Four CPTers were abducted in Iraq on November 26. Below is an update from the Iraq Team. We on the Colombian team have been shaken by this news. Your concern and prayers are much appreciated.
Along with this sad news from Iraq came a tragedy here in Colombia. A sister who was a pillar in the Colombian Mennonite church was killed in a motorcycle accident. This motorcycle happened to be in the Colombian President Uribe’s motorcade in Bogota. She and her son had been on a CPT delegation. She was a special person who was extremely dedicated to serving others and she often avoided involvement in positions of power in politics or the church in her belief in the importance of focusing on Jesus and not herself. The funeral sermon highlighted her servant attitude. President Uribe attended the viewing and the funeral.
These events really brought home how we need to be grounded in the Lord. It made me pray a lot more than usual. It makes me grateful to be able to pray. We on the team all said we appreciated the community of the team and being able to pray together and just be together.
When I shared about the abductions, Opon farmers asked me, “Will the violence ever end? It seemed the Lord gave me the words, “When these things happen we have to dedicate ourselves ever more strongly to work and to pray for justice and peace. I still believe that peace is coming to Colombia despite what has happened.¨
I will be flying home on Dec. 12 and am looking forward to being with family and friends. Special thanks to each of you who participated in this work by your support with prayer and financial support.
Blessings of peace,
Jim
PS. If you would like to participate in this work with your financial support, send checks to Plow Creek Mennonite Church, 19161 Plow Creek, Tiskilwa, 61368 with Jim’s Peacemaking in the memo line.
Jim Fitz
Along with this sad news from Iraq came a tragedy here in Colombia. A sister who was a pillar in the Colombian Mennonite church was killed in a motorcycle accident. This motorcycle happened to be in the Colombian President Uribe’s motorcade in Bogota. She and her son had been on a CPT delegation. She was a special person who was extremely dedicated to serving others and she often avoided involvement in positions of power in politics or the church in her belief in the importance of focusing on Jesus and not herself. The funeral sermon highlighted her servant attitude. President Uribe attended the viewing and the funeral.
These events really brought home how we need to be grounded in the Lord. It made me pray a lot more than usual. It makes me grateful to be able to pray. We on the team all said we appreciated the community of the team and being able to pray together and just be together.
When I shared about the abductions, Opon farmers asked me, “Will the violence ever end? It seemed the Lord gave me the words, “When these things happen we have to dedicate ourselves ever more strongly to work and to pray for justice and peace. I still believe that peace is coming to Colombia despite what has happened.¨
I will be flying home on Dec. 12 and am looking forward to being with family and friends. Special thanks to each of you who participated in this work by your support with prayer and financial support.
Blessings of peace,
Jim
PS. If you would like to participate in this work with your financial support, send checks to Plow Creek Mennonite Church, 19161 Plow Creek, Tiskilwa, 61368 with Jim’s Peacemaking in the memo line.
CPTNet
Nov 30, 2005, 1 am (Baghdad)
Update on Missing Persons in Iraq
We were very saddened to see the images of our loved ones on Al Jazeera television recently. We were disturbed by seeing the video and believe that repeated showing of it will endanger the lives of our friends. We are deeply disturbed by their abduction. We pray that those who hold them will be merciful and that they will be released soon. We want so much to see their faces in our home again, and we want them to know how much we love them, how much we miss them, and how anxious and concerned we are by what is happening to them.
We are angry because what has happened to our teammates is the result of the actions of the U.S. and U.K. government due to the illegal attack on Iraq and the continuing occupation and oppression of its people. [the above statement I fear will cause some supporters to be angry and <>question why the Iraq team said this. It isn't accusing the U.S. government of directly instigating the capture, but of creating the conditions out of which it came. - Jim Fitz] Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) has worked for the rights of Iraqi prisoners who have been illegally detained and abused by the U.S. government. We were the first people to publicly denounce the torture of Iraqi people at the hands of U.S. forces, long before the western media admitted what was happening at Abu Ghraib. We are some of the few internationals left in Iraq who are telling the truth about what is happening to the Iraqi people We hope that we can continue to do this work and we pray for the speedy release of our beloved teammates.
We can confirm the identities of those who are being held as follows:
Tom Fox, age 54, is from Clearbrook, Virginia and is a dedicated father of two children. For the past two years, Mr. Fox has worked with CPT in partnership with Iraqi human rights organizations to promote peace. Mr. Fox has been faithful in the observance of Quaker practice for 22 years. While in Iraq, he sought a more complete understanding of Islamic cultural richness. He is committed to telling the truth to U.S. citizens about the horrors of war and its effects on ordinary Iraqi civilians and families as a result of U.S. policies and practices.
Mr. Fox is an accomplished musician. He plays the bass clarinet and the recorder and he loves to cook. He has also worked as a professional grocer. Mr. Fox devotes much of his time to working with children. He has served as an adult leader of youth programs and worked at a Quaker camp for youth. He has facilitated young people's participation in opposing war and violence. Mr. Fox is a quiet and peaceful man, respectful of everyone, who believes that "there is that of God in every person" which is why work for peace is so important to him.
Norman Kember, age 74, is from London, England. He and his wife of 45 years have two married daughters and a 3-year old grandson. He has been a pacifist all his life beginning with his work in a hospital instead of National Service at age 18. Before his retirement he was a professor teaching medical students at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London. He is well-known as a peace activist, and has been involved in several peace groups. For the past 10 years he has volunteered with a local program providing free food to the homeless. He likes walking, birdwatching, and writing humorous songs and sketches. In his younger days he enjoyed mountaineering.
James Loney, 41, is a community worker from Toronto, Canada. He has been a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams since August 2000, and is currently the Program Coordinator for CPT Canada. On previous visits to Iraq, his work focused on taking testimonies from families of detainees for CPT's report on detainee abuse, and making recommendations for securing basic legal rights. James was leading the November 2005 delegation in Iraq when he went missing.
James is a peace activist, writer, trained mediator, and works actively with two Toronto community conflict resolution services. He has spent many years working to provide housing and support for homeless people.
In a personal statement from James to CPT, he writes: "I believe that our actions as a people of peace must be an expression of hope for everyone. My hope in practicing non-violence is that I can be a conduit for the transformative power of God's love acting upon me as much as I hope it will
act upon others around me."
Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32 is a Canadian electrical engineer. He is studying for a masters degree in English literature in Auckland University in New Zealand to prepare for a teaching career. He enjoys art, is active in squash and worked part time as a local squash coach. His family describes him as peaceful and fun-loving and he is known to be passionate about the plight of the underprivileged around the globe. He works tirelessly in his spare time to educate and help others.
Christian Peacemaker Teams has been present in Iraq since October 2002, providing first-hand, independent reports from the region, working with detainees of both United States and Iraqi forces, and training others in non-violent intervention and human rights documentation.
Christian Peacemaker Teams is a violence reduction program. Teams of trained peacemakers work in areas of lethal conflict around the world.
For more information go to www.cpt.org
Please continue to pray for missing and thier captors,for these and all the others around the world. Nov 30, 2005, 1 am (Baghdad)
Update on Missing Persons in Iraq
We were very saddened to see the images of our loved ones on Al Jazeera television recently. We were disturbed by seeing the video and believe that repeated showing of it will endanger the lives of our friends. We are deeply disturbed by their abduction. We pray that those who hold them will be merciful and that they will be released soon. We want so much to see their faces in our home again, and we want them to know how much we love them, how much we miss them, and how anxious and concerned we are by what is happening to them.
We are angry because what has happened to our teammates is the result of the actions of the U.S. and U.K. government due to the illegal attack on Iraq and the continuing occupation and oppression of its people. [the above statement I fear will cause some supporters to be angry and <>question why the Iraq team said this. It isn't accusing the U.S. government of directly instigating the capture, but of creating the conditions out of which it came. - Jim Fitz] Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) has worked for the rights of Iraqi prisoners who have been illegally detained and abused by the U.S. government. We were the first people to publicly denounce the torture of Iraqi people at the hands of U.S. forces, long before the western media admitted what was happening at Abu Ghraib. We are some of the few internationals left in Iraq who are telling the truth about what is happening to the Iraqi people We hope that we can continue to do this work and we pray for the speedy release of our beloved teammates.
We can confirm the identities of those who are being held as follows:
Tom Fox, age 54, is from Clearbrook, Virginia and is a dedicated father of two children. For the past two years, Mr. Fox has worked with CPT in partnership with Iraqi human rights organizations to promote peace. Mr. Fox has been faithful in the observance of Quaker practice for 22 years. While in Iraq, he sought a more complete understanding of Islamic cultural richness. He is committed to telling the truth to U.S. citizens about the horrors of war and its effects on ordinary Iraqi civilians and families as a result of U.S. policies and practices.
Mr. Fox is an accomplished musician. He plays the bass clarinet and the recorder and he loves to cook. He has also worked as a professional grocer. Mr. Fox devotes much of his time to working with children. He has served as an adult leader of youth programs and worked at a Quaker camp for youth. He has facilitated young people's participation in opposing war and violence. Mr. Fox is a quiet and peaceful man, respectful of everyone, who believes that "there is that of God in every person" which is why work for peace is so important to him.
Norman Kember, age 74, is from London, England. He and his wife of 45 years have two married daughters and a 3-year old grandson. He has been a pacifist all his life beginning with his work in a hospital instead of National Service at age 18. Before his retirement he was a professor teaching medical students at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London. He is well-known as a peace activist, and has been involved in several peace groups. For the past 10 years he has volunteered with a local program providing free food to the homeless. He likes walking, birdwatching, and writing humorous songs and sketches. In his younger days he enjoyed mountaineering.
James Loney, 41, is a community worker from Toronto, Canada. He has been a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams since August 2000, and is currently the Program Coordinator for CPT Canada. On previous visits to Iraq, his work focused on taking testimonies from families of detainees for CPT's report on detainee abuse, and making recommendations for securing basic legal rights. James was leading the November 2005 delegation in Iraq when he went missing.
James is a peace activist, writer, trained mediator, and works actively with two Toronto community conflict resolution services. He has spent many years working to provide housing and support for homeless people.
In a personal statement from James to CPT, he writes: "I believe that our actions as a people of peace must be an expression of hope for everyone. My hope in practicing non-violence is that I can be a conduit for the transformative power of God's love acting upon me as much as I hope it will
act upon others around me."
Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32 is a Canadian electrical engineer. He is studying for a masters degree in English literature in Auckland University in New Zealand to prepare for a teaching career. He enjoys art, is active in squash and worked part time as a local squash coach. His family describes him as peaceful and fun-loving and he is known to be passionate about the plight of the underprivileged around the globe. He works tirelessly in his spare time to educate and help others.
Christian Peacemaker Teams has been present in Iraq since October 2002, providing first-hand, independent reports from the region, working with detainees of both United States and Iraqi forces, and training others in non-violent intervention and human rights documentation.
Christian Peacemaker Teams is a violence reduction program. Teams of trained peacemakers work in areas of lethal conflict around the world.
For more information go to www.cpt.org
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