-- Martin Edwards Mail: 1083 Vine Street, #195 Healdsburg, California, USA 95448-4830 Phone: 707-431-2713 Email: EagleEyeLite@Netscape.Net To: "Martin Edwards" Subject: Letter From Martin in Baghdad, 3/29/2003 Friends Everywhere, We lost phone service last night when our forces hit the central telecommunication building downtown. Our email went out with the phones. No idea at this point if we'll ever get either back during the balance of our presence here. No sense trying to send me anything more to any of the email addresses I've given you here, until you hear from me again on this matter. You may be able to send them. But I'm not currently able to receive them. Meanwhile, my Friend Sharon, who has access to my email (EagleEyeLite@Netscape.Net) will continue to receive any emails for me at that address, and will try to get them to me when she can. There is still some traffic, dangerous as it is to travel the routes, between Baghdad and Syria, and Baghdad and Amman, Jordan. I know this to be a fact from various sources. The most obvious indicator for me, is the Chiquita brand bananas which are still available in the market place. They are not over-ripe, so they must have come into a port only a few days ago. With this in mind, we may be able to set up a courier service to get messages in and out of Iraq soon. There are a couple of FSC (Friends Service Committee) folks in Amman right now who have offered to help in what ways they can. By the way, please forgive any spelling errors. I'm using a French/Canadian's laptop to type this up. Since its spell checker is expecting French, almost every word is flagged as a spelling error. One might call it a comedy of errors. Since I didn't bring a laptop with me, and we only have a few for our entire team, if I am busy with other activities during the day, I must often wait till one is available late in the evening (sometimes after midnight). When one the `speaks` English isn't available, I must settle for another language. With this French one, tonight, things aren't so bad, as I understand some French. But on several occasions I have borrowed a Korean team member's computer. Can you picture trying to follow basic menus and the menus in MS-Word, for example, when all items are labeled in Korean characters only. I can't think of a better example of the true hardships we're experiencing here in Baghdad, than this! I'm sending this out on a disk, with members of our team who are being, in effect, deported by the government here. Ostensibly, its due to minor infractions of their regulations we operate under, including when and where and with whose permission we may take pictures, where we're supposed to be at night, etc. But it's hard to know for sure. It may simply be a measure to make our numbers here more manageable. About six Christian Peacemaker Team members joined us several days ago, and this had swelled our numbers to over 30. They had already let us know they would like our numbers reduced to 20 maximum. Now, with seven team members leaving today (it's 1:30 am as I begin writing this), our total number will still be above 20, but closer to it. Certainly, it's not hard to imagine how paranoid those responsible for this country's security must be, right now, and for good reason. Any one of us could be here, under the cover story of being an IPT volunteer, when in fact we could be CIA agents, etc. This about the survival of their nation, with its integrity and pride intact, and about their survival as individuals. We heard yesterday morning that approximately one hundred fifty foreigners, mostly Jordanians and Syrians, were arrested the day before, as suspected spies. It is with sadness that we say goodbye today, and with much concern about them getting out of Iraq safely, to those team members leaving us at this time. But we also know, that they can return home to speak out, with the authority of fresh experience here, to help stop this war. I was informed this morning that the Christian Science Monitor had published an interview (by telephone several days ago) with me. I understand it can be found on our website: Www.IraqPeaceTeam.Org. D&K (David S. and Sharon K), could you please see if there`s a way to publish a copy as a file on LAMPTIP (either the entire text, or a link to our website). I`me very happy with the job done by the reporter, Josh Burek. Please send him an email thanking him for me. I hope that the publishing of my assessment of the situation here, in terms of how easy or difficult it will be for our forces to have their way, by either invading Baghdad, and/or laying siege to it, will contribute in some way to preventing such actions, thus saving much suffering and bloodshed on both sides. This is the first time in my life I've ever been quoted by such a respected publication. I hope it does some good. Paul B., can you please see if the Healdsburg Trib., Press Democrat, and/or S.F. Chronicle, or other pubs. Would be interested in reprinting (with permission) all or part of this article, or if you can get it put to good use in any other way. I do hope that my friend, David Hartsough, gets to read this article and notes that in this interview, as at every opportunity I get, I'm spreading the name and concept of the Global Non-Violent Peace Force (Www.NonViolentPeaceForce.Org) far and wide during my work here. I wonder if David is aware that Sang Jin Han, South Korea`s first full-time peace activist, who has told that David recruited him as the first member of the South Korean branch of the GNVPF, is part of our team here. We are becoming friends, and I look forward to working with him in the future on GNVPF matters. There is not, in fact, anyone on our team here, that I would not be honored to work with in the future, in any capacity, as part of future efforts to create and maintain world peace, equality, and justice, for humanity, as well as all of creation, by non-violent means. Friends who are ¨listening¨ might try emailing copies of the CSM article to all government leaders (Congress, Senate, Military, and President Bush, in order to encourage them to reassess what goals in Iraq are reasonable, and which are not, so to speak. Of course, I don't believe any goals we might have for Iraq can justify the current invasion, or the embargo, but I trust you know what I mean. We hear from BBC, that it may be at least a month before our forces expect to be taking further action toward entering, or even surrounding, Baghdad. So, at this point, I could easily be here for months more. In the meantime, while the bomb and missile attacks continue, sporadically, day and night, we are safe and in good spirits. Our movements are becoming much more limited, as those in the Iraqi government who are concerned about our safety, and about any misunderstandings that might develop, if any of us are wandering about on our own without permission and a government approved minder/interpreter, continue to cut down on our freedom of movement. We also have to pay, and quite a bit, for the services of such persons. So, with our limited funds, this is also a problem. Whether at home, or abroad, I make an effort to spend time learning about other churches, other faiths, and their beliefs and practices. When doing so, I am more interested in finding what we all have in common, rather than how we differ. Since I'm in a predominately Moslem country just now, I've been trying to take this opportunity to learn more about Islam, as it is practiced here. Yesterday, Friday, I arranged for two of the women on our team, Dr. April Hurley, and an Italian woman, Mariella, a peace activist who joined our team this week, and I, to visit a mosque, for the weekly ¨sermon¨ by the Imam. Some mosques have a women's section in addition to the men's section. Oddly, enough, the money for this mosque was donated, decades ago, by a woman, but it does not have an area for women to pray in. It does have a very large kind of visiting and waiting room with comfortable chairs ad coffee tables. We visited there with the Imam, for a while before the service, with the daughter of an attender being brought in from the neighborhood to interpret. She speaks English pretty well. In fact, she had applied to study at a Canadian university earlier this year. Now, she wonders what will happen to her aspirations to study abroad. For the service, the women stayed with her, listening to the sermon through some curtained openings between the two areas of the mosque, and I joined the men in the main part of the mosque. This was my third visit to a mosque I've arranged since we arrived here. In all cases, I and others with me have been most graciously received and had interesting talks with the Imam and others who work and attend services there. As you may know, there are five prayer times every day, with the first being at the very glimmer of a coming down, which is currently around 4:30 am. The last is around 8 PM. Many of us have become accustomed to the calls for prayer broadcast throughout the surrounding neighborhood by loudspeakers place high on the minaret of each mosque. We don't understand the words, but the have a nice cadence and are comforting to us. During bombing attacks, most of the mosques in the vicinity typically broadcast, over and over again, words to the effect of: ¨God is great, God is great, God is great". The faith of these people is strong, it is deep, and i have the utmost respect for this fact. As Iraqis often say to me: We all came from Abraham, we all worship the one and only God, why can't there be peace between our countries? I couldn't agree more. Before gong to he mosque, I washed, as I had been instructed, my hands, face, arms, and feet, and then was supervised in washing a 2nd time, by a well meaning fellow, who was concerned I might not have gone about washing correctly (its not only a matter of which parts of the body that must be washed, but also, how many times, in just what manner, and in what sequence. As is also the case, I can imagine, with churches back home, during these difficult times, the mosque was full to overflowing. After the service, the three of us visited again with the Imam and other members of his flock, for a while. Later today, which is Saturday, I hope to visit, again, a 7th Day Adventist Church here, which I already visited once. The several of us who visited there were warmly received. Two weeks ago, when we visited there, it was apparently a coordinated day, internationally, where the services were being conducted by women in the congregation. I was touched by a story they told the children. I asked for the English version that was distributed to them, as well as the Arabic translation. I plan on bringing that, in person, to the Healdsburg church, when I return. Please (S.K.) share this fact with the 7th Day Adventist Church in Healdsburg, where I have friends and have visited from time to time. My new friends at the church here send greetings to the congregation there. Maybe (S.K.) you could call and get their Email in Healdsburg and send them a copy of this email and help them subscribe to LAMPTIP. Sunday, I hope to visit again a Presbyterian Church here, which is within walking distance from our hotel, where I have already visited several times. Their pastor, a large man and powerful preacher, has welcomed those of us who have visited there. On my first visit, I asked if someone could interpret for us. We were soon joined by a young Iraqi woman, Luma Farnon who works here for the International Red Cross. (the Iraqi Red Cross is a branch of the Red Crescent, and is a separate organization). Luma stayed with us for the duration of that service. And helped us the next time as well. She was fantastic. I felt like a diplomat or visitor at the United Nations where one may have the opportunity to put on a set of headphones and dial in a constant stream of live interpretation in any one of a number of languages. But what further blew my mind was her uncanny ability, during songs, many of which are not Arabic translations of English language songs, to both interpret and sing the interpretation, on the fly, in such a manner as to make the song sound like it had been written in English to start with. And, as icing on the cake, she has a wonderful singing voice, as well. I hope that she and her family are still safe and that we will be able to benefit from her translation help again. Incidently, Christian church services here can easily run from one and a half to two and a half hours long. Back home, such an occurrence would, I can imagine, at many churches, including my own Quaker faith, result in a great outcry from the congregation and pressure on church leadership to limit services to an hour and to end it on time. Here, most things happen ¨in God's time. At a prayer service at the Presbyterian Church, where prayers were being offered by many attenders, with the beginning of bombing anticipated within days, i was moved to offer a prayer, myself. When i stood, Luma stood with me. As i prayed, she interpreted. And to my surprise, and with a great spiritual and emotional effect on me, at the end of each bit of interpretation, most of the assembled attenders responded, loudly, each in their own way, in a manner that made the weight and meaning of my prayer feel so affirmed, and made me feel such a sense of oneness with the assembled congregation and with God, that I believe i will remember the experience till the end of my days. Most people here have never heard of the peace churches, like the Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, and Quakers. I wish i had something short and sweet to help explain us to folks here. Non-violence is also hard for many Iraqi people to comprehend. When i mention Ghandi, they know who he is. But one man then said, but he was assassinated, as if to confirm that not being willing to take a life to save your own our that of those we love who are particularly close to us, like friends and family, doesn't, in the end, pay off. I look forward to the GNVPC beginning to demonstrate, soon, to the world, that non-violence does work, on an international scale. I quoted Ghandi's: "An eye for an eye, and soon all the world will be blind", to a very educated man, referring to its being in the Old Testament. Not realizing what, in a sense he was saying about his own culture, he then said, oh, but that came from us long before the Bible was written. Sorry, by the way, that this is so long, but i had a lot of catching up to do on the current status here, and experiences to date, that with my ability to get anything at all out, about to close, i wanted to share all that i could with you, at this time, while i had the chance. Please feel free, S&D, to break this piece into several sections, and post them to LAMPTIP over a period of a few days, as you like. I received a batch of forwarded emails yesterday morning, covering a period of a week or so. I want to acknowledge them here, in general, and with a few specific acknowledgements. Overall, i feel greatly supported and appreciated in my/our work here by all the incoming email. Its so good to know that even though your efforts at home, and the work of IPT and other peace organizations with a presence here in Iraq, were not sufficient to stop the war from starting, we are continuing to work together to stop this war, before it goes any further, before more lives are lost and others ruined, to end further suffering on the part of both the Iraqi people and, indirectly, the aggressor nation(s), who i believe do notion most cases, realize how their actions against Iraq will negatively effect their own futures. My special appreciation (as if all my spoken and un-spoken appreciation is not both individual and special, I'm just pressed for time and space, here) to Kyle (9) and Keegan (6) for their love and for their being willing to stand out at school by speaking out for peace. With half of the population of Iraq (around 12 million) being age 15 or under, we are all particularly concerned about the trauma they have experienced already in their short lives to date, their present, their health and safety, and their future. I miss being able to participate in the work there. A die-in blocking a street in Santa Rosa, that's fantastic. Thank you for the news Heath. Evening vigils in Healdsburg moving from once a week to nightly, is wonderful to hear about, Ann. I'm doing fine, Pat. I appreciate your care and concern. Thanks, Lisa, and a hug for Hanna. Thank you Rosa and the rest of the Sangha, as well as other Sanghas I've heard from. Some of us gather before breakfast each morning for a kind of worship/sharing time led by each of us, in turn. I focused a recent morning gathering around each of us (it turned out to be seven) reading he fourteen mindfulness trainings, in turn. This was much appreciated by the group, none of whom was familiar with the trainings. All 14 are just so applicable here at this place and time. I hope that for those who are angry about what is happening here, that anger may be transformed into sadness and compassion, for all concerned, aggressors and victims, for i believe that compassion energy is, in the end, far more effective than anger, as we work together to find non-violent solutions to problems between both individuals and groups, worldwide. An Iraqi man pointed out to me, the other day, that while many species fight, physically, over food, territory, other resources, and sex, we are the only species he can think of, that goes so far as to kill its own kind over such matters. With our ability, as humans, to examine our actions, both in advance and in the process, and change our patterns of action if we choose to do so, why, when we are unhappy, need we even go so far as fighting, let alone killing? I have been working to distribute the letters (and Sonoma State peace messages written on valentine heart shaped notes) that i received from so many of you to bring with me to Iraq. Please stay tuned in case an opportunity arises for any letters that didn't get to me before i left to be couriered into me in Iraq, or, as a 2nd, while less personal choice, be typed up and emailed to me, if email becomes available again. D&S or Paul, could you please contact the our local congress folks, Lynn Woolsey and Mike Thompson, and our Calif. Senators Boxer and Feinstein to see if they would like to know about my/our work here, and if they would like to be subscribed to LAMPTIP? How about the Peace and Justice center? Do they have email and would they like to be subscribed to they could post my reports, etc. on their bulletin board? Anyone else with ideas on adding to LAMPTIP subscribers, or other spreading the word, please do it. Everything I'm sending back and being posting as a message or a file on LAMPTIP is open for distribution to anywhere and anyone, as long as IPT/Voices gets credited, and i don't mind my name being mentioned, either, but the organization is the main thing, with its website being mentioned. And anytime you can spread the word about Www.NonViolentPeaceForce.Com, i`d appreciate it as well. All your prayers are helping to keep me energized and useful here, as i believe i am being an effective channel for your love and concern for the Iraqi people, into their lives, through my/our presence here. I continue to work every day to be a voice to the Iraqi people for all Americans and others worldwide, who are working to stop this insanity. And through my communications back home to all of you who are sharing my words with countless others I hope i am truly helping give the Iraqi people, a voice heard round the world, on a people to people basis. I sleep pretty soundly here, even through bombing attacks, and I wake up regularly about 6am, here, with no alarm, even on nights like this when I've had very little sleep. It must be my anticipation of all the 7am (8 pm PST) that has me up and feeling empowered, regardless. Remember, please to encourage others to subscribe to my Yahoo group by sending a blank email to: LAMPTIP-Subscribe@YahooGroups.Com and to send any questions to Sharon at: EagleEyeLite@Netscape.Net. I had been hoping to hear from my family, but I know that my being here is hard for them to deal with. So it may be easier for them to just sort of act as if I'm just away from home for a time. I do miss being at home, I do miss my housemates, friends, and family. But my days are so full here of what feels like the most important work I could be doing at this time, and that I am in the place I need to be in to do it, that time passes swiftly. And I have few regrets for what I am missing at home; as balanced against the work we are doing here, even though it constantly feels like not nearly enough. S&D, please get in touch with my housemates, tell them I do think of them often, and help them (I believe Dawsha and Karin have access to email at work, and Hazel at home) get connected with LAMPTIP. I was notified of my departure date for Baghdad, with such short notice, and sooner than I had expected to come, that I realize I left many loose ends undone. I want apologize to all concerned for any difficulty, anxiety, etc. caused them by this fact. I continue to be most appreciative of all the help from my multi-talented, multi-individual support team back home. I couldn't be here, doing this work, without you. Love, Martin Martin Edwards 1083 Vine Street, No. 195 Healdsburg, CA 95448, USA Email: EagleEyeLite@Netscape.Net Yahoo Group: LAMPTIP; view at Www.YahooGroups.Com Subscribe by sending a blank Email to: LAMPTIP-Subscribe@YahooGroups.Com