The Catholic Worker Archives at 50

Phil Runkel at the Catholic Worker Archives.

Photo by Jim Forest

Marquette University began its archival relationship with the Catholic Worker in March 1962, with the receipt of six boxes of Dorothy Day’s papers and records of the New York community.  This was largely due to the initiative and collecting acumen of the director of libraries, William Ready. He had first broached the matter to Dorothy five years before (around the time that he was extending a similar invitation to J.R.R. Tolkien). A half-century later, the collection comprises more than 200 cubic feet, including the personal papers of Dorothy Day, Peter Maurin, and others involved in the movement; records of past and present Catholic Worker communities; photographs, audio and video recordings; and a wide variety of publications. Most records are open to research use, although materials of a confidential nature have been restricted at the donor’s request. The collection continues to be frequently consulted by students, scholars, and the general public. Catholic Workers can support Marquette’s mission by saving their records (following these guidelines) and donating them on a periodic basis.

The Archives is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Inquiries, requests, and encouraging words are appreciated. Please contact:

Phil Runkel, Archivist
Raynor Memorial Libraries
1355 W. Wisconsin Avenue
P.O. Box 3141
Milwaukee, WI 53201-3141
(414) 288-5903; FAX (414) 288-6709
Phil.Runkel@marquette.edu

http://www.marquette.edu/library/archives/day.shtml

Peacemakers express concern for imprisoned priest

by Joshua J. McElwee

Activists and friends of an 83-year-old Catholic priest imprisoned for an act of civil resistance are expressing some relief after prison officials responded to concerns he was facing unfair treatment in prison. The priest has not eaten since Jan. 10 to protest his placement in solitary confinement.

Jesuit Fr. Bill Bichsel was serving a three-month prison term in the Federal Detention Center near Seattle, Wash., for a July 2010 action at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., where a new nuclear weapons manufacturing facility is being planned.

Bichsel was moved Jan. 10 to a prison transition facility in Tacoma, Wash. He was sent back to the federal detention center in Seattle the next day because authorities said he had received an unauthorized visit at the transition facility.

Fellow activists say Bichsel has begun a fast since his return to prison, where he is being held in solitary confinement. The activists also were concerned that Bichsel, who suffers from blood circulation problems, was not receiving an adequate number of blankets to keep warm.

In a posting at the blog of the “Disarm Now Plowshares” group [2] Jan. 19, activist Blake Kremer said Bichsel had told him “it is very cold for me all of the time.”

“I cannot sleep at all,” Kremer reported Bichsel as saying during a phone call. “24 hours a day without sleep, fighting off the chill. I have asked for a jacket or a pillow or a mattress; they do not comply.”

Knoxville County Jail mug shot.

Activist Joe Power-Drutis reported this afternoon on the same blog that Bichsel has now received extra blankets and is “much warmer,” following a support vigil for the priest outside the prison Sunday, which saw more than 40 people attend.

Power-Drutis also said there “remains a couple of other health related issues” that the activists “hope to resolve those soon through direct negotiation.”

Supporters say Bichsel was visited by Buddhist monks with the Nipponzan Myohoji order when he was moved to the Tacoma facility Jan. 10. They say the authorities at the facility reprimanded Bichsel for the visit and had him rearrested the next morning.

According to Kremer, Bichsel started his fast partly “to unite us as one and strengthen resolve against nuclear weapons” and would be appreciative of any who would join him in the effort.

A spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons said that while he couldn’t comment on the case of a specific inmate, he did say that the “typical issue” for all inmates in the federal system is a blanket and sheet, and that there is a “full health services staff on duty at all of our facilities.”

“If we receive information either from the inmate or the inmate’s doctor on the street that there was some sort of pre-existing condition that was being treated, obviously we would pick up the ball from there,” said Chris Burke, a public information officer at the bureau’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.

“Now, sometimes, our doctors’ treatment may differ from what [the prisoner] was receiving on the street for a lot of different reasons. But those conditions will still be treated regardless.”

Before his imprisonment for the Y-12 action, Bichsel had served a three-month sentence in the spring of 2011 for a November 2009 act of civil resistance at the U.S. Navy nuclear weapons base in Bangor, Wash.

Supporters were concerned for Bichsel during that imprisonment, as he was transferred between at least six different facilities across the country.

Writing on the “Disarm Now Plowshares” blog, Power-Drutis said that a May visit to Bichsel in the Knox County, Tenn., Sheriff's Detention Facility found the priest “a broken and very hurting soul.”

Twelve others participated with Bichsel in the 2010 action at the Y-12 complex, for which they faced sentencing in September.

Four others participated with the priest in the 2009 action, which saw the activists cut through the outer fences of the Washington state naval base before walking toward the center of the base holding a sign that read “Disarm Now Plowshares Trident: Illegal Immoral” and scattering sunflower seeds and hammering on a roadway and fences.

Among the other four who participated in that action was Jesuit Fr. Steve Kelly, who has been imprisoned since April at the Seattle facility, where he is serving a 15 month sentence. According to supporters, Kelly has been in solitary for most of his imprisonment.

Two of the other three people found guilty for the 2009 action have since been released. Susan Crane, a member of the Jonah House community in Baltimore, is still being held on a 15 month sentence at the Federal Correction Institution in Dublin, Calif.

[Joshua J. McElwee is an NCR staff writer. His email address is jmcelwee@ncronline.org.]

Source:

http://ncronline.org/news/peace/activists-express-concern-about-health-imprisoned-priest

Almost Forty Anti-Torture Activists Arrested at White House

WASHINGTON, DC--Thirty-seven members of Witness Against Torture were arrested in front of the White House on Thursday, January 12 around three this afternoon. Dressed in the iconic Guantanamo orange jumpsuits and black hoods and accompanied by a cage representing indefinite detention, the activists were warned to clear the sidewalk by National Park Police or risk arrest. After occupying the sidewalk for more than three hours, they were arrested one by one.

“We came to the White House because just eleven days ago, President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act. It is dead wrong,” says Leah Grady Sayvetz, an activist and college student form Ithaca, New York arrested this afternoon. “The NDAA makes Guantanamo near-permanent and expands detention powers just when this terrible and immoral detention apparatus should be being dismantled.”

The activists held signs that said: “NDAA is Guantanamo Forever,” NDAA is Guantanamo Come Home,” “Shut Down Guantanamo,” “Shut Down Bagram,” “Release Those Unjustly Bound” and pulled a full-size cage up on the side walk.

Witness Against Torture took the cage to the White House on Saturday, January 7 and began a twenty-four hour a day vigil that ended on January 11 at the end of the Ten Years Too Many National Day of Action to Shut Down Guantanamo.

Witness Against Torture, a grassroots movement to shut down Guantanamo, is completed a ten day “Hungering for Justice” liquids-only fast January 12. About one hundred people—in DC and around the country—participated in the fast and engaged in daily actions in front of the White House, and elsewhere to call attention to the terrible injustice that is Guantanamo, Bagram, and secret prisons.

For more information, visit:

www.witnesstorture.org

Photos, photos, photos!

Nearly 300 photos of 2012 Witness Against Torture were taken by Justin Norman, justin@shriekingtree.com from Des Moines, Iowa.

A slide show of these photos is here.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shriekingtree/sets/72157628783007611/show/

The Guantanamo Nightmare Turns Ten

by Ane Bores

Ten years after the fateful events of September 11, 2001, when al-Qaeda suicide bombers flew two planes into the Twin Towers in New York, killing thousands of civilians and sparking a conflict between East and West which continues to this day, the closure of the Guantánamo detention centre is still more of a dream than a reality.

The US high security concentration camp at Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, around 570 miles from Havana, was opened in 2002 to house terrorists captured during the War on Afghanistan.  Former president George W. Bush launched this offensive soon after 9/11 to protect the US public from the terrorist threat.

The Guantánamo detention centre has always been at the centre of controversy because of its disregard for the presumption of innocence and the most basic rights of detainees.

According to several UN reports, there is clear evidence that many of those held have suffered torture or degrading treatment, including interrogation under extreme conditions.

Hundreds of classified documents published by Wikileaks have revealed that the Pentagon’s real objective was always to obtain the greatest amount of information possible in order to help eliminate al-Qaeda members.

This is what happened at the beginning of May, 2011, in the case of Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, who was executed by the US government on the basis of information obtained from suspect interrogation techniques.  Meanwhile, some 60% of prisoners transferred to Guantánamo remain under indefinite detention; even though it has yet to be proven that they actually pose a real threat.

Broken promise

In January 2009, President Barack Obama promised to close Guantánamo within twelve months.  The day after taking office, Obama ordered the temporary suspension of activities at the camp, and no military tribunals were held for 120 days while the new administration reviewed the judgments of those accused of terrorist offences, expressly condemning the use of illegal interrogation methods.

However, three years later, Guantánamo is still unfinished business for the Obama administration.  The camp remains open and exists in a legal void.  The lack of financial resources for transferring prisoners to the United States, and the refusal of other countries to take any of the detainees, means the closure of Guantánamo seems increasingly remote and impossible to predict.

The camp’s closure was hindered considerably when the Republicans successfully gained control of Congress in the 2010 elections, using their new majority to block the use of public funds for prisoner transfers.

It was around this time that the US held the first and only civilian trial of a Guantánamo detainee.

Ahmed Ghailani was acquitted of 284 of the 285 charges against him, but the prisoner transfer veto by Congress meant that further trials could not go ahead.  The US Attorney General was obliged to lay charges against a group of five prisoners to be tried by a military tribunal at Guantánamo Bay.

Some prisoners were moved to other countries, such as Spain, but that was only around 70 of them – a small minority indeed.

Wikileaks exposes the scandal

On April 25, 2011, leading international newspapers published revelations by Wikileaks.

The internet organization had gained access to around 760 classified military reports dating from 2002 to 2009 which exposed how many elderly people and teenagers with no terrorist links were being held and transferred to Guantánamo with the sole aim of obtaining information from them.

According to the files, prisoners would be held in detention regardless of their state of health if it was thought that they were hiding valuable intelligence.

The Spanish newspaper El País, which had access to the classified documents, reported that the US administration did not even know why some of the prisoners had been moved to Guantánamo, and in many cases it was concluded that the detainee posed no threat, although they were still kept in detention.

One 89-year-old man with senile dementia and depression, for example, was imprisoned because a satellite phone had been found in the residential block where he lived.

The reports also explain the Pentagon’s assessment system for trying detainees, based, in the main, on suspicion and the accusations of fellow inmates.  Despite failing to obtain any reliable evidence to corroborate the offences they are charged with, 143 people have spent more than nine years imprisoned in Guantánamo.

Eight dead prisoners

Inayatula, an Afghani, was last year to the list of prisoners found dead at Guantánamo under suspicious circumstances, who now number eight.

The US military put his death down to suicide.  They allege that Inayatula, who is accused of being a member of al-Qaeda’s logistical wing, was unconscious and not breathing when the guards found him, and that they were unable to revive him.

In the midst of the controversy over interrogation methods at Guantánamo, Inayatula’s autopsy will reveal whether or not he was yet another victim of Barack Obama’s policy failures.

Source:

http://www.theprisma.co.uk/2011/06/05/guantanamo-detention-centre-or-nightmare/

Ed Note:

The results of Inayatula’s autopsy have yet to be reported.  However, if this report is handled as questionably as similar reports, it is unlikely the public will know the truth in any case.

http://my.firedoglake.com/valtin/2011/06/01/adweek-article-misrepresents-autopsy-results-on-guantanamo-suicide/

Three Y12 Resisters Finally Released

Police handcuff resisters at the July 2010 action in Tennessee.

Thursday, January 6, 2012 marked the end of eight long months of imprisonment for Steve Baggarly, Mike Walli and Bonnie Urfer who have been released from prisons in Lisbon, Ohio; Morgantown, West Virginia; and Lexington, Kentucky.

Each received maximum sentences for their faithful witness against the destructive power of thermonuclear weapons at the Y12 Nuclear Weapons Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, July 5, 2010, resistance action. For each of them, the Y12 action was one of many compelling actions in which these resisters have stood to speak truth to power. Their odyssey through the legal system took them to jails and prisons in Knoxville, TN; Maryville, TN; Ocilla, GA; and Oklahoma City, OK in addition to the facilities from which they are released today.

Bonnie Urfer

Still in custody is Bill “Bix” Bichsel.  He entered SeaTac prison to serve three months for his Y12 action in November.  (See related story.)

The last remaining Y12 resister from the July 2010 action to be sentenced is Dave Corcoran, who entered a plea of guilty in late December and will be sentenced on March 21, 2012.

Source:

http://www.nukeresister.org/2012/01/07/three-y-12-nuclear-resisters-released-after-8-months-behind-bars/

___________________

Mike Walli

Ed. Note:  Bonnie Urfer and Steve Baggarly wrote eloquent sentencing statements.  These may be read below.

Bonnie Urfer's Sentencing Statement

http://catholicworkercommentary.blogspot.com/2011/09/bonnie-urfers-statement-to-court-so.html

Steve Baggarly's Sentencing Statement

http://catholicworkercommentary.blogspot.com/2011/09/steve-baggarly-sentencing-statement.html

Steve Baggarly

Rita Corbin Calendars Still Available

Maggie Corbin reports that there are some 2012 Calendar, designed by her mother Rita Corbin, are still available.  Rita had finished about half of this annual project when she was killed in car accident in November.  Maggie is herself a graphic designer and was able to complete and publish the calendar.

The calendars are $7.00 each to cover the cost of printing and shipping—an amazing bargain for something so beautiful and inspiring.  Also available are Rita Corbin art note cards for $7.00 per dozen (assorted designs)

Please send orders to

    Rita Corbin Art

    PO Box 1543

    Brattleboro, VT 05302

Make checks payable to Maggie Corbin.  

Maloy Catholic Worker Craft Retreat Returns!

Basket weaving at a previous retreat.

MALOY, IA--Strangers and Guests Catholic Worker in Maloy, Iowa, will host a Craft Retreat, February 16-21, 2012.

Once again, the retreat will offer a rich blend of learning, sharing, making music, making useful things and celebration.

Here is a tentative schedule:

  Thursday: Arrival, organizing, planning and loom set-up

   Friday: Rag preparation and weaving, cheese making

   Saturday: Basket weaving (with newspaper) class, weaving on loom

   Sunday: Liturgy, Sabbath relaxation and in the evening, pot luck, folk dancing and singing with our neighbors.

  Monday: Weaving continues. Candle-dipping

 Tuesday: Scripture study, finish projects, clean-up, good-byes

Other possible crafts are soap making and weaving dishcloths or kitchen towels.  If you have a skill you’d be willing to offer, let the organizer know.

For more information, contact: 

Betsy Keenan <keenanweaving@yahoo.com>

Anti-Torture Activists Trial Begins in DC

WASHINGTON, DC--A jury trial for five anti-torture activists began on Tuesday, January 3, 2012 in D.C. Superior Court before Judge Fisher on a charge of unlawful conduct.

“Our strategy is to put Guantanamo on trial,” says Josie Setzler, a human rights advocate and grandmother from Ohio, “to demand action from our elected Representatives and our President, to see Guantanamo shut down and this travesty ended.”

On June 23, 2011, as the House of Representatives voted on an appropriations bill containing a measure to strip funding from any efforts to repatriate Guantanamo detainees, the activists stood one by one and addressed the men and women elected to represent their interests. Their statement began:

“Today the House of Representative is in the process of contemplating not the passage of a bill but the commission of a crime. Provisions in the proposed Defense Appropriations Bill grant the United States powers over the lives of detained men fitting of a totalitarian state that uses the law itself as an instrument of tyranny. The law would make the prison at Guantanamo permanent by denying funds for the transfer of men to the United States, even for prosecution in civilian courts.”

Spread throughout the House Gallery, the fourteen were able to complete their statements before being led away by Congressional guards. Many of the Representatives on the floor listened intently, while others jeered derisively. Everyone within hearing range understood that the activists were objecting to the continued abuse and detention of men at Guantanamo—many of whom have been cleared for release by the Bush and Obama administrations but continue to be held largely because of the political cowardice of Congress. The fourteen welcome the opportunity to make their case before a jury in a trial that is expected to last most of the week. According to court documents, the case is known as “Shakir Ami (aka Bryan Hynes) et al Co-Defendants;” a somewhat garbled reference to Shaker Aamer, one of the longest-held men at Guantanamo, a British resident of Pakistani descent. In the past, Witness Against Torture activists have been arrested without IDs and taken the names of men at Guantanamo, ensuring—at least symbolically—that these men have a day in court, a day denied them by the Obama administration. The defendants-- Brian Hynes of the Bronx, NY, Judith Kelly of Washington, DC, Mike Levinson of White Plains, NY, Carmen Trotta of New York City, NY, and Josie Setzler of Freemont, Ohio—were among fourteen originally arrested and charged. The government dropped charges against the other nine just days ago, saying arresting officers could not positively identify most of the activists.

Anti-Torture Activists "Occupy" Washington, DC

WASHINGTON, D.C. — January 11 will mark the tenth anniversary of the first detainees' arrival at the U.S.-controlled detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. To remember this travesty, Witness Against Torture is planning 10 days of activities in Washington, D.C. demanding an end to torture and indefinite detention at Guantanamo, Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, and elsewhere, and that the president reject the just-passed National Defense Authorization Act.

Jan. 2-12: WAT sponsors Hungering for Justice, a 10-day fast highlighting the ongoing crimes at Guantanamo and Bagram. Dozens of activists are expected to participate in the fast in Washington as well as other cities. Locations of daily activities in support of the fast to be announced. 

Jan. 3: The jury trial of 14 anti-torture activists is scheduled to begin in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Moultrie Courthouse, 500 Indiana Ave., N.W. In June 2011, the 14 stood one by one in the Gallery of the House of Representatives to petition lawmakers to uphold the Constitution by not making funding for Guantanamo permanent. WAT will stand with the 14 in the court room, outside the courthouse, and around the city as their trial proceeds.

On Wednesday, January 4 the defendants convened a press conference outside the courthouse before they went into trial for the day. 

Jan. 11: A dramatic Human Chain from the White House to the Capitol Building marks the 
10th anniversary of detention at Guantanamo. WAT joins a broad coalition of human rights groups in sponsoring this vigil, which will begin after a noontime rally in Lafayette Park. During the rally and vigil, activists will be wearing orange jumpsuits and holding signs and other visuals demanding that the detention center be closed.

“Despite his campaign pledge to shut down Guantanamo, President Obama has continued the Bush administration's practice of indefinite military detention there and at Bagram,” says Jeremy Varon, professor of history at the New School and an organizer with WAT. “Now, Obama says he will sign the National Defense Authorization Act, which extends this abusive regime by allowing the president to order U.S. citizens, as well, to be held indefinitely without due process on American soil. Not one more year – not one more day – of such policies is acceptable. Witness Against Torture is here in Washington to add our message to the 'Occupy' movement's call for a return to a just political and economic system by demanding an end to the national disgrace that is Guantanamo.”

Witness Against Torture is a grassroots movement that came into being in December 2005 when 24 activists walked to Guantanamo to visit the prisoners and condemn torture policies. Since then, it has engaged in public education, community outreach, and non-violent direct action. January 2012 will be the sixth year the group has “occupied” Washington, DC to call for justice, accountability and mercy. To learn more, visit www.witnesstorture.org

Report on the Holy Innocents Faith and Resistance Retreat in Washington, D.C.

by Art Laffin

Focusing on the theme: ”Let all the World's Children Live--Remember the Massacred Children and Create the Beloved Community in a Disarmed World," more than sixty people from the Atlantic and Southern Life Communities, and the New Jerusalem Community in Philadelphia, gathered in Washington, D.C. December 27-30 for the annual Holy Innocents Faith and Resistance retreat. The retreat included a moving ritual on the theme of the retreat, several compelling panels with parents and children reflecting on their experience living in Catholic Worker and resistance communities,  prayerful reflection and liturgy,  three nonviolent actions, and a spirited talent show.

The Massacre of the Holy Innocents by Duccio di Buoninsegna, 1311 

On December 28, the feast commemorating the slaughter of the holy innocents in Bethlehem ordered by King Herod, the community held an early morning witness outside the Pentagon metro entrance. Displaying a small mock drone warplane, eleven people staged a "die-in" to represent children and numerous others who have been murdered by U.S. Drone attacks in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and elsewhere. They were arrested and charged with failure to obey a lawful order and released several hours later with a February 17 court date. Following the arrests, as hundreds of military and civilian workers streamed into the Pentagon, the remainder of the community held a prayer service in the fenced-off area outside the Pentagon metro known as the "free speech" or "protest zone."

On December 29, the community held a noon-time witness in front of the White House. Using the "mic-check" form of speaking that is practiced by the Occupy Movement, the witness included a reading of the massacre of the holy innocents (Mt. 2: 13-18), an account of how U.S. Drone warplanes are murdering innocents today, a "die-in" using a mock drone warplane, an offering of peace, justice and nonviolence resolutions for the New Year, and a creative spirit-led dance with people singing "Down By the Riverside." This same action was repeated again on December 30 at the White House with one addition. Toward the end of the witness, streamers with statements of how Drones can be transformed to serve life were placed on the mock drone warplane by adults and children. The retreat concluded with a closing circle at the anti-nuclear/anti-war vigil site across from the White House that was started by the late William Thomas and where Conception has vigiled for the last thirty years.

Let us continue to pray with and for each other in this New Year as we conspire to create the Beloved Community. For with God and each other all things are possible!

Those arrested at the Pentagon were:

Bill Frankel-Streit, Little Flower Catholic Worker in Virginia

Amber Mason, Dorothy Day Catholic Worker

Kevin Mason, Dorothy Day Catholic Worker

Kathy Boylan, Dorothy Day Catholic Worker

Clare Grady, Ithaca Catholic Worker

Marie Grady-DeMott, Ithaca Catholic Worker

Steve Woolford, Silk Hope (N.C.) Catholic Worker

Liz McAlister, Jonah House

Sr. Margaret McKenna, New Jerusalem Community

Rosemary Thompson, Baltimore peace activist

Joan Wages, Peace activist from Central Virginia

_________

Art Laffin <artlaffin@hotmail.com>

Dorothy Day CW House

503 Rock Creek Church Road, NW

Washington, D.C. 20010

Phone: 202.882.9649 or 202.829.7625

http://dccatholicworker.wordpress.com/

Catholic Workers Occupy Northwood Military HQ

EASTBURY, HERTFORDSHIRE, UK--Sixteen Catholic Workers closed and occupied the Main Entrance of Northwood Military Headquarters. Scott and Maria Albrecht, Henrietta Cullinan, John Lynes and Rachel Wood pitched tents, knelt and prayed in front of the main gate for 2 hour while others vigiled holding signs. One tent had the words, “The Prince of Peace pitched his tent among us” John 1:14. A sign said, “War is not a Solution” which is a direct message from the Young Afghan Peace Volunteers and another Pvt. Bradley Manning’s Quote, “Exposing the true nature of 21st Century asymmetrical Warfare”. A banner stating, “Occupy Northwood HQ not Afghanistan” was hung on the fence. The gate remained closed for the duration of the occupation. 

The Catholic Worker group had gathered to mark the Feast of Holy Innocents; when Catholics remember the children murdered by king Herod in his search for the infant Jesus. Catholic Workers make the connection with the powerful who continue to kill the innocents today in war, specifically Afghanistan. Northwood HQ is the command and control center for British forces in Afghanistan, all joint forces and NATO operations abroad. Northwood HQ has recently experienced a £1.2 billion building project; these funds could have otherwise benefited the community. 

The five occupiers were: Maria Albrecht (50), Scott Albrecht (49) from the Catholic Worker Farm, Hertfordshire, Henrietta Cullinan (50) from the Catholic Worker in Hackney, John Lynes (83) Quaker from Hastings and Rachel Wood (28) from the Catholic Worker group Sheffield. 

A group statement said, “At a time when government cuts are affecting innocent children, pensioners, teachers, the sick and refugees the last thing we need to be doing is to continue spending billions on warfare. Human lives are the deepest cost. The government complains about a few tents occupying a small square outside St. Paul’s cathedral while we’ve sent thousands of soldiers to occupy other people’s countries and destroy their lives. This government needs to get its priorities right”. 

The Catholic Worker Farm

thecatholicworkerfarm@yahoo.co.uk

www.thecatholicworkerfarm.org

_______

Source:

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2011/12/490585.html

Children of the "New" Afghanistan

A Thirst That Won’t be Quenched

by Ken Hannaford-Ricardi

Ken Hannaford-Ricardi

KABUL--It’s early evening near Pole Sorkh (po-lay sork) Square in western Kabul.  Although it’s barely 6:00, winter’s cold bare feet have already started their walk across our apartment. Ali, Abdulai, Roz Mohammend, and Faiz have joined Maya and me on the floor of a small room that later will double as a bedroom for a quiet evening of reading and studying. Like most of the others, I’ve cocooned myself in a thick quilt and I’ve begun reading Ha Jin’s novel of the Korean War, War Trash.

Not five minutes into the Prologue, I sensed Faiz edging his way over to me. His voice quiet, almost a whisper, slips out into the room; “Will you study with me?”  Over the next fifteen minutes, we worked our way through three short lessons in a workbook written for first graders.  Each consists of a simple, one page story followed by a series of questions based on the text. They are extraordinarily simple; they seem almost humiliating for a twenty year old young man. As we study, nineteen-year-old Roz Mohammed shyly carried his blanket and English language dictionary to our corner and settled in.  Every so often, he’d shyly interrupt Faiz as he read and say, “Teacher, what does this word mean?”

Across the room, Maya and Ali worked on the meanings of basic words culled from a middle school dictionary.  Ali studied intently, pronouncing each word carefully, as if it were an egg that might easily be broken. “Basket. Bully. Bundle,” he would say, repeating each word until he got it right.

A half hour after we began, still only a few sentences into Ha Jin’s prologue, I looked across at Maya and asked, “Where in America can you find anything like this?  A cold room, nothing but quilts and a kettle for tea on the floor, and four boys asking us question after question about a language they’re trying to learn.”  In truth, this type of thing happens all the time in our small apartment.  The five young Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers who live here with their friend and mentor, Hakim, never go anywhere without a workbook or dictionary. After breakfast, one pulls a sheet of paper from his jacket pocket and begins to study.  Waiting for a ride, another asks, “What does this mean?”

Across the hall from us live four university students.  One is studying electricity; one aspires to be a pharmacist.  Two days after our arrival, one of them, a young man named Said, knocked on our door and asked if one of us would like to help them learn English.  Maya and I settled on meeting them in their apartment at 7 pm that night.  The first class had three students; the second, five; now there are six.  We work from copied pages and a white board.  Each student actively participates.

Each of these young men, all symbols of the “new Afghanistan,” possesses a thirst that won’t be quenched.  In our conversational practice, we talk of how they will shape their country in the years ahead. According to some figures, 68 percent of Afghanistan’s thirty one million people are under eighteen years old. No matter what the old guard wants to believe, the future of Afghanistan belongs to the young. We can only hope they won’t be co-opted by the temptations dangled before them by western “leadership.” We can only hope they’ll grab the reins of power and gallop off in a new direction, one of peace and reconciliation.

If the world you and I inhabit really wants to help these young people, and I doubt very much it does, it will do all it can to slake their thirst for knowledge. It will provide all the help they ask for, and nothing more. It will respect their intelligence and desire to find their own way. These students deserve our respect. They know, no matter what we say, they don’t have it now.  It’s about time they do.

Ken Hannaford-Ricardi is a long-time Catholic Worker from Worcester, Massachusetts. This is his second visit to Afghanistan. He can be reached at keninafghanistan@gmail.com

________

Source:

http://wagingnonviolence.org/2011/12/a-thirst-that-wont-be-quenched/

For Catholic Worker, Life-giving Work Is a Form of Prayer

by Sr. Camille D'Arienzo

Julia Occhiogrosso, 50, was the sixth of seven children born to Frank and Gloria Occhiogrosso. Her twin sister, Christa, followed her by 3 minutes.

Julia Occhiogrosso

Her parents, respected leaders in their local parish of St. Jerome in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, sent their children to its elementary school. And as owners and agents of Ideal World Travel, they could arrange trips for anyone to go anywhere in the world, taking particular delight in sending tourists to the Holy Land.

They could not have guessed that three of their daughters would journey across the country to live among the destitute served by Catholic Worker communities in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. These are lands made holy by those who devote themselves to serving society's homeless and hungry men, women and children.

Julia, what values did your parents instill in you?

My parents valued integrity. They led a life guided by Christian principles. They modeled hard work and contributed to the local community. They had a caring relationship with each other and commitment to the family. They provided solid ground, consistency and a loving, affectionate home.

How did your siblings influence you?

During my years at Edward R. Murrow High School, my eldest sister, Rosemary, was studying to be a nurse and working as a volunteer with the United Farmworkers in Delano, Calif. I was aware of Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers movement because my two older siblings, Regina and Michael, were active with their local boycott in Brooklyn. I was 13 when I joined them on my first picket line.

Did anyone exert special influence on you?

Rosemary, through her letters describing her work with the poor in California. Her words, "We must never forget the poor," stayed inside me. While Regina and Michael had liberal political perspectives that certainly affected my formation, Rosemary was motivated by her Catholic faith. While Rosemary was in Delano, members of the L.A. Catholic Worker recruited her to administer their free clinic on Skid Row. In 1979, she joined the LACW community.

What brought you there?

The summer my twin and I graduated from high school, our parents gave us airline tickets to visit Rosemary. Rather than opting for Disneyland and other tourist attractions, I was drawn to working in the soup kitchen. Little did my parents expect us to come home with a desire to join the Catholic Worker. Following that first summer, I returned to New York to attend SUNY Cortland. Throughout the year, I stayed in contact with Catherine Morris, an LACW leader. The next summer, Christa and I returned as volunteers.

Did some particular experience strengthen your resolve?

I remember tagging along with Mary Smith, a nurse in the community. We went door to door in the run-down Skid Row hotels. Mary spoke Spanish, informing the families about a summer project for children. We walked tenuously through darkened hallways, avoiding broken glass. The air reeked of urine. Peeking out from behind their moms were little children with dazed eyes. They seemed to wonder, "What can you do for me?" My heart knew in those moments that I was being invited to be with the poor. In 1982, I dropped out of SUNY, and Christa left the New York School of Visual Arts. We lived and worked at the LACW until 1986.

Christa then left to pursue her degree as an art therapist. Rosemary moved on and I was commissioned to open the LACW's first sister house in Las Vegas, not far from the Nevada Nuclear Test Site, which we opposed.

How did you get started?

LACW volunteer Rick Chun spent six months with me. We hit the streets serving ice water to people in the streets. We asked what would best serve their needs. They wanted coffee and breakfast for the day laborers. This was the start of the morning soup line.

Did others join you?

For the first five years, different people came for six months to a few years. The lack of a consistent, long-term community was taking a toll on me. Just as I thought I needed a break, Gary Cavalier, whom I'd known at the LACW, joined me. We shared similar values. Gary brought insight, energy and creativity to the LVCW. His background in printing and publishing helped improve our newsletter, Manna. We were married in 1994.

How did that change your life?

Because I wanted a family, we adopted two boys. We moved out of the hospitality house with Gary commuting to run the projects. When the boys started school, I was able to spend more time at the Worker. We soon were running a grassroots interfaith program for homeless families, along with the Catholic Worker house.

Did the boys bring about any change in your commitments?

In 1996, we moved closer to a Montessori school run by a friend who accepted the boys without charge. When they approached adolescence, Cody and Nick began developing bipolar disorder and were reliving the psychological trauma of early childhood abuse and neglect. By the time they were 12 and 13, we were losing them to the streets. Many years at the Catholic Worker had shown us the pains of mental illness, but now it was in our home.

What happened next?

After they spent months in dangerously disturbing acting-out behaviors, I found a place in Colorado that understood what was happening and how to help our family. In the summer of 2010 we were granted a sabbatical leave to move to Colorado for the support and expertise needed to stabilize our sons.

What happened at the LVCW?

The work continues. Just when we needed to leave, a couple that had spent a year in L.A. volunteered to take over. Gary commutes to Las Vegas. And day by day we work toward our sons' stability and independence. The older will be 18 in March. We've taken in three more foster sons and plan to return to the LVCW in a few years.

Julia, you've taken on some large challenges. Has any particular Scripture passage sustained you?

Different passages speak to me differently in different moments. The parable of loaves and fishes and Matthew 25, "Whatsoever you do to the least of these you do unto me," have special meaning for me. The paradoxes and metaphors found in Scripture show up often in my thoughts and they influence my writing.

What is your image of God?

I envision God incarnated in the dynamic of human relationships. I embrace my image of God when I'm able to revere both the wounds and sacredness in myself and others. In human relationships, we're given the privilege to engage in the give-and-take of a love that endures suffering, sacrifice and commitment, as well as a love that comforts, rejoices and hopes.

What about your faith is most meaningful to you?

Faithfulness to Jesus' message of radical love and forgiveness provides infinite possibilities toward personal and social transformation.

Who most influenced your belief system?

Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, co-founders of the Catholic Worker Movement. Other influences include Jeff Dietrich and Catherine Morris, who were my first mentors with the Catholic Worker and remain loyal friends.

Please explain.

I was in my 20s when I first joined the L.A. Catholic Worker community. It was a very exciting time for me. The work with the poor and nonviolent peace protests and living in community all felt right for me. But it was not until a couple years into it that I became interested in understanding the history, vision and principles that sustained the Catholic Worker lifestyle. Dorothy, Peter and all the early members of the Catholic Worker gave expression to a contemporary understanding of the Christian life that still inspires my journey.

Where did you feel most at home?

Surrounded by the love, friendship and support of my community and family.

Why?

The heart of the Catholic Worker mission revolves around the practice of the corporal Works of Mercy, and I have known the treasures and disappointments of attempting to follow this practice faithfully. It is this type of human engagement that continues to be a path of personal challenge, introspection and spiritual growth. For me, the practice of the Works of Mercy provides the opportunity to experience the power of God's love incarnate.

How do you bring your faith to the workplace?

Here in Colorado, I work with some of the most severely abused and neglected children in our society. Their need for healing requires much patience and understanding. They exhibit behaviors that would push the kindest of hearts to abandon them -- this is indeed part of their pathology. Jesus' witness of relentless persistence to the outcast "undeserving poor" is an enduring model for me. My faith in the presence of the Divine in even the most volatile and aggressive ones sustains me in this work.

How do you pray?

In many ways. I feel close to our Creator when I walk down a beautiful country road. In the same way, I know God's wonder and holiness in liturgical rites and communal prayer. Prayerful moments can come to me as I comfort a crying child or look in to the eyes of a man as I serve him a bowl of soup. Creative, life-giving work is a form of prayer for me.

What in contemporary Catholicism encourages or distresses you?

What distresses me about Catholicism is the misuse of power and the hierarchical structures that in many cases are antithetical to the Gospel model of love and service. What encourages me are the many, many ordinary people of faith who are guided and inspired by the powerful social teachings of the church.

What causes you sorrow?

I am filled with sorrow about injustice to the most vulnerable members of our society. Human suffering and destruction to creation causes me great pain.

What causes you joy?

I am filled with joy from friendships, community and holy work. The gift of beauty, especially from creation, fills me with joy.

_______

Source:

http://ncronline.org/blogs/conversations-sr-camille/catholic-worker-life-giving-work-form-prayer

Kathy Kelly Speaks about War on Terror

America’s longest war should come to an end

by Lewis W. Diuguid

Before New Year’s Eve, people of conscience and people who refuse to accept war as a solution should go to the Central Library downtown.

Until Dec. 31, they’ll find the “Windows and Mirrors: Reflections on the War in Afghanistan” murals on display. The gigantic art illustrates the bloodshed and costs of America’s longest war and helps inspire creative solutions.

Kathy Kelly, who coordinates Voices for Creative Nonviolence, spoke about the same concerns this month at the library beneath the murals and at Holy Family Catholic Worker House. “If people knew what was happening in direct consequence of our war of choice, if people knew they would say no,” Kelly said. “This is not how we want to be.”

It’s why the war in Afghanistan must end just as this nation was relieved by the war’s conclusion this month in Iraq.

Kelly is no stranger to Kansas City, having been jailed in the 1980s for planting corn on missile silo grounds. She has visited Afghanistan four times with others interested in peace to learn about the effects of the war on everyday Afghans and neighboring Pakistanis. She shared those stories in connection with the American Friends Service Committee library exhibit.

One mural depicts scenes of U.S. drones, silhouetted children scattering, bloodshed and the unmanned planes flying off in a mechanical detachment from the trauma they caused on innocent civilians. Kelly, a three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, is a petite, nonthreatening, 58-year-old Chicago native. She carried no weapons in Afghanistan, wore no armor and was not embedded with the U.S. military.

Like Mohandas Gandhi, her presence and voice bring peace to war-torn areas. Kelly pushed peace in Iraq before and during that war. She’s at it again in Afghanistan. She told stories of kids gathering firewood being slaughtered by drones.

In another instance, women going to market in three vehicles were attacked by drones. Two of the vehicles were destroyed.

Information that the vehicles may have contained women and children was overridden in the interest of U.S. troop safety. What’s clear is the information from drones and other technology exceeds military intelligence’s ability to digest it and act accordingly.

“My friends, war is always counterproductive and futile,” Kelly said. “The military is accelerating our decline.”

When it comes to drones, President Barack Obama is worse than President George W. Bush. According to one report, by March 3, 2011, Obama had ordered 180 drone strikes compared with Bush’s 42.

Kelly met several individuals who had no idea what 9-11 was or any knowledge of a terrorist attack in the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001, which provoked the 10-year-old, $2 billion a week war in their country.

Americans must constantly combat what President Dwight Eisenhower correctly called the military industrial complex, which uses U.S. lawmakers and profits from endless wars. People need to see the devastating effect fighting has on innocent civilians.

The downtown library exhibit focuses on that in the traumatized expression of a girl in a scarf in a mural titled “The Children of Afghanistan.”

The horror is in a mural of a woman with a prosthetic leg titled “What’s Lost.”

Kelly said a man who showed her photos of members of his family who had been killed in the war asked, “Do you think that we like to live this way?”

Kelly urged the audience to get involved to end the war and get the United States to rebuild that nation, which for 30 years has suffered from warfare. “People have the capacity to end wars by raising their voices,” she said.

The silence is consent, and no one can afford to sit by and be silent anymore.

Source:

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/12/25/3335705/americas-longest-war-should-come.html