URGENT!! Please take a moment to take action to assist four peacemakers currently held captive in Iraq. Their situation is admittedly bleak, but perhaps a large enough public outcry can still save them.
Visit
this site to sign a petition demanding their release. And visit
Christian Peacemaker Teams website for more information about the organization and the hostages. CPT is not there to proselytize; their stated goal is to "get in the way" of injustice. They've been there trying to protect Iraqi citizens from the effects of war, intervening in conflict situations when they reasonably can. Here is some information from their website...
"Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) arose from a call in 1984 for Christians to devote the same discipline and self-sacrifice to nonviolent peacemaking that armies devote to war. Enlisting the whole church in an organized, nonviolent alternative to war, today CPT places violence-reduction teams in crisis situations and militarized areas around the world at the invitation of local peace and human rights workers. CPT embraces the vision of unarmed intervention waged by committed peacemakers ready to risk injury and death in bold attempts to transform lethal conflict through the nonviolent power of God’s truth and love.
"Initiated by Mennonites, Brethren and Quakers with broad ecumenical participation, CPT’s ministry of Biblically-based and spiritually-centered peacemaking emphasizes creative public witness, nonviolent direct action and protection of human rights.
"A strategy developed thoughtfully over the years has taught us that:
* trained, skilled, international teams can work effectively to support local efforts toward nonviolent peacemaking;
* “getting in the way” of injustice through direct nonviolent intervention, public witness and reporting to the larger world community can make a difference;
* peace team work engages congregations, meetings and support groups at home to play a key advocacy role with policy makers."
