Network in the News

Peace group speaker split between cultures

DEKALB – Sami Rasouli feels split between two cultures. He has decided the only way out is a narrow corridor called peace.

Rasouli, who was born in Najaf in 1952 and spent the first half of his life in Iraq before moving to the United States, recently spoke to members of the DeKalb Interfaith Network for Peace and Justice and others at the Unitarian Universalist Church in DeKalb. He said he is 100 percent Iraqi and 100 percent American, as he speaks both languages, understands both cultures and is deeply committed to nonviolence.

In 2004, Rasouli returned to Iraq and worked with the non-governmental organization Christian Peacemaker Teams, where he started the parallel Muslim Peacemaker Teams.

“They look to what they consider threads of nonviolence in the Koran to promote salaam between all religions and ethnic groups in Iraq and around the world,” Rasouli explained.

Rasouli recalls visiting Falluja after a major battle there. Civilians had been advised by American troups to evacuate their homes, so they left as refugees and none to soon. He said 30,000 homes were destroyed in the extended fighting and bombing.

Rasouli has devoted the rest of his life to peacemaking activities. Among them is a sister-city relationship between the cities of Minneapolis and his hometown, Najaf. He credits former U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower with the sister-city concept.

He also promotes the American and Iraqi peacemaker teams as well as Water for Peace, coordinated by the Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project and the Muslim Peacemaker Teams.

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, only 30 percent of children nationwide in Iraq have access to safe drinking water, and only 20 percent of people outside of Baghdad have a working sewage service.

A brochure from the organization Water for Peace states that the province of Najaf, with a population of 1.2 million people, has 500 schools, as well as 20 hospitals and clinics in desperate need of water filtration systems.

“The main water system in Najaf is gradually being restored,” the brochure states, “but the water is contaminated with bacteria from sewage. It cannot be used for drinking. Thus, school children are forced to drink contaminated water.”

Water for Peace is a service learning project for schools, churches, synagogues or any civic organizatIon of individuals interested in promoting peace, reconciliation, safety and health for the children of Iraq through a donation of water filtration systems desperately needed by thousands of Iraqis devastated by war. There are three levels of water purifying systems that treat 189, 750 or 1,500 liters of water per day. Discounted prices for them, including electric generator, are $500, $750 and $1,250, respectively. The largest purifier can provide a supply of clean water to a school with 400 students.

At the Interfaith Peace Network’s January meeting, NIU faculty member Susan Russell will talk about her experience with the peace movement in the Philippines. She will also present her perspective on recent developments in Mindinao. Co-sponsoring the event will be NIU’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies.