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We Mourn With Mothers Everywhere Who Lose Children
to War
By mickielynn on 2011-05-14 15:51:56
[caption id="attachment_ 2464" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Grannies for Peace funeral procession, photo
by Mabel Leon"] ne /caption] We mourn with mothers everywhere who lose
children to war. This was the headline of the leaflet (written by Maud Easter) that Grannies for Peace distributed at the
Saturday Tulip Fest in Washington Park on Saturday morning and early afternoon of May 7th. It was an important
educational aspect of our sixth annual vigil in the Park to protest the effects of wars on mothers and their children. There
were two parts to this event this year. The first half hour consisted of a march with four pall bearers carrying a handmade
coffin (thanks to our props person, Kim and her husband Paul for designing and building this). A black sheet bearing the
names of the nations in which war was being waged by our government covered the coffin. White letters on the sides and
back of the flower draped coffin spelled out Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Libya. Two dozen Grannies were dressed in
black, with white armbands. Most wore signs that either said “War breaks Grannies’ hearts” or “War is not healthy for
children and other living things.” During the march we processed slowly and solemnly in single file behind the coffin to the
slow heartbeat rhythm of a drum A drumbeat that announced the procession, kept the pace, and reminded everyone of the
common humanity that all of us share while we’re alive. After making our loop through places where crowds gathered at
food and crafts booths and handing out leaflets we returned to our starting place, near the Moses Statue in the park. There in
a semi-circle around the coffin the more than 24 Grannies stood in silent vigil for another half hour holding signs and
banners. At the end of the vigil we closed with a song that signaled our determination to keep on moving forward until these
wars were ended. [Gonna Keep On Moving Forward by Pat Humphries] Our leaflet explained the meaning of Mother’s Day
founded in 1870 at the close of the civil war. “To commit to sparing mothers from ever again experiencing the pain of seeing
their children and other mothers’ children, lost to war.” It went on to share "The message of Mother’s Day founders: ‘We the
women of one country will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to injure theirs.’ “
Today, in 2011, we grandmothers -Grannies for Peace- mourn with mothers in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq,
Libya, Gaza and the US who have lost their children to warfare and military occupation. We grieve for the
actions of our government that continues these wars- instead of turning to the conflict-ending paths of
diplomacy, negotiations and development. As we celebrate the beauty of this park today and honor mothers
everywhere, let us tell Washington to bring all our troops home from Afghanistan as well as Iraq, and to end our
reliance on military action in Pakistan, Libya and Gaza. As grandmothers and mothers we cry out for
negotiations to end all these conflicts now.
The silent vigil was as somber and thoughtful as the funeral procession. There was a feeling of peace and renewed energy
among the women standing around the coffin. One very beautiful and hopeful moment came towards the end of our half
hour of standing. A young mother took a leaflet and then knelt down near her stroller passenger toddler and her older child
to explain to them what the women standing in front of them were doing. With tears of joy and passionate determination the
Grannie next to me accepted a silent hug. After the vigil ended she said: “ If all parents took the time to explain such things
to their children then the world might know peace in the next generation.” [caption id="attachment_2466" align="alignright"
width="300" caption="Grannies for Peace, Silent Vigil, photo by Mabel Leon"]
caption="Grannies closing song, Photo by Mabel Leon"
