| Kathy Kelly Spreads the Word -at Pax Christi Church February 15th, 2004 |
| Kathy Kelly Spreads the Word -at Pax Christi Church February 15th, 2004 |
I attended a talk by Kathy Kelly, co-founder of Voices in the Wilderness, at Pax Christi Catholic Community in Eden Prairie on Sunday, February 15, 2004. The organizers included Women Against Military Madness, the Twin City Peace Campaign, and Pax Christi. Literature was available and refreshments were provided.
It was similar to a talk last October at St. Joan's, but more detailed since she had the podium to herself this time. The details included how she got started in activism after hearing racist slurs in her home of southwest Chicago. While very upset all she could do at that stage of her life was cry. Later, when working on her Master's in Theology, she was encouraged to actively pursue social justice by the song refrain "God hears the cry of the poor".
Her first of more than 25 trips to Iraq came in 1991 as a member of the Gulf Peace Team. Upon hearing about the devastating affects of economic sanctions and warfare, she decided to make a return trip in 1995 carrying medicine and other essentials in open defiance of the sanctions. She told the US government what she was going to do and was threatened with heavy fines and a lengthy prison term by the Treasury Department. She responded by inviting them to join her!
Kathy related several stories of people she met in Iraq, including one about a group of shoeshine boys who were reluctantly pressed into service in the Iraqi army. When their commander decided he didn't need so many troops and offered to let some go home, they jumped at the chance. On their journey home, they became worried that their army uniforms would make them targets for the American forces. They stopped at a farmhouse and asked if they could get some other clothes. The farmer agreed to help and they left the uniforms behind. Some time later, Kathy talked to a US soldier who told of his troupe coming to a farmhouse and worrying about whether the occupants were friendly. Upon discovering some army uniforms, they decided to kill them all.
She answered questions from the audience after the talk. She gave a detailed response to my request for an update on the School of Americas situation. About 14,000 people had staged a peaceful demonstration there recently and 27 of them, Kathy included, were tried, convicted, and sentenced to 3-6 months in federal prison.
Kathy described her own arrest in which 5 military police pushed her to the ground and one held a knee firmly on her back while the others hog tied her (bound hands and feet behind her back) using plastic ties. They carried her to a van in that condition and eventually to the station where they booked her. She wound up getting a black eye and bruises from the ordeal. She couldn't understand how anyone could react so aggressively to someone who clearly posed no physical threat.
She said it was important for us to remember the much different response of one officer who gently touched her shoulder and asked if he could brush her hair away from her face so they could get a photograph of her. He apologized for the tight bindings and promised they would be removed soon.
More reflection on these very different kinds of treatment brought to her mind the time she was caring for her bed-ridden father and after just having cleaned him and his bed, he spilled some juice making her do it all over again. She sorrowfully recalled how she yelled at him and forced him to sit up.
 |
 |
Kathy feels more constructive actions are needed for stability in Iraq. She also expressed concerns about our over indulgence in America and said she looks forward to practicing simpler living when she starts her federal prison sentence soon. I don't believe I've met anyone who lives the Golden Rule the way Kathy Kelly does.