Anthony Manousos

  • Tribute to Yevtushenko

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    Today at ICUJP I want to talk a Russian poet who hated borders and walls and loved to build bridges of understanding and connection through his poetry. His name is Evgeny Yevtushenko and he died recently at age 84, on April 1st of this year. He was in many ways the Bob Dylan of the Soviet Union—a quirky, passionate defender of human rights and freedom. He became world famous by writing a poem called Babi Yar that denounced anti-semitism. He also denounced Stalinism, war, and everything else that stifled the human spirit. While I was helping to edit a Quaker-inspired collection of poetry and fiction in the Reagan era, I got to travel to the Soviet Union and visit Yevtushenko in his summer home, his dacha, in Peredelkino. I’d like to share with you a poem he wrote in 1984, during the period known as Glasnost or Openness. The poem is called “On Borders.”

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  • End Violence in Palestine/Israel & Middle East

    We are concerned about the violence in Israel/Palestine because the US provides billions of dollars annually in aid to Israel, and because this area is considered sacred to Muslims, Christians, and Jews.

    We are appalled by the thousands killed in the latest violence in Gaza, most of them civilians and children, as well as by massive destruction of homes, mosques, schools and hospitals. We equally grieve the deaths suffered in Israel from Hamas rockets.

     

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    We, the undersigned, support Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace's call to end the cycle of violence in Israel/Palestine and the Middle East.   We grieve over the death and destruction caused by endless wars, and are convinced that military force is not the answer. We therefore call on the US government to:

    • End the arms trade to the Middle East since US weaponry fuels violence and supports authoritarian governments.
    • Cease bombing in Syria and Iraq and cease providing military aid to militant groups.
    • Provide instead massive humanitarian efforts (implemented mainly by civilians, not by the military) to rebuild Gaza, Iraq, Afghanistan and other areas ravaged by US military interventions. 
    • Engage in diplomacy and negotiation with all parties in these conflicts
    • Support a UN investigation of alleged war crimes committed during the recent conflict in Israel/Palestine.
    • Demand that Israel immediately end its blockade and siege of Gaza.
    • Demand Hamas end its violence and dismantle its offensive arsenal.

                                                                                                                                                                                                        

    We feel that resolving the conflict in Israel/Palestine is an important step towards resolving conflicts throughout the Middle East.

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  • End police violence against African Americans & Latinos

    Less than three weeks after the officer-involved shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) published its concluding observations on the United States of America’s report on its record to uphold the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. 

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    Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (ICUJP) adopts the position of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) report of August 26, 2014.

             “…the Committee reiterates its previous concern at the brutality and excessive use of force by law enforcement officials against members of racial and ethnic minorities, including against unarmed individuals, which has a disparate impact on African Americans and on undocumented migrants crossing the United States-Mexican border…”

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Visit my new peace blog at laquaker.blogspot.com. Every day is a miracle for which I am grateful to Spriit.

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