U.S.
and Canadian Citizens Hope Their
Presence in Iraq Helps to Avert War
By Sheila Provencher
There
is a story about a Teacher who was asked by his disciples: "How
can we determine the hour of dawn, when the night ends and the day
begins? Is it when from a distance you can distinguish between a
dog and a sheep?"
"No,"
said the Teacher.
"Is
it when you can distinguish between a fig tree and a grapevine?"
asked the disciples.
"No,"
said the Teacher.
"Tell
us then," said the disciples.
"It
is," stated the Teacher, "when you look into the face
of another human being and you have enough light to recognize them
as your brother or sister. Until then it is night, and the darkness
is still with us."
Amid
the fear of terrorism, the threat of weapons of mass destruction
and the rhetoric of war, there is a group of modern-day disciples
who are trying in their own way to be lights in the darkness. They
are members of the Iraq Peace Team (I.P.T.), ordinary U.S. and Canadian
citizens who recognize the Iraqi people as brothers and sisters
and choose to stand with them and speak for them in this time of
crisis.
Cynthia Banas, 73, a retired
librarian from Vernon, N.Y., spends her days in Iraq visiting families
and writing about life in Iraq from their perspective. She demonstrates
with her fellow I.P.T. members at water treatment facilities, electrical
plants and other sites that could suffer the devastating effects
of U.S. bombs.
Other members of the team regularly
visit orphanages and hospitals. Some volunteer daily at a home for
crippled children, where they assist the Missionaries of Charity,
the order founded by Mother Teresa. All focus on accompanying and
sharing the stories of the ordinary Iraqi civilians who will suffer
most during a war.
They regularly must answer questions
about their purpose and their hopes: What difference does this make?
Why are you here? Aren't you supporting Saddam Hussein's agenda?
Why not focus on doing activism and education in the United States?
Such questions come from both supporters and opponents of the team's
actions.
"It makes a great deal
of difference that I'm here," Banas, a life-long supporter
of U.N.I.C.E.F. asserts. "When I found out that Iraqi babies
were dying because of preventable diseases-in a place that once
had first-class medical facilities-I knew I had to get involved."
She describes her presence as
both a sign of solidarity and a crucial link of communication between
ordinary Iraqis and the U.S. citizens in whose name the economic
sanctions against Iraq-and a potential war-are wrought.
"I have a deep belief in
the freedom of information. But the U.S. media has done an A-plus
job of reporting only one side of the story, the negative side of
the regime and the culture. That's an important side, but it's only
one-half of the story," says Banas. "The media gets an
F in telling the story of the devastation of the last 12 years (caused
by the Gulf War and the resulting economic sanctions)-and the devastation
a new war could bring."
Members of the Iraq Peace Team
regularly communicate with their home countries, through e-mail
correspondence, photos and videotapes which share the untold story
of ordinary Iraqi people.
Kathy Kelly, co-founder
of Voices in the Wilderness, a Chicago-based group which works to
end the sanctions on Iraq and which organizes I.P.T., stresses the
importance of such communication. "Our presence here would
be utterly irrelevant if friends in the United States did not spread
the word."
Asked about the danger that
their presence could be interpreted as support for a repressive
regime, Kelly responds, "The sad and tragic history of this
regime is well-known, and one would have to have a heart of stone
not to feel sadness over the litany of abuses. But the untold story
remains: The greatest violation of human rights here are the sanctions
enforced by the U.N. Security Council."
As war looms it may seem incredible
that the members of the Iraq Peace Team are voluntarily putting
themselves in a dangerous situation. They do not seek to be "human
shields" as some in the media have portrayed them. But many
do plan to remain alongside their Iraqi brothers and sisters, to
share in their experience should an attack occur.
"If you can risk your life
in a war (as a soldier), why can't you risk your life for peace?"
Banas asks.
From a Catholic perspective,
their presence in Iraq could be understood as sacramental. Thousands
in the United States are standing with the Iraqi people in spirit.
The Iraq Peace Team members stand as a physical sign of those thousands
that join the Iraqis in yearning for peace.
Citizens in the United States
are crucial to the mission of the Iraq Peace Team. Members of the
team encourage supporters back home to join them in prayer and fasting
for peace and to do their part as vital links in the process of
communication and communion between the Iraqi people and U.S. citizens
who have the power to sway the policies of the Bush Administration.
I.P.T. members suggest writing letters to the editor; contacting
congressional representatives and the White House by e-mail, fax
and phone; and sharing the stories of the Iraqi people with friends,
family, co-workers and faith communities.
There is enough light
in this world to recognize in each other the face of a brother or
a sister. Banas, Kelly, and the Iraq Peace Team members have crossed
oceans and borders in order to come close to that reality.
To take immediate action on
Iraq, go to:
www.senate.gov and www.house.gov for congressional addresses
E-mail the President Bush at:
president@whitehouse.gov
E-mail Vice President Cheney at:
vice.president@whitehouse.gov
For more information on the Iraq Peace Team, go to:
www.vitw.org
and www.iraqpeaceteam.org
Sheila Provencher is a Catholic
lay minister who traveled to Iraq as part
of the Iraq Peace Journey from December 8-21, 2002.
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