121 Contact

April 20 2009 121Contact at NYU - students move toward peaceful tomorrows

121Contact at NYU

Bruce Wallace April 20 2009

 

A breath of fresh air! After about 3 dozen events we found ourselves at Professor Nicotera’s NYU Peace Education class, filled with intelligent, knowledgeable students. We were not disappointed. They were as attentive as last year’s students at our first NYU presentation.

 

They were only around 12 years old on 9/11/01 and 9/11 doesn’t mean the same thing to them as it does to us, but they clearly understood the consequences to innocent Iraqis resulting from our invasion and occupation. They asked intelligent questions. They wanted to know about alternate news sources; they evidenced the compassion one would hope to find in today’s college students.

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This is the work we love to do: one-to-one contact with young people that enables them to feel in touch with young Iraqis; to understand them not as ‘the other’, but as young adults very much like themselves.

 

As usual we didn’t talk much politics. We did touch upon the relentless attempts by the U.S. military to isolate the Iraqis as much as possible which effectively prevents internal peace movements from forming widespread bases from which to  deter violence. We did talk about the staggering numbers of deaths, widows, and orphans that have resulted from our decision to use violence in Iraq. We spoke about the ongoing hell that most Iraqis live in today. We spoke about the hatred for Americans this occupation continues to engender,  and how that will persist for generations.

 

And they clearly understood the profound sense of isolation that results from the trauma of prolonged exposure to violence and loss. They asked if they could write to Iraqi students, and we were happy to say ‘Yes.’ It didn’t take long before they started to write. The first of their emails were waiting for me when I got back home.

 

We hope to get answering emails back to them as soon as possible so that another group of students can begin to break through the walls of political violence and find the hearts of the people on ‘the other side’.

 

It is in students like these that the world will find its way to more peaceful tomorrows.

 

 

 

Mar 19 2009 Lees-McRae College visits St. Paul/St.Andrews Church

We had a wonderful opportunity to speak to visiting students from Lees-McRae College in North Carolina. Thanks to Amanda Elliot, Youth  Pastor, and Charlie, the tour chaperon, a group of students heard the words of Iraqi students and teachers. They came to New York on a 'service trip'; an alternative Spring Break in which no one was required to drink 'till they puked and all were happy to help out at the food bank of the church.

       

Hosted by St. Paul/St.Andrews Church,86th Street off B'way in Manhattan, the students had just returned from a tour of Ground Zero. They heard from us of the wonderful work of September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, and its many offshoots of peace work grown out of the pain and anger of 9/11 family members who have made the conscious decision to turn feelings into actions for peace.

We'll be speaking in the next few weeks at Manhattan's John Jay college of Criminal Justice and NYU.

[Yo! Iraqi students: keep sending your words to us and we will read them to the students at these events. Speak your mind. Tell them of your feeling about the invasion and occupation. They are keenly interested in what life is like under the occupation, and aware of the fact the American media does little to tell your truth.]

It continues to shock me, even after all these speaking events, that many of our intelligent young people are still under the impression that Iraq attacked us on 9/11. It continues to feel good that they are receptive to, and understanding of a more rational view of recent historical events. It was great to have a chance to engage them, bring them the truth in Iraqi student writings, and let them see another view of American actions in Iraq.

In loving kindness,

Bruce and Noor

Jan 29 2009 NYC Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds

This looks like it will mesh nicely with our work in Second Life.

http://www.meetup.com/metaversemeetup/calendar/9469198/

Carnegie Council Senior Fellows Joshua S. Fouts and Rita J. King will present findings from their Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds project. After a year of exploring digital Islamic communities, Fouts and King conclude that engaging with people in virtual worlds who self-identify as Muslim can be part of a broader public diplomacy strategy to foster inclusive perspectives on religion, society, and coexistence.

Virtual platforms, while they involve real people, do not involve physical contact, making them a useful medium to explore productive responses to conflict without the threat of violence or intimidation. The U.S. government has recently taken note of these trends, as evidenced by the State Department's move toward Public Diplomacy 2.0 and the Army's presence in the virtual world of Second Life.

Policy Innovations Managing Editor Evan O'Neil will moderate. Wine reception to follow.

Thursday, January 29, 2009, 6-7:30PM
Global Policy Innovations
Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs
170 East 64th Street
New York, NY 10065-7478
(212) 838-4120

Events: WAR AND ITS CONSEQUENCES

We're out there again speaking the truth about the consequences of the US occupation of Iraq.

Monday November 3

Peace Day at the High School for Global Citizenship
883 Classon Avenue, Brooklyn NY  Contact: [Not open to the public. ]

   Iraqi orphans at Al Menar

Monday Nov 10 10:30AM

Ethnicity and War: Bruce Wallace and Sreca Perunovic  31-10 Thomson Avenue Long Island City, N.Y. In the Little Theater, contact: Sreca Perunovic 718-482-7200. This is part of the November 10-11  War and its Consequences Conference at LaGuardia Community College

July 2 2008 Peace Boat in NYC: Iraqi teacher to speak

NEW EVENT: JULY 14 2008
Noor, a Baghdad schoolteacher, will speak at a Peace Boat event centering on Ground Zero in Manhattan. We'll meet at 10AM at St. Paul's Chapel. http://www.peaceboat.org/english/wtpb/index.html

Mar 27 2008 Speaking Events: Iraq and Collateral Damage

Hi,
It seems that we've neglected to post our event schedule for a while. I apologize for not keeping you better informed. Our recent and near-future events are closed to the public. They are at Universities and High Schools and take place in classroom and auditorium settings.

Our primary funding comes from these events. You can help by looking for people and organizations interested in hearing N speak about life in Baghdad today.

Peace to you and yours,
Bruce and N