September 2002

Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC.

From the editor's desk

Our prayers may be different, but our tears are the same.
--Abraham Joshua Heschel

We've been pondering for quite a while what Peacework could offer for this grim anniversary month. Lord knows there have been words aplenty. What's left to say?

And yet, our faith in the power of words of truth is abiding--indeed, it has never been stronger. With this issue we offer you many and varied voices raised in truth: personal witness, heartfelt entreaty, models for action, poetry, and good, solid, research. In the orchestrated clamor of this anniversary, we hope these truths will help you steer your own honest course.

Copley Square, Boston, September 23, 2001 © Ellen Shub

Several themes intertwine throughout this issue; after all, the big things remain, and bear repeating. The terrorism of suicide bombings is no mystery, as Israeli journalist Nahum Barnea told his readers. It is "born of despair, and there is no military solution to despair." State-imposed terrorism, the terror of imperialism, again, should be no mystery. Eqbal Ahmad gave the remarkable speech we excerpt here in 1998. He didn't need the World Trade Center bombings in order to make an analysis that is absolutely precise in 2002.

We observed as we reviewed the articles we had solicited that no matter what subject or region we asked authors to address, by and large they all wrote about terror and empire. There are some exceptional voices here--a lot of them. Take your time; unfortunately what they have to say will not go out of date with tomorrow's headlines.

Nor will the wounds. Lacking space, we took Iraq as but one example of the particularity of the suffering which global policy inflicts. In the same way, the graph on page 35 offers a few comparative casualty figures. The necessarily short list challenges us to spell out its omissions--East Timor, for instance, the Philippines in 1898 and after, the firebombing of Dresden... You get the picture.

The overriding question which Peacework feels it must bring to the table this September is: What is a moral response to mass murder, what is a response rooted in faith and nonviolence? Read what David Portorti, whose brother died in the World Trade Center, wrote, for a wonderful answer. We're Quakers. The AFSC star on the Peacework cover is the logo of an agency founded by an historic peace church. It is also the agency that published the essay "Speak Truth to Power." The writers whose articles start out this issue tackle the question head on. Paul Lacey and Mary Lord, who provide the September Peacework with an introduction and a conclusion, have responsibilities for guiding and shaping AFSC work. Each speaks of the challenge of encompassing both pastoral and prophetic ministries. Both conclude that a vision of peace is incomplete without a struggle--a true and sacrificial jihad--for justice.

View from Ground Zero, February 23, 2002© Pat Rabby: "Distorted reflections near Ground Zero reflect my grief over a world out of order. That the distortions are also insubstantial illusions echoes the difficulty we have understanding and influencing a peaceful future. We are left with compassion and prayer, and our potential to love one another."

Our friend Pat Rabby did three things in the aftermath of September 11. She practiced her art--finding herself photographing flowers, almost obsessively, and creating a light-filled exhibit from them. She also plunged into local organizing in her hometown, helping to plan workshops, speakers, vigils, demonstrations--forging a channel for citizen voices. And she paid a visit to Ground Zero. You can see some of the fruits of that here--the beautiful faces of a young family at the memorial wall, and the strange distorted reflections that speak to her, and us, of a world askew.

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