CPTnet
14 June 2012

House in Pshdar district destroyed in 2009 bombing raid

Christian Peacemaker Teams-Iraqi Kurdistan accepted an invitation to the Iranian Consulate in Sulaimani on 22 May. They brought with them the team’s latest report, Disrupted Lives: the effects of cross-border attacks by Turkey and Iran on Kurdish villages.

CPTnet
8 June 2012

As the day dawns on our last school patrol, I reflect back on my last two and a half months of patrols here in Hebron.

Setting off at 6:50 a.m. we are greeted by the smiling faces of children who take the time to stop and give us a high five or shake hands with us. As we walk through the Souq (market), an array of colourful fabrics reflects the warmth of everyone as they invite us into their shops for tea. Then we turn the corner and everything changes.

To a crowd of over 100 Rotary Peace Fellows and Alumni, Maria Lourdes Arcenas praised the work of Nonviolent Peaceforce on Mindanao.  “I know first-hand of your work in Mindanao especially the building of capacity of our Mindanao women to play a key role in keeping the peace in their communities.”

On Apr. 5, I accompanied our neighbor, Afifah, whose real name will not be revealed due to safety concerns, as she tried to talk to the settlers who were protesting outside a house in a Palestinian neighborhood from which the Israeli authorities had evicted the settlers.

A settler refused to speak to her when she requested a conversation.  Upon enquiring why, he told her that he did not speak to anti-Semites. Afifah told him that they were both from the same origins.  The settler abruptly pronounced that he was referring to me and that Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) was an anti-Semitic organization.  Afifah told him that she had known CPT for many years and did not think that its members were anti-Semitic.  He replied that he had read the CPT website, that everything they posted was anti-Semitic and that they were Jew-hating Christians.