Dear Friends,
Today we awoke to the terrible news of the death of Tom Fox, peaceful activist, seeker of justice, and loved by many. Tom had been held hostage for over 100 days together with his friends Norman Kember, Jim Loney and Harmeet Sooden. The four human rights workers had been in Iraq as part the Christian Peacemakers Teams (CPT), and were documenting the abuses faced by those detained by the Occupation forces in Iraq when they disappeared.
The war in Iraq has ripped families apart and devastated lives. At present, over 14,000 people are being held without charges. CPT continues its work to end the occupation and militarization of Iraq. They are tireless in their call for the end of the occupation, respect for the human rights for the Iraqi detainees, and the release of the Peacemakers.
A melody kept coming back to me out of dreams last December. It circled around fear for the disappeared, anger at the powers-that-be, and hope in our collective resistance. So, on Christmas Eve, I put down some words in honour of all who try, like CPT, to “get in the way” of injustice.
This is song is for Tom, for Norman, for Jim and for Harmeet. This song is for all the detained and disappeared, for their loved ones and comrades, and for all of us who stand against the illegal and unjust attack on Iraq, including the U.S. war resisters who should be allowed to stay in Canada Three years after the invasion, the whole world knows this immoral occupation must end.
I am grateful for the generosity of so many who brought this song into the world. My deepest thanks go to Tom Juravich, James Stephens, Roberta Huebener, Chris MacLean, and Chris Lawson for their solidarity, creativity and commitment.
In sol and song,
Teresa
Ottawa, March 11 2006