2 March, 2007
CPT in Iraq?
By Peggy Gish

We got a call from a former neighbor in Baghdad who recounted the
horror and pain she and her children experienced on the street near
heir home when a bomb exploded. Her son lost some teeth in an injury
and they saw others injured and dead.

CPT Iraq had planned to help train members of the Muslim Peacemaker
Teams in Najaf to be trainers in non-violence, but after a member
had been shot on the streets of Kerbala, the group was in mourning
and needed to heal.

In Yezidi communities (an ancient Mesopotamian religious group)
CPTers saw extreme poverty and heard people talk about the neglect
they feel from the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), Central Iraqi
Government, and US military in their area.
Human Rights organizations in the KRG invited CPT to help them
expose human rights violations with prisoners. Another organization
invited CPT to help with nonviolence training in Kirkuk, but wanted
to go with armed guards.

A refugee camp in Northern Iraq, of Kurdish people who fled Turkey
because of persecution, endured a series of raids this past month.
U.S. soldiers and Kurdish military said they were looking for
weapons and "terrorists," but found neither.
In the Kurdish north and around the country of Iraq, we encounter
much fear and mistrust between different religious and ethnic
groups. People on either side of tensions say the other group wants
to kill them.

The need for truth-telling, support of nonviolent movements and
ethnic and religious reconciliation action, are great. Our team felt
called to continue this work and so returned to the Kurdish North to
explore possibilities and build new collaborative relationships with
people and organizations in this area. Violence prevention or
reduction work would take us into situations of conflict, but we did
not want our presence to put local people we work with in greater
danger.

The team saw potential options for work, but had not yet found a
clear, specific path, when another difficult incident interrupted
this process. In late January, Will Van Wagenen and I, and two Iraqi
associates were abducted briefly in a Kurdish area outside the
official KRG, and then released unharmed. Once again it has shaken
the team and the organization. Because of the embarrassment this
incident has caused them, Kurdish authorities have refused to
complete CPT's NGO application.

We want to respond responsibly, but not be dominated by fear. We all
still feel a deep love for the Iraqi people. We know that the
suffering and daily threat of violence Iraqis face have been so much
greater than anything we have experienced. We don't want our
struggles to detract attention to their story.

Two days ago the team left Iraq to return home for healing,
examination, and discernment. We continue to question whether or how
we could responsibly work now in Iraq. Is it time to close the
project or to withdraw for an indefinite time and return in the
future if we are given a clear call and vision? We appreciate your
continued prayers.