Closing Camp Hope 2009

Haven't written because I have been very busy with Camp Hope 2009, plus working two part time chaplain positions. I thought I would list the events I attended at Camp Hope, a really wonderful educational experience in a park 2 blocks from the Obama home, south side Chicago in Hyde Park near the University of Chicago campus.

January 1 Sunny and cold. Camp Hope opens. Great speakers with about 100 folks in attendance. Cathy Smith, mother of Thomas of the documentary "Body of War" was a keynote speaker challenging us to speak out now.

January 3 My birthday at CH-see separate post.

January 6 Pax Christi from St. Gertrude's attends Camp Hope in the afternoon. About 6 of us attended. We held our banners and waved to the commuters coming home from 3-6 PM. I stayed a little over an hour as I had brought another person with me and Roy was getting cold-hadn't dressed for it! Had to drive him home to the warmth!

January 7 headed over to the home of the Sacred Heart priests in Hyde Park. Listened to speakers discuss Obama's plan for withdrawing troops. Included Fr. Bob Bossie who worships with us at the Harold and Jeff Lay from Voices for Creative Non Violence. Bob arguing strongly that we must end war before it destroys us (as it has already played a part in destroying the economy)

January 8 My favorite speaker Col Ann Wright Ret'd was part of panel at Old St. Patrick's "Abandoning War: A Peoples' Agenda." She is most noted for having been one of the three State Dept officials to publicaly resign in direct protest of the march 2003 invasion of Iraq. Ann was joined by Michael McPhearson of Veterans for Peace and Stephen Kinzer foreign correspondent who has covered 50 countries on 5 continents.

Ann had just returned from a witness at Obama's Christmas vacation home in Hawaii. Articulate and to the point she called for an immediate end to the occupations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Gaza. Michael as an African American spoke of the hope in this election and president but strongly reminded us that we must do the work to bring peace. Stephen was excellent, this was the first time I heard him speak. He strongly concluded that there was no "winning a war in Afghanistan." The culture is "Don't invade my personal space, my home, my community, my country" and nation after nation-including Russia most recently has learned "You cannot win, you will go home."

Stephen informed us: The poppie crop is worth $4 billion on the market. We are spending $4 billion a MONTH on the war. Wouldn't it be more productive to buy the poppies (grown because there are no other crops by the poorest in the country) and save us an unwinnable war and $44 billion a year? I am willing to do just that.

January 11 Witness Against Torture Day all around the country. This is the day we opened Guantanamo to its first prisoners. Now widely acknowledge only 10% were captured on the battlefield, 90% were turned in most by Pakistanis who wanted the reward money! See the Oscar winning documentary "Taxi to the Dark Side" which exposes the highest levels of US Government as being the ones who gave the order for torture and rendition.

I presided in the morning with a theme of Stopping Torture. I had planned on going to the camp with everyone from the Harold but was called out to make a visit for hospice, a real disappointment for me. I spent 2 hours with the spouse who really needed me for emotional and spiritual support so I was okay with missing out.

In the evening I attended an excellent panel on torture. The panelists included:

1. Mark Falkoff NIU, lawyer who represents Yemeni detainees in Guantanamo. He compiled and published a booklet of their writings.
   
2. Flint Taylor, a lawyer in the People's Law Office who after 20 years got an ex-Chicago chief of police indicted for torture! Yes, it is true. And the techniques used were those taught by the military and used in Vietnam where he was a soldier! (They say the military with Iraq experience will do the same as the enter police careers)
3. Mary (name changed), IVAW who served at Guantanamo as a prison guard. She was raped by fellow soldiers because she complained of their treatment of the prisoners under their guard. Spent a year in a military hospital for emotional healing. Has just begun to speak out against the war.

All were excellent. Good people, true heros for our country! God bless each one of them.

January 14 Ali Abunimah, founder of the Electronic Intefadah spoke to about 100 of us on the crisis of violence in Gaza. Kathy Kelly founder of Voices is now in Gaza, she left immediately after the Camp opened, first to Egypt then into Gaza as soon as she could with the Christian Peacemaker Team present in the area. One of the members of from St. Gertrude's Kairos community is also there-Christina as part of the Christian Peacemaker Team.

Ali argues that for 60 years various proposals have been written and nothing accomplished. He presented that Palestinians now say, "The two state country will never work, the answer is to integrate both peoples into one country." May peace come to that tortured land. The massacre of civilians has been horrendous.

January 16 Pax Christi showed "Taxi to the Dark Side" mentioned above as part of Camp Hope. Mary spoke as a commentator to the movie and shared her own experience with Guantanamo.

January 17 A wonderful morning spent on Eco Justice (Eco-Justice Collarborative, www.ecojusticecollaborative.org.) Wonderful speakers from Chicagoland who brought us up to date on policy implications and the Obama administration. The bottom line create jobs for a sustainable green economy! Scientists have set 2016 as the tipping point for environmental destruction if global warming has not begun to be addressed. This is world wide for as bad as we are the US creates 25% of the gases creating global warming, China is coming on big time as a creator because of its high use of coal burning plants for energy.

1. Conservation and Efficiency (most gains doing this!) Informed Energy Decisions
2. Say No to Coal-Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Org.
3. You Can't Nuke Global Warming- Nuclear Energy Information Service www.nels.org
   
4. Put a Fair Price on Carbon-Little Village Environmental Justice Org.
5. Invest in the Power of the Sun-IL Solar Energy Assoc
6. Green Jobs for All-Blacks in Green www.apolloalliance.org
   
7. The People's Call for Justice-Oxfam International www.oxfamamerica.org

January 18, 2009 It was time to close Camp Hope. About 40 of us showed up at 3 PM to sing, listen to the "hopes" we had chosen and celebrate our witness to the President and the community. A lot of horns were honked as people drove by. We douced the fire with snow, took down the canapy and the signs. We left as it began to get dark. I felt a sacred space and time had been experienced at Camp Hope. Visionaries bringing hope to the darkness of human suffering. I feel deeply honored to have been given the privilege to participate.

I was present for 10 "days" at Camp Hope through being present or attending events sponsored by the Camp. I feel connected to the larger peace movement and pray that I might soon be able to join them full time.

See CampHope2009.org for more.

Now on to planning for the March 14 Anniversary of the Iraq war actions and march in Chicago.