Maggie says:
See, all it takes is for me to get out of my house and into Winning's, and news just comes to me. (Not to worry, folks, I'll meet the deadline...)
Just got handed this flyer, of interest to many of you locals, I think:
100,000 Rings
International bell ringing ceremonies to grieve and protest the deaths of Iraqis in the US/UK war and occupation
www.IraqMortality.org
Voices for Creative Nonviolence, Justice Not Vengeance, Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice, and Stop the War Machine call for bell ringing ceremonies October 24th - 28th.
During the era of sanctions on Iraq, the US and British governments sought to obscure the "price" being paid by the Iraqi people for US and British foreign policy. Today, Geoge W. Bush and Tony Blair seek to hide the mounting toll of death in Iraq as a result of the war and occupation. In doing so, they seek to limit our compassion. They seek to stifle our opposition and resistance. They wish to manage our compassion for our fellow citizens fighting in Iraq and the depth of our grief for the families of those who have died. They wish to silence us.
George W. Bush and Tony Blair ask for patience. They claim the "staying the course" and "completing the mission" are the best ways to "honor" the coalition forces who have died or been injured in this war.
We disagree.
We reject the fantasies that President Bush and Prime Minister Blair are constructing, claiming to increase security through military adventurism. We are appalled by their disregard for the welfare of American and British citizens sent to fight in Iraq. We are appalled by the silence surroudning the suffering and death of the Iraqi people, caught on a battlefield without borders in the crossfire of a war they didn't start or invite.
In the last year, three major published reports have estimated deaths caused in Iraq by war and occupation. All three studies (the Lancet study published in October 2004, the UN Development Program report published in May 2005, and the Iraq Body Count study published in July 2005) found that tens of thousands of people had died in Iraq as a result of the US/UK invasion and occupation of Iraq.
All three studies have been perofrmed with care and professionalism. Each study demonstrates the gravity of the crisis into which the Iraqi people have been plunged. Even so, we believe that all three studies under-estimate the death toll in Iraq.
We mourn these lives lost, and wish to do so publicly.
|