Issue 396 - July/August 2009

July-August 2009 Cover

Peacework To Announce Relaunch as Blog Platform Soon

We will announce the relaunch of a newly redesigned Peacework soon. In May 2011, Peacework, the new nonviolent social change blog platform with a four decade long pedigree, will be relaunched. You can see our experiments with an alpha version of what the site will look like at www.new.peaceworkmagazine.org. The American Friends Service Committee published Peacework for four decades, and has spun the new Peacework off into an independent blog. The views of Peacework never necessarily represented the views of AFSC, but now we are also organizationally independent of AFSC. Want to blog about nonviolent social change in your geographic region or share your ongoing expertise, experiences, and dilemmas regarding an issue area or organizing approach? We are looking for you to join us as we relaunch.



In This Issue

October 2008. La Ruta Pacifica de las Mujeres is a coalition of over 200 Colombian womenís organizations. They hold events for peace and nonviolence throughout the year and also coordinate an annual parade, held in different violent regions, to giv

Telling the truth is frequently unpopular, but it is an important way to help communities survive and grow, and heal the wounds opened by war.

Picture of Star-Bellied Sneetch with Snoot in the Air

While The Sneetches taught about the interaction between discrimination and capitalism, Horton Hears a Who is Dr. Seuss' exploration of genocide.

An overview of recently published resources working against the militarization of our young people.

From the Editor's Desk
The Immigration System: Maybe Not So Broken

Why do we so rarely hear the views of the people most directly affected -- the millions of undocumented immigrants themselves?

Warlords at Home and Abroad: Learning from US Mistakes in Central Asia

"Everywhere I went after 9/11...I urged that warlords should not be empowered, that disarming the militias was a priority task for US forces, and that developing Afghan agriculture to ward off poppy cultivation should be a priority…."

With Sadness, Myers Center Closes: Announces Awards for Outstanding Titles in Human Rights

May our relationships and commitment to building a just and equitable future continue, for in the struggle for justice is the hope of the future.

Cultures of Peace: Reflections on the UN Declaration's First Decade
Worker Solidarity After the Work is Gone: The Story of Fuerza Unida "I remember when we had our first protests we used to hide our faces behind the poster boards because we were nervous and embarrassed."
Potato Chip Assisted Learning: The Quest to Return Literature to Teens When literature is negated from a community, young people lose an important means of creating and carrying their own tools of success, and imagining their own future.
Freedom Summer: A School for Young Community Organizers Youth conduct power analyses of policies and institutions that specifically affect people of color and poor communities.
Unlocking the Gates: An Introduction to the Prison Book Program

"The children's books are for my 9-year-old daughter. Something short that I can read to her on the phone, but long enough not to be childish. She is a smart and beautiful girl."

International Conscientious Objector Month: South Korea
Bits & Peaces