LaOnf- Some of Its Members

One of LaOnf’s founders, Ismaeel, explained the central vision of the coalition. “We look forward to being the major focal point in Iraq to defend our citizens’ right to use methods of non-violence as the means to struggle for democracy, equality and respect of human rights,” he said. “Our intent is to promote and [make] widespread the culture and knowledge of non-violence as an effective [means of] resistance. We… teach non-violence techniques and tools as an alternative to war.”

On September 15, 2008, the New York Times reported that a Sunni Arab leader in Baghdad who had been a proponent of reconciliation in his neighborhood was assassinated, one of many peace activists who has suffered the consequences of violence in Iraq.

Here are some of the people who carrying out a vision of nonviolence, often risking their own safety. They are regional coordinators of LaOnf, a growing coalition of Iraqis committed to building a culture of peace and ending the occupation of Iraq. (Last names are omitted for protection as practicing nonviolence does not always ensure your safety in the war-torn country):

• Hassan from Kirkuk describes his ethnically diverse and divided governorate as a “miniature Iraq.” Kirkuk’s residents are Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen, and Christians. Under Saddam Hussein, many Arabs were relocated to Kirkuk to change its ethnic balance. The governorate sits atop a very large oil field and disagreement over who will profit from the oil underlies much of the divisive and often violent politics of the region. Hassan directs an NGO called Human Rights Net, which he founded along with four partners. All of his partners have been assassinated over the last several years. But Hassan truly believes there are nonviolent solutions for Kirkuk. The LaOnf committee that was elected in Kirkuk includes 2 Kurds, 2 Arabs, 2 Christians and 1 Turkomen. They have gone out together to visit the families of victims of terrorism, and many surviving family members have since joined LaOnf. The local committee has also planned and sponsored a workshop open to the public called “Dialogue for the Sake of Kirkuk.” Hassan believes one of the greatest challenges is to confront and diffuse political parties that are stoking the fires of ethnic hatred for their own political gain.

• Salama from the governorate of Diwaniyah, south of Baghdad, held a workshop in March, 2008 to teach attendees about the principles and tactics of Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was a time of heavy military fighting and she often felt that she should postpone the meeting. Gunfire was constant during the workshop, but members were able to complete the workshop and hold elections for a coordinator. As the participants departed at the end of the day they were stopped by soldiers who said it was not safe to travel. Salama remembers being trapped; unable to get home till 9PM where she found a cold house and a hungry husband and daughter who had been unable to go out to buy food. As she describes it, Salama thought, “Maybe I am not going to be able to do this!” But she took strength from the other committed people who had stayed and the next morning her resolve and eagerness were restored.

• Salem from Sulamaniya in Kurdistan was a victim of Saddam Hussein’s poison gas attacks in Halabja in 1988. He speaks with personal knowledge of how the legacy of violence where he lives, and the all-to-common desire for revenge, are tremendous challenges to teaching nonviolence. But Salem is an extraordinary man; the violence of the past has made him appreciate what nonviolence truly is. He believes that an important long-term goal is to minimize militarism in Iraqi society. He criticizes the media for focusing heavily on violence and killing, and not on what the people are trying to do to restore their society.

• Thawar is the coordinator in Najaf, and is a committed defender of women’s rights. A high school teacher, she has challenged the use of corporal punishment in the classroom. She asks searching questions about the connections between how a society raises its children and the kinds of violence that exist in that society.

• When Ayad from Ninawa left the LaOnf conference this August in Erbil, he traveled to Baghdad where he marched in a demonstration, coinciding with the International Day of the Missing, August 30, to demand that the Iraqi government seriously investigate the cases of the more than 250,000 Iraqis who have gone missing since 1980. Ayad’s brother, who is a human rights lawyer, is among those missing.

• Azam is not one of the LaOnf coordinators, but is a member of the committee in Tikrit, Sullaheden. A former major in the army of Saddam Hussein, Azam learned about LaOnf from Salama. After the Iraqi army was disbanded by the U.S., Azam studied law and started a human rights organization. He never joined a militia. He feels he was forced to join the military and was glad to leave. Today, he writes, “My message is [to] spread the culture of nonviolence and cooperation in Iraqi society especially among the Iraqi police and the army members.”