History of Peaceful Tomorrows
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History of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, an organization founded by family members of those killed on September 11th who have united to turn our grief into action for peace.
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History of Peaceful Tomorrows
- 1. September 11 th Families for
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Editor's Notes
- Peaceful Tomorrows September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows was founded by family members of those killed in the September 11 th , 2001 attacks on America who united to turn their grief into action for peace. By developing and advocating nonviolent actions in the pursuit of justice, we hope to break the cycles of violence engendered by war and terrorism. We actively acknowledge our common experience with all people affected by violence throughout the world, and work to create a safer and more peaceful world for everyone.
- Peaceful Tomorrows was formally launched on February 14, 2002. The founders chose our name from this quote by Doctor Martin Luther King: "The past is prophetic in that it asserts loudly that wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows. One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means.”
- In January of 2002, four Peaceful Tomorrows members were part of the first US civilian group to visit Afghanistan since our country invaded scarcely 9 weeks earlier. The delegation was struck by how forgiving and sympathetic the Afghan families were to them. The Afghanis they met saw and felt our sorrow, even if they could not communicate with words across the language barrier. They told us, "Our brother is your brother. Our pain is your pain."
- The presence of Americans, particularly September 11 family members, proved to be the human element that encouraged journalists to depict the plight of the Afghan people. Ultimately, we were able to put a human face on the cost of war by later sending two more delegations to Afghanistan.
- Hibakusha refers to people who have experienced atomic explosions. Peaceful Tomorrows' relationship with Japanese Hibakusha is special – they were the first peace group to reach out to us and to travel to meet with us in New York City in April 2002. We have a shared bond of directly experiencing the horrors humanity can inflict upon one another in the name of a political cause.
- Family Members have traveled to Japan on several occasions to meet with peace groups there and strengthen our bonds with those who were the first victims of the original “Ground Zero”.
- Family member Ryan Amundson said: "Throughout my life I've been told that there can never be peace because people of different nations are so different. After meeting people from all over the world, I am certain of one thing: people everywhere are the same. It may sound naive, but not nearly as naive as believing the assertion that people are so radically different that we must accept violence as a way to solve conflict. It is so crucial for civil society to build bonds and work for peace."
- Because our goal is nothing less than world peace, Peaceful Tomorrows has campaigned against the war in Iraq.
- Our experiences have taught us that the way to reduce the threat of repeated acts of terrorism, like those that claimed our relatives’ lives, is not to bomb, invade, and occupy other nations, but to identify the root causes of violence and the abuse of human rights, and to support organizations expanding the capacity for settling grievances nonviolently. One of these is the Iraqi civil-society organization LaOnf (which means “no violence” in Arabic), a network of Iraqi activists building a nonviolence movement to resist occupation, terrorism and corruption in Iraq.
- We were one of the first groups to lobby congress for an end to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, two conflicts that today an overwhelming number of Americans want to see ended.
- To advance our causes, we meet and work closely with legislators on a number of issues.
- One of the most important things Peaceful Tomorrows does is to partner with other likeminded international peace groups and collaborate whenever possible. This is important not only for the synergy that collaboration brings, but to recognize that we are all in this together, we are all one . As broadcaster Hugh Downs put it, "To say my fate is not tied to your fate is like saying, 'Your end of the boat is sinking.'"
- Stonewalk is a one-ton memorial stone inscribed "Unknown Civilians Killed in War" that travels the world to serve as a reminder of the true cost of war. In 2004, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows sponsored Stonewalk from Boston to New York.
- Peaceful Tomorrows members also joined the Japanese to stage Stonewalk Japan for the 60th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 2005. And in 2007 family member Andrea Leblanc joined Stonewalk Korea.
- Our group has also teamed with the American Friends Service Committee, a 93-year-old religious organization founded on the principals of nonviolence, to establish exhibits all over the US called "Eyes Wide Open". These exhibits are enormous displays of empty shoes of civilians and empty boots of soldiers calling to mind the enormous human loss of war.
- On September 11, 2006 family members of September 11th, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the Rwandan genocide were participants in our conference, “Civilian Casualties, Civilian Solutions.” This groundbreaking international conference featured 30 terror victims from more than 18 countries who have created organizations that promote peaceful conflict resolution. The result was the International Network for Peace, a dedicated group of organizations formed by survivors of political violence to promote justice, reconciliation and initiatives that support non-violent solutions to terrorism and war. www.internationalnetworkforpeace.org
- Peaceful Tomorrows views closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison as crucial to re-establishing US credibility on the rule of law. Our members spoke out recently at rallies in Washington DC, New York and Boston, explaining why the Guantanamo detentions and the Military Tribunals are incompatible with a search for justice.
- Peaceful Tomorrows was awarded the 2002 Pax Christi National Peacemaker Award, the 2003 Miranda Peace award and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 and 2004. Our individual members also have been honored several times.
- Among Peaceful Tomorrows chief goals are: To promote dialogue on alternatives to war, while educating and raising the consciousness of the public on issues of war, peace, and the underlying causes of terrorism. To call attention to threats to civil liberties, human rights, and other freedoms in the U.S. as a consequence of war. To encourage multilateral, collaborative efforts to bring those responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks to justice in accordance with the principles of international law. To promote U.S. foreign policy that places a priority on internationally recognized principles of human rights, democracy and self-rule.
- More recently, Peaceful Tomorrows’ members have been in the news advocating for the building of Park 51, the controversial Muslim community center planned for lower Manhattan. We believe that America’s constitutional guarantee of religious freedom applies equally to all citizens, regardless of race, creed or color.
- Today our core group consists of 200 family members living in 31 states and seven foreign countries. We have thousands of supporters on our mailing list.
- Peaceful Tomorrows is committed to taking our message of "turning our grief into action for peace" to ever-wider audiences. You can help us by visiting our website and signing up to help with our many campagns. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, "Nonviolence is the greatest force that humanity has been endowed with." And as founding member David Potorti puts it, “We believe that peaceful tomorrows begin with what we do today."