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Rumors of Peace
Newsletter of the Nonviolent Peaceforce
www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org
February, 2002
In English
En Espanol
En Francais
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1) Feed Your Hope
2) Creating the First Pilot Project
3) We Need Your Help
4) Reflections from the Nonviolent Peace Youth Force Coordinator
5) Mission Statement
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
We are proud to announce the release of The Nonviolent Peaceforce
Feasibility Study, one of the most comprehensive examinations of third party
nonviolent intervention ever produced. You may access it on our
website:www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org, at the top of the home page.
1. FEED YOUR HOPE
A Native American grandfather was talking to his grandson about the
tragedy on September 11th.
He said, “I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf
is vengeful, angry, and violent. The other one is loving and
compassionate.”
The grandson asked, “Which wolf will win the fight in your heart?”
The grandfather answered, “The one I feed.”
(From Finding Hope When Dreams Have Shattered by Ted Bowman
*******
"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral,
begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing
evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you
cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you
murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely
increases hate. . . . Returning violence for violence multiples violence,
adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness
cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out
hate: Only love can do that." -Martin Luther King, Jr.
=======================================================================
2. Creating the First Pilot Project
This year, the Nonviolent Peaceforce is laying the groundwork for our
first pilot project. Key activities include: determining the site of
the Nonviolent Peaceforce pilot project; organizing and hosting the
Nonviolent Peaceforce International Convening Event; developing an
international training curriculum for Nonviolent Peaceforce members; and
strengthening the Nonviolent Peaceforce organizational capacity.
In mid-March, the Interim International Steering Committee will meet in
Quebec to narrow the 12 possible sites for the pilot project to three.
The Nonviolent Peaceforce research team will then conduct extensive
research on each of these three sites. The results will be brought to
the International Convening Event in November when the pilot project site
will be selected. The Convening Event will take place in New Delhi
India near the site of Gandhi’s final rites.
Four new members will contribute great experience and leadership
ability to the Nonviolent Peaceforce International Steering Committee:
Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge,Deputy Ministe of Defense in South Africa, Mubarak
Awad, a Palestinian nonviolent activist and director of Nonviolence
International; Akihiko Kimijima, the head of Nonviolent Peaceforce-Japan
and Professor of Law at Hokkai Gakwen University; and Eugenia
Piza-Lopez, the Head of Policy & Advocacy, International Alert.
Tineka Kurth and Mary Lou Ott are traveling to India in February where
they will join steering committee member, Dr. N. Radakrishnan in
establishing logistics and hiring an event coordinator for the International
Convening Event. David Hartsough and Mary Lou are attending a
Conference on a Gandhian Approach to Terrorism where David will make a
presentation on the NP and also conduct a workshop. David will also be giving a
presentation at the Peacemaking Conference in Bangkok, Thailand.
Meanwhile an international team is developing the curriculum for
training the first Peaceforce. A group of volunteer business people are
developing a detailed three-year business plan. And, another group of
volunteer public relations specialists are putting together a marketing
plan to help mainstream the Nonviolent Peaceforce.
Peaceforce volunteers continue to build relationships throughout the
world. Jan Passion who recently returned from Israel/Palestine is now in
West Africa where he is conducting training for the School for
International Training in Ghana. He will also visit Sierra Leone, Liberia, and
Senegal. Phil McManus will represent the Nonviolent Peaceforce in a
meeting in Ecuador dealing with violence along the Ecuador/Colombia
border. Nick Mele spent two weeks in South Korean at the invitation of a
South Korean legislator exploring the role the Nonviolent Peaceforce
might play in helping with reconciliation between the North and South.
========================================================================
3. WE NEED YOUR HELP
This is a big year for the Peaceforce. The International Convening
Event will be held in November in New Delhi. Many decisions will be made
there, including selecting the site of the Nonviolent Peaceforce pilot
project. The training for people in the Peaceforce pilot project is now
being developed and needs to be funded. This means that we are going to
have to raise almost $1 million for this year and over $5 million for
next year. (This is what the world spends on its militaries in four
minutes.)
We need all the help we can get. If you are willing to help raise funds
in any way we would greatly appreciate it.
-Do you have contacts with foundations, or individuals who might
support the work we are doing?
-Are you willing to hold a house party and let your friends know about
the Peaceforce?
-Do you have the name of a famous individual around whom we could build
a fundraising event?
-Do you belong to a community that shares the values of the Nonviolent
Peaceforce and might invite the Nonviolent Peaceforce to a gathering?
If you answered yes to any of the above, or if you have other ideas for
raising money for the first Nonviolent Peaceforce pilot project, please
contact us at [email protected]
You can make it happen.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsletter of the Nonviolent Peaceforce
www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org
February, 2002
In English
En Espanol
En Francais
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1) Feed Your Hope
2) Creating the First Pilot Project
3) We Need Your Help
4) Reflections from the Nonviolent Peace Youth Force Coordinator
5) Mission Statement
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
We are proud to announce the release of The Nonviolent Peaceforce
Feasibility Study, one of the most comprehensive examinations of third party
nonviolent intervention ever produced. You may access it on our
website:www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org, at the top of the home page.
1. FEED YOUR HOPE
A Native American grandfather was talking to his grandson about the
tragedy on September 11th.
He said, “I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf
is vengeful, angry, and violent. The other one is loving and
compassionate.”
The grandson asked, “Which wolf will win the fight in your heart?”
The grandfather answered, “The one I feed.”
(From Finding Hope When Dreams Have Shattered by Ted Bowman
*******
"The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral,
begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing
evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you
cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you
murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely
increases hate. . . . Returning violence for violence multiples violence,
adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness
cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out
hate: Only love can do that." -Martin Luther King, Jr.
=======================================================================
2. Creating the First Pilot Project
This year, the Nonviolent Peaceforce is laying the groundwork for our
first pilot project. Key activities include: determining the site of
the Nonviolent Peaceforce pilot project; organizing and hosting the
Nonviolent Peaceforce International Convening Event; developing an
international training curriculum for Nonviolent Peaceforce members; and
strengthening the Nonviolent Peaceforce organizational capacity.
In mid-March, the Interim International Steering Committee will meet in
Quebec to narrow the 12 possible sites for the pilot project to three.
The Nonviolent Peaceforce research team will then conduct extensive
research on each of these three sites. The results will be brought to
the International Convening Event in November when the pilot project site
will be selected. The Convening Event will take place in New Delhi
India near the site of Gandhi’s final rites.
Four new members will contribute great experience and leadership
ability to the Nonviolent Peaceforce International Steering Committee:
Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge,Deputy Ministe of Defense in South Africa, Mubarak
Awad, a Palestinian nonviolent activist and director of Nonviolence
International; Akihiko Kimijima, the head of Nonviolent Peaceforce-Japan
and Professor of Law at Hokkai Gakwen University; and Eugenia
Piza-Lopez, the Head of Policy & Advocacy, International Alert.
Tineka Kurth and Mary Lou Ott are traveling to India in February where
they will join steering committee member, Dr. N. Radakrishnan in
establishing logistics and hiring an event coordinator for the International
Convening Event. David Hartsough and Mary Lou are attending a
Conference on a Gandhian Approach to Terrorism where David will make a
presentation on the NP and also conduct a workshop. David will also be giving a
presentation at the Peacemaking Conference in Bangkok, Thailand.
Meanwhile an international team is developing the curriculum for
training the first Peaceforce. A group of volunteer business people are
developing a detailed three-year business plan. And, another group of
volunteer public relations specialists are putting together a marketing
plan to help mainstream the Nonviolent Peaceforce.
Peaceforce volunteers continue to build relationships throughout the
world. Jan Passion who recently returned from Israel/Palestine is now in
West Africa where he is conducting training for the School for
International Training in Ghana. He will also visit Sierra Leone, Liberia, and
Senegal. Phil McManus will represent the Nonviolent Peaceforce in a
meeting in Ecuador dealing with violence along the Ecuador/Colombia
border. Nick Mele spent two weeks in South Korean at the invitation of a
South Korean legislator exploring the role the Nonviolent Peaceforce
might play in helping with reconciliation between the North and South.
========================================================================
3. WE NEED YOUR HELP
This is a big year for the Peaceforce. The International Convening
Event will be held in November in New Delhi. Many decisions will be made
there, including selecting the site of the Nonviolent Peaceforce pilot
project. The training for people in the Peaceforce pilot project is now
being developed and needs to be funded. This means that we are going to
have to raise almost $1 million for this year and over $5 million for
next year. (This is what the world spends on its militaries in four
minutes.)
We need all the help we can get. If you are willing to help raise funds
in any way we would greatly appreciate it.
-Do you have contacts with foundations, or individuals who might
support the work we are doing?
-Are you willing to hold a house party and let your friends know about
the Peaceforce?
-Do you have the name of a famous individual around whom we could build
a fundraising event?
-Do you belong to a community that shares the values of the Nonviolent
Peaceforce and might invite the Nonviolent Peaceforce to a gathering?
If you answered yes to any of the above, or if you have other ideas for
raising money for the first Nonviolent Peaceforce pilot project, please
contact us at [email protected]
You can make it happen.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
