August 2006
Dahiya area on the outskirts of Beirut (Photo: Farah Mokhtarazedei)Grieving Relatives of Qana Massacre Emerge From the Rubble to Bury Their Dead, (Aug 22), Kathy Kelly spoke with Ami Goodman on Democracy Now!
Residents in southern Lebanon emerged from shelters over the weekend for a grim task: to bury their dead. The largest funeral took place in Qana where an Israeli airstrike on the town on July 30th killed 29 people - the majority of them women and children. We speak with longtime peace activist Kathy Kelly who attended the Qana funeral as well as a Michigan man who lost over 20 members of his family in the Israeli attack on the town.
Continue reading transcript or listen to the program
A Proportionate Response, (Aug 21) by Kathy Kelly
The Massacre at Qana, (Aug 19) by Kathy Kelly
UPDATE (Aug 16) from Kathy Kelly: Michael Birmingham, Farah Mokhtarazedei, Ramzi Kysia and I will travel tomorrow with a young hotel worker who plans to visit his family home in southern Lebanon. The next day, we will try to connect with other internationals here in Beirut as they head south.
When I couldn’t get online, I called to Chicago to ask friends for a reading of Norman Finkelstein’s list describing war crimes committed in the past month. It’s sad and macabre to be taking this list as our guide during the next few days.
Massive numbers of Lebanese people have already returned to southern Lebanon, carrying mattresses atop their vehicles, intent on reclaiming their land. “These are the ‘tanks of mattresses,’” Maha told me, smiling at the idea. “The Israelis are leaving with real tanks and the tanks of mattresses will replace them.”
Several journalists returned to Beirut, from southern Lebanon, with reports of villages that still have not had access to water, food and medicine. Israeli Defense Forces ordered the journalists to turn back. Efforts are underway to contact the mayor of one of the villages who may have more information.
Our driver has arrived. We’re hoping to avoid a traffic jam, —best to be on the road soon.
UPDATE (Aug 15) from Kathy Kelly: Greetings from Beirut, where day 2 of the cease fire might signal very rapid change. If road passage is quickly repaired, many groups are ready to begin reconstructing areas in southern Lebanon, Beirut suburbs, and other areas destroyed by the past month of warfare. Hassan Nasrallah has vowed that Hezbollah will undertake reconstruction in southern Lebanon.
Continue Reading the August 15th Update from Lebanon
Also, Listen to Kathy Kelly speak with Flashpoints, Aug 15 2006
UPDATE (Aug 12): Today’s attempted convoy began with tremendous oganization and confidence. 52 cars set forth, all determined to head toward southern Lebanon. We were stopped by Lebanese police authorities just beyond the southern suburbs of Beirut. Several hours of meetings this afternoon will be followed by several more hours of meetings this evening. About an hour ago, we heard bombardment that seems to have hit the southern suburbs, plus news reports of heavy bombing last night and today. We had hoped to reach the city of Nabatiye, a bit north of the Litani River.
UPDATE (Aug 11): Farah Mokhtarazedei and Kathy Kelly arrived in Beirut. On August 12 at 7:00 a.m. Kathy will join a civilian convoy which departs Beirut carrying humanitarian relief supplies to the south of Lebanon. Farah will continue with relief and organizing work in Beirut.
August 9, 2006
Dear Friends,
Today, I will depart Chicago en route to Lebanon to join with Lebanese and internationals in seeking an end to the war. Farah Mokhtarazedei, who traveled to Iraq with Voices and studied Arabic in Syria, will join me in Amman, Jordan. There we will greet Cathy Breen, who will continue her work with Iraqi refugees in Jordan. On August 11, Farah and I will travel by road to Beirut.
In the summer of 1993, when Brad Lyttle and I were part of a 2000 strong contingent of internationals heading into the war zone in Former Yugoslavia, Brad strongly advised that we proceed on foot. “Kathy, buses don’t communicate. People do,” said Brad. “People marching unarmed, distributing fliers, communicating through loud speakers, carrying signs, and clearly proceeding unarmed have a tremendous potential to communicate a message on behalf of saving lives and ending war.” I hope I’m recalling Brad’s words correctly.
In recent weeks, Lebanese civilians have been working to realize such a vision. Voices for Creative Nonviolence is grateful for an invitation to join this group in hopes of continuing the further invention of nonviolence amidst the murderous chaos and wreckage of escalating war in Lebanon, Gaza, Israel, Iraq and the many areas of the region where displaced people fleeing warfare try to recover from agonizing loss.
As you can see from the following statement, the plans are not entirely “firmed up” as yet. Farah Mokhtarazedei and I have decided to join the group assembling in Beirut. Clearly the prospects for this effort are enhanced if many thousands of people are aware of the effort and keeping close watch as plans develop. It’s clear also that the vision of an unarmed walk toward the southern areas of Lebanon requires some advance work. Bringing relief to needy people requires vehicles. The plan described below envisions a convoy that would depart on August 12th and a march that would begin on August 19th. We’ve volunteered to help and want to arrive in Beirut on August 12th. It may be difficult to reach us by phone, but we will try to supply a cell phone number and to keep in touch with the Voices office. As ever, the fine support of Voices colleagues is indispensable.
Below please find:
i. — the statement issued by the Lebanese civilians initiating the campaign of resistance
Please feel free to call Jeff Leys at the Voices for Creative Nonviolence office with any questions which you may have. Our phone number is 773-878-3815. His direct email address is Also, Dan Pearson and Scott Blackburn will be available, so should you not reach Jeff, feel free to leave a message for him or ask to speak with Dan or Scott.
Very best wishes to each of you.
Kathy Kelly
