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"End Endless War" at home and abroad. #Enough!
Photos by Mabel Leon.
By mickielynn on 2015-10-05 11:14:03
Message of our new yard sign
campaign to be launched in November. "Want Peace? No drone killings. No arms sales."Photo by Mark Klein.[/caption] On
Monday, September 21, 2015, Grannies for Peace and some of our allies in the Capital District peace and justice community
held a vigil on Central Avenue and Wolf Road, in Colonie NY. We chose this date because it was the International Day of
Peace. And we chose the drive time to reach as many commuters as possible on what turned out to be a lovely evening.
Although this article is mostly a photo essay there are several points that I'd like to make about what happens when we
glorify violence and military action and dismiss diplomacy and careful gun control. But first one of the statements from our
media release in September that came from Dot Richards, one of the three coordinators of the End Endless War Vigil:
The world is stunned by the surge of migrants into Europe - families on the run, the silent scourge of war!
Humans by the hundreds of thousands desperately walking, running, swimming and pleading for asylum. Most
of the deaths and misery of war are perpetrated against civilians. We must wake up to the fact that war is not the
answer. War is immoral, foolish and futile. It must be the last resort always. When will we ever learn?
é
"WANT PEACE?
So that vigil/demonstration
took place on the International Day of Peace but much has happened since then. The Pope in his speeches to Congress and
meetings with leaders of the US called out the arms manufacturers specifically as profiteers of war. He also called for
diplomacy of the kind that he embodied in bringing about an opening towards Cuba after more than half a century and what
looks like a working peace agreement between the government of Columbia and the FARC. But in the same time period
(September 2015) we had another bombing of a wedding party in Yemen that killed more than 130 civilians. A bombing led
by the Saudi, US backed forces. And just this past week a very tragic US air attack on the one hospital in Kunduz, run by
Doctors Without Borders that killed both staff and patients (at least 22 civilians) in intensive care even though frantic phone
calls were made to both Afghan and US military commanders. And this doesn't even take into account the continuing
bombing, blockading and other deadly actions of all sides in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and the growing refugee crisis
developing in Yemen as well as Syria. So it's clear that drone attacks, bombing and blockades do nothing to bring peace but
just perpetuate the suffering of civilians. Now President Obama is leaning towards negotiations to end the Syrian crisis by
working with Russia, Iran, and all sides in the civil and proxy war that has been going on for more than 4 years. He also
says that the US will avoid a "proxy war" with Russia and instead try to work out a way to end the conflict. This would be a
very good thing. In the meantime a group of young Afghans is mounting a campaign to call attention to the real human
beings who are suffering in Afghanistan during the soon to be 15th year of the war and occupation by the United States.
They are not only calling for genuine peace negotiations but also appealing to the people of the world to see them as equal
human beings. Breaking the stereotypes and racism that allows the violence to continue in their country. Their campaign is
called #Enough! and they are also releasing a series of short videos. I'm sharing the link to their first video released this
weekend and a link where you can watch the rest if you're interested in what they have to say. [caption
id="attachment_7650" align="aligncenter" width="399"]
#Enough! War in Afghanistan . World wide campaign from the young Afghan Peace Volunteers. October 2015.[/caption]
Here's their introduction to the video and twitter campaign:
After 14 long years of assuming that the war in Afghanistan is necessary, each day for the *next five short
days*, we offer you five tiny video snippets which invite you to see Afghans differently To the Afghan Peace
Volunteers in Kabul, acquiring new insights is essential, if we are all to survive the growing, multidirectional
violence, from the Taliban on the ground or from U.S./NATO airstrikes like the fatal airstrike on the MSF (
Doctors Without Borders ) Hospital in Kunduz. Please share these video clips with your friends. Tell them not
to fear what they’ll see and hear. It is our hope that the images and sounds will humanize all of us, and help us
to feel again. *from the 3rd till the 7th of October, the ‘anniversary’ of the beginning of the U.S./NATO military
presence in Afghanistan. Hakim with the Afghan Peace Volunteers Follow each of the five videos at
http://enough.ourjourneytosmile.com/wordpress/enough-inviting-you-to-see-afghans-differently/
www.facebook.com/wesayenough https://twitter.com/we_say_enough
They are also launching a Thunderclap on Wednesday, October 7th the end of the 14th year of the Afghan War. [caption
id="attachment_7656" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
Hadisa says "Enough war!"
[/caption] Click here to be part of the October 7 thunderclap for peace. On October 7, as the U.S./NATO war in
Afghanistan enters Year 15, with new U.S. troops just deployed, but also as we mark the anniversary of a popular revolution
without war in the Philippines, the world's social media (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr) will be flooded with the message that
we've had enough of war and are ready to move beyond it. But you can't wait for October 7th. To be part of a thunderclap
you have to sign up beforehand. Just click this [caption id="attachment_7654" align="aligncenter" width="300"]
=i Mairead-Maguire-2-Million-Friends-FROM THE DARKNESS OF WAR,
THE YOUTH OF AFGHANISTAN SHINE THE LIGHT OF PEACE! [/caption]
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