What should we do about Iraq?

Letter from Thornbury Quakers to the Bristol Evening Post January 2003

What should we do about Iraq? As Quakers, we believe action is needed to tackle the injuries and inhumanities which have already been committed on the people of Iraq and beyond by the current government in Iraq. But we do not believe that violence is the right form of action. When we use violence to stop a bully, we reinforce their view that violence is how you get your own way. What the bully (and other bullies watching) learn is that next time they must be even tougher, to make sure they get their own way. The spiral of violence grows.

Our opposition to violence does not mean we do nothing, it is not submissive. As Rosemary Hartill wrote recently 'It is not about letting someone take advantage of you - your rights are worthy of respect and you are entitled to assert them.' It entitles us to expect respect, but also requires us to respect the worth of others - not always an easy thing.

Instead we choose non-violent action. This sort of approach is anything but inactive. It requires governments to have the courage to put human rights and human life above the income from arms sales, and a willingness to tell us we must pay for peace by investing money in disarmament schemes, mediation, conflict resolution, human rights and aide work.

Non-violent action to achieve change is a slow process. It should have been taken back in the 1980s, when refugees and human rights groups started to alert the world to what was happening in Iraq, but it is still not too late to start on the paths of peaceful action to achieve change.

Thornbury Quakers