CPTnet
December 23, 2002
IRAQ: Two Delegations Planned for Iraq; Professors and
Scholars Invited to Participate in Special January
Delegation
On the day after Christmas, a 15-member delegation
sponsored by Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) will
depart from the United States and Canada on their way
to Iraq, to return on January 9. CPT is also seeking
professors and scholars for a special delegation, at
the invitation of the University of Baghdad, to attend
a Peace Conference January 15-17, 2003.
As the U.S. government talks of taking military action
against Iraq, delegates on the Christmas delegation
are ready to be present with ordinary Iraqis in places
such as markets, schools, hospitals, and churches.
They hope to meet with Iraqi professionals and
representatives of nongovernmental and governmental
agencies.
Members of the “Generations for Peace” delegation
include three retired teachers, two Roman Catholic
nuns, a Mennonite theologian and a prominent church
leader, a professional decorator, and others. Four are
CPT Reservists and two are full-time CPTers. Ages
range from 24 to 77.
The delegation for professors and scholars will travel
to Iraq from January 11-25, encompassing the Peace
Conference. The conference will include a series of
formal lectures with opportunities for informal
sharing. CPT encourages scholars from various
traditions to seriously consider this invitation in
the critical times we face. CPT has just received the
invitation to organize participation in the last two
days.
Activities before and after the conference would “set
our faith and moral plumblines in the midst of the
reality of Iraqi society during this period of war
escalation,” said Cliff Kindy, CPT worker now in
Baghdad.
Cost of the delegation is $2,000 which covers
round-trip airfare from a designated U.S. or Canadian
city, all on-ground travel, two meals a day, simple
accommodations, honorariums, and conference fees.
Participants on both delegations accept the risks to
personal safety and uncertainties of travel inherent
in being present in a conflict zone. An additional
risk for U.S. citizens is that travel to Iraq violates
U.S. federal law. CPT seeks participants interested in
human rights work, committed to nonviolence, and
willing to participate in team worship and reflection.
Delegates should have plans to share about the trip
upon return to their home communities, academic
settings, and congregations.
For more information or to apply, contact CPT at the
numbers below, or see CPT’s website at:
https://www.cpt.org. CPT offices will be open every
day this week except December 25 to answer your
questions. Deadline for application is January 3.
Participants in CPT’s December 26-January 9 delegation
to Iraq are: Anne Albright (McPherson, KS), Pat Basler
(Webster, WI), Le Anne Clausen (Mason City, IA), Bill
Durland and Genie Durland (Cokedale, CO), Thomas
Finger (Evanston, IL), Sue Gray (Carbondale, CO),
Charlie Jackson (San Antonio, TX), Larry Kehler
(Winnipeg, Manitoba), Robert Leonetti (Trinidad, CO),
Jim Loney (Priceville, Ontario), Mary Ellen McDonagh
(Chicago, IL), Anne Montgomery (New York, NY), Michele
Naar-Obed (Duluth, MN), and George Weber (Chesley,
Ontario). CPT members Peggy Gish (Athens, OH) and
Cliff Kindy (North Manchester, IN) have been in
Baghdad since October and will lead the delegation.
The Christmas delegation is the second in a series CPT
is sending to Iraq during the current crisis.
