 October 2001
American Friends Service Committee Peacework Magazine Patrica Watson, Editor Sara Burke, Assistant Editor Pat Farren, Founding Editor 2161 Massachusetts Ave. Telephone number: Fax number:
pwork@igc.org Peacework has been published monthly since 1972, intended to serve as a source of dependable information to those who strive for peace and justice and are committed to furthering the nonviolent social change necessary to achieve them. Rooted in Quaker values and informed by AFSC experience and initiatives, Peacework offers a forum for organizers, fostering coalition-building and teaching the methods and strategies that work in the global and local community. Peacework seeks to serve as an incubator for social transformation, introducing a younger generation to a deeper analysis of problems and issues, reminding and re-inspiring long-term activists, encouraging the generations to listen to each other, and creating space for the voices of the disenfranchised. Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC. |
September 11 and Beyond: Actions, Tools, and Resources UPCOMING EVENTS
Noam Chomsky on "The New War on Terrorism", 10/18, 7 pm; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Building 26, Rm. 100; for details see www.southendpress.org/books/speaking.shtml Draft & Military Counseling Training Session, 10/27, 9 am-5 pm; Friends Meetinghouse, 5 Longfellow Park, Cambridge MA; lunch provided; to reserve your place, contact Robert Dove, AFSC, 2161 Mass. Ave., Cambridge MA 02140; 617/661-6130; rdove@afsc.org Weekly Vigil for Peace at Park Station, Saturdays noon-2 pm, sponsored by the Boston Committee for Peace & Human Rights; for more information call Virginia Pratt at 617/464-7488 Weekly Vigil for a Peaceful Response to September 11, Tuesdays 6-7 pm, Copley Square, Boston; sponsored by the Boston Ad Hoc Coalition; for information contact AFSC, 617/661-6130 Weekly Organizing Meeting, Tuesdays, 7:15-9 pm, Boston Community Church, 565 Boylston St., Boston; sponsored by the Boston Ad Hoc Coalition; for information contact AFSC, 617/661-6130 SAY YOUR PEACE Justice, Not War window sign, and Hate Free Community/Stop Racist Attacks window sign. Contribution to defray costs is welcome, but not necessary. Inkworks Press, 2827 Seventh St., Berkeley CA 94710; 510/845-7111 Also available at home.igc.org/~inkworks/ppnindex.html Justice, Not War window sign, with text of Barbara Lee's speech on the back. No More Victims--Anywhere buttons and bumper stickers, War is Not the Answer buttons and bumper stickers available at AFSC, 2161 Mass. Ave., Cambridge MA 02140; 617/661-6130 Honor Them with Peace poster and Islam is Not the Enemy--War is Not the Answer poster, & others, available in PDF format at reclaimthestreetsnyc.tao.ca/posters GOVERNMENT CONTACT Contact Information for Washington: The Honorable____, US Senate, Washington DC 20510; The Honorable_____, US House of Representatives, Washington DC 20515; President George W. Bush, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington DC 20500; Capitol switchboard 202/224-3121 www.9-11peace.org gives talking points, information on local actions, and information on how to write to the US Congress and President Oppose a Huge Increase in Nuclear Weapons Funding: SA.1671 is an amendment introduced by Senators Domenici, Reid, & Bingaman which would add $339 million to the Energy Department's nuclear weapons activities budget (this is $492 million above the Bush administration's request). Increasing funding for nuclear weapons activities is the wrong priority--instead, the Senate should be increasing funding for advancing nuclear, chemical, and biological nonproliferation programs. For more information, contact Friends Committee on National Legislation, 245 Second St. NE, Washington DC 20002-5795; 202/547-6000; www.fcnl.org HATE CRIMES IN THE US A wave of hate crimes against people perceived to be Arab-American, Muslim, or of Middle Eastern origin, has followed the events of September 11. It is vital that such human rights violations be documented and spoken out against, but the mainstream media have been consistently underreporting them. www.cair-net.org/ireport, hosted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, offers an on-line form for reporting of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab hate crimes. The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund in New York City is also documenting the current wave of hate crimes. To report incidents, contact Sinyen Ling at 212/760-9110 or sling@aaldef.org. The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee is a leading organization dedicated to defending the civil rights of people of Arab descent: www.adc.org The Alliance for a Secular and Democratic South Asia was formed to combat rising religious intolerance in South Asia and to campaign for peace and justice in the region: email secular@mit.edu MULTI-FAITH UNDERSTANDING By interacting with others in a wider community of religious and spiritual philosophies, we can begin to understand what is at stake and the possibilities for re-shaping the world, together. Conexus Multifaith Media Center distributes materials, including Sourcebook of the World's Religions: An Interfaith Guide to Religion and Spirituality; the Golden Rules Poster (versions from 13 religions), and the Multifaith Information Manual, which was designed for use in institutions such as hospitals, professional training schools, and prisons. www.conexuspress.com; toll-free 877/784-7779 Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a prominent Washington-based Islamic advocacy group, works to protect the human rights of Muslims and to provide appropriate information about Islam. For instance, on Wednesday following the attack, CAIR called on Muslims nationwide to offer whatever assistance they can to help the victims of today's terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, DC. They also provide frequent news releases pertinent to the 7 million Muslims in America. www.cair-net.org The Humanitarian Resource Institute offers web site that serves as a hub of news, links, and emergency and relief information, especially for use by religious and civic organizations: www.humanitarian.net Also visit HRI's new Interfaith News Network for its coverage of the World Trade Center terrorist incident, at www.humanitarian.net/interfaith/tradecenter The Interfaith Center of New York offers a street level presence in mid-town Manhattan. They are currently supporting an urban ministry program that is responding to the great need following the tragedies. 212/685-4242; www.interfaithcenter.org The World Interfaith Congress is a networking web site which helped bring you this list and offers free directory listings, content, discussion and network services to more than 800 faith-based, ecumenical and interfaith organizations, plus many individual participants. www.interfaithcongress.org MILITARY SERVICE AND THE DRAFT The GI Rights Hotline 800/394-9544 is a free, non-governmental service of the GI Rights Network, and provides information for GIs and Reservists with questions about their legal rights and obligations. "Ten Points to Consider Before You Sign a Military Enlistment Agreement" is a clear, concise, engaging flyer available from the Youth & Militarism Program of the American Friends Service Committee. The program can also provide you with many other excellent resources on the military, war, youth, and conscientious objector (CO) status, including articles, videos, and information packets. "Y&M On-Line" is a monthly magazine on youth, war, & peace. Many materials available in Spanish. Contact the Youth & Militarism Program, AFSC, 1501 Cherry St., Philadelphia PA 19102; 215/241-7176; www.afsc.org/youthmil.htm In Maine: Maine Draft and Military Counselors (MDMC), POB 776, Monroe, ME 04951; 207/525-7776; invert@acadia.net. The Maine War Tax Resistance Resource Center for persons who are conscientiously opposed to paying their federal taxes for war can be reached at the same number and Email address. Draft & Military Counseling Training Session, 10/27, 9 am-5 pm; Friends Meetinghouse, 5 Longfellow Park, Cambridge MA; lunch provided; to reserve your place, contact Robert Dove, AFSC, 2161 Mass. Ave., Cambridge MA 02140; 617/661-6130; rdove@afsc.org GET SOME HISTORY These are some videos available from the AFSC Film & Video Library, 2161 Mass. Ave., Cambridge MA 02140; 617/661-6130. In mid-October, we will have available the PBS program Hunting Bin-Laden. We are also keeping an eye out for other solid programs relating to the September 11 acts of mass murder, George Bush's response, and the historical background to the crisis. For now, we have the following video programs that may be helpful to use as background: Paying the Price: Killing the Children of Iraq, 2000; 73 mins. A moving and very effective account of how the sanctions imposed on Iraq have led to the deaths of 500,000 children between 1991 and 2000. Excellent bacground on pas US collaboration with Saddam Hussein in the 1980s and the continuing toll that US regular bombing of Iraq today takes on the country. Understanding Islam in the Middle East, 1991; 90 mins. A major address by Dr. William Bijlefeld, Emeritus Professor at Harford Seminary on April 17, 1991 that examines the definition, scope, and resurgence of Islam as a reaction to the failure of western economic and social models. The Story of Islam: A History of the World's Most Misunderstood Faith, 1983; 120 mins. Intended at the time as an attempt to tear down the stereotypical western view of Islam as an alien phenomenon, this progrm introduces the culture, phiolosopy, and staples of thes way fo life. Looks at Islam from its beginnings up to the 1980s. SOA: Guns and Greed, 2000; 20 mins. A close look at the world's largest terrorist training camp: the School fo the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia. Connects the killings of unarmed civilians by the school's graduates with the global economic interests that exploit the people and resources of Latin America. Includes a short section on the training of infamous Indonesian soldiers. Also available: School of Assassins, 1995, 18 mins.; School of the Americas: An Insider Speaks Out, 16 mins.; Crossing the Line, 1998, 16 mins. Blood Makes the Grass Grow, 1997; 46 mins. Six young people who were US Soldiers during the Gulf War tell their stories of how they attempted to become conscientious objectors. JROTC: The Military in America's High Schools, 1995; 30 mins. A well-balanced critique of Junior ROTC programs and the rising influence and presence of teh military in our schools.
Yellow Ribbon Patriotism; A frightening look at the jingoism
dressed as patriotism that swept the country during the Gulf War.
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