September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows

September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
http://www.peacefultomorrows.org/

• Now in our third year, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows continues to serve as a voice for those affected by terrorism, violence and war. We remain committed to advocating for more choices, and better choices, than the ones our nation has made since the events of September 11th. More than ever, we ask for your support as we continue our essential work.
  As you read this, members of Peaceful Tomorrows are gathering in Oklahoma City to mark the 10th anniversary of the Murrah Federal Building bombing (April 19, 1995). We are holding public discussions with Bud Welch and Frank Silovsky, who lost loved ones as a result of the bombing, and Susan Urbach, a survivor; Michael Berg, whose son, Nick, was murdered in Iraq in 2004; Wess Young, a survivor of the 1921 Tulsa race riot; and Father Michael Lapsley, a South African priest who in 1990 lost his hands and an eye to a letter bomb as a result of his anti-apartheid efforts. All of us are asserting ways of moving beyond retribution and towards a world where terrorism, violence and war become obsolete.
  The Oklahoma City events will include the U.S. premiere of "The Forgiveness Project," a British exhibit presenting real-life examples of those who have resisted revenge in response to terrorism, political violence, war and other injustices. The exhibit includes Mariane Pearl, widow of Daniel Pearl, the journalist beheaded in Pakistan; Oklahoma City resident Andrew Rice, who lost his brother David in the World Trade Center; and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who headed South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
  We believe that events like these play a vital role in acknowledging our common experience with all people affected by violence throughout the world, and creating a safer and more peaceful world for everyone. Our other activities this year include:
  • Connecting with victims of the March 11th train bombings in Madrid, and survivors of the 1936 bombing of Guernica, Spain, as we released the Spanish-language edition of our Peaceful Tomorrows book.
  
  
  • Amplifying the civilian casualties component of the AFSC’s “Eyes Wide Open,” an exhibit of American combat boots representing military deaths in Iraq. Peaceful Tomorrows increased the total number of civilian shoes represented from 1,200 to more than 4,200.
  • Joining with atomic bomb survivors, or Hibakusha, from Hiroshima and Nagasaki at The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference in New York (April 26-May 4) to reassert our goal of honoring the treaty and eliminating nuclear weapons.
  • Lobbying Congress against HR418, the “REAL ID” bill. which would add anti-immigrant provisions to unrelated legislation while doing nothing to increase our ability to identify or apprehend terrorists.
  • Initiating an “International Conference of Victims of Terrorism and War” at Princeton University in 2006. It will bring to the United States, from around the world, those affected by terrorism, violence and war who have committed themselves to working for peace.
  • Organizing “Stonewalk Japan,” a 340-mile walk between Nagasaki and Hiroshima in which we pull a monument to “the unknown civilians killed in war,” at the time of the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombings of those cities in 1945.
  • Traveling throughout Colombia, Guatemala, and Spanish-speaking communities in the United States this summer to promote the Spanish language release of the Peaceful Tomorrows book.
  • Bringing the voices and views of our 170 September 11th family members, and their counterparts around the world, to print, radio and television outlets throughout the United States.
  As we grow farther away from the tragedy that claimed our loved ones’ lives, the members of Peaceful Tomorrows remain committed to taking our message of “turning our grief into action for peace” to ever wider audiences as we continue working to insure that no family ever again experiences the losses we experienced on 9/11.
  Peaceful Tomorrows has been nominated for the 2003 and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. We ask for your financial help so that we can continue our work! Please make a fully tax-deductible donation today. Checks should be made payable to “Peaceful Tomorrows/Tides Center” and sent to:
  Peaceful TomorrowsP.O. Box 1818Peter Stuyvesant StationNew York, NY 10009
• You may also donate online by visiting:www.peacefultomorrows.org
  We are grateful for your continuing support of our essential work
• September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
  P.O. Box 1818Peter Stuyvesant StationNew York, New York 10009United States
• "Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows"–Martin Luther King, Jr.