MY FRIENDS!
Blue skies, sunny, and the warmth of the sun is radiant upon my face today. It is a beautiful day here among God’s miraculous creations. The magnificent grandeur of tall date palms blow gently in the clear, fresh sky above me. The fragrant smell of citrus envelopes my airways with pure delight. The taste of fresh squeezed orange juice is heavenly. The delectable flavor of utter sweetness inundated my mouth, thank God for dates! It was a glorious day in “paradise” here on earth. It was a day like most others, with one exception. I was about one hour north of Baghdad, Iraq relaxing with farmers and new friends – my Iraqi friends, not enemies!
During the month of February, 2003, 15 people from the United States, Canada, Scotland and Holland, including myself, from Vermont embarked on a journey that would take us back some 6,000 years in the history of civilization. As part of a dedicated team of professionals under the organization, the Christian Peacemaker Teams, we sent out our peace delegation to provide encouragement for individuals and communities experiencing violence, challenge violations of human rights and promote active nonviolence as a means of settling disputes. Christian Peacemaker Teams, a Chicago-based organization sends out short-term delegations to wartorn and impoverished areas to help foster peace and understanding face to face as friends, not enemies!
I am convinced there is no such thing as an enemy in this world created by our loving God! Every morning, we would start our rigorous day with worship. It was a great way to focus on God’s loving energy! One morning I had the distinct privilege and honor to lead our worship service. My converging point was the prophet Jesus of Nazareth’s lesson on loving our enemy. I began, “Today, I would invite all of us to briefly reflect on God’s love for all our brothers and sisters everywhere throughout the world, including our perceived enemies whoever they may be, and to pray for them to transform, and then accept them and love them even more. Dare to love the Bush’s, the Cheney’s, the Rumsfeld’s, the Hussein’s, the Bin Laden’s, the Pinochet’s, and the Hitler’s of the world. If you claim the label, Christian, then you have no other choice, but to stand up today and learn to truly love all people through forgiveness.” Then, my fellow brother, Matthew Bailey-Dick of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada read the holy Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 5, verses 38-48.
It goes as follows, “You have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But, I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow. You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But, I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for He makes His sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So, be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
True love is all the world needs to heal and transform, not sentimental love or hatred as spewed from the mouths of great political leaders of modern day. The mystery of our God in countless nuances amongst all the people today made it a perfect day everyday in Iraq, even though hatred and violence was exposed at every turn in Iraq by the brutal and powerful regimes of the USA, UK. IRAQI governments One potent example of hatred and murder hails out in the Ameriya Bomb Shelter in Baghdad. It was a bomb shelter located in a residential area, built in 1984 during the Iran/Iraq war. Please, brace yourselves for the following remarks (and photos), which are graphically disturbing, but paint the true reality of this dire situation. On the night of February 13th, 1991, two US-made cruise missiles penetrated the 3 meter thick steel reinforced concrete, which instantly incinerated the 408 innocent women and children taking refuge from the US-led bombing raids. The youngest victim was only four hours old! In our name, and with our money, our US government murdered 408 Iraqi civilians. But, of course our government first denied it, then said it was only “collateral damage”. 408 human beings, all that remains were black and charcoaled body parts, a leg or two, an arm, decapitated skulls, and upper torsos. 408 lives snuffed out immediately, all that remains are blackened outlines of human figures on the walls and floors as a final tribute to man’s lust for power and dominance. 408 creatures of God, all that remains is the lasting tribute to the obscenity of war and violence. While standing inside, I can only but imagine, the temperature reached 400 degrees centigrade and blew apart living flesh, as blood spattered everywhere boiling and bubbling as a sick and twisted horror movie. But, this was no movie, no concession filled with popcorn and soda, no music or laughter, only wretched screams, disgust, and a crime against God and humanity.
This experience was a horrifying reality of the insanity and immorality of war. It is reminiscent of genocide and holocaust – unspeakable crimes led by the US government upon many peoples throughout the world, including, but not limited to the American Native Indians, the Vietnamese, the Guatemalans, the Afghanistanis, the Colombians, the Africans, the Palestinians, the Iraqis and scores of others around the globe. There is no debate that significantly increasing mortality and morbidity of an entire population, and causing conditions which are known to seriously interfere with a normal physical and mental development of whole generations are constitutive elements of the crime of genocide, according to the UN. A war against the poor and oppressed has been and continues to be waged by the US.
But, I sit here in the dark and shadows of night weeping like a baby, yet angry and numb at the same time. The cold sweat upon my hands lay upon my head as I kneel down to pray to God. In disgust, I beg that this hour pass me by for I fear the mighty beast in Washington, DC may sleigh me down among my good friends here in Iraq. I am not in a bomb shelter, nor would I ever go to one ever again in my lifetime, after seeing the Ameriya here in Baghdad. I shake my head, for I do not have the answers, yet I know the power of love could prevail. My thoughts now quickly turn to my 13 year old son Zachary, who I love more than my own life. He is back in Vermont listening to the overwhelming messages heralded out across the US, which is full of hatred and propaganda from our immoral government and media. I worry that the hatred may consume his heart as well as the millions of uninformed and misguided American’s hearts that beat on the war drums and chants of hate. I too worry, what if my son Zachary would have been incinerated so coldly and precisely by a cruel government bomb? Then, I wonder about the American worker who so proudly built these cruise missiles that murdered 408 innocents. The missiles were not used to protect lives or spread peace and democracy, only to kill! And, then I wonder yet more, what purpose must I fulfill as a child of God here on earth? Do I have only a responsibility to my immediate family or to the whole human race?
The Iraqi people are a kind, caring, and loving people like you and me. They are children of God, like you and me. They are my friends, my family, my brothers and sisters in God. They are my responsibility, unlike what my grandmother said, they must be protected and it is the mission of all people worldwide to take on the responsibility for one another. We are all one global village! What I see in Iraq is young boys smiling faces, and hugs and kisses on both of my cheeks. What I saw was a 8 year old boy shining my shoes on the street for only $.50 US. What I saw was a Baghdad full of 5 million beautiful, God-created people. What I saw were gorgeous sculptures created from various artists in Iraq. What I saw were streets busy with crowds of old worn out cars moving quickly as they can and beeping horns to let each other know where they are, as well as an occasional donkey-drawn cart. What I saw on the noisy streets were men socializing and eager vendors hoping for a sale. As I would pass by the passionate faces of strangers, they would greet me and put their hand upon their hearts as an expression of love and friendship. I saw many children content in playing football (soccer) in empty lots on quieter neighborhood streets. I see constant beggars, and even in the midst of their very own real poverty, people still hand the beggars money. Besides the glimpses of poverty I get every time I walk out upon the streets, the extremely poor and disease-ridden water, the constant electrical outages, unable to eat raw vegetables, and unable to breathe under the immense smog, I found Baghdad to be my new home full of loving friends.
Yes, Iraq is my new home, my new friends and family. Yes, I was very fortunate to meet many new family and friends. One occasion was in the simple, plain bare home of Sehom and her four precious boys. The boys ages ranged from 5, 11, 15 and 16. School was out for vacation these two weeks during our visit to Baghdad, so I was able to mingle and observe the children outside of a rigid school environment. The eldest boy’s name was Yasser, who spoke very good English. Some of us, including myself played Uno with the boys, while talking to Sehom through Yasser. The boys were very friendly and playful. They sat on our laps and laughed, full of life and love. These boys were not hate-filled towards Americans, unlike many of their counter-parts in the US. As a teacher previously in middle-school and high school, and now elementary school, I have witnessed first-hand much ignorance and hatred towards the Iraqi people. I saw none of this among any of the many children I saw and talked to in Iraq. Once again, a miracle from God – the love and forgiveness power of so many of these people. Yasser’s mother, Sehom displayed much fear in her words about a possible war being forged ahead by the US government. This was a high point in my visit, because I love all of God’s creations. Sehom and her four boys are not the exception to the rule, but the vast majority of Iraqi’s are flowing like a river full of love for you and me. It was an amazing visit, a special moment for my heart to burst open with acceptance and understanding. I told them I must share their love with those of us back home in America, so this love and friendship may spread and grow like western wildfires in the hearts and minds of all Americans. Before we departed and said our good-byes, Sehom, out of gratitude gave us four in the group friendship rings, so we may never forget their smiling faces etched upon our open hearts. Later, I found myself empty, because the grim reality peeked out its ugly head, my country, the good old USA may kill these exquisite new friends of mine and yours. Where is my God, I ask?
Well, I know that God exists in every person, good or bad, brown or white, hateful or loving, confused and misguided like Bush, Hitler or Saddam or, virtuous like Abraham, Moses, Jonah, Jesus, Rumi or Buddha. We may hate the evil thoughts and actions of “perceived” evil people, but we must as Christians, Jews and Muslims love the person, who has fallen away from God’s love!!! I believe firmly that God is in the place where people discover how to move beyond the lunacy of war. God is in finding of a new way forward. God is in the hearts and souls of all people. So, it is from the window of my room that I behold a city (Baghdad) with captivating and alluring visions of architecture, vitality, energy, art, culture and life brimming over with the fullness of God’s spirit. I ask, how could any reasonable person or nation destroy such a wondrous people and place? To destroy any aspect of its charm or flavor, especially the children is to destroy a huge, gaping piece of God in your hearts and souls. From my window, I greatly find solace and joy in the view of the life-giving waters of the Tigris River in all its splendor and might. From the sights and sounds of this truly sacred soil is the life of God among God’s childre. The Iraqi’s are made of the same flesh and blood as you and me, and nourished from the same water of life through the same one God. Murdering, even one of God’s cherished people through sanctions, war and violence is a price too high to pay upon the eternal death of one’s soul.
We must first take a step back and reckon the sins of our past transgressions through the use of economic sanctions. Prior to 1990, Iraq was a relatively prosperous nation. After the Gulf War and nearly 12 years of comprehensive sanctions, the Iraqi people now suffer from desperate poverty, over 50% unemployment, hyperinflation ( one Dinar was worth $3.00 US, now 250 Dinars are only worth 12 cents), 60% depend entirely on food baskets, output of electricity is less than half what it was in 1990, and the US has humiliated a nation and people down to their nakedness exposing the utter nudity for all to see. In speaking to Mr. Francis Dubois, a Frenchmen, who is the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program in Iraq, he spoke bluntly about the humiliation that the people and nation of Iraq have experienced over 12 long years of tyranny under the economic sanctions. In referencing to the UN Security Council, which has been pressured and bullied by the US and UK to continue the immoral sanctions, Mr. Dubois said he was from the good UN, not the other! Dubois said 15 times that the humiliation is the most hurtful affecting the mind and spirit of the Iraqi’s and will come around to bite us. “By humiliating the people here (Iraq) you expect to stop terrorism”, stated an emphatic Dubois. “We must remember that the UN is a mirror of ourselves,” said Mr. Dubois. He went on to say that the Oil-For-Food humanitarian program of $62 billion is only a drop in the bucket with little or no corruption as claimed by the US. This humanitarian program is very unusual, commented Dubois, because it is entirely paid for by Iraq, rather than other nations or people. “But, it is inadequate to help the starving people,” stated Dubois. In closing, he reiterated a line from Kofi Annan’s speech to Americans on February 8th, 2003, “we all have a duty to prevent war.”
The irony of current UN/US policy toward Iraq is that by making the Iraqi people dependent on the regime for their daily survival, and by providing an easy foil for their anger, economic sanctions have actually strengthened Saddam Hussein’s power in the years since Desert Storm. Lifting economic sanctions on Iraq provides the greatest opportunity to undermine his political power in Iraq and the region. It also presents the greatest opportunity to rebuild a strong, unambiguous international consensus to maintain a strict arms embargo and return weapons inspections and monitoring to Iraq. But, most importantly, it would end a humanitarian catastrophe that has killed more children in Iraq than American soldiers killed in combat in all the wars of the 20th century. As Scott Ritter has said, “ the American people, and the people of Iraq, deserve much better.”
These immoral and deadly sanctions have had crippling effects in the healthcare field too. It is not just the depressing situation of a hospital without adequate resources, but the fact that most of the problems have been caused by the sanctions. Hospitals throughout the “Cradle of Civilization” (Iraq) can’t obtain the necessary equipment and supplies they need, and this is in addition to the economic sanctions causing health problems through inadequate nutrition, contaminated water, and poor sanitation facilities. Here in Iraq, where around 4000 BC, the ancient Sumerian culture flourished, where the ruins of old Ninevah stand out on the hills around Mosul, we visited a children’s hospital.
Mosul, a northern city in Iraq’s no-fly zone, once known in ancient times as Mesopotamia, which figures prominently in the Bible has a population around 2.5 million. It was here that we were granted an impromptu visit of the Ibu Athir hospital for children. We were met by Dr. Al Shammah, the head pediatrician at the hospital. The building was a bare and stark reality that after the sanctions their healthcare was reduced to the likes of many third-world countries. The doctor led us on a tour immediately into the rooms of dying children. It was obvious through his restrained frustration, the difficulties of caring for the sick and malnourished children, especially when he knows exactly what to do but can't offer help, because there are no medicines. The hospital is like a frustrating hell, where families come with their sick and dying children of preventable diseases, and the doctors are helpless in a futile attempt to save their children. In a facility where there are no longer nurses and only a few doctors, it is a bleak reminder of how the sanctions have been literally killing children. The equipment and medicines are not enough to save the majority of sick children. There is just not enough getting through the bureaucratic red-tape of the Oil-For-Food program.
In ward after ward, the picture remained constantly dreadful. Young children lay seriously ill, suffering from illnesses that are effectively treatable in developed countries and were being treated perfectly well in Iraq prior to the Gulf War and subsequent sanctions. First, we entered a small room where lay an emaciated 8 year old boy, struggling to breathe, his eyes rolling blindly. The boy was diagnosed with viral encephalitis. The doctor said, we do not have enough antiviral antibiotics to treat him, so he shall die. The boys mother had a look of fury in her eyes. One of my fellow friends and team members, Bill Marx of Buffalo, New York laid down a small teddy bear on the boy’s cot. The mother of this 4 year old boy stood idle by her son’s side almost uncontrollably angry at Bill and the rest of us Americans. In her distraught state, she lashed out by saying, “we did this,” while pointing at her dying child. She was absolutely correct in her assessment. The US has fought vehemently to maintain the economic sanctions, which have a deadly strangle-hold over the Iraqi’s like the brutal iron fist of dictators. It was utterly disturbing for all of us on the team. I thought, we should be giving them medicines, supplies, money and equipment, not sentimental toys and keepsakes. To me, it felt like a betrayal, like the kiss of Judas! But, I understood how members on our team felt compelled to do something more than mere words.
In room after room we came face to face with suffering, pain, anguish, and death. A three month old gasping for oxygen, a one year old with a fever and convulsions due to meningitis, and yet another with acute kidney failure. The doctor shrugs his shoulders in despair and says, “what else can I do?” “In the end, we must trust in God.” Here in Iraq, where the garden of Eden is depicted, where the tower of Babel was constructed, and where Abraham was first called by God to leave home and family, the US is a murderer of 5,000 children per month, according to UNICEF statistics. It is here, where someone has said that “joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.” “Where there is no joy, God is absent. Living as we do in a world that suffers so much, two opposing possibilities can easily tempt us: either to turn our backs and live oblivious to the pain or to allow the pain to overwhelm us and despair to take up residence in our hearts. The truly faithful option is to face the pain and live joyfully in the midst of it. Contrary to what we often hear these days, life carries no guarantees of ease or comfort. The work of faith is hard. If we have committed ourselves to following Jesus, we will not escape the world’s pain, because into the pain is where Jesus walked too,” Joyce Hollyday. Joy and justice can only be served through the compassion of love from our supreme universe, the creator, our Mother/Father God.
In the loving words of my friend, Matthew, he states that the loss of human life can’t be measured one against the other, yet it sounds like another version of the same story of violence. Enemies are fabricated, hostilities are encouraged, people are dehumanized, easy justifications are made, and yet again we have a situation in which the horrors of violence become accepted as necessary for national security or the interests of America. But, awaken America, you have no enemies in Iraq, only friends, my friends! The inspirational Islamic teacher and mystical poet Jalal-ud-Din Rumi, who lived from 1207-1273 shares a lesson from the great prophets. “Despair is a sin; The grace and benefits of the Creator are infinite. You should never despair of such a Benefactor; Hold on with all your strength to the stirrups of God. Many miseries are hard to endure at the beginning, but then they are relieved, and their anguish vanishes. After despair, many hopes flourish, just as after darkness thousands of suns open and start to shine. Our duty is to resign ourselves and do what God wills.”
In following to do God’s will on earth, and since Christian Peacemaker Teams represents over 4000 churches in North America, it was an integral aspect of our peace mission to visit churches and mosques in Iraq. One such visit took place at an Orthodox Armenian Church in Mosul, where we met with Rev. Hopsepian. He has a small church of 450 families in an area that is roughly 95% Muslim. He only spoke Arabic during our short meeting, except for one phrase in English, which he repeated twice. Fr. Hopsepian said, “Bush, new Hitler”. His bold statement threw me off guard, due in part, that as a fellow Christian Catholic, I had never heard a priest say that about another person in my 40 years. But, this, I found out later was not the exception to the rule, at least not here in Iraq. Only a few days later, back in Iraq, while attending a mass service at the Chaldean Catholic Church, a few of us met with the pastor, who was a very sick and frail man. We sat down, and automatically were offered tea, as we had been offered everywhere we visited for two weeks. The sheer hospitality of all Iraqi’s is just marvelous. We explained who we were, and why we were here in Baghdad. We have come to bring you a message of hope and peace from the US, I commented, and we offer our prayers to your people. Instantly, the priest raised his head and said, “prayer is not enough”. At first it appeared to be a negative response, but then I realized that I’ve been saying the same thing for over 25 years through my peace and justice work. People who only pray, but fail to act as tools and messengers of God are only doing their duty as a holy person created by God at 50%. You must be out there, outside of your job, outside your family, outside of your congregation, and outside of your comfort zone and actively promoting peace and justice throughout the world. You can not be an armchair Christian, Muslim or Jew! You must act! You must not be silent! This priest went on to say, “President Bush is an evil man,” once again a comment that I never expected from a priest. But, these ministers know very well what the US government is capable of, especially now with a man like George W. Bush in office. He said, “we have been abandoned by a Christian country (US). Here, America has helped kill our children through 12 years of sanctions, and wants to continue the evil with war.”
It is here that I am reminded of the profound words of my good buddy, John Barber of Florida, who was a fellow CPT Delegate to Iraq. “Our President proclaims, God Bless America at every turn. In the Kuwaiti desert, the sermon ends with the soldiers shouting, pray for war. Our leaders claim, with God behind us we will win this fight, for our enemy is evil, our cause is just and right! Each word, blasphemy. How appropriate that the planners of this war are waiting for the new moon, when the skies are dark and the shadow-side of men’s souls emerge. Under cover of darkness, the beast returns to Babylon. There is an evil in this land, massing armies in the desert, and rockets in the sky. Under cover of darkness they position themselves. Waiting for darkness to strike. Darkness is their friend. No lie too great, no lie too small, if you end it with God Bless America. They paint a picture, enemies are abundant, evil is everywhere. Armed to the teeth, good will prevail. Never do they mention the darkness of their own heart, and the evil present within them or their Commander-In-Chief.” John’s statements are ironic for me, because for the past three years, I have been actively promoting “God Bless The World”. I have a self-designed logo on my car, and I am attempting to create a God Bless The World website as well. So, for me this is not a new idea, but an idea which is taking hold and growing around the world. I am proud to be at the forefront of this massing movement today. Dorothy Barewicz of the Catholic Diocese of Burlington, VT wrote the following comment to me recently. “I was very taken by the way you ended your email Scott, God Bless The World vs. God Bless America that fills our airways. When will we ever learn that there is only one earth and we are all inter-related? We need to support and care for each other, not destroy each other.”
When vocalizing, “GOD BLESS THE WORLD”, you must be ready to affirm these words through your actions. One such affirmation of these words came from Archbishop Fernando Filoni, an Italian, who is the Apostolic Nuncio of the Vatican in Iraq, otherwise known as the Ambassador. Our meeting with him proved to be quite fruitful. “I am the only Ambassador who stayed in Iraq during the Gulf War,” stated Archbishop Filoni. “I will be the only to stay this time too.” He said that the world needed to become a culture of peace, rather than violence. We must build another kind of humanity, where love prevails. “You can’t just disarm Iraq, you must disarm the world, including the US,” said the Archbishop. He proceeded with an analogy story about guns. If everyone has a gun, their first thought is to use it, hence creating more violence. But, if you do not have a gun and are approached by someone, your first thought is to dialogue, not use violence. “We must find alternative, nonviolent means to deal with our tensions and conflicts,” commented Filoni. In summation, the Archbishop said that Pope John Paul II is firmly against any war with Iraq!
It was great to hear that Pope John Paul II is totally against war, yet, it became even more glorious to hear that message in person from his special emissary from the Vatican. I was fortunate to attend a special celebratory peace mass at St. Joseph’s Chaldean Catholic Church in Baghdad on Wednesday, February 12, 2003, where Cardinal Roger Etchegary delivered the Pope’s message of peace to Iraq. The church was wall to wall people clamoring to see and hear the Cardinal celebrate mass and give his speech. With the media from around the world filling the isles, balcony, and sanctuary, the hundreds of people flowed out the door and several city blocks down the street. It was an atmosphere of great anticipation and joy for all. The beautiful, and distinctly Eastern music from the all-female choir filled the few remaining spaces, as well as a space in my heart. With Cardinal Etchegary and several other bishops, they con-celebrated the reenactment of Jesus of Nazareth’s Last Supper with fervor and pageantry, while chanting with electrifying responses from the choir and congregation combined. Finally, the Cardinal spoke and all the church was still and quiet as a mouse. “Peace is in danger, especially in this country (Iraq). This gathering is the end of our fast and prayers with our Muslim friends. Many say, Lord, why don’t you lift up your hand? But, I say, I am here in Iraq for peace, not war,” echoed the Cardinal. At once, everyone rose to their feet with a thunderous applause that settled into claps in unison that could be heard out the doors and down the street. It truly was a momentous occasion of triumph of good over evil, where human life was blessed and sacred. A wave of peace settled over me that is hard to describe. I felt relieved, all fears of war subsided, and love entered in to restore my faith in humanity. Peace, oh, thank God almighty for PEACE!!!
Remembering back to Jesus of Nazareth’s Sermon on the Mount, one of the Beatitudes claims, “blessed are the peacemakers”, and how so very appropriate for all of us to follow. I say, for the many times when we have ignored God’s call to work for peace, God forgive us. And, for the times when we have been unaware and thus supported violent systems, God forgive us. For President George Bush’s evil actions, God forgive him. And, for President Saddam Hussein’s evil actions, God forgive him. The world needs mending, reconciliation, and transformation to be a world full of love for all our friends across this magnificent planet we all call home. There are no enemies in this world, only the opportunity for friends, new friends, like I found in Iraq. God bless the gorgeous Iraqi people, their bright and shiny faces, their culture, their mosques, their food (especially, Tipsey & Hummus), their traditional music, their art, their scrumptious dates, and most of all their children, who have suffered and sacrificed their lives in an immoral war and sanctions of the last 12 years. This madness must end soon, so please call and visit your Congressional delegation, your President and Secretary of State. Demand an end to the murder in Iraq! Demand nothing short of peace!
GOD BLESS THE WORLD!