(Written with Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace)
Kathy Kelly will be in the Capital Region on Nov. 12-14. She is one of the “royalty” of the peace movement, up there with Fr. John Deer, SJ and Daniel Berrigan, SJ. Truly a legend in her own time, respected and loved by her fellow peacemakers.
I had the honor and blessing of being arrested with her on Oct. 5 at the White House. She even slept on the floor of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church with several dozen other witnesses and partied with us after the arrests. Well, as much as peace activists party – meaning we had enjoyed a beer, some chips and salsa together.
Nominated three time for the Nobel Peace Prize (and should have been awarded the prize before Obama was even considered), Kelly has been an eyewitness and vocal witness for peace. Her nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize were for her work for defying the UN sanctions on Iraq that caused severe hardships and thousands of deaths among innocent citizens for lack of food and medicine in the years leading up to the 2003 invasion. I remember writing letters and praying on her behalf when she was threatened with jail time and a hefty fine for bringing medical supplies to ill Iraqi children during this time. She and her team of peace witnesses were in Baghdad during shock and awe and were there to greet the first Marines to enter the city in March of that year.
Since that time she has been in Jordan and Syria with the nearly two million Iraqi refugees, in Beirut during the Israeli bombings and more recently in Gaza during the latest conflict there. She was in Pakistan writing about the half-million refugees fleeing the Swat Valley, where the combined devastation of Taliban fighters, Pakistani soldiers and American unmanned drone attacks made life impossible.
The Schenectady Unitarian Society will host her on Nov. 12 for a speaking engagement and pot luck dinner (the peace movement sacrament). Contact Bob Alft at info4co@yahoo.com for more information.
On Nov. 13, Kelly will be hosted by the Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace at the Delmar Reformed Church for a pot luck dinner and fund raiser for her peace work in the Middle East. The event runs from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Bring a dish to share. If you could donate an item, book, CD, DVD, baked good or service for the silent auction it would be greatly appreciated. A number of local merchants are donating gift certificates to this event. There will be a suggested donation of $10 per person (more if you can, less if you cannot; this is another peace movement sacrament). The food will be great (everyone brings their best dishes to a pot luck) and the talk will be interesting as Kelly shares her recent experiences. Contact Leslie Hudson to RSVP or donate to the auction at (518) 768-4676 or cathudson@att.net.
On Nov. 14 at 7 p.m., Kelly will be at the Sanctuary for Independent Media, 3361 6th Avenue, Troy, and will offer her eyewitness accounts of war and a message of hope through creative nonviolence. Built around tangible community responses to the causalities of war, this multi-media event networks artists – including poet David Smith-Ferri and participants of the Iraqi Children's Art Exchange – with peace activists, including members of the local refugee communities, veterans, aid agencies and the many volunteers who work with them. This coalition-building program is part of the nationwide Peaceable Assembly Campaign which seeks an end to the U.S. wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. To learn more about the Peaceable Assembly Campaign and how you can take part, click HERE.
I can promise that your life will never be the same after you hear Kathy Kelly speak.
