Chicago: A 15-member delegation from the United States and Canada arrived in Amman Thursday night. The group, sponsored by Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), plans to travel to Baghdad in the coming days and spend the next week as a nonviolent presence among the Iraqi people. As the U.S. government talks of taking military action against Iraq’s regime, the delegates are ready to be with ordinary Iraqis in places such as markets, schools, and hospitals.
Many of the members of the “Generations for Peace” delegation are retired from such careers as social work, teaching and nursing. Several are grandmothers and grandfathers. Two are full-time members of Christian Peacemaker Teams and three are CPT reservists; several others have been on previous delegations sponsored by CPT. Ages range from 24 to 77. Cliff Kindy the delegation’s advance person has already arrived in Iraq.
Members of CPT’s October 23-November 5 delegation to Iraq are: Quinn Brisben (Chicago, IL), Le Anne Clausen (Mason City, IA ), Peggy Gish (Athens, OH), Anne Herman (Binghamton, NY), Joseph Heckel (Pittsburgh, PA), Barbara Johns (Glendale, CA), Kathleen Kampmann (Palo Alto, CA), Cliff Kindy (North Manchester, IN), David Milne, (Belleville, Ontario), Anne Montgomery (New York, NY), Bill Rose (Tampa, FL), Marian Solomon (Ames, IA), Craig Spaulding (Harrisonburg, VA), John Worrell (Brimfield, MA ), and Jane MacKay Wright (Providence Bay, Ontario), Cliff Kindy (North Manchester, IN).
Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative of the historic peace churches (Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, and Quakers) with support and membership from a range of Catholic and Protestant denominations. CPT is sponsoring the Iraq delegation in cooperation with Voices in the Wilderness (VitW), a group that has campaigned against the U.S.-supported United Nations sanctions against Iraq for the past six years.
