Afghan Youth, U.S. Vets, connect for peace

Dear Friend,

 

My name is Eda Uca-Dorn and I am the director of Hosanna! People's

Seminary (www.hopesem.org). I am providing you with the press

information for a special Dispersed Communities Uniting (DCU) Summit

which will connect Afghan youth and American veterans: Whose Children

Are These? The Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers and American Veterans

Share Their Stories. This historic series will plan the seeds of

friendship between Afghan youth, American veterans, and North

Americans interested in the peace process in Afghanistan. Your

assistance in promoting and increasing participation in this event

will give voice to Afghan youth desiring friendship and connection

with Americans and support courageous American veterans working for

peace in Afghanistan.

 

Thank you again for your time and consideration.

 

Sincerely,

Eda Uca-Dorn

 

Press Release

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Eda Uca-Dorn  917.691.0385

eda@hopesem.org

 

WITNESS AFGHAN YOUTH AND AMERICAN VETERANS CONNECT DURING ADVENT 2010

“If you should kill me unawares…don’t forget I had asked for your friendship”--

Zekerullah, a 15-year-old Afghan boy

 

NYC, NY-- This Advent Season Hosanna! People’s Seminary (H!PS) is

inviting people from across the nation to participate in a special

Dispersed Communities Uniting (DCU) Summit which will connect Afghan

youth and American veterans: Whose Children Are These? The Afghan

Youth Peace Volunteers and American Veterans Share Their Stories. In

this pregnant moment in the movement for world peace, participants are

invited to experience Advent, the season of vigil and prayer, with

these incredible young people.

 

DCU Summits are a signature program of H!PS, allowing participants

divided by distance but united by purpose to connect using new media

technologies. Past and current H!PS programs have connected American

and Iraqi queer liberation communities; gathered a diverse contingent

of young womanist/feminist preachers reappropriating Gospel of Luke;

and facilitated a course on White privilege in the North American

Church for a multi-racial circle of participants.

 

Sponsored by Christian Peace Witness and St. Mark's Church in the

Bowery, this program will take place in a series of free phone

conferences from 1-2PM (EST) on November 28th, December 5th, December

12th, and December 19th. Those in the New York Metro area, are invited

to join in the event at St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery (131 East 10th

Street New York, NY) where gathering, opening prayer and reflection on

Advent will begin at 12:30PM preceding each call. Voices of Afghan

children and veterans will be privileged in these calls, however there

will be opportunities for others to ask questions and make comments.

Participant registration at www.hopesem.org is appreciated.

 

This opportunity for Afghan youth and American veterans to share their

experiences of war and occupation was made possible when H!PS reached

out to the Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers and members of Iraq Veterans

Against the War. Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers is a collection of

Afghan college students and youth who took action in 2008 to begin a

peace movement in Afghanistan as they saw the increasing devastation

that war and violence in their home country

(www.ourjourneytosmile.com). The mission of Iraq Veterans Against the

War is to mobilize the military community to withdraw its support for

the war and occupation in Iraq. The hope for these meetings is to

build friendship and strengthen the global peace community by opening

lines of communication between Afghan youth, American veterans, and

North Americans.

 

###

 

Event Schedule and Participant Bios:

 

(All Dates): Afghan Youth Peace Volunteers

AYPV was created in 2008 by Afghan college students and youth who felt

motivated to begin a peace movement in Afghanistan.

www.ourjourneytosmile.com for more information.

 

11/28: Bryan Casler

Bryan Casler served as a Marine Infantry man from 2002 to 2006 during

which he was deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2007 he co-founded

Iraq Veterans Against the War's 34th Chapter in Rochester, New York.

 

12/5: Brock McIntosh

Brock McIntosh is a specialist in the Army National Guard and Military

Policeman from Bloomington, Illinois. He has just returned from a

twelve month tour in Afghanistan ending in August of this year.

Frances Wiedenhoeft

 

A member of the Madison chapter of Iraq Vets Against the War, Lt. Col.

Frances Wiedenhoeft served with the Army Medical Division's

professional management command during Desert Storm and in Iraq and

Afghanistan.

 

12/12:  Jake Diliberto

Jake Diliberto was a Marine Cpl. Who served with the 26th Marine

Expeditionary Unit during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001 and

served on security forces for II MEB in Operation Iraqi Freedom in

2003. After serving in the Marines Jake has finished his B.S. in

Political Science from Illinois State University. Jake has served on

several political campaigns including President Obama's democratic

primary campaign and currently is continuing his studies at Fuller

Theological Seminary in ethics and religion. Jake has finished his

M.A. in Theology & Ethics as of 2009 and is pursuing law school for

2010.

 

12/19:  Josh Stieber

Iraq veteran Josh Stieber was deployed to Baghdad for fourteen months

with Bravo Company 2-16. He later became a conscientious objector, and

is now walking across the country speaking out against war and

blogging at Contagious Love Experiment.