 MARCH/APRIL 2002 (XXXX 2) |
Over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend in January, more than 50 representatives from 40 Quaker Meetings attended a Quaker Summit on Iraq entitled “Translating Faith into Deeds.” Participants represented Meetings from 21 states from as far away as Washington State, New Mexico and Minnesota. We gathered at Friends Center in Philadelphia in the knowledge the Gulf War has not ended.
The summit drew on supporters of the Campaign of Conscience for the Iraqi People, a faith-based initiative to end the economic sanctions against Iraq. For three days we worshipped, heard from experts, set goals, and most importantly, made commitments to strengthen the Iraq work of individual Friends Meetings and broader Friends groups. Conference participants considered the role of the Peace Testimony in opposing the broad use of economic coercion.
Since the United Nations imposed sanctions in August 1990 and the first bombs were dropped in January 1991, United States policy towards Iraq has been nothing less than war, waged on every front: economic, military, political and social. The price paid by the people of Iraq has been enormous: more than one million dead, an economy in ruins, destruction of the infrastructure, depletion of the middle class and total isolation of Iraq’s professionals. Dismantling this complicated apparatus of war against Iraq will require an equally comprehensive solution.
Important components of the Campaign are advocacy to change U.S. policy, planning for cultural exchanges, educating the media and our elected officials, and raising funds and awareness for the water projects in Iraq. The first shipment of four gas chlorinators (water purifiers) was sent to Iraq without a license after a four-month wait for an application.
To learn more about the summit and the Iraq work of the American Friends Service Committee, visit our web page at www.afsc.org/conscience. Visit the "What you can do" section to find ways you can join our efforts. You can also contact Peter Lems, AFSC, 1501 Cherry Street, Philadelphia PA 19102. Telephone: 215-241-7170, E-mail: plems@afsc.org.
The summit was made possible through the generous support of the following Quaker foundations: D’Olier Foundation, The Allen Hilles Fund and the Bequests Granting Group of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. We enjoyed technical and moral support from Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting and Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.
Peter Lems
Program Assistant for Iraq
Middle East Peace Education
American Friends Service Committee
Last modified: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:18 AM