Peggy Gish
January 14, 2005
Along the entrance to the Women's Will organization, Maxine Nash and I saw banners saying, "the Occupation Kills Your Sons, Don't Buy
from the Occupiers," "Boycott the Invaders," and "Iraqi
Mothers United Against Sectarian Fighting." Inside the meeting room another
more colorful banner said, "No Peace Without Justice."
We walked into a teach-in, already in process. Hana Ibrahim, coordinator of Women's Will and Dr Balkiss, member of the board,
(two middle aged Muslim women) alternatively spoke to about 18 women and five men about one way Iraqis could resist the U.S. occupation.
"We would silently defeat the occupation, not by killing, but by refusing to cooperate economically with America," said Dr.
Balkiss. "America is trying to make this a free market for itself and treating Iraq like another state. We should have our own
sovereignty. Even before the tanks came in, the media war succeeded in promoting American products. Iraqis have been buying the cheaper
American products, and this has undermined our economy. The invasion has brought us poverty."
Hana went on to say that there are many things women can do. "Any mother can refuse to buy Coca Cola and other U.S. products. We know
how to manage our lives here. We have our own meats, fruits and vegetables. Iran and Syria don't deal with the U.S. economically and
they do all right." She referred to Gandhi's leading the Indian people to spin their own thread and weave their own cloth.
Then there was discussion. One woman gave the example of her relative's wedding, where the family served American soft drinks,
but the people refused to drink it. But they drank Iraqi soft drinks when they brought them in. Another woman said that she knew how to
make her own shampoo out of natural products. "If they put in a McDonalds in Baghdad, we will boycott it," added another.
Hana concluded the meeting with words of encouragement. "Women should work through civil society. Working nonviolently can
strengthen peaceful structures. Small actions, such as putting up posters, and large actions, like demonstrations, all add up and make
a difference. Whatever it takes, we will win."
Christian Peacemaker Teams is an ecumenical violence-reduction program with
roots in the historic peace churches. Teams of trained peace workers live
in areas of lethal conflict around the world. CPT has been present in Iraq
since October, 2002.
To learn more about CPT, please visit http://www.cpt.org.
Photos of our projects may be viewed at http://www.cpt.org/gallery