Vol. 3, 4 VOICE from Eastern Europe
VOICES fromEastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Welcom to Croatia: A Welcoming Statement from a Local
Church in Croatia
Lipic, in War and Peace
Split, Croatia
In East Mostar
A First Glimpse of War
Small Step in a Big War
Palestine
Message from the People of the Occupied West Bank
Iraq
Collective Statement From the Interfaith Pilgrimage
Emergency Eyewitness Report From Iraq March 1995
Facts on Iraq
Walking in Iraq Under Economic Sanctions
Walk News from Turtle Island
Contact/ Course schedule: Pilgrimage route/
VOICES from Eastern Europe
Almost four months have passed since the Interfaith Pilgrimage for Peace
and Life 1995 started walking from Auschwitz (now called Oswiecim) to Hiroshima.
During that time, the pilgrimage walked and traveled in Croatia, Bosnia,
Israel, Jordan, Iraq and India. (See the route map for details.)
Croatia was one place where they were welcomed by local people. Greg Hessel,
who organized the Ex-Yugoslavian leg of this pilgrimage, recalled a comment
made by a Catholic priest in despair, " ... you are the first group
that has come here to offer prayers for peace. So I am encouraged and heartened
by your efforts." Greg wrote that this was a small but essential offering
he felt he needed to make to bring peace.
The walkers could not obtain permission to walk in Sarajevo. However, 45
walkers fortunately did get visas to walk in Iraq for a week. And they
walked - with tears and prayers. We received a phone call from one walker
who returned from Iraqto Amman, Jordan, who said, "I cried everyday
as I walked there. I learned that we just don't know what is really happening
in light of "fair" economic sanctions. An Emergency Eye-witness
Report explains the effects of these sanctions and also calls for support.
There are other legs of the Interfaith Pilgrimage beginning to happen in
different areas. The Southeast US Peace Walk begins in May. Anoter small
group is heading to Burma pray at massacre sites in Myanmmar, from April
25 to May 17. A Peace Walk in Korea is being organized. The Korean leg
is scheduled for July.
As we edit the notes and diaries sent from walkers, we are aware that we
want to transmit their voices and messages that were presented to them
in print form, hopefully to be read by many people. For this, we deeply
appreciate your support.
( editors )
Eastern Europe
Welcome to Croatia:
A Welcoming Statement from a Local Church in Croatia
Welcome Dear Friends!
Welcome to Omis, welcome to Croatia. We've always welcomed our guests with
open hearts and hands. Croats are friendly people always ready to offer
hospitality to everybody.
Through centuries we've offered our homes even to those who are now attacking
us. We are now suffering from the Serbian aggression that conquered one
third of Croatian territory, destroying even holly monuments that are symbols
of our people and church. The church was always with its people through
all their sufferings and wants to minimize the pain of the wounded, humiliated
and expelled, helping them no matter who they are.
It's hard to believe, but our youth get killed every day. While in your
countries young people live carefully-they love, give kisses, work and
study ---our young men live without that. They are always thinking how
to protect their homes and their lives.
We salute you pilgrims, and wish you a pleasant stay in our town. You're
passing through, but you haven't forgoten us and we thank you for that.
It's nice to know that we're not alone, that there are people who care.
You're traveling to a holy land, eternal source of our hope and our faith.
It's a place to pray for, one for peace, goodness, and light. Remember
us and mention the name Croatia in your prayers. The prayers and faith
have kept us alive--- .
Thank God for them. Being aware of humanity, we'll keep the light of life
and eternal salvation on.
LET GOD'S PROTECTION AND IT'S BLESSING BE UPON YOU ON YOUR WAY!
( from a welcoming statement by a local church in Croatia )
Lipic, in War and Peace
On January 4, 1995, the Interfaith Pilgrimage for Peace and Life went to
Lipic, a small town east of Zagreb, and sitting on the border of territory
occupied by the Serbs. In 1991, Serbian forces came through and destroyed
a large part of the town. The people fought back and were able to recapture
their town. Three years later, as we walked, they were still evident everywhere.
Lipic looked like a scene of a town bombed in the Second World War. Homes
had been hit by rockets. Automatic weapons had blasted away stone and mortar
from buildings everywhere. Roofs were missing on many houses. Where the
damage was the greatest, silence was dominant, broken only by the wind.
As we walked through the streets, people greeted us with smiles, applause
and tears.
We stopped at an orphanage which had sustained damage in the war. Fortunately
no children were hurt and the buildings had been completely rationed. As
we walked, more and more people joined us. We stopped at a nursery school
where the children sang us a song. Some were fascinated by the long purple
banner with the Buddhist chant on it. Others were delighted with the peace
cranes.
After this, we walked to an area of temporary housing for the people who
had lost their homes, and then to the United Nations checkpoint , on the
border of territory occupied by Serbian forces. There was both sadness
and courage in the faces of the people we saw. We discussed the war with
some of the towns people who were our hosts. There was anger and pain over
the losses they suffered. But some talked of the importance of forgiveness.
I believe that is the message of our pilgrimage, for without it there is
no peace. Our neutrality is essential as we meet those who have experienced
war.
Our compassion is just as important. As we walk and pray, the Spirit of
Peace moves with us and we hope that it moves the hearts of all whom we
meet.
( Don Turner. Oakland, California )
Split, Croatia
On January 6, 1995, our pilgrimage arrived by ferry in Split, Croatia .
Split is a very old town of 700 years which sits beautifully perched along
the Adriatic Sea. It is the type of town I really appreciate, with both
elements of sea and mountains. The people of Split are quite striking in
appearance. Young men and women look healthy and the older community members
appear relaxed and comfortable. Feeling odd about being so close to a war
zone, I asked many community members if they were fearful of the war, but
no one seemed too concerned. It was explained to me that the Serbian people
want land returned to them that was at one time their land, and this does
not include Split.
We left Split, walking 98 miles to Mostar. We walked for five days. The
first two days took us through 45 miles of spectacular coastline through
Omis and Makaraka. Images of the Na Pal Coast of Kauai, Puget Sound, the
Waianae Coast of Oahu, and the Arizona mountains flooded my memory. The
people are very open and warm as they smiled and waved us on our way. On
the third day we headed up (for 3 hours) through the mountains. We then
walked up and down through the mountains to Vrgarac. The terrain changed
drastically to low qrown scrub vegetation. The temperature dropped and
the sky turned gray. We arrived at Meclugarje where we were invited to
share housing with a family in a refugee center. The three story building
offered us bunk beds, the use of a kitchen, and hot showers. There was
no heat and we would find this fact not too unusual.
On January 11th we walked into Mostar. It was very sad to see this beautiful
town in ruins. East Mostar and parts of west Mostar were completely destroyed
and the wounds of these wars were still raw. The look in people's eyes
did not yet reflect the hope of those neighbors in Lipic, Croatia.
Tears flowed as I watched a young girl kneeling by a grave in one of the
newly formed graveyards. . . a graveyard replacing a city park where children
once ran and played. This young girl kneeled to empty plastic milk cartons
as she saw us approaching. Her face became slightly flushed, and she leaned
over to quickly kiss the ordinary green wooden cross announcing the name
of the grave owner. She left hurriedly.
I wondered if this grave was a brother, a father or a lover. My tears fell
for the lost childhoods, the lost Mostar children and their parks to the
eternal symbol of war. They lost their fragile innocence.
There is so much to be told about the suffering in Mostar.
During our 10-day stay in Mostar we were unable to travel to Sarajevo.
We decided instead to fast and pray for peace in Mostar. On our first day
of fasting we sat in a park near by destroyed bridges. On the second day
we sat near the bridge in west Mostar. On this day we were not allowed
to sit within sight of local people who had gathered (they actually encircled
us though we were not sitting in a circle) throughout the first day. We
were served hot tea by local common members on different occasions. Many
people were loving, warm and happy that we offered prayers for peace. And
some people were angry. On two occasions young men came by and yelled something
to the crowd and they removed articles from our altar. In fact during this
day every human emotion seemed to find opportunity for expression as we
sat praying.
After our time in Mostar we returned to Split for one night. As I walked
through the open air market, a small puppy gathered the attention of the
crowds. I hope the sight of new life soon gathers attention in the streets
of Mostar.
( Donna Goodwin. Kauai, Hawaii )
In East Mostar There Are No Roofs
In east Mostar there are no roofs intact from the shelling. In east Mostar
there are no walls one can trust to stay standing long. There is no heat
and no hot water and electricity. In east Mostar the sound of metal and
mortar falling from ruined buildings is as frequent as the sound of the
wind rushing down from the mountains.
And the mountains that surround east and west Mostar are like the embrace
of a mother holding a child. But, this embrace has turned into death hold
as rockets and mortars have rained down upon Mostar from the mountain ridges.
East and west Mostar, which lived as a unified town for centuries, no longer
does so because of the killing that has gone on between the two.
Both Serbs and Croats have attacked the Muslims in east Mostar because
they wanted territory. But the Serbs also wanted Croatian territory. So
they attacked their former enemy from the Second World War. As a result,
the conflicts turned into a destructive, bruital killing war against the
Muslims.
We walked through east Mostar, meeting its people, talking in its destroyed
mosque, hearing stories from the refugees. Thousands are now in this small
town.
We witnessed the work of heroic nurses and doctors who minister to suffering
victims. They do this without pay and with alarmingly little equipment
and supplies. For two days we fasted and prayed for all of the people lost
in this war in the former Yugoslavia. We did so for nine hours in east
Mostar and nine hours in west Mostar. In the Muslim sector, the people
gathered throughout the day to walk, some with tears. They brought us hot
tea throughout this day to sustain us against the cold and the wind. The
children played and postured around us all afternoon.
The people knew we were praying for peace and for them. They knew we were
neutral in our vision for peace and reconciliation. Many of them heard
our plea; many of them sought reconciliation, others could not because
the anger and suffering were still too great.
We were helped to keep our vision clarified by the people we met. Our own
refugee-like lifestyle also helped, as we lived in unheated spaces with
very limited toilet and washing facilities. We walked long distances in
uncertain weather that shifted from rain to snow to powerful winds and
bright sunshine. What also helped to foster the vision of the pilgrimage
was the daily morning prayer and the constant chanting and drumming as
we walked. We sought to demonstrate publically and visually that people
of different faiths, from different countries and of diverse backgrounds
can come together through prayer and a shared vision of the possibility
of peace. We are hopeful as we walk and pray from Auschwitz to Hiroshima
that the Spirit of Peace will be in the people and countries we encounter.
We hold that peace as a continuing reality is not just possible but essential,
if we as a species and the Earth as a livable environment are to continue
into the twenty-first century. This is a spiritual journey we are making:
it is the only kind that can bring lasting transformation.
( Don Turner, Oakland, CA U. S. A )
A First Glimpse of War
On January 4th, we took a bus to Lipic, Croatia. Before September, 1991,
this town of hot spring and a mineral water factories maintained a population
of 6,000 inhabitants. For three months, this town was under Serbian control
after heavy shelling and mortar fire. The town was retaken in December
1991 and now 2500 people live there. Forty people died during this war
and another 100 people died during 1992.
We got off the bus 3 kilometers from Lipic and were met by local community
members who served us hot tea and sandwiches outside a small bombed out
church.
A band of local musicians in their traditional costumes played for us.
It was a very cold and gray day and I wondered how the musicians' fingers
could dance so quickly along the strings. A group of older men huddled
around a fire.
Many community members joined us on our 3 kilometer symbolic walk. We were
given red roses at a nursery whose business is just now being put back
together. Children at a preschool sang us a song about a sad little rabbit
who lost his creek in the winter freeze. His sadness was transformed by
the hope of spring when the creek would return.
I cried as I walked through this town and reflected on the lives which
were torn apart by war. There were many bombed out houses with some people
living in parts of these houses. It was so sad to me that we humans could
cause so much suffering. I became aware of the suffering caused by this
war (having to leave your homeland, never to return, or having your home
destroyed by neighbors or friends, losing loved ones. ) To my surprise,
thoughts of the American Civil War floated through my mind, thoughts of
brothers and neighbors killing each other.
My great-grandparents were young teenagers during the American Civil War.
I remember both of my mother's grandmothers (Grandma Griffin and Grandma
Nash) and I have vague memories of grandpa Nash. They told stories of the
war fought on their land. During the walk on January 4 in Lipic, Croatia,
I suddenly understood how that war of 130 years ago could be so alive in
the southern United States. I realized how the suffering of that war continues
in 1995.
Another stop we made that day in Lipic was at the international children's
home. With the help of the international community, this building was one
of the first two buildings to be rebuilt. One man's face was filled with
joyful pride as this announcement was made to us: something to hold on
to . . . some meaning for life. These people were very proud, smiling,
and happy, but the scars of this war ran very deep and could easily be
detected beneath the smiles.
In the upstairs window of this newly painted international children's home,
a boy's face appeared. He was dark skinned and even at a distance his eyes
sparkled. I wondered what that ten year-old boy will tell his grandchildren
about this war in the year 2055. And I wondered what untold secrets will
be passed along, to be whittled out of that generation's psyche, perhaps
in the twenty second century.
What else I saw in the faces at Lipic that day hope and tremendous faith.
I asked myself, from where does this hope come . . . . from people living
with betrayal, people living with fear of war, people living with destruction
still evident, with community members still missing and with the sting
of losses so fresh. The faces I saw that day showed enormous faith and
trust.
( Donna Goodwin, Kauai,Hawaii )
Small Step in a Big War
Gandhi once said, "Whatever you do will almost certainly be a very
small thing, yet it is essential that you do it." In the vastness
of the reins of Mostar, Bosnia Herzegovina, coming to walk, fast, and pray
for peace seems to be a very little thing. Yet I believe that this small
offering is essential for me to do.
Almost two years ago I ended my morning meditation with a prayer that God
might lead me to a place where I could be of service to the world. Five
seconds later the phone rang. It was my friend Brother Sasamori whom I
had not heard from in eight months. "Greg, " he said, "
I'm doing a peace walk from Auschwitz to Hiroshima. Can you help organize
it ? "
To be honest, this was the last answer to my prayer that I had hoped for.
I was still recovering from organizing a ten- month, 5,000 mile walk in
1992. Perhaps God had called the wrong number, I told myself. Two month
later, however, I was with Brother Sasamori in Bosnia.
These organizing trips and many prayers brought Brother Sasamori's dream
come to fruition. I found myself in the Balkans again leading some 50 peace
pilgrims into potential war zones. Enabling peace makers from 10 countries
to have potentially life changing experiences is deeply rewarding but exhausting.
During the times of exhaustion I wondered how I could be of service to
the world in such God forsaken areas as Croatia and Bosnia. But along the
way the creator helped me understand.
Lipic, Croatia is a town of 8,000 which was leveled by the war in 1991.
Now United Nation peace keeping troops separate the warring Croatian and
Serbian armies. There are no bullets flying, but peace is a long way off.
I arrived in this rubble of ruins on a crisp January morning. Seeing the
destroyed strangers and souls, I immersed myself in the death, chaos and
hatred which fester in the hollow aftermath of war. I felt a heaviness
overtaking me. But in contrast to my sobering feelings, we were welcomed
by a traditional Croatian folk band, steaming tea and invitations to dance.
Initially I resisted this festive atmosphere. Fasting and penance seemed
more appropriate in than doing the fox trot. But slowly I realized that
these people have been living in ruins for over two years. They desperately
needed an opportunity to let go of their pain for a while. We offered them
the opportunity to celebrate and the hope that the world had not forgotten
them. It is a small thing that we offered, but an important one. For as
my Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh says, "Suffering is not enough."
Five days and 100 miles of walking later, we arrived in Mostar, which has
the ruins of Lipic 50 times over. Blocks of 3 and 4 story stone buildings
are now heaps of brick-scores and human hearts are now infected with hatred.
In east Mostar there is no running water, no electrity, no roofs, and no
way to measure the suffering. And while there are no longer bombs bursting
in air, neither is there peace.
Our first meeting in Mostar was with a Catholic priest who had lost numerous
family members in the war. He was overwhelmed with sadness as he spoke
to us in a soft voice. Just under the surface of his skin I could see incredible
suffering. We could not take away his pain or bring back his family members,
but he told us, "many journalists and delegations have come here to
report on the war, but you are the first group that has come here to offer
prayers for peace. So I am encouraged and heartened by your efforts. "
We know that we cannot stop the war. Coming to Lipic and Mostar feels like
a very small, insufficient offering. Yet in the face of this assault on
humanity, which is an assault on all of us, we could not stay at home.
We had to come because we know that physically and spiritually, we are
all connected. The suffering of people in the Balkans is our own suffering,
just as the sick spirits of people in the United States. So are the suffering
of people in Hiroshima, Vietnam, El Salvador, Panama, and Nicaragua. We
are all heirs to the suffering and love which we inflict upon each other.
So we come to witness; to be with people; to tell them that we care; that
they are not alone. In a country where people have been disempowered by
50 years of communism we try to model "the universal responsibility
of the individual. " We offer them our steps, prayers and fasts. We
trust that, in some mysterious way unknown to us, God will use us to be
instruments of his peace. We do all of this, knowing that it is a small
offering, and it is essential that we do it.
(Greg Hessel, organizer of the Pilgrimage, Ex- Yugoslavian leg )
Palestine
Message from the People of the Occupied West Bank
A MESSAGE TO THE PEOPLE OF HIROSHIMA FROM THE PEOPLE OF BEIT SAHOUR, THE OCCUPIED WEST BANK.
The people of the West Bank town of Beit Sahour, in Israeli-occupied West Bank, would like to extend their deepest solidarity and sympathy to the victims of the cruel bombing of Hiroshima, something that should never be forgotten by the citizens of the world in order that such a brutal incident should never happen again.
As Palestinians who suffer under an occupying force which has taken our land and tramples upon our national rights, we extend our congratulations and respect to the people of Hiroshima who have worked so hard to rebuild their home after the indiscriminate destruction that was wreaked upon them by a large and bellicose nation.
We are involved in a peace process with the Israelis. Unfortunately their
government continues to confiscate Palestinian land, build settlements,
and lay claim to our holy city and capital, Jerusalem. These actions will
never bring about peace. For that reason, we deeply appreciate the presence
here of international delegations such as the Interfaith Pilgrimage for
Peace and Life 1995 and their efforts to achieve peace which we hope will
be realized in the very near future.
Always remember that the hearts and doors of this small Palestinian town
of Beit Sahour, which had the honor of welcoming some of your heroic residents,
will always be open to our friends from Hiroshima.
( Hanna Al Atrash, Mayor of Beit Suhour, West Bank, Palestine. )
Iraq
Collective Statement From the Interfaith Pilgrimage
In February, 1995, our pilgrimage took us to Iraq, where we witnessed first
hand the results of sanctions imposed on the people of this country by
the United Nations, at the urging of the United States. There is a critical
scarcity of essential medicines necessary to ward off disease and preserve
life. Those suffering the most are infants, children, mothers, and the
aged. They are dying from infections and injuries that can be routinely
remedied with the proper drugs and medications. To be able to live is the
most basic of human rights and ranks above all other geo-political considerations.
It is wrong and immoral to link medical, nutritional and other humanitarian
needs to any other issue.
The importation of humanitarian aid into Iraq is being hindered by restrictions.
Iraq has no credit to purchase its basic needs because its assets are frozen
and it cannot sell its oil. Iraq depends on imports for 70% of its food
nearly 100% of its medicines.
The sanctions have thus become a war against the people of Iraq. A crushing
burden has been placed upon them that is unjust. The denial of food, medicine
and humanitarian aid for any reason is against international law and the
spirit on which the United Nations was founded.
In this fiftieth anniversary year of the end of World War ll, let us be
reminded that any force used against the common citizens of a country is
tyranny at best and may be genocide at worst. We must heed the lessons
of history. We urge and pray that you will support the lifting of these
sanctions immediately for the sake of the citizens of Iraq.
( The Members of the Interfaith Pilgrimage for Peace and Life 1995, at
a press conference in Amman, March 9, 1995 )
Emergency Eyewitness Report From Iraq March 1995
On February 26th, 1995, thirty- six members of the "Interfaith Pilgrimage
for Peace and Life 1995" approached the Iraqi border from Jordan.
We could not have imagined the extent of the horrors and crimes against
humanity that we would witness on the other side.
In January and February of 1991, a region 2/3 the size of Texas experienced
one of the most relentless military attacks in history. For 42 days, 2,000
plane loads of bombs were dropped each day on Iraq. Four years later, the
war continues. It is a war against the people, carried out through the
most inhumane sanctions, making even the most basic of food and medical
supplies inaccessible. Although international law prohibits embargoes on
food and medicines, the freezing of Iraq's international assets makes it
impossible for these items to be purchased and imported in sufficient quantity.
During a visit to a Baghdad hospital, our group huddled around the single
functioning incubator, seeking the hollowed and desperate eyes of the mothers
who could only hold their babies as they deteriorated towards death in
their arms. How long will it be before they join the 500,000 other children
and elderly who have died of malnutrition, lack of basic medicine and the
recurrence of previously eradicated diseases such as cholera, hepatitis
and tuberculosis since the 1991 Gulf War? The anesthesia supply has been
blocked due to the claim that the Nitrous oxide used in its production
will be used for military purposes. Cesarean sections and many other forms
of surgeries are performed without anesthesia. The pain alone often results
in death. The cancers that may result from the use of depleted uranium
in missiles is not yet able to be calculated.
School drop-out rates are increasing and children are being deprived of
the education that enables them to become literate world citizens. Why?
For one, many must now leave school to help support their families. School
supplies, once provided, are now in short supply. Shipments of pencils,
the most basic tools of literacy, are being refused at entry based on the
allegation that the lead might be used in the production of intercontinental
missiles.
Over and over again, our international delegation, largely made up of citizens
from G-7 superpowers responsible for the Gulf War, heard those we met say
"we know if the people of the world knew what was really happening
to us, they would not allow it." The U. S. perpetuated media censorship
of the war and its aftermath has been thorough. The gradual genocide of
the Iraqi people, still dignified in their suffering, has been made silent
to the ears of the world.
In our nine month pilgrimage from Auschwitz to Hiroshima, our international,
interfaith community of spiritual leaders, activists, war veterans, educators,
students and parents has witnessed the human and environmental suffering
inflicted by war in Eastern Europe, the Former Yugoslavia and the Middle
East. During our journey to Iraq, when we asked at hospitals, women's federations
and schools "what can we do?", we heard the plea to raise up
the voices of the Iraqi people and convey their message of suffering to
the world. As we continue our journey of witness and prayer toward Southeast
Asia, we will carry the message of this emergency. We ask you, our friends,
our communities committed to peace, to hear the message we carry from the
people of Iraq and take action. The burned out buses that litter the sides
of the roads, the charred remains of the Al-Amariya shelter where 1,500
women and children were incinerated and boiled to death is more than enough
grief to bear. The 500,000 that have died since and continue to at a rate
of 300 per day due to illegal and inhumane sanctions is an inexcusable
and violent crime against humanity. The sanctions are renewed every 60
days. Please help us raise up the voices of the silences by:
-Copying and sharing this letter with individuals and organizations.
-Writing your Congress people, President Clinton and the United Nations
Sanctions Committee asking them to life the sanctions against the people
of Iraq.
Contact the International Fellowship for Reconciliation in NYC, New York,
or other organizations working to life the sanctions and ask how you can
help.
In Solidarity. Ricky Barue and Deb Habib/ Seeds of Solidarity.
(On the Road with the Interfaith Pilgrimage until Aug. 1995-Pilgrimage
international contact is the Peace Pagoda 100 Cave Hill Rd. Leverett, MA
01054 USA )
Ricky Barue and Debbie Habib
Facts on Iraq
Child and infant mortality rates before and during the blockade.
The impact of the blockade on child mortality rates.
1 The under-five mortality rate before the Gulf crisis was 27. 8 per 1000.
This rate reached 104. 4 per 1000 with an increase of 380% .
2 The under-one mortality rate reached 35% .
3 The infant mortality rate increased from 22. 7 to 80 per 1000.
( extracts from Documented Facts by the General Federation of Iraqi Women )
Walking in Iraq Under Economic Sanctions
"Economic Sanctions are a silent war." My visit to Iraq, starting
on February 26, was a heart-felt experience.
Scars of the war are not visible. Shattered buildings are quickly rebuilt
and we did not observe much of a physical catastrophe in main street areas.
There were only a few patches of empty fields left burned and uncleared.
We were impressed by this incredible speed of reconstruction, considering
that more bombs than what the US. military had dropped during the W. W.
ll were said to be dropped on Iraq in 42 days since the gulf war broke
out on January 17, 1991.
Busy quarters were filled with people, yet it did not seem to be lively
as much as it could have been. I felt suppression.
This feeling was reassured when we went to a hospital in Baghdad on February
28. This hospital supposedly had the capacity of treating 500 in-house
patients, and we were told 350 patients were in the hospital then. As we
took a tour in the hospital, however, it seemed much less than what we
were told. Above all, there were almost no medical devices. We saw incubators
for prematurely born babies, but only two of them were working. Mothers
tended to suffer from malnutrition, which resulted in lack of insulin for
their new born babies, leading to birth defects. "He's dying,"
said a young doctor, standing in front of a skinny baby. The doctor looked
haunted by disempowerment.
In the last four years, including the time of the gulf war, over 4 million
people were said to have died in Iraq because of the war. Even now, 4,000
babies die every month due to an insufficient medicinal supply.
People do not come to the hospital, as they know its harsh condition. There
is no way to know how many seriously ill people are left abandoned at home
without any medical care.
This young doctor earns 3 thousand Iraq Denari (only four US dollars) per
month. I wondered how he made his living. I heard that selling their belongings
for food is a daily activity among ordinary families here. Starting with
furniture, carpets, then going off even to the front door of a house, there
are families who came down to have nothing more to sell.
When the UN applied economic sanctions, there were listed items excluded,
agreed by the participating countries, such as food and medicine. According
to Mr. Rimadhi, Information Minister of Iraq , the UN had, however, rejected
urgent imports of 260,000 tons of rice from Thailand.
Degradation of people's minds is much anticipated if this situation coutinues.
People in Baghdad seem to be persevering this difficulty, as far as we
saw. I hear that crime is happening more in other regions and that a bus
was hijacked by a group of unidentified gangs.
Prolonged economic sanctions of low intensity could be far more frightening
than a short-term war, which is horrifying enough.
( Michizou Matsuzaki, Japan )
Walk News from Turtle Island
Walkers Step Closer to Goal
They walk the talk and they talk the walk. The Interfaith Pilgrimage for
Peace and Life 1995 passed through our area this week. The marchers were
walking, beating drums and praying their way from Plymouth, Massachusetts
to Deseronto, Ontario and then to the United Nations in New York City.
The walk was to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the end of the Second
World War. Deseronto is the midpoint because it is the birthplace of Peace
Maker (Chief Haudenausaunee) the man who brought peace to the people of
the Six Nations. He was an example to the marchers of what was possible;
thus they walk the roads he traveled. Peace Maker's vision was to bury
all weapons in the ground and plant a tree of peace above them.
The group left Plymouth Rock on February 10 and reached Deseronto on March
13. On Sunday night they slept in Odessa, hosted by the people of St. Alban's
Anglican Church. On Monday, the Marchers reached Napanee for lunch at Trinity
United Church, and headed for Deseronto in the afternoon. They will reach
the United Nations in New York City on April 20th, two months after they
left.
Melinda Holm, a writer from New York City, is one of the marchers. "We're
trying to achieve peace on earth. We've had a lot of leaders with teachings
about peace. Everybody knows Ghandi and Martin Luther King, but very few
people know about Peace Maker. So (Sr. Jun Yasuda) planned this particular
pilgrimage. "
Holm says they have met with a lot of support along the way from others
who are worried about peace issues. " If you're a peace activist,
it's very distressing. We're a violence-ridden society. It's happening
on all different levels. There's a lot of domestic violence, violence against
children. It seems pretty much to be a global syndrome. "
The Buddhist prayer that the marchers chant as they walk is Na-mu-myo-ho-ren-ge-kyo,
meaning "heaven and earth are one," or "all life is sacred."
( by Aimee Dopking Pianosi, Special to the Beaver )
Contact/ Course schedule: Pilgrimage route/
A Course : Contact/
Nipponzan Myohoji, Shibuya Dojo.
8-7Shinsen-cho,Shibuyaku,Tokyo,150,Japan.
TEL81-03-3461-9363.FAX81-03-3461-9367.
A course schedule:
Poland / Auschwitz (`94/12/8) ¨ Poland (12/10` 12/12) ¨ Czech (12/13`12/23)
¨ Austria (12/24`12/31) ¨ Austria / Vienna (`95/1/1) ¨Croatia (1/2`1/3)
¨ Zagreb (1/4) ¨ Croatia/Split / Bosnia / Salajevo / Belgrade. (1/5`1/28)
¨ Greek / Athens (1/29) Greece / Athens / Israeli / Tel Aviv (1/30`1/31)
¨ Israel / Jordan / Iraq (2/1`3/10)¨ India / New Delhi (about 3/10 `3/31)
¨ Malaysia (4/22) ¨ Thailand (4/23`5/7) ¨ Cambodia (5/8`5/31) ¨ Vietname
(6/1`about 6/30) ¨ Philippine (7/1`about 7/31) ¨ Osaka (about 7/31)
¨ Tokyo [ Hiroshima.
Contact/ Northeast Course: Pilgrimage route/
Northeast Course: Contact/
Nipponzan Myohoji. Grafton Peace Pagoda,
Gyojun Yasuda
Rd. 1. , Box 308 A, Petersburg, NY 12138 Gyojun Yasuda
TEL+1-518-658-9301. (UAS)
Contact/ C Course India: Pilgrimage route/
C Course India: Contact/
Nipponzan Myohoji. Ven. Toshimasa Tanaka & Ven. Gyoken Asami (Sri Lanka)
Course schedule:
India / Cape Comorin / ('94. 10/2) ~ Bombay ~ NewDelhi
Contact/ D Course Japan: Pilgrimage route/
D Course Japan: Contact/
Nipponzan Myohoji. Ven. Takao Takeda and Ven. Gyoji Kawagisi
8-7 Shinsen-cho Shibuya-ku Tokyo 150 Japan. TEL81-03-3461-9363.FAX 81-03-3461-9367.
Course schedule:
Tokyo ('95. 4/28) ~ Hiroshima ~ Nagasaki ('95. 8/6,8/9).
Southeast Peace Walk:
May 1 St. Marys, GA May 25 Greenville, SC May 3 Brunswick, GA June
1 Asheville, NC
May 7 Savannh, GA June 9 Newport, TN May 13 Barnnah, GA June 15 Knoxville,
TN May 16 Aiken, SC June 17 Oak Ridge, TN
For more information, please contact:
Southeast Course : Contact/
Nipponzan Myohoji, Atlanta Dojo Sr. Denise Laffin
1127 Glenwood Ave,S. E. Atlanta, GA 30316 USA.
tel: 404-572-9553
For more information, please contact:
Contact/
Nipponzan Myohoji. Jun Yasuda.
Grafton Peace Pagoda, Rd. 1. , Box 308 A, Petersburg, NY 12138
Tel:+1-518-658-9301
For more information,please contact:
Contact/
Nipponzan Myohoji :
100 Cave Hill Rd. Leverett MA 01054,USA
Tel +413-367-2202. Fax +413-367-9369.
Contact/ South Korea Course:
Contact/
Nipponzan Myohoji, Shibuya Dojo. Rev. Jyunji Simanuki
8-7 Shinsen-cho, Shibuyaku, Tokyo, 150, Japan.
TEL81-03-3461-9363. FAX81-03-3461-9367.
Newsletter "JUNREI" NO. 3, 4 (1995. 4)
For Interfaith Pilgrimage for Peace and Life 1995.
Information & Publishing ; JUNREI Publication Committee.
Edited by Prof. Katsu Harada and JUNREI Publication Committee stuff; K.
Magome, T. Ichikawa, T. Heineman, H. Naitoh,
I. Yamanaka, T. Takahara, K. Harada.
Editing & Publishing office;
Prof. Katsu Harada;
1-2-37 Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan 108 Dept. of Sociology, Meiji
Gakuin University.
Tel +81-3-5421-5356 (office). Fax +81-3-5421-5202 (office).
Kumiko Magome;
6-5-12-206 Asahi-cho, Souka-shi, Saitama-ken 340,
Tel & Fax +81-489-44-5150
Hiro Naitoh; 1486-12 Tomitsuka-cho, Hamamatsu-shi, Japan 432
Tel +81-53-472-5254. Fax +81-53-478-0235
ReturnDDDDDD
Return to DDDDD