I spent three months in federal prison, in 2005, for crossing the line at Ft. Benning, as part of the School of the Americas Watch annual protest. The judge at our recent trial frowned over a four page, single space listing of other court cases which have landed me in jail. I haven't met "the bad sisters" in jails or prisons. The most onerous aspect of imprisonment is the lengthy sentences imposed on women who should never, ever be punished with long separations from their loved ones. I lived in a world of imprisoned beauty when I was locked up in Lexington prison and Pekin prison.
Agreed. You're the coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence. How did that come about and what kinds of things does your organization do?
Voices for Creative Nonviolence has its roots in Voices in the Wilderness which campaigned to end the economic sanctions against Iraq. We failed. We tried hard, and activists who traveled to Iraq, breaking the sanctions, along with their support groups, educated people across the U.S. and the UK, perhaps contributing to the outpouring of protest when the U.S. neared the Shock and Awe war. A number of us formed the Iraq Peace Team and stayed in Iraq throughout that war. Upon return, we continued efforts to stop U.S. supplemental funding for war in Iraq and we began to live alongside refugees who had fled to Jordan. Eventually, we decided to change our name to Voices for Creative Nonviolence. Anyone who decides to work closely with us can become a co-coordinator. Several of the most active members in the group have lived here in Chicago, maintaining an office.
We have been closely allied with the Afghan Peace Volunteers since 2010. Voices activists, as guests of the APVs, help support the duvet project, a street kids project, and their "borderfree center." We've also organized several vigils and walks, protesting drone warfare. Last summer, we walked from Chicago to Battle Creek, Michigan, where Michigan's Air National Guard is operating weaponized drones over other lands.
In the past year, three Voices activists have traveled to Jeju Island, and we're organizing a group to go there this spring. At Jeju Island, activists combine efforts to preserve the environment and protest militarism. We're edified by their determination and want to continue learning from them.
Voices activists are available for speaking, and several of us write regularly for various blogs.
We also try to maintain a welcoming community, here in Chicago, where we frequently have house guests and dinner guests whose presence helps us learn about activism in other places and contexts.
Clearly, lots going on! Your comment raises so many questions in my mind. Hmmmm, where to begin? Living in a war zone, voluntarily, for a long time... I can't even imagine. Did you live every day in a heightened state of alert? Please tell us what life was like.
Yes, I suppose we did live every day in a heightened state of alert. In Baghdad and in Gaza, I lived with families. I remember how frightened and desperate mothers felt. They wanted to protect their children, but there was nowhere to run, no place to hide. They were angry, petrified, and distraught. I remember how terrified Umm Miladah was, in Baghdad, whenever bombs would explode nearby. And even when the bombing ended, she had no way of finding out how her family in the southern city of Najaf were faring. She felt deep insecurity about the future, and she murmured over and over that she never believed such a thing could happen to her and her family.
In Gaza, when the bombing ended (Operation Cast Lead, 2009-10), Umm Yusuf sank into a stuffed chair, put the back of her palm on her forehead, and said: "Can you imagine? This is the first time I breathe in all these 22 days of bombing. I was so afraid for my children."
In Lebanon, at the funeral for her daughter, Zahara, killed in an airborne attack, Umm Zahara pointed upward to a drone flying above the village of Qana, south of the Litani River. It hurt her to make this motion because she had been injured by the explosion that killed her beautiful six year old daughter. She wore a medical hood and a neck brace. But she wanted to ask, "Didn't they know? Didn't they see?" By "they" she meant whoever was operating the drone. "My Zahara, just she stay in the shelter overnight, and then she comes to me each morning. I give her breakfast. We play." And then she asked, very gravely, "Who is the terrorist?" The drone still circled above.
What's the duvet project you mentioned earlier? And where is Jeju Island? I've never heard of it before.
Afghan women from three different ethnic groups have been invited to participate in the duvet project. 60 women, representing Hazara, Tajik and Pashto ethnicities, are paid a living wage to manufacture heavy blankets which are then distributed free of charge to people who would otherwise be living with no protection from harsh elements. Generosity of people in the U.S., UK and Australia has funded the project. This year, as was done in two previous years, Afghan Peace Volunteers will organize manufacture and distribution of 3,000 duvets. Young women volunteers gain experience as informal social workers, interviewing numerous families and growing familiar with the concerns of needy people in Kabul, many of whom are widows, orphans, and refugees.
Off the coast of South Korea is a beautiful island where residents have struggled to preserve their island's environment and resources from the terrible encroachment of a Korean naval base construction project. The Korean government and major corporations are building a gigantic port facility which could accommodate, if needed, nuclear powered submarines if they wanted to dock in the newly constructed berths.
Villagers have engaged in daily reflection, prayer, and nonviolent civil disobedience. Westerners are welcome to visit and become familiar with the people and their projects.
In a few weeks, you'll begin your three-month sentence for your drone protest. Do you know where you'll be serving your time? Are you afraid? And what do you plan to do while you're in prison?
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