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October 27: History Was (Again) Made in Philadelphia

Photo essay - Oct 27th Human Chain Anti-war Demonstration

History was made again yesterday in Philadelphia, right there in historic Philadelphia across from Independence Hall and the Liberty
Bell.

An estimated 5,000 people, according to Police estimates, marched to and rallied at the Independence Visitors Center - a march and
rally that was preceded by an astounding Human Chain for Peace, from the Veterans Administration Hospital at 38th & Woodland to
the Phila. Federal Building, 6th & Markets Sts.

Each of the thirty-eight blocks of human chain was covered by a different area group, union, or faith community. A yellow tape
stretched the length of each block from 12:30PM - 1PM. At 1PM, a march with anti-war veterans started from 38th & Woodland
following the route of the chain. With each block, the march grew, at mid-way covering more than three blocks, again according to
police reports.

When reaching Indepence Mall, participants covered the entire area of the rally site. Many thanks to all the speakers and performers, to
all the groups, people, and committees that made it all happen and for history made peace.

It was an honor for the Brandywine Peace Community to be one of the central organizers and convenors of the demonstration yesterday, may
the human chain of peace continue.

Read Michael Berg's eloquent speech below:

*******************************************************************************************************************

Three years, five months and twenty days ago, my son Nick, was murdered in Iraq. He was an independent contractor who never got a contract. I held and still do hold George Bush, Donald Rumsfeld and Alberto Gonzales most responsible for his death. Nick was killed, it was reported on the videotape of his brutal murder posted on the internet, in retaliation for the atrocities, the rapes, murders and tortures which took place at the Abu Graib Prison. These three men encouraged, defined into legality, and sent down the chain of command with the wink and the nod the permission for these acts to occur. In addition Nick had been held in Iraq by the FBI and US Military Police for no reason at all, illegally for thirteen days over which time these atrocities were revealed to the public and so enraged the Iraqi people that a grassroots resistance to the American invasion was born.

A few days after learning of my son’s death, I said in front of the cameras and microphones of every major news network: “Nick Berg died for the sins of George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld.” Instantly I became a spokesperson for the antiwar movement and I traveled around the world speaking out against the war. At the same time I became the recipient of much hate mail, email, phone calls and personal confrontations.

I raged peace with an R; I didn’t wage it with a W. I spoke true words which I still stand behind today, but I spoke them from a place of hatred within. I preached peace, but I practiced war against anyone who was not against the war. Eventually I realized something was wrong with what I was doing.

Then I took a course on forgiveness. I learned that to forgive is not to condone. I learned that revenge, which I had surely been taking with every poisoned word I spoke, is counter productive, steals from one, one’s identity, that revenge justifies revenge, and that it is a never ending escalating cycle of getting even -er.

It took much introspection, but eventually I started on a journey over the geography of the heart. I’m still on that journey. I have found forgiveness, and lost it again. I have searched again and found it, but I will be on this journey every day of my life.

Last month I was coming out of a store in the rural part of Delaware when a man offended by my bumper stickers: Impeach Bush, War Isn’t Working, Practice Peace and about a dozen others, got up in my face and declared: “You and all of this are full of hate!” I snarled back at him “I don’t hate anyone!” And there I was again proving to him that what he said was true.

Immediately I went down by the riverside. I talked again to the Prince of Peace, and I did not come back until I had laid down the sword of my tongue and the shield of my defensiveness, and I regained my internal peace.

I speak to you today in peace, and I invite you to the riverside, wherever you may find it, to recommit yourself to seeking peace with peace and in peace from the inside out. And if you mess up as I did last month and get tempted back into hatred, don’t give up. Try again and again to regain the peace to which you invite others. Try to regain it when you are confronted by counter protesters, when you are arrested for following your heart, when you view the news slanted and askew, and when you hear your politicians and the other ones(not yours) spewing their hatred. That’s the time to redouble your efforts to remain at peace. Remember that humanity is common to us all. Our job is to bring it out in others, and we can do this only with our own example of Peace and Love! Thank you!

Michael Berg

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Press reports from the demonstration:

**************************************************************

Peace groups aim for 'human chain'
By RICHARD PEARSALL
Courier-Post Staff

The organizers of a "Human Chain for Peace" in Philadelphia today acknowledge that they probably won't attract enough people to hold hands all the way from West Philadelphia to Center City.
"We were anticipating in the range of 2,000 people," said Bob Smith, head of the Brandywine Peace Community, based in Swarthmore, Pa., "but with the rain forecast it may be closer to 1,000."
The demonstrators will use a yellow ribbon to help close the gaps along the three-mile route from the Veterans Administration Hospital at 38th and Woodland streets to Independence Mall at 6th and Market.
The chain will form between 12:30 and 1 p.m.
At 1, the participants will begin marching from the VA Hospital to the mall, picking up strength as they go.
A rally at the mall, featuring speakers and bands, will begin at 2 p.m.
The demonstration is part of a nationwide "Day of Mobilization to End the War in Iraq," sponsored by a coalition of peace groups, religious bodies, labor unions and other organizations opposed to the war.
Smith said he is encouraged by the number of groups he expects to be represented in Philadelphia, if not the number of people.
"Not since the start of the war have I seen so many various and varied groups become involved," he said.
The events in Philadelphia will be preceded by an anti-war demonstration in Camden.
Beginning at 9 a.m. volunteers will be passing out anti-war literature at shopping centers and other gathering places, said David Kalkstein of Cherry Hill, an opponent of the Iraq war.
At 11, the South Jersey demonstrators will rally outside the Walt Whitman Center at 2nd and Cooper streets, then cross the Delaware River to Center City, some by walking the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, others via the PATCO Hi-Speedline, Kalkstein said.
On display at the Camden rally will be a car owned by Maureen Beail-Farkas of Woolwich that has been painted with the names of virtually every American killed in Iraq.
The rally at Independence Mall will feature a number of speakers, including Michael Berg, whose son Nicholas was slain in Iraq; Celeste Zappala, the mother of a Pennsylvania National Guardsman, Sherwood Baker, who was killed in action in Iraq; and Kelly Dougherty, the executive director of the national Iraq Veterans Against the War.
A number of bands, including jazz, rock, folk, and hip-hop ensembles, will play at what Smith called a "mass rally and anti-war festival" at the mall.
Kalkstein said that anti-war sentiment is not as fervent today as it was during the Vietnam War because the impact is not as direct.
"When polled, 70 percent of the population say they oppose the war," Kalkstein said.
"They're just not passionate about it, because they don't have to be."
If there were a draft, as there was during Vietnam, "people would be out in the streets -- kids in high school, kids in college, 40-year-olds with teenagers."
Reach Richard Pearsall at (856) 486-2465 or rpearsall@courierpostonline.com
Published: October 27. 2007 3:10AM

Thousands Protest War Across U.S.
'Day Of Action' Held In Cities Throughout Nation
POSTED: 8:43 pm EDT October 27, 2007
Not one more dollar, not one more death: That's the view of Leslie Kagan, national coordinator of United for Peace and Justice, sponsor of what they're calling a "National Day of Action."
She was among thousands of protesters Saturday in New York with signs, banners and umbrellas.
And protester Harriet Lipman doubted whether the march would change things, but added at least it would say something.
One man brought his 10-month-old daughter, to share the experience.
In San Francisco, thousands marched downtown and staged a "die-in" commemorating the thousands of American soldiers and Iraqi citizens who have died since the conflict began in March 2003.
There were also protests in Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and several other cities.

Anti-War Protesters Rally in Philly

By BOB LENTZ Associated Press Writer

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - October 27, 2007 - A few hundred anti-war protesters gathered at Independence Mall on Saturday as part of a planned 11-city rally calling for a swift end to the war in Iraq.

In the shadow of the National Constitution Center and Independence Hall, protesters ranging from grade school-aged children to senior citizens urged support for the troops but called on President Bush and other politicians to end funding for the Iraq war and bring U.S. troops home.

Marchers who braved severe weather during the walk of more than 30 blocks were met by people lining the sidewalks and clutching a long yellow ribbon over the final blocks before Independence Mall. There, the rally opened with songs and prayers by descendants of Lenape Indians.

"Our signs are limp from the rain and the ground is soggy, but out spirits are high," said Bal Pinguel, of the American Friends Service Committee, one of the national sponsors of the event. "The high price we are paying is the more than 3,800 troops who have been killed in the war in Iraq."

The protests was to coincide with gatherings in 10 other cities - New York, Boston, New Orleans, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Chicago, Orlando, Fla., and Jonesborough, Tenn. - in what was billed as a "National Day of Action" by the anti-war coalition United for Peace and Justice.

Rallies were also held at train stations in suburban Philadelphia for those heading to the rally.

Kelly Dougherty, a former member of the Army National Guard who served in Iraq who is now the executive director of the National Iraq Veterans Against the War, called the gathering "uplifting" but added "why we are together is so sad."

"The only people who want this war to continue are those who are profiting from it," she told the crowd.

Vince Robbins, 51, of Mount Holly, N.J., said a large, organized rally should have happened long before Saturday.

"Where's the outcry? Where's the horror that almost 4,000 Americans have died in a foreign country that we invaded?" Robbins said. "I'm almost as angry at the American people as I am the president. I think Americans have become apathetic and placid about the whole thing."

The rally had a hint of protests from the past, with an abundance of peace signs and placards, some reading "Support the troops. End the war," and "Peace takes courage, too."

Eileen Harrison, 69, of Philadelphia, said she believes more people would be outraged about the war if they had a personal stake.

"The sad thing is, most of us don't," she said. "I think if we all had a responsibility, we would feel it."

Peter Pedemonti, 28, of Philadelphia, said the protests around the country serve a purpose.

"It's important for people to come out and put their foot down," he said. "I hope this adds a spark to the peace movement. The point is, we need to find a solution to this. We need to pull out of Iraq."

Thousands Across U.S. Protest Iraq War

Despite Rain In Many Cities, Devoted Come Out To Bring The Troops Home

Thousands of people called for a swift end to the war in Iraq as they marched through downtown on Saturday, chanting and carrying signs that read: "Wall Street Gets Rich, Iraqis and GIs Die" or "Drop Tuition Not Bombs."

The streets of San Francisco were filled with thousands as labor union members, anti-war activists, clergy and others rallied near City Hall before marching to Dolores Park.

As part of the demonstration, protesters fell on Market Street as part of a "die in" to commemorate the thousands of American soldiers and Iraqi citizens who have died since the conflict began in March 2003.

The protest was the largest in a series of war protests taking place in New York, Los Angeles and other U.S. cities, organizers said.

No official head count was available. Organizers of the event estimated about 30,000 people participated in San Francisco. It appeared that more than 10,000 people attended the march.

"I got the sense that many people were at a demonstration for the first time," said Sarah Sloan, one of the event's organizers. "That's something that's really changed. People have realized the right thing to do is to take to the streets."

In Chicago, about 5,000 protesters gathered at Union Park, reported CBS station WBBM-TV. The demonstration began at 1:30 p.m. with a rally in the park, in which union leaders, elected officials and peace activists made speeches for about an hour.

In the shadow of the National Constitution Center and Independence Hall in Philadelphia, a few hundred protesters ranging from grade school-aged children to senior citizens called on President Bush to end funding for the war and bring troops home.

Marchers who braved severe wet weather during the walk of more than 30 blocks were met by people lining the sidewalks and clutching a long yellow ribbon over the final blocks before Independence Mall. There, the rally opened with songs and prayers by descendants of Lenape Indians.

"Our signs are limp from the rain and the ground is soggy, but out spirits are high," said Bal Pinguel, of the American Friends Service Committee, one of the national sponsors of the event. "The high price we are paying is the more than 3,800 troops who have been killed in the war in Iraq."

Vince Robbins, 51, of Mount Holly, N.J., said there needed to be more rallies and more outrage.

"Where's the outcry? Where's the horror that almost 4,000 Americans have died in a foreign country that we invaded?" Robbins said. "I'm almost as angry at the American people as I am the president. I think Americans have become apathetic and placid about the whole thing."

In New York, among the thousands marching down Broadway was a man carrying cardboard peace doves. Some others dressed as prisoners, wearing the bright orange garb of Guantanamo Bay inmates and pushing a person in a cage.

In Seattle, thousands of marchers were led by a small group of Iraq war veterans.

At Occidental Park, where the protesters rallied after the march, the American Friends Service Committee displayed scores of combat boots, one pair for each U.S. solider killed in Iraq.

From Our Partners

Protesting war in Iraq, urging peace

Two thousand or more joined a march and rally ending at Independence Mall.

By Tom Infield and Ashwin Verghese

Inquirer Staff Writers

They came marching and chanting along East Market Street, 10 to 20 people across, in a procession five blocks long.

"What do we want?

"Peace!

"When do we want it?

"Now!"

That call-and-response echoed off tall buildings yesterday as Philadelphia witnessed its largest peace demonstration since the first days of the Iraq war in March 2003.

Organizers estimated that 2,000 people joined in the march and a rally that followed it on the sodden lawn of Independence Mall. The police estimate was higher: 5,000.

The demonstrators ranged from graying peaceniks who protested the Vietnam War 35 years ago to a community librarian from Union County, N.J., to a Radnor High School sophomore who was handing out a radical leftist newspaper.

"It is unbearable what is happening" in Iraq, said Kathy Muhn, 54, the librarian, who drove down in the morning rain. "We need to take to the streets and end this terrible war."

A supporter of Democrat Dennis Kucinich for president, Muhn said this was only her second peace rally. Her brother, a Navy chaplain, is going to Iraq in January with a Marine contingent.

"I'm afraid for him," she said. "But I was against this war long before I knew about him going. It was an invasion based on lies. It was wrong then, and it's wrong now."

The rally organizers, a coalition of more than 100 loosely connected antiwar groups, billed the event as part of a "national day to end the war in Iraq."

Similar rallies were organized in Boston, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Orlando, New Orleans, and Jonesborough, Tenn.

Rally speakers included Desiree Anita Ali-Fairooz of Washington, whose photo was seen around the world last week after she ran up to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice with red-painted hands and screamed: "The blood of millions of Iraqis is on your hands. . . . War criminal!"

She said she spent 30 hours in a federal lockup after the incident in a congressional hearing room. Although released, she said she faces three criminal charges.

"This type of thing helps to galvanize the movement," Ali-Fairooz said of the march and rally. "When the people still at home see there is a base of dissent, they will no longer be silent and watch this criminal war continue."

At the hour the rally began, more than 100 U.S. military veterans were gathering for the 20th anniversary rededication of the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Front and Spruce Streets, five blocks over and four blocks down.

Police said the two groups seemed oblivious of each other and had no contact.

But a handful of people who support the U.S. war effort - protesters against the antiwar protest - stood on the opposite side of Market from the rally. Police kept them mostly separate from the larger group.

"Don't tell me you're here for peace. . . . You're saying it's OK to kill American soldiers," Raoul Deming, 50, of West Chester, told a peace activist with whom he was debating.

Even at an antiwar gathering, Michael Ladson, 15, the Radnor High sophomore, had trouble giving away copies of the People's Weekly World as he stood on the corner of Sixth and Market Streets.

Ladson said he had formed socialist views when his family was living in New Zealand.

"If the nation had its priorities straight," he said, "it would be spending more on health care than on warfare."

The march had begun with scatterings of people along a route to City Hall from the Veterans Hospital in University City. It picked up steam as it went along.

Al Zappala, 67, a retired federal employee from South Philadelphia, was holding a photograph of his son, Sgt. Sherwood Baker, a Pennsylvania National Guardsman who died in an explosion in Iraq in April 2004.

Zappala, in a rain jacket and baseball cap, said he had been opposed to the war from the outset but wasn't sure how Baker felt.

"He never really talked about it," Zappala said. "He said he couldn't cloud his mind with the politics of it. His job was to get himself and his men home safely."

Since his son's death, Zappala said, he has traveled the country talking to other Iraq war families.

Many people in the march had other political agendas than just ending the war.

Rob Dewey, 26, of Upper Darby, carried a large Palestinian flag.

"I'm against the occupation in Iraq, but I'm a Palestinian activist," said Dewey, whose wife is Palestinian. "I'm against the occupation of Palestine. The U.S. has been in Iraq since 2003. That's four years. Israel's been in Palestine since 1967. That's 40 years."

Saleem Muwwakkil, the president of the Coalition for African Diaspora Initiatives, said he was pleased by the diversity of the crowd.

"It's a coalition," he said. "There are veterans from all over the tri-state area. There are people here for Darfur. There are African Americans, Italian Americans, Jewish Americans. This is bringing people together."