video

Kathy Kelly interviewed on Democracy Now!

Dan Pearson — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:46:40 -0600

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Worse than an Earthquake: Peace Activist Kathy Kelly on the Destruction in Gaza

Excerpt

January 27, 2009

Worse than an Earthquake: Peace Activist Kathy Kelly on the Destruction in Gaza

Photo: Democracy Now!

President Obama has dispatched George Mitchell on his first trip as Middle East envoy. Mitchell is set to begin in Egypt today, followed by Israel, the occupied West Bank, Jordan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. My next guest has just returned from the Gaza Strip, where she witnessed the Israeli attack. Kathy Kelly is the executive director of Voices for Creative Nonviolence.

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Worse than an Earthquake: Peace Activist Kathy Kelly on the Destruction in Gaza

January 27th, 2009

Kathy Kelly, Executive Director of Voices for Creative Nonviolence. She is a veteran peace activist and the founder of Voices in the Wilderness. She has just returned from the Gaza Strip.

AMY GOODMAN: President Obama has dispatched George Mitchell on his first trip as Middle East envoy. Mitchell is set to begin in Egypt today, followed by Israel, the occupied West Bank, Jordan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Speaking at the White House, Obama said Mitchell will be charged with bringing about “genuine progress.”

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: The charge that Senator Mitchell has is to engage vigorously and consistently in order for us to achieve genuine progress. And when I say “progress,” not just photo-ops, but progress that is concretely felt by people on the ground, so that people feel more secure in their lives, so that they feel that the hopes and dreams and aspirations of their children can be met. That is going to be our task. It is not something that we’re going to be able to do overnight, but I am absolutely confident that if the United States is engaged in a consistent way and an early—in early fashion, that we can make genuine progress. Now, understand that Senator Mitchell is going to be fully empowered by me and fully empowered by Secretary Clinton. So when he speaks, he will be speaking for us. And I’m hopeful that during this initial trip, one of the earliest initiatives that we have taken diplomatically, that not only is he able to communicate effectively how urgent we consider the issue, but that we’re also going to be able to listen and to learn and to find out what various players in the region are thinking. And more immediately, we hope that Senator Mitchell will be able to give us some ideas in terms of how we can solidify the ceasefire, ensure Israel’s security, also ensure that Palestinians in Gaza are able to get the basic necessities they need and that they can see a pathway towards long-term development that will be so critical in order for us to achieve a lasting peace.

AMY GOODMAN: George Mitchell has no immediate plans to visit the Gaza Strip, site of the three-week-long US-backed attack that killed more than 1,300 people, injured more than 5,000. A State Department spokesperson said Mitchell might make it to Gaza. Well, my next guest has just returned from Gaza. She witnessed the Israeli attack. Kathy Kelly is executive director of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, veteran peace activist, founder of Voices in the Wilderness, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize several times. She joins us in our firehouse studio. Welcome to Democracy Now!, Kathy.

KATHY KELLY: Good morning, Amy.

AMY GOODMAN: How long were you in Gaza, and how did you get in?

KATHY KELLY: We were there, Audrey Stewart and I, for a total of six days, and we had entered after going back up to Cairo and getting an official-stamped letter. You had to swear before the United States embassy in Cairo that you were going in on your own responsibility.

AMY GOODMAN: And what did you see? Where did you go?

KATHY KELLY: We went to Rafah, and we were very fortunate. A family that had fled from their own home and was living in a home that was lent to them in-laws invited us to stay with them. And we were immediately outside the area where people were told to evacuate. And so, we timed it. Every eleven minutes, there would be a huge bomb thudding down on the neighborhood. This was very close to where the tunnel industry had been in full activity prior to the December 27th attacks.

And so, we heard many of the bombs falling, we heard Apache helicopters firing, and then traveled with young people, students, up to Gaza City after the ceasefire was in place and the roads had been cleared and could see just how stunned the students were at the extent of the devastation. And then, from there, we visited inside the hospital, the burn unit, in a major—Shifa Hospital in Gaza, and then went up to Beit Lahiya and Audrey over to Tufa to further see the extent of the damage.

AMY GOODMAN: Speaking with doctors in the hospital, seeing patients, what struck you most?

KATHY KELLY: The doctors said that the majority of their patients were non-military. They were civilians, grandmothers, teenagers, children. They were shaking with rage, honestly, because the world had watched for twenty-two days while this affliction just went on and on. They talked about patients lying on the floor, dying before their eyes, because they couldn’t open up operating rooms, they didn’t have enough materials to try to save all of the people who were coming in desperate need.

They said they had never seen injuries like this before, doctors with fifteen, twenty, thirty years of practice, particularly with regard to the burns. They’ve now, they believe, proven that white phosphorus was used. They had sent one patient’s tissue out for a biopsy in Egypt, and elements of white phosphorus were found in the tissue. And what actually kills people, when the white phosphorus, which is poisonous, goes into the circulatory system, is that the liver can’t process it. And two of their patients died of cardiac arrest after being transported to Egypt.

They also told about the way that surgeons had to work as teams—a vascular surgeon, a neurosurgeon, an orthopedic surgeon—trying desperately to save lives. And the extent of the wounds that each patient came in with, they said, was nothing like they had ever experienced before.

AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to ask you, Kathy Kelly, about this brewing controversy in Britain. Two of Britain’s major broadcasters, the BBC and Sky, are continuing to come under criticism for refusing to air a charity appeal for the victims of the Israel attack on Gaza. The appeal was put together by the Disasters Emergency Committee, or DEC, which includes thirteen of Britain’s main charities. The DEC asked broadcasters to air the three-minute appeal during primetime on Monday, seeking donations for Palestinians affected by the conflict. The appeal aired on many British channels last night, but the BBC and Sky refused. This is an excerpt of the appeal. DEC APPEAL: The children of Gaza are suffering. Many are struggling to survive, homeless and in need of food and water. Today, this is not about the rights and wrongs of the conflict. The hospitals have been overwhelmed with the number of casualties and need more resources to treat them. This is why the DEC has launched this appeal.

AMY GOODMAN: Again, the BBC has come under broad criticism for its decision not to air the appeal. This is Caroline Thomson, chief operating officer for the BBC. CAROLINE THOMSON: It is a matter of a big national, international controversy. There is a big debate about the rights and wrongs of the war and the causes and so on, and we would want that to have stabilized and the situation on the ground to have stabilized before we could reconsider and feel it was something we could do.

AMY GOODMAN: And here is what the BBC’s director-general Mark Thompson had to say. MARK THOMPSON: We believe that the BBC’s reputation of impartiality is so important and so integral to the BBC’s reputation and its trustworthiness here and around the world that it’s very important that we adhere strictly to our principles.

AMY GOODMAN: Again, the charities behind the appeal include the Red Cross, Oxfam, Save the Children and Christian Aid. Kathy Kelly, your response?

KATHY KELLY: Well, many of those charities had even prior to the December 27th attacks issued a scathing report showing how the economic war, the state of siege that had been imposed on Gaza, was something that was in violation of international law. I think that these charities have had on-the-ground experiences, and they should certainly be listened to.

Surely, the humanitarian is political. That’s just a reality that we should all accept. But I think that the journalistic integrity would be most respected if in fact there would be clear reporting on the ways that these assaults, the Israeli assaults on a civilian population, 50 percent of whom are children, violated international law and any standards of human decency and, I believe, should be examined under the questions of genocide.

AMY GOODMAN: Israel said that they would stop during that attack if Hamas stopped launching the rockets. What was the response of Palestinians inside? Has Hamas increased in popularity or decreased?

KATHY KELLY: It’s difficult to answer that question. I, myself, sensed that when people heard the word “victory,” that gave people pause. I mean, you couldn’t look at the extent of the damage and devastation and the amount of time it will take to repair and speak of victory, if in fact you are going to live in that situation for a long time. But I think that the rage that was felt in every conversation that I heard, in terms of the international community allowing this devastation to go on for twenty-two days without stepping in, was a cause of ongoing chagrin. Now, how that will affect Hamas’s political standing, it’s difficult to say.

AMY GOODMAN: How did this compare to your experience of other conflict situations? I mean, you’re famous, Kathy, for traveling the world to conflict zones. You were in Iraq before the invasion and during. You were in Lebanon in 2006.

KATHY KELLY: You know, in Iraq, when people were trapped under the economic sanctions, it seemed as though there was nothing that average, ordinary people could do except be punished again and again and again.

I was impressed by the tunnel industry. In the town of Rafah, which is bisected by the border, people have found a way to deal with the state of siege that was imposed on them imposing collective punishment. And they created a network of tunnels so that—actually, the first day that people could kind of basically come out after the bombing had ended, the stalls in Rafah were pretty stacked with goods. And I thought, well, how did they ever get there? And people just said, “The tunnels.” And so, I think where there’s tremendous need, people don’t like the idea of burrowing underground in order to get food and water and benzene and needed goods, but I think that there’s a great survival ethos that is—

AMY GOODMAN: Israel said the tunnels are used for weapons smuggling, and Tzipi Livni came to the US in the amidst of the attacks to get the US to vow they would stop this weapons smuggling.

KATHY KELLY: But oughtn’t we just use that as a segue into understanding the extent of the United States weapon delivery to the Israeli government? I mean, the planes that were flying overhead were using aviation fuel given free of charge by the United States taxpayers. The drones that are flying overhead doing surveillance represent state-of-the-art modern technology. The amount of money the United States gives annually, $2.6 billion, to Israel—this is a delivery that doesn’t even require any kind of smuggling, because the world has said, yes, the United States and Israel can collaborate, and they can beat up on Palestinian people, pounding them into the ground as much as they want, and there will be complicity.

AMY GOODMAN: What about George Mitchell going to Israel now, going to the occupied West Bank, but at least at this point they’ve not announced plans for him to go to Gaza?

KATHY KELLY: He has such an opportunity to make tracks out of the comfort of offices and salons in Tel Aviv and go to Gaza. Ban Ki-moon did it. My hope is that he would go and stay for several days, that he would make a thorough tour of the Gaza Strip. And I hope that everybody in the United States who’s tuned into his travel will encourage him to avail himself of what is a crucial opportunity to state his own desire to listen, as the President has instructed him to do. He should be listening to the mothers, to the children, to the doctors, to the people who are trying to now rebuild after a fierce and horrible assault.

AMY GOODMAN: Why did you leave Gaza?

KATHY KELLY: You know, the electricity was sporadic. The internet connections were not so available. We felt we had a story to tell, and so we decided—it was a difficult decision to make. We decided, though, that it might be best to leave. But also, the people giving us hospitality, I think, were a bit worried that they were becoming too high-profile. I’ll have to acknowledge that people are afraid of what the Hamas authorities might think of what they’re doing in housing two Westerners, and, you know, shepherding them around the area was perhaps, with students, beginning to become worrisome.

AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to ask what you think of your fellow Chicagoan who has just become President of the United States, Barack Obama, who says he will double the force, for example, in Afghanistan, though has vowed to draw down troops in Iraq.

KATHY KELLY: This is a grave disappointment. I think we can still hold out hope in the reports that he said once, maybe four years ago, that his leading lights were the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King and Mohandas Gandhi. But I think that the pressure that he has buckled under, in terms of adhering to the demands of people who are weapon makers and war makers, is a pressure that won’t bring security to his fellow citizens in the United States or to the world. I hope he’ll step away from US exceptionalism and see the United States as part of the family of nations, not as a nation that has an indispensable role in the world.

AMY GOODMAN: I’ll never forget, not that I was there in Iraq when you were, right before the invasion, but the scene described—I think we talked to you around then—of you holding a protest outside the US embassy right before the attack and the journalists surrounding you, almost attacking you, for what you were doing. Can you explain that scene? They were calling you a collaborator with Saddam Hussein for protesting the imminent attack.

KATHY KELLY: I have a pretty vivid memory of that day, as well. We were in front of the United Nations compound, and we had a big sign that said “No blank check for war.” And Jeremy and others—Jeremy Scahill—had gone over to the prison just prior to that where people had been released by Saddam Hussein. And I remember John Burns, in particular. He was so angry with—

AMY GOODMAN: John Burns of the New York Times?

KATHY KELLY: Yeah—with my belief that in fact, you know, we had a prison-industrial complex in the United States that perhaps should bear scrutiny and attention and that maybe what Saddam had done might be something that the United States could consider, as well. But I have to say that after the war, after John Burns was kind of stuck in the Palestine Hotel in a staircase, at some point, at some risk to his own life, he pulled me over while he was with another group of reporters, and he said, “This is the person to go to if you want to hear the humanitarian story in Iraq.” So, you know, I should probably add that part, too.

AMY GOODMAN: Are you saying he was, in a sense, apologizing to you?

KATHY KELLY: Oh, that might be a stretch. But at any rate, it didn’t seem to be a relationship fraught by conflict.

AMY GOODMAN: And what was the anger that was being expressed to you right before the invasion? I mean, these reporters were supposed to be covering your point of view, but they were arguing with you.

KATHY KELLY: Well, I think that the reporters were very, very angry at Saddam Hussein’s regime, in part because they would be bounced out every ten days and have to pay enormous amounts of money, which all went—in order to come back into the country every ten days. And that went to the Ministry of Tourism. Well, believe me, there was no tourism in Baghdad before the war. So, in a sense, it went right into the pockets of the Mahabharat, the secret service agency that was hounding them and tracking their every step. They were very, very angry, and I think they had a right to be. Saddam Hussein’s regime was ruthless and horrible.

But it wasn’t fair to say that we were the silent servants of Saddam Hussein. We were trying to say that you don’t punish children; children couldn’t be held accountable for that government. And John Burns deemed the demonstration we had as a demonstration that Saddam Hussein loved to see, but we saw the headline that he used as a headline that George Bush loved to see. And these kinds of—

AMY GOODMAN: And what was that?

KATHY KELLY: Oh, it was a headline, exactly that, saying that it was a demonstration Saddam loved to see.

AMY GOODMAN: Finally, with Barack Obama now the President of the United States, are you strategizing differently? You are one of the most well known international peace activists.

KATHY KELLY: I think if we take a wait-and-see attitude, that could quickly morph into inertia. And so, I think it’s just as imperative and as much of a responsibility for adults in the United States to keep trying to identify the grave dangers that exist as we continue to pour resources into military projects. And I think we should continue to say, “Abandon these military projects.” They don’t bring us security. And at a time when there are so many environmental concerns, when the financial collapses of so many industries are affecting people, we should be taking that money that we’ve given to the Defense Department and putting it into things that really ensure security and then continuing to demand that President Obama pay attention to these kinds of vital concerns.

We camped outside his home for nineteen days in Arctic temperatures in Chicago—I left in the middle to go to Gaza—what we called Camp Hope. And we did want to be respectful of the neighbors of the Obama family, of all the many people who are feeling great congratulatory happiness. But I think that we have to recognize where—well, that President Obama has now become the chief arms exporter in the world. He’s in charge of the most massive killing machine in the world. And it’s our responsibility to continue to hold forth those visions of another way without extending the arm of imperial menace and might all over the world—instead, to be extending a hand of friendship and to share resources as best we can.

AMY GOODMAN: Kathy Kelly, I want to thank you for being with us. Kathy Kelly is executive director of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, a veteran peace activist, founder of Voices in the Wilderness. She has just returned from Gaza. She lives in Chicago, when she’s ever home.

(Full transcript and video from Democracy Now!)

Veterans for Peace march ends in 9 arrests in civil disobedience at RNC

Jeff Leys — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 19:36:55 -0500

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Veterans for Peace march ends in 9 arrests in civil disobedience at RNC

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August 31, 2008

(Noted: Veterans for Peace and CODEPINK organized this march. Dan Pearson and Josh Brollier, both Witness Against War participants, and Steve Clemens, a who traveled to Iraq in 2002 with Voices in the Wilderness, were arrested in this act of nonviolent civil disobedience)

View Fox-9 News Coverage

Nine Protesters Entering Restricted Area Arrested Sunday for Trespassing

A group of anti-war protesters went underneath a security barrier near the Xcel Center as an act of civil disobedience. Nine were arrested for trespassing.

Police in riot gear arrested nine people protesting at the Xcel Center Sunday, after they entered a restricted area secured by a fence. The protesters marched from the capitol to the Xcel Center, protesting the war in Iraq and the treatment of veterans coming home.

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August 31, 2008

View Fox-9 News Coverage

Nine Protesters Entering Restricted Area Arrested Sunday for Trespassing

A group of anti-war protesters went underneath a security barrier near the Xcel Center as an act of civil disobedience. Nine were arrested for trespassing.

Doug Holtz, a St. Paul police commander, said that nine people were arrested for trespassing after they passed a police roadblock into a restricted area. Eight of the nine have since been released.

They said they had planned ahead of time to cross the fence in an act of civil disobedience, and had announced their intent before the march. About 250 people watched the march.

“We are going to march into the arms of police. Whatever they are going to do is all right with us,” organizer David Harris said to the marchers before they entered the restricted zone. Harris was one of those arrested. He says the march wasn’t aimed towards Republicans, but “warmakers.”

The march was otherwise peaceful on its way from the state Capitol, organized by Veterans for Peace and peace group CodePink. As the march began, Harris read the names of soldiers and civilians killed in Iraq.

According to the Associated Press, among those arrested were: 72-year-old Jeanne Hynes, 78-year-old Betty McKenzie, 57-year-old Steve Clemens, David Harris, Duncan Hardee, and others not identified.

By 5 p.m. Sunday, eight of the nine arrested had been cited and released. The last, Duncan Hardee, is still in custody because he had no identification and Ramsey County authorities had to verify it.

The arrested can legally be held for 36 hours, not including the weekend or Labor Day holiday.

Friday night and Saturday morning, six members of the anarchist group the RNC Welcoming Committee were arrested after authorities found knives, axes, bomb-making materials and anti-war literature. It doesn’t appear that those six people arrested will be released in time to take part in the large protest planned for Monday, and are not required by law to be released until noon Wednesday.

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WITNESS AGAINST WAR 2008: From Chicago to St. Paul

A 500 Mile Walk to the RNC - KARE TV in the Twin Cities

Jeff Leys — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 07:58:41 -0500

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WITNESS AGAINST WAR 2008: From Chicago to St. Paul

Excerpt

August 29, 2008

Watch Video Report from KARE-11

The road to St. Paul and the Republican National Convention started more than a month ago for one anti-war group. Members have spent July and August walking here from Chicago.

After 49 days and more than 475 miles the Witness Against War marchers are still going strong.

Short Information Teaser

The August 29 news report from KARE 11 in Minneapplis - St. Paul

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August 29, 2008

Watch Video Report from KARE-11

The road to St. Paul and the Republican National Convention started more than a month ago for one anti-war group. Members have spent July and August walking here from Chicago.

After 49 days and more than 475 miles the Witness Against War marchers are still going strong.

“Interacting with normal people. Getting our message across (is the important part),” marcher Paul Melling said.

“We believe passionately that there are alternatives. We could rely on negotiation and diplomacy,” marcher Kathy Kelly added.

Organized by a Voices For Creative Nonviolence, this group, which includes retired teachers, students and vets, is spreading its message of peace one step, one mile, one meeting at a time.

“There was this one woman. I’ll never forget what she said,” recalled marcher Alice Gerard. “I support what you’re doing. My son is in Iraq for the fifth time. I just want him to come home.”

“Nearly every stop of the way, we were able to connect with folks. And yeah, it’s encouraging to see all that’s going on in the tiny little communities through Wisconsin and Minnesota.

As they log miles down busy city streets and over country roads this group holds both Republicans and Democrats responsible for the war.

“Both parties need to be held accountable,” marcher Lauren Cannon said.

And, members say, they are calling on every person they encounter to be part of a solution.

“I wanted very much to make a statement about how each of us is responsible,” Kelly added.

“Take some responsibility upon ourselves and do what we can to bring about an end to this war in Iraq,” Pearson said.

It’s a message these marchers say they’ll keep delivering all the way to St. Paul.

VIDEO: Witness Against War -Fort McCoy

voices — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:34:54 -0500

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WITNESS AGAINST WAR 2008: From Chicago to St. Paul

Short Information Teaser

On Sunday, August 10th, Members of Witness against War walk from Chicago to St. Paul attempted to enter the base and have conversations with soldiers. 13 were arrested.

Excerpt

Video by Christopher Knestrick

On Sunday, August 10th, Members of Witness against War walk from Chicago to St. Paul attempted to enter the base and have conversations with soldiers about their right to refuse illegal orders and to file as conscientious objectors. We also wanted to inform them that Spencer Black is going to introduce a piece of legislature that will potentially keep the 32nd Brigade Combat Team of the Wisconsin National Guard at home- this will be the second to third deployment of many members of the guard.

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Video by Christopher Knestrick

Walk Against the Wars -- Winona, MN

Jeff Leys — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 02:01:01 -0500

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WITNESS AGAINST WAR 2008: From Chicago to St. Paul

Excerpt

August 17, 2008
By Dietrich Nissen
KAAL-TV — Winona, MN

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(ABC 6 NEWS) - They’re walking more than 450 miles to prove the point that they want an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It’s been a long walk for Kathy Kelly. She’s part of the Witness Against War group, that’s making its way from Chicago to St. Paul.

“We’ve just crossed into the wonderful state of Minnesota after walking through Illinois and Wisconsin,” said Kelly.

Body

August 17, 2008
By Dietrich Nissen
KAAL-TV — Winona, MN

Watch Video

(ABC 6 NEWS) - They’re walking more than 450 miles to prove the point that they want an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It’s been a long walk for Kathy Kelly. She’s part of the Witness Against War group, that’s making its way from Chicago to St. Paul.

“We’ve just crossed into the wonderful state of Minnesota after walking through Illinois and Wisconsin,” said Kelly.

The trip started on July 21. The walkers hope to reach the Twin Cities right before the Republican National Convention.

“We hold both parties responsible,” Kelly said.

“Just the walking has in itself been a blessing, and it’s been wonderful to have formed a community along the road and to be received by so many fine people,” said Kelly.

But not everyone along the way has been so welcoming.

Some members of the group were arrested for trying to enter Fort McCoy in Wisconsin.

Drivers are upset about the group’s message.

“This morning somebody leaned out of his car. He was so angry, he said an expletive and don’t rebuild Iraq. We need that money. It’s our money,” Kelly said.

“It’s a good way to get the word out,” said Paul Melling, a veteran of the Iraq War who also drives the protester’s support bus.

“I’ve gotten a lot of support from these people they’ve helped me out a lot you know so I try and support them,” said Melling.

“We’ve certainly been happy to receive the hospitality of so many people through this Midwestern walk,” said Kelly.

The group says it will march on with its message to stop the fighting overseas.

War Protesters Arrested at Fort McCoy -- WKBT News Coverage

Jeff Leys — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 02:01:01 -0500

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WITNESS AGAINST WAR 2008: From Chicago to St. Paul

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August 10, 2008
WKBT - LaCrosse, WI

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August 10, 2008
WKBT - LaCrosse, WI

VIDEO: Witness Against War from Cottage Grove to Madison

voices — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:19:37 -0500

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WITNESS AGAINST WAR 2008: From Chicago to St. Paul

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3 short videos of the walk

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Original Videos

For 2 Additional videos:

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Original Videos

Brookfield Wisconsin: About a dozen urge end to U.S. conflicts

voices — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:50:19 -0500

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WITNESS AGAINST WAR 2008: From Chicago to St. Paul

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By ALAN HAMARI
BrookfieldNOW
July 23, 2008

See reporter Alan Hamari’s video report of Witnesss Against War’s stop in Brookfield.

A walking protest against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan made a quick stop in Brookfield this week.

About a dozen members of Witness Against War 2008, a 450-mile journey from Chicago to St. Paul, Minn., trekked through Waukesha County on July 21 and 22, carrying banners and signs urging an end to U.S. conflicts in the Middle East.

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Walkers protesting war bring message to Brookfield church

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By ALAN HAMARI
BrookfieldNOW
July 23, 2008

See reporter Alan Hamari’s video report of Witnesss Against War’s stop in Brookfield.

A walking protest against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan made a quick stop in Brookfield this week.

Witness Against War is a project of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, a Chicago-based group started in 2005 that promotes active nonviolent resistance to America’s wars. The walk started in Chicago on July 12 and will finish Aug. 31 in St. Paul ahead of the Republican National Convention, which starts Sept. 1.

Walkers share experiences

Walkers travel about 12 miles a day, stopping to hold “action days” filled with discussions and presentations about why the U.S. should withdraw troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, said Dan Pearson, a co-coordinator with the Coalition for Creative Nonviolence.

Pearson said the group holds Republicans and Democrats alike responsible for “waging and continuing to finance the war in Iraq.”

Many of the walkers have personal experience working or serving in Iraq or working with Iraqi refugees, said Pearson, who spent time living among Iraqi refugees in Syria in 2007.

“We come bearing witness to the ugliness of war,” he said. Church invites group to stop

The group’s stay in Brookfield included a presentation and question-and-answer session at Unitarian Universalist Church West on Monday night. Speakers included Paul Melling, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, and Helene Hedberg, a resident of Sweden who works with Iraqi immigrant youths in a Stockholm suburb.

Ann Heidkamp, a member of the church’s social action committee, said the idea to bring in the group this week started when Unitarian Universalist held a conference in spring to commemorate the anniversary of the start of the Iraq War.

Kathy Kelly, another co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence and a longtime activist, was a speaker at the event and told Heidkamp about the upcoming walk, and Heidkamp thought it would be appropriate to bring Kelly and the Witness Against War group back to the church when they came through the area again.

“Certainly in this area, they have a lot of support,” Heidkamp said. Passersby supportive

Heidkamp’s husband, Jim Gerber, walked with the group from Milwaukee to Brookfield on Monday. He said the reaction from passersby and motorists was generally positive during the five miles he spent walking with the group, with people honking and giving a thumbs up.

Gerber said talking to the walkers and hearing their stories was a valuable experience, not only for him, but for the few dozen people who attended the presentation Monday night.

“We looked at it as a real opportunity to bring some good people and a good cause to the western suburbs,” he said.

AT A GLANCE

Upcoming routes for the Witness Against War walk:

July 24: Sullivan to Jefferson
July 25: Jefferson to Lake Mills
July 26: Lake Mills to Cottage Grove
July 27: Cottage Grove to Madison
July 29: Action Day in Madison
July 30: Waunakee to Sauk City
July 31: Sauk City to Devil’s Lake State Park

Group Walking From Chicago To Minnesota To Protest War

Jeff Leys — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:01:01 -0500

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WITNESS AGAINST WAR 2008: From Chicago to St. Paul

Excerpt

July 21, 2008
Katie DeLong
WTMJ-TV

Watch Video Report

MILWAUKEE - A group of people called Witness Against War are walking from Chicago to St. Paul, Minnesota in protest of the war in Iraq.

They left Milwaukee Monday morning. They’re walking 450 miles to challenge and non-violently resist the fighting.

Short Information Teaser

Milwaukee Television news coverage of Witness Against War

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July 21, 2008
Katie DeLong
WTMJ-TV

Watch Video Report

MILWAUKEE - A group of people called Witness Against War are walking from Chicago to St. Paul, Minnesota in protest of the war in Iraq.

They left Milwaukee Monday morning. They’re walking 450 miles to challenge and non-violently resist the fighting.

“What we’re asking is that not only the troops be brought home safely and be taken care of but also that we prevent future deployments,” Dan Pierson from Voices For Creative Non-Violence said.

The group has walked 108 miles so far and expect to be in St. Paul by September 1

VIDEO: Barack Obama campaign office occupation

voices — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 12:26:40 -0600

Excerpt

January 3, 2008

In a day-before-the-caucus effort to obtain from Senator Barack Obama a pledge of withdrawal from Iraq, nonviolent actors representing “Voices for Creative Nonviolence” and the Des Moines Catholic Worker community witness a spurned media and turned backs at the Senator’s Des Moines campaign office.

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January 3, 2008