Faces of a Just Cause

Posted on November 19, 2012 by voicesfromthecracks

There are many reasons to serve the cause of Peace. Take your pick. Do you watch the news and see the never-ending wars? Are you moved by the faces of those suffering from hunger and malnutrition? Or maybe you see your own children and grandchildren and want the world to be a better place for them.

I have my reason for serving Peace, and I’ve already discussed my primary motive in a previous essay, but I must confess that I’ve never been more driven by another cause. I need nothing more to motivate me, and yet the world offers up a bounty of reasons to stand.

When is the violence to much violence? Have we become desensitized by what we see on film and television? The suffering we see on the evening news is visceral. The images of innocence lost are the epitome of reality television. So why do we marginalize the suffering of other people by changing the channel when we see their pain reported on the news?

I suppose we may feel a sense of helplessness, or even a disconnect because it’s easy to press a button on the remote and change the channel. Still others (and I hope they’re in the minority) simply don’t care. It would be different if the pain and suffering were at our feet. Then there would be no escaping it. God forbid it happen to our friends or even our family.

I think it’s a mistake to change the channel without acknowledging the suffering of others; even if they are half a world away. I’m tired of the images of children dying in the streets of Syria, or in the villages of The Sudan. These are the faces of a just cause. If I can do something, anything, to bring about change, then I will try to do so. I simply cannot remain quiet.

If you have had enough of the senseless violence and suffering, I ask you to get involved in any way possible to serve the cause of Peace. We can make a difference.

Jack Bass—Founder of The Peace Initiative

John Bass
73685
PO Box 14 MCN 2C6
Concord, NH. 03302

The Forgotten Country

Posted on November 16, 2012 by voicesfromthecracks

The Forgotten Country
The Sudan as long been a region of Africa torn by conflict and civil war. A study of history reveals that the names and faces may change, but the heart of the matter remains the same. Hate, greed and sectarianism stains the ground red with the blood of the innocents.

The past two decades brought the plight of the Sudanese people onto the world stage. The government forces from the North mercilessly bombarded the civilian population and rebel forces in the South. The army invaded the villages in the South the North where they were forced to study the Koran, and in many cases were pressed into military service. The women were raped, mutilated or killed.
The world watched in horror as these events unfolded. The armies of the Islamic North Sudan were committing genocide against the civilian populations of the Christian and Animist populations of the South Sudan. Many people fled to refugee camps in the Darfur region of West Sudan, only to come under attack once again.

Once the death toll and suffering had become unfathomable, and the world had seen enough, there was enough pressure placed upon Khartoum to agree to a cease fire, and finally to a peace treaty. This culminated in the creation of a new nation—South Sudan—the world’s newest country. Which would soon become the forgotten country.

The world was so happy with the victory they now saw as their own. The truth is, the victory belonged to the people of the South Sudan who had suffered at the hands of the North.

But not long after all the foreign dignitaries and all the reporters and all the cameras had left…the bullets and the bombs began to fly again. But the world has forgotten about South Sudan.

Why is this happening? South Sudan is sitting on top of oil fields and the greedy government in the North is willing to do anything to get it. So they continue to drop bombs, and rape the women, and kill, and mutilate, and destroy…
The world must stand up to this evil again, and this time we must not walk away. Bring the guilty to justice for their war crimes.

Jack Bass—Founder of The Peace Initiative

John Bass
73685
PO Box 14 MCN 2C6
Concord, NH. 03302