Notes from Day Seven: War, peace and a third alternative
James Loney sees war as an institution:
obscene and perverse. It sweeps up people as
perpetrators and as victims. Loney is a peace
activist who was captured and held in Iraq in
2005. He and three others were abducted in
Baghdad during the time they were meeting
with Muslim leaders in the city. His captors
identified themselves as the Swords of
Righteousness Brigade. One of the four
hostages, Tom Fox, was eventually taken
away, and his bullet-riddled body was found
later dumped in the street. Loney shares his
story of being a hostage in his book,
Captivity: 118 Days in Iraq and the Struggle
for a World Without War.
War is an awful thing. Some say it brings out the best qualities in people, especially courage. But it also brings out the worst. The Canadians who survived Vimy Ridge during World War I, for example, did so using poison gas, bayonets, shelling, bullets, underground explosions, tanks and other technologies designed to maim the enemy to death. All sides of war commit acts of savagery. Our awareness of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is recognition that those who commit them often reenter society broken.
From Loney's book we see the horror experienced by the citizens of Iraq during the U.S.-led invasion. "'There will not be a safe place in Baghdad,' a Pentagon official said … The bombs and missiles fell day and night, 50,000 strikes in 30 days … Chaos followed shock and awe. After securing the Ministry of Oil and the Ministry of Interior, the U.S. stood by and watched as libraries, hospitals, schools and every government building was looted and burned."
Of course, there's an alternative to war: Pacifism. In principle, Pacifism opens the way for the end of all war. It may not have many takers, but it has a lot of lookers. And, it would work, obviously, if there were enough takers.
But many have difficulty with Pacifism because it looks like simple passivity. It doesn't seem right that some just stand aside while others defend them from aggressors. As long as people or countries insist on getting their way through violence, Pacifism doesn't seem to be an adequate response.
Loney, a Catholic, a Canadian and a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams, offers a third alternative. The mission statement of CPT reads in part, "Christian Peacemaker Teams offers an organized, nonviolent alternative to war and other forms of lethal intergroup conflict. CPT provides organizational support to persons committed to faith-based nonviolent alternatives in situations where lethal conflict is an immediate reality or is supported by public policy. CPT seeks to enlist the response of the whole church in conscientious objection to war, and in the development of non-violent institutions, skills and training for intervention in conflict situations."
The organization provides the means for Christians to place themselves in situations of potential and real conflict in order to advocate for peace and for potential victims. Today, Peacemaker teams are active in Palestine, Colombia, Iraq and other locations. On some occasions its members have been abused or killed.
This is a far cry from passive resistance to war. It is an active, but nevertheless non-violent, response to the "institution" of war, one that does not leave volunteers free from risk, but places them in the thick of it.
Canadians, it seems, are open to the values expressed by CPT. We prefer working with human rights and development intitiatives to going to war. We would rather set up schools than missile sites in Afghanistan.
Remembrance Day is here again. The day can be used by some to unquestioningly glorify war and those who perish in it, but it's also an opportunity to consider an alternative. As Jean Vanier says about Loney's book, "(It) is a story of hope. In a world of violence there are still many men and women who believe in working for peace ... (They) risk following Jesus to the very end. May many be inspired by this story to be peacemakers not just in Iraq but where we are in our everyday lives."
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
War is an awful thing. Some say it brings out the best qualities in people, especially courage. But it also brings out the worst. The Canadians who survived Vimy Ridge during World War I, for example, did so using poison gas, bayonets, shelling, bullets, underground explosions, tanks and other technologies designed to maim the enemy to death. All sides of war commit acts of savagery. Our awareness of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is recognition that those who commit them often reenter society broken.
From Loney's book we see the horror experienced by the citizens of Iraq during the U.S.-led invasion. "'There will not be a safe place in Baghdad,' a Pentagon official said … The bombs and missiles fell day and night, 50,000 strikes in 30 days … Chaos followed shock and awe. After securing the Ministry of Oil and the Ministry of Interior, the U.S. stood by and watched as libraries, hospitals, schools and every government building was looted and burned."
Of course, there's an alternative to war: Pacifism. In principle, Pacifism opens the way for the end of all war. It may not have many takers, but it has a lot of lookers. And, it would work, obviously, if there were enough takers.
But many have difficulty with Pacifism because it looks like simple passivity. It doesn't seem right that some just stand aside while others defend them from aggressors. As long as people or countries insist on getting their way through violence, Pacifism doesn't seem to be an adequate response.
Loney, a Catholic, a Canadian and a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams, offers a third alternative. The mission statement of CPT reads in part, "Christian Peacemaker Teams offers an organized, nonviolent alternative to war and other forms of lethal intergroup conflict. CPT provides organizational support to persons committed to faith-based nonviolent alternatives in situations where lethal conflict is an immediate reality or is supported by public policy. CPT seeks to enlist the response of the whole church in conscientious objection to war, and in the development of non-violent institutions, skills and training for intervention in conflict situations."
The organization provides the means for Christians to place themselves in situations of potential and real conflict in order to advocate for peace and for potential victims. Today, Peacemaker teams are active in Palestine, Colombia, Iraq and other locations. On some occasions its members have been abused or killed.
This is a far cry from passive resistance to war. It is an active, but nevertheless non-violent, response to the "institution" of war, one that does not leave volunteers free from risk, but places them in the thick of it.
Canadians, it seems, are open to the values expressed by CPT. We prefer working with human rights and development intitiatives to going to war. We would rather set up schools than missile sites in Afghanistan.
Remembrance Day is here again. The day can be used by some to unquestioningly glorify war and those who perish in it, but it's also an opportunity to consider an alternative. As Jean Vanier says about Loney's book, "(It) is a story of hope. In a world of violence there are still many men and women who believe in working for peace ... (They) risk following Jesus to the very end. May many be inspired by this story to be peacemakers not just in Iraq but where we are in our everyday lives."
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
