[amc] FW: CPT Interview Exclusive: 'Waiting Has Taken on a Whole New Meaning'
- From: Steve Friesen <Friesen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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- Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2005 10:49:02 -0600
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Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2005 16:10:29 GMT
To: Steve Friesen <Friesen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: CPT Interview Exclusive: 'Waiting Has Taken on a Whole New Meaning'
SPECIAL ISSUE: 'Waiting Has Taken on a Whole New Meaning' 12.23.2005
www.sojo.net <http://go.sojo.net/ct/411GZ-91yzfJ/>
ADVENT REFLECTION^top <#top>
'Waiting has taken on a whole new meaning'
by Rose Marie Berger Living in Baghdad outside the Green Zone, Christian
peacemaker Maxine Nash talks about what Advent means while four of her team
members are held hostage. WEB EXCLUSIVE When Maxine Nash volunteered to go
to Iraq, she didn't go with weapons ready. She went armed with her faith,
her skills in conflict resolution, and her courage to be as defenseless as
those she was serving: the ordinary people of Iraq. Nash, 43, a Quaker from
Waukon, Iowa, joined the Christian Peacemaker Teams' steering committee in
June 2002. CPT provides organizational support to persons committed to
faith-based nonviolent alternatives in situations where lethal conflict is
an immediate reality. As her service with CPT continued she was hooked by
CPT's fundamental question: What would happen if Christians devoted the same
discipline and self-sacrifice to nonviolent peacemaking that armies devote
to war? In the summer of 2003, Nash went through CPT's rigorous training in
nonviolent intervention in conflict situations. In February 2004 she was on
her way to Iraq, where she has been stationed full-time ever since.
CPT member Tom Fox visits with refugee children the month before he and
three other team members were abducted. On Nov. 26, four of Nash's team
members were kidnapped by people calling themselves the Swords of
Righteousness Brigade. In the days following the kidnapping, the group
released videos of Tom Fox, 54, Norman Kember, 74, James Loney, 41, and
Harmeet Sooden, 32, to al Jazeera threatening to kill the four men by Dec. 8
if detainees in U.S. and Iraqi prisons were not freed. The deadline was
extended to Dec. 10; the date passed and there has been no further news.
These four join hundreds of Iraqis who are currently held by kidnappers.
On Friday, Dec. 16, I called the CPT apartment in Baghdad and spoke with
Maxine Nash about the four men, the Iraqi elections, and Advent. - RMB
BERGER: Maxine, thanks for talking to us. What are you and fellow Iraq team
members Greg Rollins and Anita David doing in the midst of the kidnapping
situation and the elections?
NASH: Well, right now we are pretty restricted to our apartment and our
small neighborhood in Baghdad during the elections because of the road
closures. They've been closed for three days and everybody is stuck right
now. We haven't been able to get out and see what's happening very well, but
we've been hearing lots from our neighbors.
BERGER: How was the voter turnout for this election?
NASH: There was an incredible voter turnout. People have told us that they
waited in long lines and that the lines at the end of the day were as long
as earlier on. This is different from the first election and referendum
where the lines were pretty thinned out by the end of the day. This time it
seemed pretty quiet. There was not a lot of violence or disturbances. In the
past there has been a lot of on-the-ground violence in the voter lines. But
the reports we hear is that this time everyone was smiling and friendly, and
it was a good election.
BERGER: Were there any bombings?
NASH: The most we heard was mortars hitting the Green Zone. We heard one
around 7 a.m. [Dec. 15] and a few more this morning. Because the mortars
were clearly aimed at the Green Zone, the message seems to be clearly
against the occupying force or the existing Iraqi government who are all
headquartered in the Green Zone.
BERGER: Do you think the election outcomes will affect the work of CPT at
all?
NASH: It's hard to know if the elections will affect our work. It's just
wait and see for us, but we don't expect that the outcomes will have much
effect on our ongoing work.
BERGER: Tell me about your ongoing work.
NASH: We have worked a lot on the detainee issue because we were getting
requests from families who had a member taken into the American detention
system and they needed English speakers to help them navigate the system. We
first started doing that work when the Red Cross has been bombed. The Red
Cross wasn't available to help, so people came to us. Now the U.S. has
developed a better tracking system. We don't have to do so much of this work
any more. It's easier for families to find people. Now we are doing a lot of
human rights work to give media attention to situations that we think need
more coverage.
BERGER: What are the current situations you are focusing on?
NASH: We are getting reports about people being disappeared within the U.S.
detention system or in the Iraqi prison systems. We are trying to follow up
on this.
BERGER: Have you seen a change in the presence of U.S. forces? The news we
are getting is that they are pulling back.
NASH: The U.S. forces have pulled out of a few urban areas. In Karbala, for
example, the Iraqi troops have taken over the area and the U.S. is much less
visible. But Karbala is a pretty settled area. In Baghdad, there are still
house raids and people being detained in the middle of the night - but we
are seeing less of the U.S. troops. What we are learning though is that now
the Iraqi troops have taken over doing the house raids and detaining people
and are now putting people in Iraqi prisons. In areas with increased
violence, like Ramadi, the U.S. troop presence has increased exponentially,
according to the reports we hear.
BERGER: Thousands of people, including us here at Sojourners, are praying
for the safe release of your four team members who are currently being held
hostage.
NASH: Please tell every one thank you for us for the prayers. We wish that
the four guys could somehow know that everyone is praying for them. In
particular, I think Tom [Fox] is very aware of that kind of spiritual
presence and I'm sure he feels it. A few weeks before they were taken we had
a worship where we were doing centering prayer. Tom said that the word that
kept coming to him in prayer was "open." Can you believe that? I think they
all know that people are praying for them. Tom, I know, feels the spiritual
support. And if he feels it, then he will tell the others.
BERGER: Has there been any further news about their fate?
NASH: There is no news yet. Continued prayers are our best hope. It really
is the best thing we think to do. Also, please keep the story alive in the
media. It keeps pressure on the kidnappers to acknowledge that the guys are
who they say they are and to release them.
BERGER: What are your next steps?
NASH: We are looking for ways to expand attention to our human rights work.
Tom, James, Harmeet, and Norman have now become part of that monitoring of
human rights abuses. Our human rights work now includes the abduction of our
four guys.
BERGER: What has waiting meant to you this Advent season?
NASH: My personal reflection is that waiting has taken on a whole new
meaning. Advent is a season of hope. I am personally drawing strength from
that. The comparisons between our Iraq and Jesus' Israel run through my
mind. The season before Jesus was born was a troubling time. It was the time
of an occupation. Jesus' parents were going to register for a census. We
know what happened at the end: There was a miracle! We are hoping for the
same thing at this point.
BERGER: How has your local community responded to the news of the
kidnapping?
NASH: Our neighbors here are very saddened by what has happened. Many of the
families here have had members kidnapped. For them it is not a new
situation. But they know that we are here for the right reasons and that we
are one of the few NGOs still here. They are very much against what has
happened. They tell me, "I saw Tom on the TV and I cried," because that's
how they found out the news. They bring us meals or ask if they can do
shopping for us. The 10-year-old daughter of our neighbor told us she was
doing her daily prayers for our kidnapped folks. It's very, very touching.
BERGER: Is there anything else you would like to say?
NASH: We want to express our deepest and sincere thanks for the outpouring
of support that we have received. We've found out about all kinds of people
doing things for us. Even the variety of people who have come out in
support. There are people we would never have imagined - Muslim clerics and
religious leaders. We are so thankful for the amount of support we've
received. It's very hard for us even to imagine here in our cocoon in
Baghdad, but we hear about all the vigils and prayers and things people are
doing. We are very grateful.
Iraq Team Message to the Missing CPTers
17 December
Dear Harmeet, Jim, Norman, and Tom,
We still are longing to see your faces. So many people continue to let us
know that they are thinking of you and praying for you. As Christmas
approaches, we continue to hope that you will be able to join us and your
families for the celebrations. Anita has written her aunt for the best
turkey dressing recipe known to the world. We continue to stay in touch with
your families. Your friends in Iraq ask about you all the time. We don't
know how much you get outside, but the weather is nice here in Baghdad. We
hope to see you soon.
With much love,
Your Teammates in Baghdad
+ See CPT's response to President Bush's address about the war in Iraq
<http://go.sojo.net/ct/Xp1GZ-91yzf-/>
+ Keep up with the CPT captives' news on the "Free the Captives" blog
<http://go.sojo.net/ct/X71GZ-91yzfF/>
+ Share this issue with your friends
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