THE HUMAN SIDE OF WAR
—by Hanan Watson and Paul Bennett
The
misery war causes individuals, families and nations was the subject of a
forum, “The Human Side of War,” presented by the All Souls Peace
Task Force in collaboration with the First Unitarian Society in Brooklyn
and the Community Church of New York. The Rev. Jan Carlsson-Bull moderated
the forum presented October 18 in Reidy-Friendship Hall. This is the second
Peace Task Force program in 2003 in which the three churches worked together.
Each of the panelists
visited Iraq in recent months and each spoke about their personal experiences
and concerns. Besides the reconstruction of the country
and the establishment of a democratic government, they emphasized the problem
in bridging the cultural divide between American soldiers and the Iraqi people.
The panelists
were the Rev. John A. Buehrens, past president of the UUA and a former associate
minister at All Souls and Scott Taylor, a military journalist
and author. The Rev. Patricia Ackerman of the Fellowship for Reconciliation,
established in 1914 and active now in forty countries, also spoke. The
other participants were Lee Gough, sister of a former United States Navy
man, who
as a conscientious objector was released from military service this year,
and G. Simon Harak, a Jesuit priest and member of the War Resisters League.
“The discussion
was very moving,” said Peace Task Force Chair Paul
Bennett. “It
heightened my awareness of the distance between the American and Iraqi
ways of life. It is important to hear from enlightened observers how
much it complicates
the efforts of coalition forces to stabilize Iraq and to defend themselves
and others in Iraq.”
The program, which
was taped by WBAI and a cable access channel, was organized by fifteen volunteers
from the three congregations. Approximately
sixty
people attended.
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