In These Times
April 14, 2003
SECTION: IN PERSON; Pg. 8
BYLINE: BY JOHN MALKIN

For her work as co-founder of Voices in the Wilderness, a campaign to end the economic sanctions against the people of Iraq, Kathy Kelly has twice been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Voices in the Wilderness delivers medicine and other supplies to Iraqis in defiance of U.S. government sanctions. As a result, it has faced tens of thousands of dollars in fines. John Malkin spoke with Kelly in January.

How many times have you been to Iraq, and what kind of supplies does Voices in the Wilderness deliver to the Iraqi people?

When I go this time, I think it will be my 18th trip. We’ve sent 58 delegations and assisted in getting quite a few more groups over there. There are about 15 people over there right now, called the Iraq Peace Team. Mainly we bring medicines and medical relief supplies. Some school supplies. Medical textbooks on compact discs are quite valuable. What we bring is really a pittance in relation to the need. It is like a drop in the ocean. We are by no stretch of the imagination a medical relief group.