Kathy Kelly

No Starvation for Oil

President Joe Biden’s foreign policy advisors are applauding themselves for devising a "sensitive" itinerary as he plans to embark on a trip to the Middle East on July 13. In a Washington Post op-ed, Biden defended his controversial planned meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (known as MBS), saying it … Continue reading “No Starvation for Oil”

What Does War Generate?

At an April, 2017 Symposium on Peace in Nashville, TN, Martha Hennessy spoke about central tenets of Maryhouse, a home of hospitality in New York City, where Martha often lives and works. Every day, the community there tries to abide by the counsels of Dorothy Day, Martha’s grandmother, who co-founded houses of hospitality and a … Continue reading “What Does War Generate?”

Afghan Street Children Beg for Change

Kabul, Afghanistan is "home" to hundreds of thousands of children who have no home. Many of them live in squalid refugee camps with families that have been displaced by violence and war. Bereft of any income in a city already burdened by high rates of unemployment, families struggle to survive without adequate shelter, clothing, food … Continue reading “Afghan Street Children Beg for Change”

Thanking Bradley Manning, From Afghanistan

A few evenings ago, as the sky began to darken here in Kabul, Afghanistan, a small group of the Afghan Peace Volunteers, (APVs), gathered for an informal presentation about WikiLeaks, its chief editor Julian Assange, and its most prominent contributor, Bradley Manning. Basir Bita, a regular visitor to the APV household, began the evening’s discussion … Continue reading “Thanking Bradley Manning, From Afghanistan”

Tales in a Kabul Restaurant

Kabul – Since 2009, Voices for Creative Nonviolence has maintained a grim record we call the “The Afghan Atrocities Update” which gives the dates, locations, numbers and names of Afghan civilians killed by NATO forces. Even with details culled from news reports, these data can’t help but merge into one large statistic, something about terrible … Continue reading “Tales in a Kabul Restaurant”

Afghan Peace Activist: Drones Bury Beautiful Lives

Below is a transcript of an interview of Raz Mohammad, an Afghan Peace Volunteer, with questions prepared by Maya Evans of Voices for Creative Non Nonviolence UK. Raz Mohammad: Salam ‘aleikum. I am Raz Mohammad. I’m from Maidan Wardak province and I’m Pashtun. Kathy Kelly: Raz Mohmmad, what do you think about drones? RM: I … Continue reading “Afghan Peace Activist: Drones Bury Beautiful Lives”

No One Hears the Poor

Here in Kabul, Voices co-coordinator Buddy Bell and I are guests at the home of the Afghan Peace Volunteers (APV), where we’ve gotten to know four young boys who are being tutored by the volunteers in the afternoons, having “retired” from their former work as street vendors in exchange for a chance to enter a … Continue reading “No One Hears the Poor”

The UN May Have Silenced the Afghan Public

“Today, Afghanistan and the U.S. initialed and locked the text of the strategic partnership agreement,” said President Hamid Karzai’s spokesman, Aimal Faizi. “This means the text is closed….” Why “lock” or “close” the future of Afghanistan to 30 million ordinary Afghan citizens? While the world may accept that the U.S. and Afghan governments have some … Continue reading “The UN May Have Silenced the Afghan Public”

For You, a Thousand Times Over

At the start of The Kite Runner, a novel by Khaled Hosseini later adapted for film, a brave and selflessly loyal Afghan boy runs to help his much wealthier friend, singing out his love for him: “For you, a thousand times over….” They have been flying a fighting kite (these are kites with edges sharp … Continue reading “For You, a Thousand Times Over”

The Ghost and the Machine

Fazillah, age 25, lives in Maidan Shar, the central city of Afghanistan’s Wardak province. She married about six years ago and gave birth to a son, Aymal, who just turned 5 without a father. Fazillah tells her son, Aymal, that his father was killed by an American bomber plane, remote-controlled by computer. That July, in … Continue reading “The Ghost and the Machine”