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NEWS & LETTERS, November 2004Tour of family opponents of Iraq war
Detroit--Historic New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit
hosted "Tour of Duty: Americans Speak Out" in October. Short notice
for the event produced a disappointingly small audience for Lila Lipscomb, the
Flint mother whose son was killed in Iraq and who achieved national recognition
for her moving account in the film "Fahrenheit 9/11." The program also included a powerful documentary
"The Ground Truth," produced by Patricia Foulkrod (www.thegroundtruth.org)
At first you heard soldiers’ voices and saw only their faces. As the film came
round to them again, the camera revealed that all had been injured. The
reservists serving in Iraq, and detained longer than expected, leave their
families with no means of support and will have no health benefits themselves
when they return, even though their injuries are permanent. Damu Smith, founder of Washington D.C.-based Black
Voices for Peace, and Detroit City Councilwoman Joann Watson spoke movingly of
the war casualties on both sides, and of their vision to "retire the
institutionalized values that lead to this." They compared the war in Iraq
to the Vietnam War, saying that every Arab is seen as the enemy; that the whole
nation of Iraq has been criminalized; that young people are turned into animals
to kill people who never hurt us. "Youth are kidnapped by this
administration and held hostage by Halliburton’s Big Lie. But the truth
crushed to earth will rise again--we have to help it," he stated. They
extended their vision to ending the bloodshed on both the Arab and Jewish sides
of that conflict as well. Ms. Lipscomb’s strength of spirit came across, as in
the film, but more strongly in person. She spoke of her multiracial family (who
had come to support her) who had helped her to work through her grief at the
loss of her son and given her support for her speaking tour. This powerful program reminded me how important it is to
overcome stereotyped thinking about who is against the war, and to concretize a
vision of humanity without such thinking so that we can mobilize for change. --Anti-war mother |
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