March, 17 2011, 02:49pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Hakim in Afghanistan: (Weeteckyoung@gmail.com) Kathy Kelly in Afghanistan (93) 795590466 (Kathy@vcnv.org)
Joshua Brollier: 773.878.3815 (Joshua@vcnv.org)
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International Peacemakers Gather in Kabul and Join Afghan Youth in a Solidarity Delegation
In a small gesture of solidarity, Voices for Creative Nonviolence co-coordinators assembled a peace delegation of 28 individuals that began arriving in Kabul, Afghanistan this morning. The group will spend a week with the Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers (AYPVs) to show clear and strong support for these youth and their campaign- Live Without Wars.
KABUL, Afghanistan
In a small gesture of solidarity, Voices for Creative Nonviolence co-coordinators assembled a peace delegation of 28 individuals that began arriving in Kabul, Afghanistan this morning. The group will spend a week with the Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers (AYPVs) to show clear and strong support for these youth and their campaign- Live Without Wars.
The contingent will participate in a ceremonial Tree Planting and in the Afghan New Year's Day People's Peace candle lighting in remembrance of those killed in wars. The Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers will also host the Global Day of Listening (https://globaldayoflistening.org/) on March 20th. In this international phone call, the AYPVs have invited the VCNV Spring Delegation to join them for the 24-hour conversation with people from every continent, including youth from Gaza, Iraq, and Egypt.
The delegation, mostly from the U.S. includes three members from Australia, and a doctor from Germany. Each of these individuals is dedicated to walking with those enduring the ongoing war in Afghanistan. The following short biographies briefly introduce this dedicated group seeking to raise awareness about the human cost of the ongoing war and occupation: https://vcnv.org/biographies-of-participants.
To learn more about the courageous efforts of the Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers and their campaign Live Without Wars, visit www.livewithoutwars.org.
Members of Voices led over 70 delegations to Iraq to challenge the economic sanctions and were present in Baghdad in resistance the 2003 U.S. military invasion. Since 2009, Voices has led four delegations to Afghanistan and two to Pakistan to listen and learn from local grassroots movements and to raise awareness about the negative impacts of U.S. militarism in the region.
Voices for Creative Nonviolence has deep, long-standing roots in active nonviolent resistance to U.S. war-making. Begun in the summer of 2005, Voices draws upon the experiences of those who challenged the brutal economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and U.N. against the Iraqi people between 1990 and 2003.
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