Daily Illini via U-Wire
September 30, 2003, Tuesday
Champaign, Ill.

By Molly Stephey, Daily Illini

With a weathered face and a thick mass of curly hair, Kathy Kelly sings an Arabic song translated from English — one she sang with schoolchildren in Iraq. The three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee and member of the Catholic Workers’ Union spoke Monday afternoon at the University of Illinois YMCA. Kelly was part of a peace team in Iraq during the U.S. “shock and awe” campaigns and founded Voices in the Wilderness, an organization dedicated to ending U.S. economic sanctions on Iraq.

“I think Janis Joplin was right when she said ‘Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose,’” Kelly said.

Among the many stories that she told, one involved the story of a three-year old Iraqi girl who was caught up in the war. “She liked playing pretend games. She would point a flashlight at her mother and scream, ‘Kaboom!,’” said Kelly. “This is how a child deals with war.”

Kelly also told of Iraqi children grinding their teeth day and night because of the fear that consumed them. Mothers would faint at the sound of a slamming door because they were so frightened all the time, Kelly said. She criticized euphemisms used by the U.S. government and media when describing the war. Such euphemisms include “degraded” instead of destroyed and “pin-pointed” instead of bombed. It is words like these, she said, that disguise the true horrors of war.

Journalism professor Ron Yates believes that such military terms are “not as insidious as people make them out to be.” “I think it’s up to the people themselves to figure out what these words mean … It’s the lexicon of war,” he said.

Kelly said the media’s portrayal of the war ignores the more human side of the conflict. “It’s not a good news story for many, many Iraqi families whose children will never return,” Kelly said. “And likewise, it’s not a good news story for many American families whose children return from the war with serious wounds and haunting memories … if they return at all.”

During U.S. bombings of Iraq, Kelly said she lived in a hotel with fellow members of the Catholic Workers’ Union. Elderly members and children of the peace team slept in the basement for protection from possible fallout. Kelly recalled the appearance of the American troops when U.S. tanks rolled into the city. “The soldiers looked so excruciatingly young … They looked so tired,” Kelly said.

Although much of the peace protests have died down in the United States, Kelly believes that efforts need to continue. “This is no time to change the channel or change the subject and turn our attention away from Iraq,” she said.

She went on to say that Americans need to tell the truth about the war on Iraq in order to prevent future wars.

Her belief that war is not the answer rang clear in her speech to some members of the University and community. “I came to learn more about the conditions (in Iraq) from someone who had actually been there,” said education freshman Colleen Johnson. “I really enjoyed her personal stories about the war.”

Kelly was introduced by professor of mechanical engineering Taher Saif, who emphasized the commonality of Iraqi and American citizens. “We all have the same dreams and everyday struggles,” Saif said. “We are all bound by the common thread of humanity and human conscience.”

Freshman in engineering David Lichterman came to see Kelly because he wants to stay involved in the anti-war effort. “A lot of good points were made. I think one of the most important is the lesson ‘Practice what you preach,’” Lichterman said.

Kelly ended the speech with an urge for action and change. “We kinda get bamboozled into thinking we don’t have a choice,” said Kelly. “It’s still a free country. We can still make a difference.”

(C) 2002 Daily Illini via U-WIRE