Theories "Just Peacemaking" much more than non-violence There is a compassionate rebel in everyone Healing the wounds Peacemakers Children can learn to be Peacemakers Local Peacemaker Makes a Difference The landmine issue Banning landmines: why the US won't sign the treaty Kids on the edge of a minefield |
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About the Writers Carrie Childers | Cristian Carlson | Professor Cass Dalglish |
"It's strange writing about peace in a time of war. When I read the newspaper, voices of people I wrote about keep haunting me. I hear Jody Williams talking about our military's impunity. I remember her frustrated face. I hear Larry Rasmussen saying that the threat of violence is not enough to make peace. I think about the ten practices of Just Peacemaking and wish the members of NATO knew about them. As we've worked this semester on our various stories, we have had many conversations about war and peacemaking. What I was learning in class suddenly became very meaningful in mu life and I found myself selling Just Peacemaking theory to my friends and family. The war in Yugoslavia made it seem all the more important. "I even took what I learned on a trip to the US Army School of the Americas. When I was there, I saw what Jody Williams meant by impunity and heard the military's definition of "just war." The hypocrisy became real for me as I looked into Hugo Banzer's beady eyes in a picture in the SOA library and I heard the commandent saying that before the end of the Cold War the school only cared about how powerful a person was, not how they had achieved that power. Again Larry Rasmussen's quiet theologian voice came back to me: 'God is never glorified by our violence and our humanity is never honored by it.' " Jennifer's stories: Just Peacemaking more than non-violence, Why the US refuses to sign the landmine treaty
Friday, February 19, 1999 The online peace magazine project means a lot to me. I enjoy the research. I am inspired by all of the good people in the world trying to make a difference. I now talk to my children more about social justice. March 24, 1999 Bill Clinton made a statement, "...the dangers of acting are outweighed by the dangers of allowing this conflict to continue, to worsen, to claim the lives of more innocent civilians-including children-to result in tens of thousands of more homeless refugees." Are you sure Mr. Clinton? April 24, 1999 May 5, 1999 Laurie's stories: A Good Neighbor, What Is Real Peace?, Ambassador for Peace
"Like most, I have been guilty of ignoring the events that are taking place around me. In the process of putting together the online peace magazine project, I have been more aware of the violence and ugliness that surrounds us. Since the start of this project we have seen dramatic illustrations of what happens when countries are torn apart. I look at the situation taking place so far away, and think about my own family. Would my own family be so brave? I doubt it. "These atrocities are not isolated to far away places. On a smaller, just as devastating, scale these acts of violence are taking place in our backyard. The random slaughter of 15 students and a teacher in Littleton, Colo. is the latest in a string of similar events taking place all over the United States. Some students are reacting with violence. Other young people, like my daughters, pray with classmates and friends for the victims and families of Littleton. They are all thinking about what has happened. " Let's take the initiative and change our own little corner of the world. Let's challenge our family and friends to come up with a plan to change one wrong. Let's hold the parties responsible for violence accountable. According to the Chinese proverb, 'The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.' Let's take that first step together." Carriann's stories: Environmental Peacemaking, A Voice for Peace, There's a Compassionate Rebel in Everyone
"My major career goal is to be the 21st century's Kerouac, except not alcoholic. If that fails, I'd like to create, advertise, and sell, 'anti-fatbastard cream.' "Writing for this 'zine at a time of war to me is peculiar. This school has participated and been pro-pundits of the government's war machine. Augsburg accepted a trip to the School of the Americas paid for by a government official. The government official (Hamre) asked an audience of over 400 students and faculty members from five colleges, 'Would you be willing to go with me down to the School of the Americas? We have never taught torture. I'd ask anybody in this audience to go with me.' "The School of the Americas trains soldiers who have been accused of crimes against humanity. The soldiers commit these crimes against Hispanic/Latino people. I lobbied for sending Hispanic/Latino students on the trip, but Augsburg told me that the government official would only allow 20 people to go. "Augsburg and the other colleges went on this trip during a time of war. When the students returned from the trip, our school paper ran this headline, "Hamre Keeps His Word." He did not keep his word. There were people at the conference who wanted to go on the trip and could not, specifically Hispanic and Latino students. Our school paper intentionally was a PR machine for the government. Thus, Augsburg and the college paper have increased and enhanced the U.S. Government's ability to kill people. "Augsburg wouldn't have a peace 'zine except that our professor is a kind, caring person. "It's nice that a few college students can spend a couple of months creating a peace magazine. However, what would happen to us if we really wanted to do something to stop the war, such as hold a peaceful public demonstration, which it's our right through the Constitution to do? Let's rewind 30 years, when then Gov. Ronald Reagan bombed peaceful college students at People's Park. What was Ronald's punishment? The establishment made him President." Cristian's stories: Kids on the Edge of a Minefield, Nuns on the Run for Peace
"I think that writing about peace at a time of war brings hope. We all hope that war won't happen but when you write about peace and see how many people are truly committed to peacemaking, it not only brings inspiration but confidence. "After considering all the wars that have gone on throughout time we can have to confidence that this war will end in time and there will be peace in Kosovo. "While war is not a welcome demonstration of human conflict, it can sometimes serve to ease into a new relationship between peoples. When these peoples realize that there is conflict and it is resolved (even through war) they become more coherant and more unified. In the end, the war was a horrible thing but the peace that follows is priceless." Carrie's stories: One Survivor's Story of War, Children Can Learn to be Peacemakers, Local Peacemaker Makes a Difference
"Two years ago, I was project director and adviser to journalism students involved in a community service learning publishing project. They wrote and published Avenues of Taste, (1997) a culturally meditative cookbook featuring the stories and recipes of people of the Cedar-Riverside/Augsburg community. The stories and recipes came from people who were forced to leave their homes because of national and international violence in Ethiopia, Malaysia, Korea, Viet Nam, Laos, El Salvador, Colombia, Chile, and Somalia. They came to the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood seeking new and peaceful lives. And those refugees and immigrants have now become the benefactors of Peace Matters, because profits from the sale of the cookbook were channeled back into Peace Matters, helping us pay for materials and consultant services we needed to compose an online 'zine about peace. "So Peace Matters is actually a continuation of the stories of many people from many countries who have come into the Augsburg neighborhood seeking peace. "I hope this project will be a start toward making peace in our communities: peace in the homes and on the streets of Minneapolis, peace in the United States, peace in countries around the world. Please feel free to help make that happen. Make use of our efforts toward peace by reading our stories, contributing your ideas to our discussion group, and becoming peacemakers in your own communities as well." Cass wrote An Open Letter to Our Readers. |
