Brian painting banner "End the US Occupation."

Meg Lumsdaine, Peter Lumsdaine, Mario Galvan, Trish Schuh, and Brian Buckley - of California, New York and Virginia, respectively – traveled to south-central Iraq to carry out their peace mission. Rev. Meg Lumsdaine is an ordained Lutheran pastor who has previously been involved in human rights delegations to Latin America and Iraq. Peter Lumsdaine is coordinator of the Military Globalization Analysis Project and organizer of the Najaf delegation. Mario Galvan, a high school teacher, is a national board member of Peace Action, with 100,000 members throughout the U.S., and a founding member of the Zapatista Solidarity Coalition. Trish Schuh co-founded the Military Families Support Network in 1990 and was involved in Military Families Speak Out. Brian Buckley is a carpenter and member of the Little Flower Catholic Worker community in Louisa, Virginia.

"Peace Between Peoples," is a handful of determined volunteers from several well-established peace/global justice/human rights and religious organizations who traveled to Najah, Iraq to place themselves "nonviolently, symbolically and physically" between the U.S. armed forces amassed nearby and the civilian population of the ancient holy city - in the way of any American military assault.

The delegation had received messages of encouragement from religious and community leaders in south-central Iraq, including an advisor to Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. "We understand the dangers of our journey, but we are determined to try and contribute in our own small way to peace and justice for the people of Najaf and Iraq. Only when peacemakers are willing to shoulder some of the same risks that soldiers take in war, can we begin to move away from the cycle of violence that grips human society at the dawn of the 21st century," says the group's statement.

What follows are the letters that Brian Buckley wrote while in Iraq.

Peter Lumsdaine, Prt. Perez, and Brian Buckley in bunker at hospital in Najaf.

April 26, 2004

Dear friends,

The five members of the delegation, Peace Between Peoples, have arrived in Najaf, the holiest city of the Shiite religion that is in danger of being attacked by the US military. Should Najaf be attacked a full fledged war would erupt and followers who were formerly not conscripted would commit to battling American troops. We drove from Kerbala yesterday and passed a Coalition outpost and noted a US military convoy. We were cordially detained by the Iraqi Police and accompanied to our contact's office in Najaf thereafter. We were met by members of Ayatollah Sistani's office and led through a labyrinth of narrow alleys, and around nooks, past houses built upon houses that seemed a thousand years old. We passed straight faced men with machine guns sitting on stools as we continued down the serpentine alleyway. A representative of Ayatollah Sistani's, the revered leader of the Shia sect, office strode confidently and quickly around a corner flanked by bodyguards to meet us. He greeted us respectfully and sent for a local doctor to translate. Later as we sat together he expressed gratitude for our peace delegation and concern for our safety which he could not guarantee. Sistani is a moderate and does not have control all Shia followers. We do not expect guaranteed safety especially when they cannot guarantee their own. The meeting was brief and intense. Our contact connected us with local and regional media some of whom we since have met with.

Moqutada al Sadr, the younger, less-respected but popular firebrand who is calling for true liberation and is a wanted man "captured or killed" by the US military for allegedly inciting violence, sent a representative from his office to our hotel to dialogue. He too expressed gratitude for our mission and warned of the danger present. He offered a car, bodyguards and anything else we needed but could not guarantee our safety in regard to what the US military posed. We respectfully declined and expressed we are not here to take sides but want to deliver a message from America that this war does not represent the entire country. We feel the need to persist in the American protest of this war. We feel the need to continue challenging US troop deployment and occupation. This meeting went on for longer and ended with a promise of several kilos of "good baklava."

There is a large hospital close by in Najaf that has been occupied by US military and is no longer serving the population as a medical center. Patients are seeking medical attention from clinics in other parts of the city. We plan to introduce ourselves to them today and possibly set up a vigil there for the remainder of our stay.

A story related to Najaf, http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=1680

I look forward to playing with the dogs, the kids and digging in the garden. Thank you for prayers and words of support. Spread the word.

Love you all, Brian

April 27, 2004

Dear all,

The Arabic symbol for the number five is a circle. As a team of five in this city on the brink of full scale battle we have sought for meaning in symbols here. Will the circle be unbroken?

I feel the tension rising from reports in the inner city. We have chosen to stay closer to the perimeter where the American troops have replaced the Spanish. A Sudanese reporter with al Arabiya (a UAE news channel) has been a war correspondent here and spent several hours with us yesterday relaying his experiences. His stories are horrible. He was inside a hospital in the northern city of Gheim from where he witnessed a nurse and an old man both inside the hospital being shot by American snipers. He congratulated the removal of Saddam from power but said that because of other foreign elements (Islamic mercenaries) that continued attacking Coalition forces in Iraq since the war was declared over by the US have turned the Coalition from liberators to occupiers. Since the American soldiers have been killed they are more frightened and quicker to shoot than was first the case. The Iraqi people who don't support either of these foreign elements are taking the brunt of this. This transformation has taken a toll on the goodwill of the Iraqi people who at first were happy to see Saddam gone but whose distrust for Americans has grown. "At first I like American soldier. Good no Saddam. Now, I very very hate American soldier. They take good from Iraq," a young cleric told me two nights ago. The insult of their presence in and around this holy city of Najaf is insulting to the Shiites. The people are tired of war. "Islamic peoples like peace; want peace. [We] like America. No Bush." Over and over I’ve heard these sentiments and heard the exasperated question "why?" Many believe it is because of oil and understand their significance in the global market as a major economic factor.

We plan to go to the hospital where American troops have stationed themselves and would like to meet with the commander there. I will send a press release letting you know how that goes, if it goes.

An Iraqi boy outside a store pulled his toy gun on me. I raised my hands in surrender. He shot me and laughed. I wonder how much that speaks to the situation here.

I feel the force of your prayers, the power of pure goodness.

Always,

Brian

April 29, 2004

Asalam aleikoom.

Since the beginning of our trip to Najaf I have passed through stages of fear. Leaving the farm was a step toward commitment, telling my mother, holding and leaving my two week old nephew, boarding the plane to Jordan, crossing the border and Iraqi desert, walking around the mosque in Kerbala, coming to Najaf and each day since, waking up in Najaf. Fear, I'm learning is a form of blindness. It is only when we are in the presence of what we beforehand had feared does a calm cover me. Each day I shed the fear of yesterday and dress in the fears of tomorrow. These lessons of discovery are hard to apply to new fears. I am trying to live each moment without fear, that is, without blindness. Fear has kept those who use weapons from seeing this light that comes only in vulnerability; otherwise blindness remains. Wolves will sit and listen to lambs, not to other wolves.

Yesterday a press conference was held by our group Peace Between Peoples before we proceeded to the Coalition base adjoining the hospital. A component of our mission was to address the American troops with a message to retreat, disarm and obey a higher law. We walked towards the hospital with a swarm of journalists buzzing around us. Peter led the group with a white flag above his head, Meg and Mario followed with a sign that read, "Don’t Be the New Saddam; Come Home" and Trish and I followed with a sign that read, "Peace Paz Salaam (in Arabic)." We had been strongly advised to not go to the hospital because Spanish Coalition forces had opened fired on a crowd of demonstrators heading from Kufa, where al Sadr is from, to Najaf and 22 Iraqis and two Spanish soldiers were killed.

When we crossed the road and reached the sidewalk closer to the barricade a shot was fired above our heads. We froze and the journalists scattered. We held the signs with one hand and tried to expose ourselves as openly as possible. Think like soldiers, we were told. After ten minutes, three soldiers sprinted from behind a wall of sandbags and took cover behind a tree with their guns. They waved us forward. Slowly we advanced. Two guards came towards us; one with an El Salvadorian flag and the other with an American flag sewn to their jackets. We greeted them in English and Spanish. They wanted to know who Margaret was and to bring her inside to meet with the base commander. "Meg" had called the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Baghdad and informed them of our plans. The CPA representative was willing to talk with her. We blessed her and remained outside. Eight El Salvadoran soldiers were at the barricade behind their bunkers of concrete and sand bags. The American, Perez, invited us to come in because he was concerned about us remaining outside in a "vulnerable position." We followed him, accepted water and sat down on the ground to talk.

I call Perez a simple man in the most honorable way. He was respectful and open. He was a medic and not yet an American citizen; he is Cuban. I didn't ask whether or not he was serving in the military in exchange for citizenship.

Among the stories he told was of US soldiers slowing down their Humvee for children playing in the street and being ambushed and killed. Also two US soldiers who tried to help a woman with her car that appeared broken down; as they approached she ran and the car exploded killing them both. As we talked a mortar shell exploded near the hospital and we were rushed into a concrete bunker. He practically brushed it off as routine. The El Salvadoran commander joined us and told his stories. He has a wife and a son. Both recited, "Proud to be a soldier. Following orders," as if it was a mantra. It made me incredibly sad. I could feel a deep anger, a blue flame almost, for this idolatry. Not against them but against this lie, this idolatry, that is perpetuated by the "powers and principalities" that St. Paul wrote about. These soldiers are pawns. They want peace more than anyone, they said. They realize their position is extremely dangerous and want to be home. They relish the simple everyday activities we enjoy. Perez talked of mowing his lawn and barbecuing. It reminded me of the same yearnings of inmates in jail. Relishing the simple that we forget as holy.

Meg was escorted from the hospital to where we were and can't judge how it went. They were willing to talk but not sure if they were willing to listen. Before we left the base, the five of us prayed in an open circle. The American soldiers who had escorted Meg stood nearby. I prayed for a way all of us could leave this danger. A place where I am not right and they wrong but a place where we can all concede and walk together. Rumi wrote, "And I will meet you there." I left the base thinking maybe I did not come these thousands of miles to deliver a message to the troops but to hear one. They do not want war. I told the American soldiers we would continue to do our best to bring them home safely.

These deeply personal exchanges do not cloud the crime and the idiocy of the occupation. Many Iraqis were pleased by Saddam's removal and cheered for the Americans. As the troops were attacked by Islamic mercenaries their handshake tightened to a grip that is strangling the Iraqis but not the resistance. The hospital that they have taken is the largest in Najaf with a third of the beds available. Iraqis who were once supportive are watching their relatives suffer and die from neglect. This, across the country, is politicizing hearts and fostering bitterness for the occupation. I think of Orwell's pigs standing on two legs toasting to the overthrow of the humans. This sentiment of Bremer gradually resembling Saddam is growing.

Last night in the hotel I rushed up to the rooftop when I heard an explosion. Khatim, a reporter who I've befriended, strongly advised me to return to my room immediately, lock the door and turn off the lights. I alerted the others and we sat in the darkness. Our exposure yesterday on 12 television stations perhaps gave a local faction ideas to get their own attention. There are many more groups here than Sistani's and al Sadr's. Khatim sat and advised us to leave here today. We heard a roar from downstairs and Khatim left to find out what was happening. It was darker than ever. My newfound bravery vanished and the fear that I thought I had overcome engulfed me. This is it, I thought, we're either going to be kidnapped or killed, they're storming the building. Fuck.

Khatim returned. The Iraqi National Soccer Team had scored a goal and set the football fans watching the television in the lobby into a frenzy. We turned on the lights and laughed a nervous laugh. Comic relief.

It's Thursday. We have been invited by al Sadr's people to join them for Friday prayers. Our good friends with al Arabeeya TV are leaving today for Baghdad. They have been tremendous. Unsung heroes.

The sky is overcast and the temperature mild. I was told that T-shirts are not worn in public so I've been wearing the one dress shirt I brought since arriving. I've scrubbed it "clean" in the various hotel sinks. It was white when I left and is now pleasant cream. We're paying $150 a night for the hotel rooms and I'm holding out on buying a $2 shirt.

We're very gracious to you all for the support and comfort you have sent.

Brian

May 2, 2004

Dear all,

It was a bloody day for Americans in Baghdad and Fallujah yesterday, ten or 11 soldiers killed. The images of their body bags weigh heavily on hearts and minds. How many more will be enough to change our minds about the justice in war?

From the US, I felt my goal in coming was to deliver a message to the Iraqi people and to the American soldiers here. Having done that and hearing many stories the goals have changed to return with a message from the Iraqi people and the American soldiers here. Support the troops, bring them home. Leave Iraq for Iraq. I have been told that there will be a civil war here that will come with or without America. Many have said by being here the US will simply sacrifice themselves to the death toll. Some believe that they (we) want to stay only long enough to pump out the oil. An Iraqi man, near to tears, thrusted his arms towards me and said, "Take it! Take it! Take the oil and give us peace. We are tired all fighting; for what? Take the oil and give us peace." A man told me of shielding his children under a mattress in a basement as he and his wife rocked with the rumbling during the invasion.

The irony in all this is of the war's intentions and its converse results. The first spoken goal was to eliminate weapons of mass destruction, then Saddam, then promote democracy and freedom for Iraqis, now to kill/capture Islamic fundamentalists who are killing Americans and Iraqis. In the vacuum of Saddam's fall, infrastructure collapsed, the police force dissolved and political factions rushed to fill the void. Al Quaeda has capitalized on this. Saddam did not let them thrive here; terrorista non grata in Iraq. As you know he ruled with a strong arm. With him gone and Coalition forces not being able to tell the difference between a Moroccan and a Pakistani, Iraq is attracting many of these alleged Islamic mercenaries. The possibility of Islamic rule is rising. What better place and time for a jihadist to "gain Paradise" than to enliven Islamic rule and fight the wicked Americans than now in Iraq? There is a strong Iraqi resistance to this. Iraqis have said that they want neither an American appointed council nor an Islamic fundamentalist revival. Knowing that the agendas of both clash, their home is the ground for this battle to be fought. They do not want to host our war. Islamic fundamentalism needs a great enemy to thrive; American policy seems to need the same. Public Enemy # 1, be it Saddam, Osama, or Aristide, has been the carrot that has pulled us into places where we are not welcome, where we have sought control and where innocent blood has flowed.

Yesterday, Peter, Meg and I braved the marketplace. I was nervous at first to be among the throngs but my curiosity and amazement at the activity and the friendliness of the people washed me of my fears. Many were curious about us, "Hispani? Irani?" they asked us. "Amriki?! (American?!)" Sort of like, 'you're kidding me.' As we neared al Imam Ali mosque, the equivalent of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, we were stopped by guards in black (al Sadr's boys) with Kalashnikovs and RPGs (rocket propelled grenades). Beyond the checkpoint as we circled the holy shrine, we were greeted as pilgrims of peace, followers of one God.

Back at the hotel, relaxing in the hotel courtyard with some of the chaps working there, they recited a litany of names dear to their dreams of the West: "Sharon Stone. Jennifer Lopez. Claudia Schiffer. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas. Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise." As I tried to explain that the last couple were now divorced, they waved me off and said that they already knew this. Old news. It was needed boggle to lighten the intensity of the day. And then we jumped when we heard gunfire just above our heads. I sprang into the hotel and we locked the front door. From inside we gradually returned to our conversation with one ear in and the other listening for gunfire. That was just after 11. At two a.m. in bed I woke to "boom........boom......boom." Several kilometers away the hospital, where the American/Coalition soldiers are, was under mortar attack. From my relatively safe lodging I thought of the futility of this communication in the dark with messages of fire and destruction.

We pray for a way in the light, with eyes to see and ears to hear,

Much love,

Brian

May 8, 2004

Israel's separation barrier seriously impedes Palestinian access to essentials of civilian life, such as work, education and medical care. Israel has a right and duty to protect its civilians from attack but it must not use means that entail indiscriminate punishment of entire communities.

Human Rights Watch, 2004

Past the checkpoint into Bethlehem Mario and I were assailed by boys and men who put packets of gum and rosaries into our pockets not for sale but in exchange for anything for their families. They clamored over each other and aggressively pled with us for something, anything. The immediately critical climate spoke of desperation. As we drove away in a yellow taxi, I watched a crying boy hurl a rock at a man who had pushed him aside to tell me of his needy children. I guess he has needs too. I thought of Les Miserables and the wickedness that sprouts from poverty.

We were driven to a free clinic where we met with a doctor who spends most of his time seeing patients and as a hobby works to raise awareness about the plight of occupied Palestine. Some people paint or play golf. I’m trying to free my country. He is not permitted to leave Palestine because of his outspokenness. He claims that the country is suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome with a myriad of manifestations. Sixty-five percent of the population lives below the poverty level earning less than two dollars a day. Caterpillar bulldozers with inch thick windows have been used to demolish more than 12,000 Palestinian homes and to uproot 385,000 olive trees. Israel has destroyed over 10,000 buildings, leaving 50,000 men, women and children homeless. Demolitions are used as collective punishment to clear the way for illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands.

The resistance we hear about is about suicide bombers and innocent lives lost. I was reluctantly asked about methods of non-violence practiced to challenge the injustice. Several campaigns have been launched; tax resistance and refusing to carry identification cards that were issued to adults. Both reaped jail sentences and fines. A majority of the movement to liberate Palestine from the Israeli occupation is nonviolent he said but he did not condemn those who have acted violently. He could not rebuke a man for wanting to attack a soldier who killed his daughter or after watching his wife die in an ambulance when held by soldiers at a checkpoint into Jerusalem for four hours. The bitterness that grows from these incidents turns a mind willing to struggle and suffer into one that is single-mindedly driven to revenge. They do not prevent terrorism they deepen the poverty, anger and despair that fuel violence. To protect civilian lives, Israel must address the root causes of terrorism by respecting democracy, self-determination and human rights in Palestine.

When I asked the doctor who the heroes of this struggle were, he said it was the young boys throwing stones at tanks. By not accepting the futility of their fight against Goliath they are not accepting the pressure to submit, to despair, and to allow their will to break. The doctor included as heroes those in the Israeli forces who have broken ranks with Sharon/Bush policy and acted fairly to the Palestinians. He regrets the innocent Israeli civilians who have died from suicidal actions. They do not however portray the will and practice of occupation. His message to America is to see the legitimacy of the Palestinian cause not as terroristic but as a fight for a freedom. He believes a free and democratic Israel can coexist among Arab nations but thinks a two nation policy is the first step to a one nation reality.

After the clinic we were taken on a tour of the area by a man named Samer who desperately spoke about the situation there. His friends, relatives and strangers suffer daily from the Israeli occupation that abrogates UN treaties and disregards established lines defining boundaries. The 25-foot-high “Apartheid Wall” and fence will confiscate about 40 percent of the territory of the West Bank is certainly a problem as access in and out of territories is tightly limited. The Green Line, the border that existed before 1967, and recognized by the UN, would require all settlements to be evacuated. Raids into the refugee camp, Haysha, where we visited were common; several a week we were told. Families of six are living in concrete spaces 27 feet square, using outhouses made of scrap tin and gardening in enclosures walled with discarded barrels that are filled with rubble. The camp is a square kilometer and houses 11,000 Palestinians, 60% of whom are under 18 years old.

Samer talked passionately for three hours as we toured the area, showing us houses that had been shot at and bombed and explaining how the situation has worsened over the year. Another intafada is going on, more stones thrown at tanks. Suicide bombers are often those who have lost family members and suffered from the humiliation of searches, seizures, denied access to basic human rights and needs and who have lost a relative to military action. They feel the weight of death around their neck and resolve to fight the challenge that demolishes their communities. I don't claim to know the extent of the struggle but wish to relay the pain with which Samer spoke. The injustice registered as a plight that he and his people bear without the support of the outside world. Why? Why? Why? he continued to ask. Desperate for a reason why the Israeli military acts in inhumanely he seeks to understand how normal people can accept and allow their governments to permit it. Some of those who are lucky enough to retain their homes that have been surrounded by Jewish settlers need permission to leave or enter each time they want to go out. Thousands have emigrated to Europe and elsewhere. Those without the means, remain to eke out a living under harsh conditions. Poor Palestinian men are the ones building this wretched wall; forging the chains that bind them. The question there is whether it is better to be fed and chained or hungry and free. These are the choices of the poor in Palestine. For those working in Jerusalem who have to pass through checkpoints it is required to wait from the night before to claim a spot in line in hope of gaining passage in the morning. Others start a daily hike early in the morning under the cloak of darkness, risking their lives and "freedom." When these people take such risks that could cost them their lives, one must ask why. Because they're going to die if they don't. I thought of Mexicans who risk death by crossing southwest deserts and risk years in jail to scrape out a living detassling corn or butchering hogs.

The doctor claims that the US needs Israel as a Sparta in the Middle East. The other Arab states being used by the US, like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, are not stable enough to build upon. Turkey is an exception but not big enough. Iraq would be perfect if it will only bloody well ride along.

This is our last entry from here, we off to New York. The remainder of our work will be stateside as they say in the military. The connections between Palestine and Iraq are many; they share the presence of a US funded military force exercising their will in their homelands. Done in our name and with our taxes. Israel receives over five billion dollars a year and 75% of this is spent on arms and equipment from U.S. corporations. I heard the same amount is being spent in Iraq a month. Two Shiite clerics were killed by American soldiers yesterday in Najaf. The primary purpose of our trip has been lost, but I cannot think it a failure. We continue to use our experience to drive us to do God's will by bringing nonviolence to violence, light to darkness, love to hate.

Any financial help you could spare to help with the costs of this trip would be greatly appreciated. Checks payable to Little Flower CW, 16560 Louisa Road, Trevilians, VA 23093.

Thank you everyone. I'll send word when I arrive home safely.

Shalom, Brian