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Dear
CODEPINKer,
 As
we are showered with flowers and chocolate this Mother's Day, let
us not forget the mothers of Iraq.
Instead
of lavish brunch buffets, they are faced with malnourished babies
and contaminated drinking water; breakfast
in bed is not an option when there is no home to return to.
 Almost
five million Iraqis have been displaced by violence in their country,
the majority of them women and children. As Congress
prepares to vote on the largest supplemental funding bill yet, $172
billion, to fund the war in Iraq for another year, let's urge them
to stop funding war, and fund the growing refugee crisis instead.
It is unconscionable of us to not help try to rebuild the lives
we have shattered.
Call
your Member of Congress today at (202-225-3121) and say "No
money for war. Money for refugees!"
 CODEPINK
co-founder Medea Benjamin is currently meeting with Iraqi women
refugees in Jordan and Syria, learning first hand about their plight.
Here,
Medea shares Nadia's story:
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"Nadia
is a young woman with a round, jolly face and a quick smile
that belies the tragedy within. Married in 2002, a year later,
the couple was eagerly awaiting their first child. When the
baby was born, Nadia's husband was out of town on business.
He was rushing back to Baghdad to see his baby daughter when
a US convoy approached from the opposite direction, spraying
bullets. He was killed instantly. Daria never had a chance
to meet her father.
The mother and daughter remained in Baghdad, but in February
2007, American soldiers broke into their home and terrorized
them. That's when Nadia decided to flee to Jordan. Daria was
so traumatized by the raid, she lost her ability to control
her bladder and has frequent nightmares.
Nadia now faces life as a single mother in a strange land,
with no income and no hope. 'The Americans invaded my country
to steal our wealth, and in the process they stole my personal
treasure-my loving husband.'
'I'm
so sorry, so sorry,' was all I could mutter as we hugged and
cried."
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To
hear another Iraqi mother's story first hand, be sure to view this
heartbreaking
video and read Medea's
trip blogs here.
 As
we pressure Congress to fund aid for refugees, we can do our part,
as well. This Mother's Day, please give
a gift to aid Iraqi women refugees in your mother's name.
What better way to honor the true anti-war intention of Mother's
Day. As Julia Ward Howe wrote in 1870, "Arise
then...women of this day!/Arise, all women who have hearts!"
Let us rise up together and help the women our administration has
so tragically beaten down.
In
the great and general interests of peace,
 Alicia,
Dana, Desiree, Farida, Gael, Gayle, Jodie, Liz, Medea, Nancy, Rae,
and Tighe
P.S.
 This
June and July, CODEPINK is offering
8 week-long (Sunday-Friday) activist training
and action camps at our Pink
House on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Passionate
about ending the US occupation of Iraq? Curious about how Congress
really works? Want to join with peacemakers from around the country
to reclaim your government this summer? All you need to make that
commitment to a better world is apply to join us in DC this summer!
For more information and sample schedule, click
here.
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