December 13, 2004 |
Dear Friends, Thanks to your incredible generosity, we have now raised over $75,000 in humanitarian aid for the refugees from Falluja. Suthir, a mother of six small children told us, "It's been so cold at night and I've been praying for someone to help us. Now, thank God, we finally have a heater." Your donations have provided thousands of cold, grieving refugees, especially children, with blankets, sweaters, heaters, portable stoves, clean water and antibiotics. We are nearing our goal of $100,000, but we need your continued support to make such a worthy cause a reality. Please give what you can, and spread the word and the true holiday spirit far and wide. http://www.codepinkalert.org/donate. Many of the supplies we've collected will be delivered directly by an extraordinary Families for Peace Delegation that leaves for Amman, Jordan and the Iraqi border on December 26. What makes this delegation so extraordinary is that it is composed of parents who have lost their sons in the war in Iraq or on September 11. "We lost our son to an illegal war that is now destroying the lives of thousands of Iraqi children," says Fernando Suarez del Solar, who is going on the trip with his wife Rosa. "We, as parents, must say ‘Stop the killing, comfort the children.'" The 12-person delegation of parents and health workers will be meeting with Iraqi doctors, human rights workers, and families hurt by the occupation. We will create a candlelight vigil for peace on New Year's Eve with Jordanian peace groups, and on January 1, New Year's Day, we will accompany a convoy of medicines to the Iraqi border. We'll also investigate the possibility of setting up a global peace camp on the Iraqi/Jordanian border. For this and other ideas about how to end the occupation of Iraq, see Building Peace in a Time of Perpetual War: http://www.codepinkalert.org/article.php?id=115 You, too, can join a CODEPINK Peace Delegation. In 2005, we'll have amazing, inspiring and life-transforming trips to Brazil (for the World Social Forum), Palestine/Israel, Afghanistan and Iran! In the new year, CODEPINK is determined to expand our global peace work and we need your help. Please consider joining one of the following delegations that we are organizing in coordination with Global Exchange. Many CODEPINK members have organized their own fundraisers to help pay for their trips. See www.globalexchange.org/tours/fundraisingtips.html for fundraising tips. * World Social Forum in Brazil January 21, 2005 - February 01, 2005 * PALESTINE/ISRAEL for International Women's Day MARCH 6-16, 2005 *AFGHANISTAN for International Women's Day MARCH 6-15, 2005 * IRAN Building friendships May 25 - June 6, with optional 4-day tour extension to Caspian Sea FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO: http://www.codepinkalert.org/article.php?list=type&type=23 In continued solidarity, Andrea, Carol, Claire, Gael, Jodie, Medea |
