, December 2, in New York City. In between they will walk some distances and shuttle others, stopping in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Paterson and other locations to take parts in events being organized by local churches and other groups. Craig Amundson’s brother, Ryan, will also join the walk. He states, “We don’t want to see more widowed mothers like my sister-in-law, more little kids without a dad like my niece and nephew, more moms and dads outliving their son like my parents, or more brothers losing brothers like me. The current reliance on military force does not confront the political, social, and economic foundations of terrorism. By emphasizing a military solution, the United States will not effectively combat terrorism.” Buddhist and Franciscan monks will join the walk, as will leaders from various faith-based and peacemaking communities. Any persons who support a call for nonviolence are welcome to join in the walk as it moves north. On November 25, walkers will proceed to St. Aloysius Church (19 Eye Street) where they will welcome the public to a 6:30 p.m. gathering at the McKenna Center. A large decorated school bus will shuttle walkers between cities. Daily itinerary updates available at www.vitw.org. This walk is endorsed by AFSC, FOR, Pax Christi USA, Peace Action USA, Veterans for Peace, War Resister’s League, Voices in the Wilderness, and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, among others. -------------------------- Puzzling at the Post Office by Andrew Mandell So a few days ago when we went to post office to buy the stamps for our mailing, we asked for stamps without the American flag. First we were told to wait. It seems they were unsure if they had stamps at the post office and would have to go in the “back” and see. The police officer arrived after a few minutes. Questions, polite smiles, and professional behavior but sadly another half truth as we were told to come back at 11:30 the next day when they would have the stamps ready for us. The next day the lady at the counter was a bit puzzled as to what the fuss was all about and sold me the stamps without going “to the back.” It seems after all they do stock stamps at the post office. However the U.S. Postal Inspector is not always in stock. Coincidentally he happened to be there at 11:30 to invite me in “the back” to talk a bit about mailing frequency, stamp choices, and the funding of Voices in the Wilderness. He also wondered if he might come by the office and see the mailing when it was done. A few days later he called to say that he trusted us and that he would not, after all, need to inspect our mail. He was a decent person, but he didn’t have to be. The American flag is a fine looking banner and in its long history has been the backdrop for the honorable actions and self-sacrifice of individuals many of us can respect. However, colored cloth has neither will nor discernment, and will fly just as majestically over plunder as rescue, and this one has. A banner is like a word. Once it begins to define different things among different people it can only hamper and confuse dialogue. And the more important the dialogue, the more likely the confusion. It becomes more apparent to us every day that the conversations most vital to the future of our children are too important to take place beneath ambiguous symbols reinforcing presumptions for some, recalling terror for others. Ravages of warfare descend on multitudes of actors, some of whom remain free to choose forces other than destruction to direct their actions. While still holding hope for the forces of dialogue, negotiation, and nonviolent resistance to evil, we're holding on to our choices at the post office as well. Voices in the Wilderness 1-773-784-8065 http://www.nonviolence.org/vitw 1460 West Carmen Ave Chicago IL 60640 -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a discussion list run by the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq For removal from list, email soc-casi-discuss-request@lists.cam.ac.uk CASI's website - www.casi.org.uk - includes an archive of all postings.