by John Dear, SJ — 3/17/09 (reprinted with permission)
A delegation of 20 American peacemakers planned to visit the much maligned nation of Iran in late February. Only six received visas. Among these were David Hartsough and Franciscan Fr. Louie Vitale. They returned brimming with fondness, hope and heartening stories.
David, the delegation leader, is a long time Quaker peacemaker who worked with the American Friends Service Committee for 18 years and co-founded Nonviolent Peace Force, an international project that places trained nonviolence workers in conflict situations. He currently directs Peaceworkers, an organization that supports nonviolent movements around the world.
Members of the delegation share their reflections on their recent trip to Iran.
In this post are essays by Ann Morrell, Bill Gillen, and Jack Schultz. Ann wrote about what she describes as the highlight of her trip, a connection she made with a group of schoolgirls in Esfahan (see above photo):
We were descending the steps on the way out of the Palace of the Forty Columns in Esfahan. We only saw twenty columns because the large reflecting pool was drained and instead of the shimmering reflection of the twenty columns, we saw workmen patching the sides of the pool. It was a beautiful sunny morning in a lovely park. On the steps were so many teenaged girls talking together in clumps that I surmised they were on a school trip.
Continue reading
Ethan Vesely-Flad on March 5, 2009
Today's news from Capitol Hill highlights an issue of deep concern to those who seek to build stronger relationships between the United States and Iran. Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ) submitted a proposed amendment to a bill on an omnibus appropriations bill in the Senate. The amendment would prohibit all U.S. agencies from doing business with companies with any business ties to Iran's energy sector. The Friends Committee on National Legislation argued in a summary of a letter that FCNL faxed to every U.S. senator last night:
"Taking action to further cripple Iran's already taxed energy sector punishes the Iranian peopl. More hostile and draconian sanctions undermine the potential for a diplomatic solution to Iran's contested nuclear program and other peace and security concerns."
Continue reading
Submitted by David Hartsough on March 2, 2009
Here's an update from our delegation leader David Hartsough:
Father Louie Vitale and I met with a group of Iranian war veterans from the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88) and a delegation from Hiroshima, Japan. Some of the vets had lost their legs; many had been attacked by the chemical weapons used by Saddam Hussein against the Iranians and have been suffering the consequences ever since.
There were widows who had lost their husbands, men who could barely see with one eye, people who could not breathe when someone started to smoke, and many from Hiroshima who had lost so many of their relatives and loved ones.
Continue reading
Submitted by Ethan Vesely-Flad on February 28, 2009
Several more reports have arrived in the past 48 hours from the Fellowship of Reconciliation's 9th civilian diplomacy delegation to Iran. Earlier this week, the group flew south from Iran to Shiraz, and they have since traveled to the ancient, mighty ruins of Persepolis as well as the gorgeous city of Esfahan. Delegation leader David Hartsough wrote two short reflections from this city of rivers, known to all Iranians as "half the world." His first, "Don't Bring Your Guns," is both a humorous and political commentary: Continue reading
Submitted by FOR on February 21, 2009
The Fellowship of Reconciliation's ninth peace and civilian diplomacy delegation to Iran arrived safely in Tehran on Thursday, February 19th, 2010. There are six members of this delegation, making it the smallest one to date, as two-thirds of the group were denied visas. FOR is deeply concerned about what we are experiencing as an increasing series of challenges to an already difficult process of obtaining visas for U.S. citizens.
Continue reading