Even in the midst of mayhem and murder, people reconcile
A force for nonviolent understanding emerges within Iraq
| Representatives of two currently adversarial ethnic groups -- Arabs and Kurds -- held a soccer match, and a coalition of peace and community development groups concluded a Week of Non-Violence. We trim and blend two 2008 article from OneWorld, the first by Steve Haley, Mercy Corps' deputy country director in Iraq, of September 25, and the second from September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows of October 16. |
by Haley and 9/11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
- Playing for Peace in Iraq
Haley: Tensions are high in Khanaqin because of the presence of both Iraqi Army soldiers from Baghdad and Kurdish Peshmerga fighters from the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, each seeking to establish control. Kurds consider the city, in northern Iraq's Diyala province but just south of the Kurdish autonomous areas, to be part of Kurdistan. In a move to curb growing Kurdish expansion, the Iraqi prime minister ordered the Iraqi army to force Kurdish parties to vacate public buildings in the city.
To mark the eighth annual International Day of Peace, two groups of people who don't always play for the same team played a soccer match. The game between soldiers in Iraq was one of six matches Mercy Corps organized last Sunday.
The tensions quickly dissolved during the match. Many of the 200 spectators crowded into the sideline tent, including high-ranking officials from both sides. The atmosphere was jovial, with lots of banter and teasing about which team to root for.
One particular moment stopped the conversation: An Arab soldier was hurt, helped off the field by a Kurdish player and treated by a Peshmerga medic. We watched in silence, absorbed in the moment.
These small displays of unity continued throughout the match. After it was over, the players left the field hand-in-hand to a standing ovation from the crowd.
- Iraqis Promote Peace with Week of Non-Violence
9/11 Families: LaOnf, Arabic for "No Violence," is a coalition of Iraqi civil society organizations working to bring peace to Iraq through nonviolent actions. The coalition's hopeful message was acted on in all of Iraq's18 governorates (provinces) during the third annual Week of Nonviolence, October 11-16. LaOnf's goals are ending sectarian violence and foreign occupation, and promoting transparent and accountable governance. Provincial elections are scheduled to be held by January 31, 2009, according to the compromise legislation passed by the Iraqi Parliament earlier this month.
LaOnf has called for:
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* the elections to consist of an open list of individual candidates rather than having political parties as the only voting options, as was the case in the last election.
* polls to be guarded by Iraqi police, with the Iraqi Army as back-up, to maintain neutrality at the polls and allow everyone to vote regardless of sectarian, ethnic, or religious affiliation or gender.
* Iraqi militias and US troops to be kept away from polling places, to ensure fair and open elections.
LaOnf is also calling on the candidates to explain fully their programs for rebuilding the country's infrastructure, their plans for creating employment, as well as explaining their positions on the rights of women, the right of free speech, and how a culture of nonviolence can be promoted in Iraq.
In all governorates of Iraq, LaOnf has organized myriad activities: conferences and workshops, youth soccer games, radio and television programs, community meetings, some aimed specifically at youth and women, cultural festivals, distribution of posters and literature, art exhibitions, visits to religious figures, meetings with provincial governors and other officials, and visits with party officials and clan chiefs. Others are symbolic: in Kirkuk and Erbil, community participants released flocks of doves to signal their hopes for a peaceful future.
One campaign against life-like war toys began by trading soccer balls for toy guns, and then expanded to lobbying efforts. In too many instances soldiers shot and killed children carrying life-like toy weapons. LaOnf's campaign has now resulted in legislation banning the sale of war toys in Muthanna.
LaOnf's activities take place in an atmosphere of constant strife with threats against their activities and the lives of members on a daily basis. Nevertheless, rapid growth has marked the organization's membership in the two years since its inception, and over 100 groups have joined. With no barriers to membership other than an acceptance of their basic tenets concerning nonviolence, members are Sunni, Shia, Kurd, Turkman, Christian, and include both men and women in the membership and governing body.
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