Yesterday at 1:30 pm local time, the International Criminal Court (ICC) read their indictments for trial of six prominent Kenyans including two, William Ruto and Uhuru Kenyatta, who are planning to run for president this year. In essence the charges against them were that they organized the post-election violence after the disputed 2007 election. A withdrawal of charges against all six would have been a major blow to the ICC. With one of the three judges dissenting, the court upheld the charges against four of the defendants – including the two presidential aspirants. Charges against the two others, Francis Muthaura, the head of Kenya’s civil service, and Joshua Sang, a radio announcer were dropped. While Joshua Sang is not in the same category of prominence as others, I think he was indicted because of the effectiveness of the hate radio station in the Rwandan genocide and the fact that there are recordings of what he said.

In opposition to civil society cries that the defendants should withdraw from government until their cases are decided and contrary to the article on accountability in the new Kenyan constitution, the Kenyan Government has declared that the officials can remain in office until (and if) they are convicted and that they can run for president. Ruto and Kenyatta have carefully played the gullible Kenyan electorate so that they, rather than those killed and displaced, are seen as the “victims.” As such, at least in their ethnic strongholds, these two have major support in their presidentials bid. Until the election is held – and its date is still in dispute – I will be sending out updates as significant issues arise.

The Friends Church Peace Teams (FPCT) set up a Call-in Center to monitor the situation during the announcement because many people feared that there could be violence if, in the case near where we live, William Ruto was held for trial. I set up a system with a program called FrontlineSMS which allows people, whom we are calling “citizen reporters,” to send in text messages about the situation in their community.

The FCPT Call-in Center worked nicely. Forty-five people signed up. Many were from the Turbo/Eldoret/Lugari area near us but others were from various places in western Kenya, giving us a broad representation. The Call-in Center received 29 messages before and after the announcement. There were no reports of violence. Unlike after the 2007 election, security personnel were frequently noted as being active in the communities. People were cautious, though. For example, Jua Kali market, about 15 miles towards Eldoret from our house, would normally be open on Monday, but few merchants showed up so there was no market day. Two citizen reporters in pro-Ruto areas reported that people were unhappy with the ruling, but were not violent.

I thought that the Call-in Center was effective in receiving good information from a large variety of sources in numerous places. There was no training in citizen reporting, but except for one or two, which were personal opinions, the rest were reports on the situation in the community. Perhaps most impressive was the fact that these reports frequently came from places where the mainstream media, both Kenyan and foreign, would never cover.

While I had no problem keeping up with this load of material, it might have been another case if there had been reports of violence. During the up-coming election cycle this year, I am hoping to have one thousand trained citizen reporters. To keep up with this amount of information will require considerable planning and personnel at the Call-in Center. We will also have to work out how the Call-in Center will react to negative information.

The system I used, FrontlineSMS, worked satisfactorily, but there were some quirks that I will ask them about. One problem I see is that when I sent out an email to everyone who had signed up the system only sent out about 2 SMSs per minute. With 45 names this was not much of a problem, but, if the system had 1000 names on it, it would take more than eight hours to send out the message!

Peace,
Dave
David Zarembka, Coordinator
African Great Lakes Initiative of the Friends Peace Teams

Victory – Victoria!

Today the Chicago City Council unanimously passed the ICAT Anti-Torture Resolution!  This is a major victory!  Each one of you played an important role and helped it to happen.
Our work does not end here.  We need to make sure that people know about this and that the City implements the resolution in practice.  We also encourge other cities to do the same (and we will help if we can)!  Thank you everyone; we should all pause to celebrate this achievement!

Hoy día el Consejo de la ciudad de Chicago votó con unanimidad a favor de la resolución contra la tortura.  Esta es una victoria importante.  Cada uno de ustedes contribuyó y ayudó a la victoria. Nuestro trabajo no termine ahora.  Tenemos que asegurar que la gente sepa de la resolución y la victoria y que la ciudad implemente la resolución en su practica cotidiana.  También queremos alentar a compañeros en otras ciudades a hacer lo mismo y estamos despuestos a ayudarles a realizer una campaña como la que hemos desarrollado aquí en Chicago.  Muchas gracias a todos!

Thank you everyone,
Margaret Power for the Illinois Coalition Agaisnt Torture

S. Simplicity.
I have taken a stand against unsolicited credit cards and offers of insurance by completing the opt-out process I discovered.  Learn more & consider joining me by reading about it here.

P. Peace.
I am enthusiastically continuing my service as clerk of ILYM Peace Resources Committee. Working on the projects and ideas manifest by this group of Friends is a strong commitment to my Peace Testimony.

I. Integrity.
I will work hard to stay in the moment and be true to my word.

C. Community.
I am committing to at least one shared meal a month, participating as fully as possible by providing a dish to share and being in sincere fellowship with f/Friends, tending to others both big & little, and helping to prepare and clean up the space.

E. Equality.
Inspired by my father’s loyal commitment, I am going to prioritize buying only fair trade/direct trade coffee for my home. I am also to financially contribute each month to 57th Street Meeting’s Coffee Fund which goes through the AFSC Coffee Project with Equal Exchange to acquire coffee for the Meeting.

What might your aspirations for 2012 include?

I clicked the link. I choose “Electronic Opt-Out for Five Years: Your name will not be eligible for inclusion on lists used for Firm Offers of credit or insurance for five years” because the permanent option requires printing something out to mail in & I want to accomplish this task now. I completed the form and submitted it. The entire process took less than 3 minutes. And so after clicking “End Session” I repeated the process with my maidan name and then did it for my husband as well.

I ‘Confirm’ my request to exclude my name on lists used for firm offers of credit or insurance. I hereby affirm that all information entered is my own and true, to the best of my knowledge.

And with that my first New Years Resolution is complete: an attempt to reduce unsolicited mail both to reduce the paper waste generated and politely say NO to the offers of credit and insurance I don’t need. A means towards walking a bit more gently over the earth.

Click here to hear the full interview.

Val Liveoak, who became a nonviolent activist in Austin in the early ’70s, has been named a “Woman of Peace” by Womens’ Peacepower Foundation (2009) and Peacemaker of the Year by the Austin Peace and Justice Center (1986). She has chosen to live below the poverty line and work as a volunteer since the early ’90s and currently lives in an “intentional neighborhood” in San Antonio, when she’s in the United States.

Read her post “Anya Cordell: How to Make This Situation a Win/Win for Muslims and Lowes”, read Comments shared, and learn more about this issue and how you might respond.

Through its programs Voices of Friends and The Wider Quaker Fellowship, Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) Section of the Americas works to express our common heritage and our Quaker message to the world. You’re invited to read the newest selection of contemporary Quaker writing on Voices of Friends:

• Read the complete letter that introduces each of these articles from Judy Inskeep, Clerk of the Wider Quaker Fellowship.

Next April a  large ‘family reunion’ of Quakers from around the globe will meet in Kenya to consider questions that many in the Religious Society of Friends are asking: What is the Quaker response to global change? What are Friends called to do in a world that is broken? What is the relevant Quaker message for the 21st century?

FWCC invites you to join in learning what Quakers from Kenya, Russia, India, El Salvador, England,  Bolivia, Korea, the United States and more have to say about  these  issues.

Download the essays for personal use or purchase a hard copy of the Study Booklet for the Sixth World Conference of Friends. Learn more.

Voices of Friends aims to feed the souls of those who feel an affinity to the beliefs and  practices of Quakers and to provide an entry point to understanding Quakerism today in all its diversity.

Over the past decade I have attempted to help tell the stories of my generation, Quaker youth living their faith in inspiring contemporary ways. For a number of years, Friends Journal supported this leading by publishing a series of pieces that I’ll share again here in hopes that Greg can use them and that you, dear reader, might enjoy them too.

Walking the Walk: Greg Woods
Walking the Walk: Ian Fritz
Walking the Walk: Rainbow Pfaff

In my life now as a radio producer, I’ve attempted to bring those skills to benefit the telling of these stories as well. In 2005, ILYM hosted the annual “Quake that Rocked the Midwest” and invited me to come record the youth gathered there. Friends Journal published that effort as well. Presented as audio stories, you can learn more about contemporary young Friends and their ideas of Quakerism here.

But Greg’s request made me want to see what else might be available online today showcasing young Quakers doing awesome things. What have you found? Did reading the stories of Greg, Ian or Rainbow resonate with you or remind you of Quaker youth you know?  What does “walking the walk” mean to you? And is that harder to do when you’re young?

Dear Friends,

The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) has collected 3,000 nationwide endorsements of our Statement Against Prolonged Solitary Confinement.  Help reach 2,011 more by the end of 2011 by signing this statement today! 

Prolonged solitary confinement desecrates a person’s inherent dignity and denies the essential human need for spiritual community.  Inmates in solitary experience paranoia, delusions, and other long-term mental effects. Experts estimate that at least 36,000 people in the U.S. criminal justice system are currently held in solitary confinement, a condition in which they are confined alone in a windowless cell for 23 hours per day and exercise alone for the remaining hour.

Juan Mendez, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, stated in his recent report on solitary confinement to the U.N. General Assembly that, “Considering the severe mental pain or suffering solitary confinement may cause… it can amount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

NRCAT is working to end prolonged solitary confinement and you can help by signing the statement and then spreading the word.  If we reach 500 signatures in your state, we will send the statement and the signatures to your governor, state legislators and department of corrections officials.  You can learn more about NRCAT’s state campaigns to end solitary confinement and access other resources at http://www.nrcat.org/prisons.

Thank you for lifting your voice for the voiceless.

Linda Gustitus, President
Rev. Richard Killmer, Executive Director

Questions? Please email campaign@nrcat.org
National Religious Campaign Against Torture: www.tortureisamoralissue.org

As I follow the news of “Occupy” Movements across the country I am curious to learn what Friends are hearing & thinking about, and being led to say and do.

Protesting economic inequality is honorable, and I wonder what personal actions the individuals gathered from Oakland, to Chicago, to Naperville, to Washington DC, to New York City are being led to think about in their own lives as contributors to that very economic inequality they are fighting against.

Or is their fundamental point – “we are the 99%” – bear witness to the mere fact that such a question is irrelevant: there is a super class of Americans, who are 1% of the population, who have a responsibility to contribute in a way that redistribution can take place.

And then my thoughts turn to the bigger question… is standing on the corner enough? What is the outcome of these people bearing witness to their beliefs? Are they asking individuals to change? Corporations? Asking the government to take a different attitude? Enforce their beliefs? And will the winter weather stand in their way or alert the nation to the conviction with which they are standing there?

Are there academics, intellectuals in the creative class, politicians, or others in positions of power, are those in the 1% working to figure out how they can help envision the way forward? Will their ideas have a brief moment in time where the nation will be looking? A better way could be proposed?

Last week Naomi Wolf was in Chicago to give a talk entitled: “Citizen Empowerment 101″  where she shared her personal experience getting arrested in New York while trying to intervene on behalf of protesters (who she believed “the details of the permit gave the protestors the right to be on the sidewalk as long as they did not obstruct foot traffic”) and was “subsequently arrested for resisting a lawful order after police told her to ‘leave,’ and she did not.”  She told her story during the talk, which has been edited for you to hear.

What has been your experience? What are your thoughts? What role should we be taking as Friends, as individuals?