Dupage vigil urges end to war in Afghanistan

From Dupage Peace Through Justice Coalition:

About 75 attended a rally and vigil Sunday, October 11th in Bloomingdale to urge an end to the war in Afghanistan.

Speakers at the event included Kathy Kelly, a three-time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in opposing the Iraq war. ( Her bio is below) The rally was followed by a march and "Honk for Peace " event in front of to Congressman Peter Roskam's office on nearby Bloomingdale Rd.. The purpose of this visit was to deliver a memorial for the soldiers with a written request to Roskam to join other Congressional leaders in calling for a national dialogue on on the strategy in Afghanistan leading to our withdrawal.

Peace events took place all over the nation to recognize the 8th anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan.

The DuPage County event marked the sober anniversary of the start of the war.

During the rally, a collection was held of items to be donated to Hines VA Hospital in Maywood. Three baskets of personal items were collected to be hand- delivered to the VA Hospital and donated to needy veterans who reside there.
Organizers of the event hoped to send a message with this rally to local lawmakers that the public's sentiment with the war in Afghanistan is diminishing, and it is time to Bring the Troops Home.

Kathy Kelly co-coordinates Voices for Creative Nonviolence, (www.vcnv.org) a campaign to end U.S. military and economic warfare. As a co-founder of Voices in the Wilderness, she helped form 70 delegations, from 1996 - 2003, that openly defied economic sanctions by bringing medicines to children and families in Iraq. Kathy and her companions lived in Baghdad throughout the 2003 "Shock and Awe" bombing.
More recently, she has visited Gaza and Pakistan, writing eyewitness accounts of war's impact on civilians.

Kathy was sentenced to one year in federal prison for planting corn on nuclear missile silo sites (1988-89) and served three months, in 2004, for crossing the line at Fort Benning's military training school.

She and her companions at the Voices home/office in Chicago believe that non-violence necessarily involves simplicity, service, sharing of resources and non-violent direct action in resistance to war and oppression.