July/August 2004

July 1st, 2004

By the time this newsletter appears we will have had our Peace Pilgrimage and hopefully we will have been blessed with fine weather. The memories of the commemoration of D Day will remain and must surely lead us to continue our work for peace.

EDITORIAL By the time this newsletter appears we will have had our Peace Pilgrimage and hopefully we will have been blessed with fine weather. The memories of the commemoration of D Day will remain and must surely lead us to continue our work for peace. Pax Christi gives us a clear focus for this work. And yet, the continuing conflict in Iraq and Israel/Palestine, shows all too clearly that there is still much to do. Our meeting on 19 September at Our Lady’s Acomb, York will invite us to become more informed about the latter. Please try to come.

The Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty is due for a review in 2005. This country and the US have yet to fulfill their obligations under the Treaty.

And finally, Barbara and Anthea report on our very successful May Conference.

Please note EQUIPOWER’s telephone number is now 0845 456 0170 and that we have a new website address.

I very much regret that some batches of the last issue of the Newsletter were under-stamped and charges were incurred. Please accept my apologies.

Chris Dove

Note: the views expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily coincide with those of the Commission.

Pax Christi International General

Assembly 18-24 May

Representatives from 45 countries gathered in New Jersey (USA) for the Pax Christi International General Assembly – a meeting which takes place every three years. The war on terrorism, the crisis in Israel and Palestine and the need for inclusive security formed the basis for much of the discussion and action planning. Patriarch Michel Sabbah was affirmed by the whole assembly as International President for a further three years.

The Movement has called on the government of Israel to end the military occupation of Palestine

and urged the United States to work within the framework of international law and act as an

honest broker to support Palestinians and Israelis equally in developing trust–building measures.

This work is to be supported by practical campaigning by members of the movement on the security wall in Israel/Palestine and in support of Israeli conscientious objectors.

The final declaration of the gathering commits Pax Christi to work for “a world at peace… a world profoundly opposed to that sought by terrorists and by the ‘war on terrorism’… a world shaped by inclusive human security and the globalisation of solidarity.” It also calls on the “US and the UK to cease all offensive military actions in Iraq and allow the United Nations to assume appropriate responsibility for enabling a just and peaceful transition to Iraqi authority.” A plea was also made to the Churches. “We are people of faith; we believe that another world is possible, and we commit ourselves to helping birth it. We echo the cry of Pope John Paul II that ‘war is always a defeat for humanity’… As Christians we call our churches to the prophetic task in these dangerous times of speaking truth to power and to the challenging pastoral task of helping us reclaim Gospel values, nurture justice and right relationships and participate in the transformation of the world.”

Source: Pax Christi UK

Pax Christi and the European Constitution

Now that the European Elections are over it is a good time to write to our newly-elected MEPs to urge them to include a peacemaking agenda within the European Constitution. Pax Christi’s concern is that European policies in the areas of defence and security be inspired by principles of peace and non-violence, co-operation and mutual trust among peoples, in accordance with the spirit and vision of the founders of both the European Union and the United Nations. War is not an effective instrument in the resolution of violent conflicts and crises – nonviolent means must be developed to solve conflicts and crises.

Pax Christi will urge that the future European Constitution include an article in which the European Union repudiates war as a means for the resolution of international conflicts and strives positively for building peace in the world.

Article III-193 of the proposed European Convention states:

The Union shall define and pursue common policies and actions, and shall work for a high degree of cooperation in all fields of international relations, in order to:

a) safeguard the common values, fundamental interests, security, independence and integrity of the Union;

b) consolidate and support democracy, the rule of law, human rights and international law;

c) preserve peace, prevent conflicts and strengthen international security, in conformity with the principles of the United Nations Charter.

Pax Christi proposes that the EU develops policies and engages in activities of:

1. Conflict Prevention

This will include strengthening the role of diplomacy, working towards international disarmament, imposing stricter controls on arms production and trade, operating in strict compliance with policies and directives of the UN, establishing and supporting an effective Research Agency on peace issues and fostering the growth and culture of peace by the development of peace education programmes within existing education structures.

2. Conflict Resolution

This will include creating an International European Police Force to operate under UN mandate, imposing strict arms embargoes and recognising the positive role of neutral states inside the EU.

3. Reconciliation and reconstruction

This will include fostering inter-religious and inter-ethnic dialogue as well as dialogue among all the parties that are involved in military conflict and providing the means of physical, psychological and social support in order to heal the wounds caused by conflict.

Source: Pax Christi

Ending the Nuclear threat?

Preparations are in hand for the five-yearly review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NNPT). The Treaty became international law in 1970 and was eventually signed by every country except India, Pakistan and Israel. There are two classes: The Nuclear Weapon States, (NWS) USA, Russia, Britain, France and China, and the Non Nuclear Weapon States (NNWS), all the other states without nuclear weapons.

Under the treaty, the NNWS agreed not to develop or receive nuclear weapons. In return the NWS agreed to give them access to the peaceful benefits of nuclear technology and “to pursue negotiations in good faith on general and complete nuclear disarmament”.

There has been much media attention on the NNWS that have made moves towards possessing nuclear weapons: Iraq, Iran, North Korea and Libya, but little is said about the NWS.

Rather than negotiating a general and complete nuclear disarmament, the US is developing two new nuclear weapons, the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrators, and a “usable small bomb”. It has also moved from a defensive deterrent role for nuclear weapons to a “pre-emptive” role, and Geoff Hoon has stated that we have accepted a pre-emptive role for our nuclear weapons too. It is time to remind the government of its obligations under the NNPT.

Living under Occupation

1. A Palestinian mother.

“Almost every day here the Israelis shoot at random, so when you hear it you get inside as quickly as possible. Haneen went to the grocery store to buy some crisps. When the shooting started I came to find her. She was coming down the street and ran to me and hugged me, crying, ‘Mother, Mother’. Two bullets hit her in the head, one straight after the other. She was still in my arms and she died.”

2. An Israeli soldier.

I ran towards them and punched an Arab right in the face. I’d never punched anyone that way. He collapsed on the road. We pulled his hands behind his back and I bound them with plastic handcuffs. Then we blindfolded him so that he wouldn’t see what was in the jeep. I picked him up from the road. Blood was trickling from his lip onto his chin. I led him to the jeep and threw him in. We sat in the back, stepping on the Arab… Our Arab lay there pretty quietly, just crying softly to himself… we brought him to the base. The commander said “Good work”. The Arab didn’t stop crying. One of the soldiers kicked him in the stomach. It was funny. I kicked him really hard and he flew forward. They shouted that I was totally crazy and they laughed … and I felt happy. Our Arab was just a 16 year-old mentally retarded boy… During my army service, I believed that I was atypical, because I came from a background of art and creativity. I was considered a moderate soldier…. People gradually tested the limits of their behaviour towards the Palestinians. It gradually becomes coarser and coarser.

From Checkpoint Syndrome by Staff Sergeant ( res.) Liran Ron Furer. 2003

3. Coalition of Women for Peace in Israel call for action dateline May 22.

“There is an emergency situation right now in the Gaza Strip and the town of Rafah, in particular, with scenes that bring to mind Israel’s invasion of Jenin and Nablus in the spring of 2002. So far today, 18 Palestinians were killed, but the action continues. Last weekend, 116 homes were destroyed, making over a thousand people homeless. Hundreds more are in line for destruction. Reports from inside Rafah, describe the scenes of people grabbing their children and whatever comes to hand and fleeing their homes, anticipating the entry of the bulldozer-tanks.

Even Yossi Sarid from the Yahad Party (formerly called Meretz), normally a staunch defender of the army, described actions in Rafah as “war crimes”. Many people, Israelis, internationals and Palestinians, are desperately trying to halt the bloodshed. The Israeli women’s peace movement just placed an ad in Ha’aretz calling for an immediate halt to the violence and renewal of negotiations for a peace agreement that will extract us from all the occupied territories (“True and enduring solutions,” they wrote, “are attained by negotiation, not destruction, revenge or humiliation”). This morning, forty women drove to Gaza to see if they could intervene physically, but they are being prevented from entering Gaza by the army. The women have set up an encampment at the Sufa checkpoint and say they will not leave until the army stops its actions there. Other peace and human rights organizations have placed newspaper ads, and many are organizing a larger delegation to join the women on Friday.”

4. From a letter to Ariel Sharon from 15 members of the Israeli army’s top commando unit, December 2003)

“We will no longer give our lives to the rule of oppression in the territories and to the denial of human rights to millions of Palestinians and we will no longer serve as a defensive shield for the settlements. We will no longer corrupt the stamp of humanity in us through carrying out the missions of an occupation army… in the past, we fought for a justified cause (but today) we have reached the boundary of oppressing another people. We will no longer cross this boundary.”

Source: Pax Christi

Commission contacts

Barbara Hungin Chair 01642 784398

Sr Mary Walmsley CJ Secretary 01904 464917

Nan Saeki Treasurer 01904 783621

Chris Dove Editor 01947 825043

email: dove.whitby@ukgateway.net

Letters to Editor: 22 Blackburns Yard Whitby YO22 4DS

website:www.ayton.info/middlesbroughjp

‘You like our food – Why can’t you like us?’

This very simple yet powerful question was posed by Tani, a young Asian girl seeking asylum with her family at a day conference at Teesside University. We listened, shared experiences and discussed how we can become more integrated as multi racial communities.

The day was organised jointly by Teesside Church Action on Poverty and the Diocesan Justice and Peace Commission, to hear from those seeking asylum here on Teesside, and from people in communities where they have been housed.

Dr. Paul Williams, a GP with the Arrival Practice for newly arrived refugees in Stockton, shared insights from those he has met and helped over the past 3 years – people who often have not known where they are coming to when they flee, who suffer both mentally and physically and who are confused by much of the government legislation which seems to increase their problems rather than solve them.

Four speakers from the Asylum and Refugee Communities here on Teesside led us through their experiences.

Bini from Eritrea – a geologist – spoke of being tortured and imprisoned underground where the temperature never fell below 33 degrees. Having also suffered racial abuse on Teesside he spoke of the support of church groups and of the Refugee Service where he now works.

Tani, a young Asian girl from Kenya described being dispersed to Middlesbrough. Her family have been targeted by those who have thrown bricks through their windows and eggs at them on the way to school.

Her question for those who abuse the family was – ‘Why do you hate me just because I have asked for refuge here?’ As she pointed out so powerfully – ‘It is not all about money, it is about friendship and understanding. We like to work, not to rely on benefits.’

Juste, from Togo, had become a political target, and was imprisoned and beaten. Relatives helped him to escape but he was abandoned on Birmingham station with no papers or identity documents. Frightened and confused and unable to speak English he ran from station officials and was finally put in touch with the Refugee Council. His appeal for asylum has been hampered by lack of documents. He witnessed to the generosity of Church friends he had made on Teesside and encouraged everyone to ‘make one new friend today – with someone who is seeking asylum’.

Herbert – a teacher from Zimbabwe – spoke of the richness of skill and experience that is present in the refugee community and of the importance of including refugees in planning and implementation of projects.

Win Logan from a multi-ethnic part of Middlesbrough, spoke of the richness of the many cultures she lives alongside. Her experience is of people who wish to be part of the community – to be good neighbours and to share of themselves. She spoke of the importance of friendship and hospitality and of the simple things that can make such a difference. The offer of information, help with filling in forms, and with English conversation.

A reflective input to the day was offered by Geoff Miller – Canon of Newcastle Cathedral who centred the experience of hospitality and friendship within a Christian perspective quoting from St. John and from Hebrews.

He stressed that hospitality is a mutually beneficial process. ‘Gifts of the Stranger enrich us. They are God’s messenger to us. It is an opportunity to entertain angels.’

He expressed the gratitude we all felt to those who had come to live amongst us.

(A full in-depth report of the day will be available to anyone who would like to read it. Please contact me 01642 784398 for copies)

Barbara Hungin

J&P Dancing!

In May we had a commission meeting with a difference, shared with Teesside Churches against Poverty and taking place at Teesside University. There were about 150 people present, among them Anglicans, Methodists, Quakers, Catholics, Muslims, agnostics, the very old, the very young, men and women from many countries including Togo, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Turkey, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Britain.

We listened to peoples’ stories and were moved to anger and to tears. I think most of us from the host country were earnestly longing to find a way to communicate to the deprived and beleagured refugees and people seeking asylum that our concern for them went deeper than our words.

Then, during the lunch break, a small gospel choir began to sing and dance for us. Suddenly, everyone, old and young, black and white, every single person of that assorted gathering was dancing, smiling and dancing.

It was the greatest expression of solidarity I could have imagined. Anthea Dove

PRAYER

Living Christ,

deep within my heart the fire of justice burns:

so I ask this day for inner courage

to walk in solidarity

with all who are betrayed,

exploited, driven from home,

violated, imprisoned, detained without trial, held hostage, robbed, enslaved, silenced, abused.

From an Iona Prayer Book.