Peace in the Pit addresses war in Iraq
By: Kelsey O'Neill, Staff Writer
Issue date: 4/23/07 Section: Online Exclusives
A native Iraqi who founded the Muslim Peacemaker Team in his home country spoke out against the war in Iraq Saturday in the Pit.
Sami Rasouli, who returned to Iraq in 2004 after running a restaurant in Minneapolis for 20 years, led a group of speakers during Peace in the Pit.
About 40 students and peace advocates attended the event, which was sponsored by the UNC chapter of Students for a Democratic Society.
"In Iraq today, every Iraqi is a suspected suicide bomber, a terrorist, a killer, and every American soldier is perceived as an enemy," Rasouli said.
"Iraq is lawless today."
Rasouli returns to America each year for three months to promote intercultural understanding by speaking at events. While he is in Iraq he does similar things, but he said his countrymen are not as responsive to his insights.
"To Iraqis, it's really hard for me to explain that the American people are kind people, a gentle people," he said.
"They do not understand."
Ben Carroll, a member of SDS who was arrested in February outside the office of U.S. Rep. David Price, D-N.C., during a protest against Price's support of an Iraq war spending bill, said he wants Price and other representatives to vote against funding for the war.
"That's the only way we're going to get out of this war," he told attendees.
Carroll and the five others who were arrested are scheduled to appear in court on May 7, even though Carroll said Price asked Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall to drop the charges.
Other speakers included Curtis Gatewood, the second vice president for the N.C. chapter of the NAACP Conference of Branches, and Tiffany Burns, a friend of Cindy Sheehan who read a short letter by the controversial anti-war activist whose son died in Iraq.
Sheehan originally was set to appear at the event but could not attend because of scheduling conflicts. Her letter criticized the Bush administration and encouraged mothers in attendance to gather in Washington, D.C., in May for her "Mother of a March" protesting the Iraq occupation.
Gatewood lamented that many casualties of the war are either from the South or from southern military bases.
"Too often the lies from the White House are being paid for by the South," Gatewood said.
Martha Henderson, a member of the Coalition for Peace with Justice, an organization focused on Israeli and Palestinian territorial occupation issues, said she was glad to hear that her group and Rasouli's peacemaker team draw on the same values.
"I think peacemaker teams are very important because we need each other to keep our hope and our courage," Henderson said.
Rasouli spoke of the long-term effects the war will have in Iraq.
"Millions of kids are growing up with no schooling," he said.
"Imagine what is ahead for them."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
Sami Rasouli, who returned to Iraq in 2004 after running a restaurant in Minneapolis for 20 years, led a group of speakers during Peace in the Pit.
About 40 students and peace advocates attended the event, which was sponsored by the UNC chapter of Students for a Democratic Society.
"In Iraq today, every Iraqi is a suspected suicide bomber, a terrorist, a killer, and every American soldier is perceived as an enemy," Rasouli said.
"Iraq is lawless today."
Rasouli returns to America each year for three months to promote intercultural understanding by speaking at events. While he is in Iraq he does similar things, but he said his countrymen are not as responsive to his insights.
"To Iraqis, it's really hard for me to explain that the American people are kind people, a gentle people," he said.
"They do not understand."
Ben Carroll, a member of SDS who was arrested in February outside the office of U.S. Rep. David Price, D-N.C., during a protest against Price's support of an Iraq war spending bill, said he wants Price and other representatives to vote against funding for the war.
"That's the only way we're going to get out of this war," he told attendees.
Carroll and the five others who were arrested are scheduled to appear in court on May 7, even though Carroll said Price asked Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall to drop the charges.
Other speakers included Curtis Gatewood, the second vice president for the N.C. chapter of the NAACP Conference of Branches, and Tiffany Burns, a friend of Cindy Sheehan who read a short letter by the controversial anti-war activist whose son died in Iraq.
Sheehan originally was set to appear at the event but could not attend because of scheduling conflicts. Her letter criticized the Bush administration and encouraged mothers in attendance to gather in Washington, D.C., in May for her "Mother of a March" protesting the Iraq occupation.
Gatewood lamented that many casualties of the war are either from the South or from southern military bases.
"Too often the lies from the White House are being paid for by the South," Gatewood said.
Martha Henderson, a member of the Coalition for Peace with Justice, an organization focused on Israeli and Palestinian territorial occupation issues, said she was glad to hear that her group and Rasouli's peacemaker team draw on the same values.
"I think peacemaker teams are very important because we need each other to keep our hope and our courage," Henderson said.
Rasouli spoke of the long-term effects the war will have in Iraq.
"Millions of kids are growing up with no schooling," he said.
"Imagine what is ahead for them."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
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