Many things in ‘War’ make sense. You may not like it, you may not support it, and it may make you sad and despondent, but you will find solace in the cruelty with ‘oh well its War and things happen in War which we don’t like’. Even within the confines of international humanitarian law, other things in War will never make sense. When these ‘humanitarian’ limits are crossed, the logic dissipates. No matter how hard one tries, some actions cannot be justified, nor explained. Solace is harder to find. Anger, frustration, tears and shouting make little difference. Dialogue and debate fall on deaf ears as no rationale can be traced; even by those who have the right mix of realism, scepticism and detachment to find it. The invasion and Occupation of Iraq will never be justified. It was and continues to be ‘unjust’. It was not a ‘just’ war and even with the spin of media it never will be. As time continues, more of those who stayed silent, silently realise this. Not only was the reason of war wrong, but so was its conduct; the killing of civilians, the murder of retreating soldiers, the use of indiscriminate weapons, the use of biological warfare, the imprisonment of civilians without trail or legal representation, their torture…the list goes on. It may even be endless. It doesn’t mean people don’t still try to document them, almost as if their recognition or exposure will somehow make it stop; but keep crying to Justice, for there is no amends. Within the committed who cry, there are those who do so with a quiet solitude. Either within the safety of their offices or exposed in the very theatre of war. They work to educate themselves and others, to console themselves by helping others, to offer advice, to ‘network’ to help with small practical problems which may make a small difference to those caught up in the tangle of blood, pain and powerful injustice.

‘Was it Tom Fox you knew?’
- Yes
‘You know he was shot?’

Shot. Dead? I’ll put that thought away. I’ll deal with this later. It doesn’t make sense.

We had decided that this time that these hostages would be ok. They were ‘Christian Peace makers’ from the Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) after all. Christian Peacemakers who set up an ‘Islamic Peacemakers Team’. Christian Peacemakers who stood up against the Occupation; in whatever form it took. Who felt a responsibility as Americans; and as citizens of ‘their’ representative government; in what ever form it took – to take a stand against it. “Not in our name”; but to take our thoughts, or protests one practical step further and to try to use Peace to consolidate Peace. To use their faith in humanity and in justice to work against violence; and the violence which violence breeds. They worked wherever their governments ‘worked’. In Occupied Palestine, against the vigilant anti-immigration forces who patrol the Mexico-U.S border, against the continued violation of Native Americans at home and in Canada, and most recently, most courageously, in Iraq.

As all other ‘humanitarian’ agencies were packing up and leaving, or bought out by the ‘Occupation’ forces, Tom Fox and his team continued the work of the small group of people who were not prepared to work for Justice from their offices, but from the theatre of war. To work with the Iraqi civilians – to build simple bridges from crumbling bricks and to show that ‘American’ or ‘Christian’ or whatever—it did not matter—they felt a common responsibility and they would act on it. To work against, and to counteract, the all consuming destruction by the U.S led Occupation.
Respect. An incredible Respect.

They were limited with where they could work. But they felt their presence was a powerful symbol and reassuring to those who had no where else to hide; to hide from our guns, our tanks, our soldiers, our ‘politicians’. Some said ‘stupid’, ‘foolish’, as if they were walking around with a sign saying ‘Westerners for the taking’. But Tom himself replied

“Why are we here? We are here to root out all aspects of dehumanization
that exist within us. We are here to stand with those being dehumanized by
oppressors and stand firm against that dehumanization. We are here to stop
people, including ourselves, from dehumanizing any of God's children, no
matter how much they dehumanize their own souls.”

And even after Tom and his colleagues were kidnapped there was still hope that this intrinsic commitment to everyone’s humanity would save them; after all CPT are well known for there powers of gentle persuasion.

After two months of hearing little about the hostages I expressed concern. Laurence told me not to worry about them, recreating the familiar image of the CPTers in Occupied Palestine, sitting down with soldiers, settlers, Zionists…and whilst drawing upon their paternal voice and talking ‘sense’ to the seemly ‘senseless’. As a result, the soldiers tended to stay away from the CPTers and let them potter around the most dangerous parts of the West Bank; almost as of they were too much of a reminder of their own inhumanity. They could challenge young interfering activists but not distinguished and educated grandfathers and grandmothers. So yes, the image in my mind has been of Tom Fox and his team sitting down to cups of tea with their kidnappers, offering fatherly advice; logically talking through the problems of the Occupation, and together how they might be able to work for Peace. I liked that image.

‘Shot. Hands tied. Signs of torture. The body of American, Tom Fox’.

Some things in War don’t make sense. But so simple. So seemingly easy to kill. So easy to reduce people to a nationality; the ‘American’, kill the ‘American’. So seemingly easy to be killed. So seemingly difficult to be exceptional, to be inspirational. So easy to be inspired. So difficult to act on that inspiration. What peace can we find in the death of a ‘Peace Maker’? We can find resolve, strength and courage – to continue to fight for Justice for the sake of Peace – for the sake of Humanity. Violence will not bring Peace. Inhumanity will not bring humanity. Senselessness will not bring sense.

Rest in Peace Tom.
Our thoughts are with you.
May yours stay with ‘Us’.

Links:
Tom Fox Homepage, ‘Waiting in the Light’:  http://waitinginthelight.blogspot.com/
CPT:  http://www.cpt.org/index.html
Electronic Intifada:  http://electroniciraq.net/news/2297.shtml
The Soul Unfolds Itself:  http://freckle.blogs.com/