International War Protest
Cincinnati Ohio - 03/20/2004
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Peacemakers On The Scene |
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International War Protest |
Marking the anniversary of the latest war in Iraq this rally was to take place at noon on Fountain Square. The walkers and runners from the
Run For Peace arrived about a half an hour before
time so we had some time to socialize with some other Peacemakers who where attending.
The first Peacemaker we ran into was Angie Denov
who was doing some security work for the rally.
The crowd began to expand as the speakers took over the podium. A Pledge of Nonviolence was read and those attending where able to read along with the speaker since we had all received a copy of this pledge from people who had been assigned to pass them out. As far as the actual speaking was concerned I only listened to a small portion of it. When you have been to many such demonstrations after a while you pretty much know what is going to be said. I was more interested in the people on this day and strolled through the crowd reading all the banners and signs the folks had brought with them. 
Someone had taken the time to have a banner with all the names of our precious young people who had been needlessly killed in Iraq. While not as powerful as the famous Black Granite Wall in DC it none the less was a very emotional experience viewing this memorial.
Another stood stood out very powerfully to me. I couldn't help but ponder what Jesus 
would say if he were here to speak. It has always bewildered me when I hear leaders in any country speak of Jesus, or Gandhi, or Martin Luther King Jr with reverence and respect. They speak of these great human beings and appear to be humbled by their characters and their purpose yet they certainly do not act out this respect.
I noticed the young folks from Food Not Bombs starting to set up their table and headed down to talk to them. On my way I ran into another Peacemaker, Mary Effler,  who was stating her opinion of our current president on her sign. After talking to Mary I continued down to the Food Not Bombs setup area and saw another Peacemaker, Najib Abudakhan, talking to the guys at the table.
 I had met Najib at a protest at the University of Cincinnati early last year and was touched by his comments about Rachel Corrie and his views of the actions being taken by our government concerning Iraq. It was a great pleasure to see Najib still working for peace and justice for our world.
I then spent some time talking to the Food Not Bombs folks. Their mission is to share free vegetarian food with hungry people and protesting war and poverty throughout the Americas, 
Europe, Asia and Australia. They are organizing for an end to the occupations of Iraq, Afganistan and Palestine. Additionally they support actions against the globalization of the economy, restrictions to the movements of people and the destruction of the earth.
The rally on the Square ended and a march to the Federal Building started down fifth steet. When the procession reached the Federal Building the marchers circled the block with their flags and banners held high. The rally here in Cincinnati reached the national media. I think the media estimate of 300 was a little low. I stopped counting at 300 and I estimate that there was probably between 5 and 6 hundred in all. One thing is for sure. The peace community in the greater Cincinnati came out and made their voice heard joining millions of others through out the world with a clear message. "We want peace and we are not going to go away until we get it!" Peacehq reporting from Cincinnati, Ohio- 03/20/2004 |
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