Posted by Sadie from D007069.N1.Vanderbilt.Edu (129.59.7.69) on Saturday, September 13, 2003 at 0:23AM :
Wheels of Justice - keep on truckin'
9/12/2003
Dear friends, affiliates, supporters:
The Wheels of Justice Tour is rolling through Nebraska en route to
Colorado for a week and a half. Thus far we've done protests, rallies,
speaking events and freestyle raps and rhymes from Green Bay to Pine
Ridge. As election season starts gearing up a bit more, we find more
people in this country turning to their neighbors and neighborhoods for
community-building. We see military families becoming more
outspoken against the war and occupation in Iraq, and we see many
people even less satisfied with politics and policy that call for the
occupation of Iraq and the further destruction of Palestine. Most of all,
we see people challenging not only the spin but the silence.
As it stands, the coming month or two will take us through Colorado,
Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Nevada and
California. We'll exit California in mid-January to head eastward through
southern Nevada, Arizona, etc...visit www.justicewheels.org for
schedule, speaker bios, etc...see you soon.
We have picked up endorsements from Veterans for Peace, Jews
Against the Occupation, the Pacific Life Research Center, Montana
Peace Seekers Network, the Helena Peace Seekers, and the Ronald
Reagan Home for the Criminally Insane.
Below is an update from tour member Dan Winters of Boulder Colorado.
Dan has been to Iraq numerous times, the Occupied Territories on
occasion, and even was an observer in East Timor a while back. Have a
read.
Wheels of Justice Keeps Rolling
by Dan Winters
I was the driver and one of the speakers (Aug 13 - 31) for the current
bus tour which will finish in May of 04. The bus has traveled over 50,000
miles and visited over 400 locations during the past 3 years. I was in
Iraq for the third time this January with the Iraq Peace Team of Voices
in the Wilderness. In addition to myself there was Doug Johnson who
was in Baghdad both prior to and during the recent "war" and was able
to share his experiences with very real slides which were at times
difficult to watch. Sharona, the bus manager, was the third member of
our group - she is a recent high school graduate who felt it was better
to work for peace instead of attending college this semester. At
different times we were joined by one or two other speakers - who were
Palestinian or of Palestinian heritage.
The purpose of the tour, for the past 3 years, has been to bring
information about Iraq to the people of the US. This recent tour will also
inform attendees about the situation of the Palestinian people.
We left Chicago on Aug. 13 for Green Bay and points west. Stops
included Minneapolis/St. Paul, St. Cloud, Brainard, Morehead, Fargo,
ND, Bismark, Ft. Yates, Pine Ridge, SD.
Having spoken at many group, college and religious venues I was
prepared for a positive response from the audiences. We were not
disappointed. However, I was not prepared for the wonderful outpouring
of fellowship and love we received from the places we visited. We were
especially taken aback by the graciousness of our local hosts in the
cities we visited. Our hosts provided for sleeping arrangements either
cooked for us or took us out for a meal - and would not hear of
payment.
I wish to describe just of few of the wonderful moments we shared with
our hosts. From a farm house in Wisconsin where we had a great farm
breakfast and then watched the goats stand on their hind legs to much
apples from the tree - to a 3 day stay in the big city of Minneapolis - to
a Benedictine sisters mother house - to a stay with a North Dakota
doctor and his family - on to South Dakota where we stayed on the
Pine Ridge reservation (of wounded knee infamy) and were honored to
be invited to a sweat lodge - everyone made us feel so welcome and at
home.
At times those in the peace movement feel as if there are so few of us
that we become somewhat (or very what!!) discouraged. It is easy to
feel "down" and difficult to gather our strength and continue to fight, to
agitate and to persevere, in this "World According to Bush". However,
the people we met, and the sense of community they shared with us
and the message that we could bring to them - that yes there are many
who think and feel and act as they do and that they are not alone -
served to remind us and them that the fight to illuminate wrongs and to
speak and act when we see injustice is worth the price - yes, "the price
is worth it". As volunteers we gave of our time - but we were repaid,
many fold, in ways that made us strong and yet did not give us the
hardness and brittleness of steel.
As written above, the tour continues until May of 04 and has yet to visit
most of the US. Please contact Ceylon at 917-567-5048
ceylon@vitw.org and see if your village, town or city can be added to
the tour.
Dan C. Winters
Boulder, Colorado USA
e-mail dancwinters@yahoo.com
________________________________________
Sincerely,
Ceylon Mooney
for Voices in the Wilderness
PMB #634
5315 N. Clark ST
CHICAGO, IL 60640
917-567-5048
ceylon@vitw.org
"I think all foreigners should stop interfering in the internal affairs of
Iraq."
- Paul Wolfowitz
-- Sadie
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