The Voices in the Wilderness website is no longer maintained. VitW.org will be available indefinitely for archival and research purposes.

Since its founding in 1996, Voices in the Wilderness has campaigned to end economic and military warfare against the Iraqi people. We have done this by organizing over seventy delegations to Iraq in deliberate violation of UN economic sanctions and US law. We have lived alongside ordinary Iraqis before and during the US invasion and throughout the current US occupation of Iraq. In defiance of the sanctions, we publicly delivered modest amounts of medical supplies to children and families in need; our primary focus has always been ordinary Iraqi civilians and the most vulnerable of Iraqi society, especially children. We have witnessed this ongoing warfare through the everyday lives of families we have come to know as friends.

We are people of conscience-volunteers, teachers, veterans, social workers, artists, health care professionals, trades people and people of faith-who, in the tradition of Mohandas Gandhi, practice and advocate nonviolence in the pursuit of social justice. As nonviolent war resisters, we oppose the development, storage, sale, and use of weapons of mass destruction by anyone or any country, be they nuclear, chemical, biological, or economic weapons. Many of us refuse to pay taxes for war.

We have seen that the US/UK invasion and occupation of Iraq violates human rights, the UN charter, and international law. It plunders the land and resources of Iraq, puts civilians and soldiers in mortal danger, and fills the pockets of multi-national corporations. It has inevitably led to coercive tactics such as raiding of homes, destruction of farms, arbitrary arrests, imprisonment without due process, torture of detainees, kidnapping of families, extortion, use of military force to suppress popular demonstrations, and murder of civilians. Voices in the Wilderness advocates complete withdrawal of US/UK troops from Iraq and calls on the US and UK governments not to impede an election process which would facilitate Iraqi sovereignty. In response to this occupation we campaign to educate, act and live in resistance to militarism. We advocate interdependent ways of life, rooted in simplicity, service and sharing of resources.

Voices in the Wilderness organized Iraq Peace Team delegations to live alongside ordinary Iraqis during the massive bombardment of Operation Shock and Awe. Convinced that “where you stand determines what you see and how you live,” VitW continues its efforts to educate people in the United States and abroad about the consequences of US militarism. Our current campaign focuses on the need to “spotlight Iraq.” By telling the truth about this war, we hope to help prevent future wars. Further, we seek to connect with and educate ourselves about people who live in other countries threatened by US war.

Dedicated to nonviolently resist the roots of war, campaign members challenge military recruitment, corporate war profiteering, and elements of contemporary culture that wage low intensity warfare, continually, against the biological diversity of our planet and against weaker countries whose resources are exploited to maintain our western consumer lifestyles. We advocate simple living, sharing of resources, service, reverence for all of life, creative education and nonviolent direct action for peace.

Voices in the Wilderness functions as a network for nonviolent education and action: developing and practicing ways of nonviolent resistance. Vitw is committed to teaching peace in formal teaching and learning environments as well as through grassroots, non-traditional settings. We will travel anywhere, anytime, with or without a stipend to help foster education in communities that invite our members to speak about what they’ve seen and heard.