07 October 2003

On Wednesday Oct 8th 9 human rights activists will stand trial for criminal trespass and resisting arrest after they were detained at Boeing’s International Headquarters in downtown Chicago on March 13.

• Press Release 07 October 2003
  
• Statement from the Boeing Nine
• Bios of the Boeing Nine

Ed Kinane
Voices in The Wilderness
Baghdad
September 28, 2003

CHOPPERS

Around 10:00pm last night US military helicopters started buzzing around this part of town (and other parts for all we know). They kept at it till about 11:30pm. Except for a brief interlude the buzzing was incessant. It often seemed like the choppers were passing within 200 yards of our roof.

Our roof is even with our third story (We can’t access the roof over our third floor). We’re more or less surrounded by taller buildings so our window on the sky isn’t that wide. The choppers fly so low and come on so quickly with no warning that it was hard to know how many were in the air at any one time: Three? Four? Five?

By Cathy Breen
Voices in the Wilderness
Baghdad
September, 7, 2003

Dear Friends,

As we sat around the kitchen table early this morning, we were joined by Amal (a woman who works on the newspaper) and her grown son Oday. The discussion among us was “How is it different now than before the war?”

Some of the BEFORES were: There were telephones, electricity, security (Baghdad was the 3rd safest city in terms of violent crime). Gas was cheaper, there was no real possibility for civil war, the army and government employees had jobs, borders were regulated and people were worried about surveillance. There were not many foreigners. Things were terrible but predictable. People wanted to get out of Iraq.

Some of the NOWS: Electricity 1/3 to 1/2 a day, telephone service has not been restored to many sectors, there is now satellite TV to show Iraqis how others live and there are internet centers. Gas is more expensive. No one is safe. There is shooting and looting, robbery, killings, arbitrary arrests and detentions without trial. Most people feel free to speak, though not everyone, civil war is a real possibility, no jobs, and gas is more expensive. There is a free for all at the border, no Foreign ministry established to issue visas or passports, and there are still not many foreigners. English is the key to streets paved in gold. There is also immense humiliation among the people associated with looting. People still want to get out of Iraq.

John Farrell
Voices in The Wilderness
Chicago
October 1, 2003

Since recently returning from my three week stay in Iraq, I have been asked alot of questions by concerned US citizens. The questions about how bad the situation is in Iraq are simple to answer. All I have to do is repeat the frustrated words that many Iraqis said to me in the short time that I was there, “Where is this democracy that your country promised us?” “When will we have security, reliable electricity and clean water?” “When will there be self-determination for Iraqis?” “Did the US really care about our liberation or did they only come here to loot our country of its natural resources?”

The questions that I find most difficult to answer, however, are the ones concerning a US response to the occupation. As I spoke with Iraqis I discovered that there were many different opinions on the subject. Many people in the US, including family members of military personnel, are beginning to say, “Troops out Now!” Although I feel like proclaiming this phrase myself, I must admit that most Iraqis that I spoke with think that this is too simplistic to be regarded as a solution to the problem. Many people say that the US has created a mess in their country which needs to be addressed before any wholesale pullout of US troops takes place. The best way for this to happen is to promote true self-determination for Iraqis. With this in mind, “Elections for Iraqis Now!” might be a better mantra to adopt. In the meantime, the former director of the United Nations (UN) Oil for Food program in Iraq, Denis Halliday, cautions against the proposed plan for the UN to send international troops to Iraq under US control, suggesting that a much better option would be for the US to be completely replaced by a force that is administered by the UN. So far the only Democratic candidate for president who has advocated for this as a solution to the problems in Iraq is Dennis Kucinich.

Educación, noviolencia y acción contra la guerra y la ocupación en Irak y Palestina

Miembros de Voices in the Wilderness, Al-Awda, The Internacional Solidarity Movement and Middle East Children’s Alliance, han tomado las calles de Estados Unidos en un colorido autobús escolar, que es la base del tour “Justicia Sobre Ruedas”. Comenzando a mediados de agosto de 2003, este autobús cubrirá el área Oeste de los EEUU para informar y educar al pueblo estadounidense sobre la ocupación en Palestina e Irak.

Los participantes de este Tour, habiendo visto y vivido los efectos del terror, la ocupación y la guerra en Irak y Palestina transmitirán sus propias experiencias indiferentemente de ser tildados, por otros grupos políticos, de panfletarios. Para construir y reafirmar la oposición doméstica masiva a la guerra en Irak y la ocupación de Palestina, El Tour “Justicia sobre Ruedas” viajará a través de toda el área Oeste de los EEUU con un programa educativo para la acción no violenta, resistencia activa, y la formación de comunidades organizadas.