SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2005

September 1st, 2005

The 60th anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki occurred on 6th August. 160,000 civilians had been vaporised at 8.15am, with another 77,062 dying later,

EDITORIAL The 60th anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki occurred on 6th August. 160,000 civilians had been vaporised at 8.15am, with another 77,062 dying later, characterised by Pope Paul VI as a “butchery of untold magnitude”. There were a number of radio and TV programmes on the subject of the anniversary including an excellent Thought for The Day on the previous day by Bishop Tom Butler. See below for an edited version. In May of this year the Vatican signalled a sea change in Catholic moral teaching on nuclear weapons. At the UN Review Conference the Vatican ambassador stated: The Holy See has never countenanced nuclear deterrence as a permanent measure, nor does it today when it is evident that nuclear deterrence drives the development of ever newer nuclear arms, thus preventing genuine nuclear disarmament. Surely the time has come for the Catholic Church here to take up the Vatican’s call for a re-examination of the whole strategy of nuclear deterrence, at a time when a decision must be taken on replacing our aging Trident nuclear submarine fleet? We are often accused of being selective in choosing which bits of Vatican teaching we accept. Why is this particular teaching not as important? The September meeting will focus on the work of the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture. This is particularly timely when the UK is considering permitting the removal of suspected terrorists to places where torture is part of the apparatus of “Intelligence”. Please note the invitation to take part in the Special Diocesan Study Day at Ampleforth on 22nd October. It promises to be an important event. Everyone will be welcome. Chris Dove Note: the views expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily coincide with those of the Commission.

Thought for The Day 5th August “Now there are 9 nuclear nations and 27,000 nuclear bombs. Back in 1970 when the United Nations sponsored the Nuclear Non-proliferation treaty, it did a three- pronged deal which in effect put a taboo on nuclear weapons. The nations without nuclear weapons wouldn’t seek to develop them, provided that the nations with nuclear weapons agreed to progressively disarm, meanwhile knowledge for the peaceful use of nuclear energy would be shared. It was also agreed that signatories would meet at the UN every five years to review progress. The latest review took place in May this year and I was one of the representatives of the World Council of Churches meeting with national delegations. It was a nightmare. It became pretty obvious that it was not in the interest of powerful players for the conference ever to start, for in the five years since the previous review there had been ominous developments. India and Pakistan had joined Israel in developing nuclear weapons and North Korea and Iran were well on the way. Meanwhile the Americans were talking about a new generation of smart nuclear weapons and Britain would soon need to decide whether or not to replace its Trident deterrent, showing signs of age. None of these countries was anxious to debate all of this on the stage of the UN and so points of order and semantic disputes prevented any serious work being done and the conference broke up in acrimony. But a taboo had been breached. It’s not now unthinkable that more and more nations will possess nuclear weapons. It’s not now unthinkable that they will be used in smart modern warfare. We rightly fear the terror of the suicide bomber but the terror of nuclear war could mean suicide for the world.” Rt Rev Tom Butler Bishop of Southwark. [Radio 4 Today programme] R.I.P. Joseph Rotblat, the only scientist to resign from the Manhattan Project [where the first atom bomb was developed] and who later received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to rid the world of atomic weapons, died in London aged 96 on 31st August.

FAITH AND CITIZENSHIP IN EUROPE A special Diocesan Study Day is to be held at Ampleforth Abbey and College on Saturday 22nd October 2005 from 10.00am until 5.00pm. We are invited by the Abbot and Bishop John to come along to hear presentations made by leading MEPs and MPs from the three main parties. This is an important opportunity for us to take our responsibilities as citizens with faith-based concerns to become involved in the process of dialogue. Our role and influence as members of Faith Communities in the great debate about Europe is important. You will have an opportunity to put your views to the politicians There will be Workshops on Justice and Peace and Working with Elected Representatives, Information Stands and Lunch and Refreshments.

For more information please contact Barbara Hungin (01642 784398) or John Hinman (01642 700075)

Medical Foundation – 20 years rebuilding lives Torture is a violent assault on the core of a person’s identity, it razes their self-esteem to the ground and robs them of the very foundation of their lives. Loving relationships, social confidence and professional security can become impossible when torture has done its appalling work.

The Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture exists to enable survivors of torture and organised violence to engage in a healing process to assert their own human dignity and worth.

Torture is an ugly and unpleasant subject, one that most of us would rather not think about. The truth is that the suffering caused by torture can last a lifetime. The physical damage and pain inflicted may never completely heal and the horrific memories cause lasting mental trauma. Typically, survivors continue to experience symptoms such as vivid flashbacks, violent panic attacks and depression for many years. That is why, even today, British soldiers who lived through the Japanese prison camps of the Second World War still need help to cope with their experiences of torture.

The Medical Foundation’s doctors and therapists have one aim: to help people who have undergone such horrors to recover from their experiences. Most shocking of all, some even involve young children. Many victims of torture become so distressed by their suffering that they contemplate suicide. Yet the Medical Foundation sees examples of extraordinary courage and fortitude, proof that torture and its effects can be overcome. In some cases, those who first came for treatment now themselves work assisting others who are struggling with similar experiences.

Three Medical Foundation clients Luis Munoz Luis and his partner Diana were actively involved in Chilean politics. After Pinochet’s coup in 1973, they suddenly found themselves on the wrong side. Within a year Diana was arrested, cruelly tortured and left to die. They then hunted down Luis, too, subjecting him to a brutal and sadistic ordeal. Luis escaped to London. One of the first clients of the Medical Foundation, he helped shape our development. In 2002 he returned to Chile to confront his torturers. Eric Lomax – ‘The railway man’ A soldier in World War 2, Eric was taken prisoner after the fall of Singapore and held in a POW camp. He made a map of the nearby railroad which was found by guards and they assumed he was a spy. The torture that followed was shocking and brutal. All his life since then he suffered nightmares, paranoia and fear of strangers. After retirement in 1987 he came into contact with the Medical Foundation. He described his first experience of sharing his memories as ‘walking through a door into a world of caring and special understanding.’ Chantal Mulifi In 1990, Chantal realised that as a Tutsi in Rwanda, she was no longer an equal in her community. Chantal experienced the unimaginable horror of seeing her father and little sister executed by Hutu soldiers. Then her three other siblings were shot. Soldiers started shooting and in the chaos, Chantal fell into a pit of corpses. After the Hutus left she managed to climb out and escape. Eventually she was brought to the UK where she has received intensive treatment at the Medical Foundation. The War on Terror The Medical Foundation warns that many of those seeking asylum in the UK are victims of torture. As such they deserve sympathy, not demonisation, and require protection. The War on Terror has allowed the use of torture in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The US passes their prisoners to other countries where torture is routine, US planes use Britain as a staging post in this process. Many of the techniques used in places like Guantanamo Bay amount to torture pure and simple, whatever euphemisms might be used to describe them. The Medical Foundation is calling for independent observers to have access to all prisoners held by British forces abroad.

20 years rebuilding lives The Medical Foundation has achieved much in the 20 years it has been in existence. It has brought together an awareness of human rights issues and the provision of invaluable humanitarian assistance to some of the most vulnerable people in the UK. The Foundation has received requests for help from more than 40,000 torture survivors in the UK.

Reaching out beyond London Before April 2000, 85% of asylum seekers lived in and around London. This all changed when the Home Office began to disperse them outside the South-East on a no-choice basis. Thousands of asylum seekers were being sent to areas where low cost housing was available – areas that were already experiencing high levels of poverty, social deprivation and unemployment and whose already stretched services became overwhelmed by the huge demand. The Medical Foundation Regional Development Team played a key role in identifying and developing services for survivors of torture who had been dispersed. In 2003 the Medical Foundation North West Office was opened in Manchester. The Glasgow centre followed in 2004 and the Newcastle centre in 2005.

Taping interviews Following the government’s decision in April 2004 to withdraw public funding for representatives and interpreters to attend asylum and human rights interviews, interviewees [the vast majority of whom do not speak English] were attending alone. Following a challenge in court, a landmark ruling in the Court of Appeal ruled that: A tape recording provides the only sensible method of redressing the imbalance which results from the respondent being able to rely on a document created for him without an adequate opportunity for the applicant to refute it…The Court issued a Declaration: ...it is unlawful for the Home Secretary to decline to permit an applicant for … asylum … who is not accompanied at his interview by a legal representative and/or interpreter to tape record that interview. However, applicants must make it known, in advance, that they wish to have their interview taped. How many will understand that they have this right?.

Rapid Response The Medical Foundation established an Early Intervention Team (EIT) working to identify and stabilise newly arrived clinical cases in need of immediate medical and psychological treatment. In its first two years EIT treated 1065 clients from over 90 countries, and provided ongoing support to 160 individuals. Erol Yesilurt, who manages the team, explains: “On arrival an asylum seeker is confused and overwhelmed by so many people – immigration officers and solicitors – asking so many questions. Just imagine the situation of a woman who was subjected to organised rape and came here seeking safety. The officer may be suspicious about her account and ask her questions implying she is lying. This can trigger all kinds of emotions, feelings of shame and humiliation. These feelings can have a paralysing effect: she can become even less capable of handling the situation, dealing with her memories. She can become dysfunctional and unable to help herself.” “She gradually becomes able to cope with her traumatic memories, able to function, express herself, to talk about her experiences, to represent herself. So she becomes much more able to handle her own anxiety, trauma and memories and therefore to function better.” “If we reach these individuals as early as possible and offer them a service, we can prevent some tragic consequences. Source: The Supporter May 2005

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 or 22 Blackburns Yard Whitby YO22 4DS website:www.ayton.info/middlesbroughjp Commission Meetings in 2005

17 Sept Middlesbrough. St Francis of Assisi Medical Foundation for Victims of Torture. 19 Nov York. Students from All Saints School Commission meetings are open to everyone and usually begin at 10 for 10.30, finishing by about 1pm.

Bush seeks military control of space It would be interesting to know how far the UK government is tied to the expected new US national space policy through its use of the facilities of RAF Fylingdales. This could allow deployment of lasers, attack vehicles that descend on targets from on high; killer satellites which would disrupt or destroy other nations’ satellites; and tungsten rods that would attain a speed of over 7,000 mph and be able to penetrate underground targets. The Air Force Space Command’s “Strategic Master Plan, FY06 and Beyond” said, “Our vision calls for prompt global strike space systems with the capability to apply force from or through space against terrestrial targets. International treaties and laws do not prohibit the use or presence of conventional weapons in space.” But there was once such a treaty. Once in office, George W. Bush withdrew the United States from that treaty and moved forward with expanded research and development on offensive weapons. The Pentagon maintains that the United States must “deny” other nations the use of space in order to maintain “full spectrum dominance.” In order to sell this space warfare program to the American people, the Pentagon has labeled it “missile defense.” But in reality the program is all about offense. It was first spelled out in the 1997 Space command plan, “Vision for 2020,” that called for U.S. “control and domination” of space. Canada, Russia, and China have repeatedly gone to the United Nations asking the United States to join them in negotiating a new global ban on weapons in space. So far the United States, during both the Clinton and Bush administrations, has refused to even discuss the idea of a new space treaty. Gen. Lance Lord, head of the Air Force Space Command, recently told Congress, “Space superiority is not our birthright, but it is our destiny.” The idea that the United States is destined to rule the earth and space militarily needs to be debated by the citizens of our nation.” This is an edited version of an article by Bruce Gagnon, the coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space, a Maine-based non-profit organization.

“The Bush administration is expected to soon announce a new national space policy that will give the Pentagon the green light to move toward deployment of offensive weapons in space.

The Art of horror and survival in 17 syllables

Yasuhiko Shigemoto recalls the day he first saw the incinerated city of Hiroshima as a 15-year-old boy. He walked across a bridge, and even 5 days after the bomb, it was covered with charred bodies. The river underneath was full of people too, floating like dead fish. “There are no words to describe what I felt.” When Shigemoto began to write, aged 55, about the Hiroshima blast he chose the shortest of literary styles: the 17 syllable haiku. “People tell me that there is no message in my poems,” he says. “I think that’s good. I just describe what I see, and somehow others get something from it.”

Four Haikus of Hiroshima

The sunset glow – Hiroshima as if still burning.

Still being alive seems to be a sin for me Hiroshima Day.

Gathering bones on Hiroshima’s burnt earth under the blazing sun.

The children hunting a cicada – not seeing the Atom Bomb Dome.

Yasuhiko Shigemoto

NB. Today there are 11,000 active, deliverable nuclear weapons in the world. 40 states have the technical ability to make nuclear weapons.

Source: The Independent 5 August