In February 2003, the Capitol Hill in the US witnessed a strange group of people wading through the snow, moving in and out of the offices of Congress persons and Senators. When interviewed by the curious onlookers and the Press, they revealed their identity. They belonged to an international delegation of Franciscans working for Peace and Justice. They were men and women, both lay and religious, coming from Catholic and Anglican backgrounds. The author himself was called from India to be part of this delegation.

Franciscans were active campaigners against violence in the name of fighting terror. They tried to distinguish the official Bush approach from the US public thinking, leading a self-critical reflection process all over the US ever since the September 11 tragedy. They led people to see that the traditional weapons of war cannot win the struggle for justice, peace and human dignity. The liturgies and prayers the Franciscans conducted created consciousness about how the US was breeding terror through its unethical foreign policies and the 'boomerang effect' they produced. They dissuaded people from being hijacked by the President into believing that the answer to terrorism lies in destroying territories, camps and civilian populations which house them. The paradox of military aggression becoming gratuitous fuel for the self-regeneration of terror became evident thanks to the awareness raising. The Franciscans were opening the eyes of the US public to understand that the powerless had changed the game! The challenge they posed was to think how a small virus in a system affects the whole and to reflect on how they could improve the immunity of the system.

The public involvement of Franciscans against weapons of mass destruction goes back to the 1980s, when Louis Vitale OFM who was a US Air Force officer before joining the Order, started a hermitage in the outskirts of the Nuclear Test site in the Nevada desert, Las Vegas. Franciscans who had gone to work with the homeless people in Las Vegas came across the displaced native tribals from the Nevada desert. They revealed to the public the untold stories of the Indigenous Shoshone tribe who were forcibly made to leave their habitation in the desert where the US and British governments were conducting underground nuclear explosions. The series of prayer events and workshops, entitled From Violence to Wholeness, which analytically traced back the roots of violence in the North American culture, attracted many peace activists and environmental groups. Despite the growing scientific evidence of the harm caused by such testing, the prayer vigils met with harsh resistance from the local and national authorities. But this non-violent movement grew in strength by the support it received from the Native American and international organisations. Protests against the "School of Americas" where militants were trained by the US to topple the governments of Central American and South American countries, and the Campaign against the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons were the other significant public involvements of Franciscans.

In the wake of the US government campaign to go to war against Iraq, Louis Vitale and Gerry Zawada who were arrested and imprisoned for leading protest marches vs. the "School of Americas", encouraged others reminding them of the call of Pope John Paul II for the multiplication of efforts in favour of peace. Franciscans committed to Justice and Peace felt the urgency of developing further strategies to act in a concerted manner internationally. Thus the preparation for the advocacy work against the war in Iraq began taking shape.

Franciscans in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean Islands sent letters to President Bush requesting the non-violent resolution of the Iraq crisis. The Spanish Inter-Franciscan delegation met the Spanish Prime Minister to convey their protest against Spain's support to the US war campaign. The German Franciscans along with Pax Christi in Europe led demonstrations in front of the US Air force base at Frankfurt. The English Provincials sent a letter to Mr. Blair and Mr. Bush, reminding them that the war would be a violation of UN security resolution 14.4. Alain Richard OFM along with 10 Peace groups lobbied in the UN offices of New York on Feb.12-22. There were even Franciscans volunteering to be human shields in Iraq against the US aggression. Soon after his release from the Federal prison in the US, Gerry Zawada OFM went to Iraq and visited orphanages of the mentally and physically challenged children, being taken care of by the Missionaries of Charity.

The US National Security Strategy

As I was doing a critical reading of a doctoral thesis on a comparative study of US and Indian Nuclear policies, I was invited to take part in a consultation about the document called "United States' National Security Strategy" at the Washington Theological Union. Mr. Russ Testa, a Secular Franciscan and the Director of the Justice & Peace Office at Washington D.C., presented an analysis of the document. His study exposed the implications of this document on the US foreign policy. The Capuchin Provincial John presented his critical reading of the document, after which the invited guests from Colombia, Palestine and India were asked to comment it from the perspective we represented from different parts of the world.

The following were the salient features from my paper: The US with its National Security Strategy, though it claims "to help make the world not just safer but better", is ushering in a greater threat to Global Peace.

1. The National Security Strategy (NSS) of the US with its provision for pre-emptive strike is a recipe for a HOT PEACE after the COLD WAR epoch. The talk of pre-emption is already a premonition of an unsafe future. The post Dec.13 scenario where India was on the verge of a "limited strike" on Pakistan and the ten months high alert at the nuclear flashpoint of the world are evidence enough.

2. Opportunistic alliances to oppose terrorism as in the case of US with Pakistan, are counter-productive as the last elections in Pakistan have proved. Today the Pro-Taliban Muslim parties have become a force to be reckoned with in the politics of that country.

3. The accelerated missile tests capable of deploying nuclear warheads, both in India and Pakistan, and the increased military budgets (figures and facts from Human Rights World Report 2003 presented) are indicative of an already upset strategic balance, which will usher in greater proliferation risks and nuclear anarchy.

4. Militarisation in India and Pakistan produces backbreaking burdens on the majority of the population who are poor. Parallel to the astronomical military expenses runs a long list of unmet human needs. These have led to the misuse of resources that should have been used for development. It is also creating an internal brain drain resulting in unproductive work. People in India and Pakistan are looking for a COALITION vs. POVERTY, which is the breeding ground of terrorism, and NOT for a COALITION vs. TERRORISM.

5. The minorities and human rights groups in India and Pakistan face violations of their civil rights from the State Governments, which pass repressive laws in the name of war on terror (examples given).

6. According to the document, the US assumes the sole right to determine how it will deal with other nation-states, while pretending at the same time that it desires an effective UN. Though speaking in universalistic terms, the US does not act in those terms.

7. A safer and better world is the concern of the international community. Democratic principles should respect the institutions and procedures of the international community. The "War on Terror" by the US has initiated a bad precedent totally disregarding UN norms.

Ms. Kathie Uhler, a lay Franciscan working as a member of a Peace Team among the Palestinian population in Bethlehem, described the injustices meted out to these people and the consequent migration, Arab Christians included, and questioned the US silence about the Israeli aggression. Mr. Tom McGregor, another Lay Franciscan from Columbia, painted the gory picture of the escalating violence there and the tactical errors committed by the US blinded by its preoccupation to protect its business interests and military ambitions. Both of them unravelled the potentially dangerous mines hidden behind certain formulations in the document. After the consultations, we brought out a Study Document, "Making the US an Instrument of Peace: A Franciscan Evaluation of the National Security Strategy of the United States", February 24-28, 2003, which was circulated in the US Congress.

A handout of two pages was formulated as we put together our converging points of views. This "talking paper" introduced our identity as an international and ecumenical group of men and women who are part of a 800-year old tradition of Peacemaking. The leaflet flashed the following eye-catching titles: * The National Security Strategy of the USA aspires to be on the side of the Angels but the Devil is in the details!! * From COLD WAR to HOT PEACE!? * MILITARY OPTION? Seeing all nails because of hammer in hand! * Too Heavy for a single branch of Govt!! Congress, Courts... Wake UP!

The leaflet also contained the following questions:

Appointments were made by the Franciscan Justice & Peace Office at Washington with several Senators and Congress persons. We, the 20 Franciscan men and women who were the participants in the consultation, divided ourselves into 4 different groups and met these VIPs or their staff representatives in the next few days. They were chosen after evaluating their track records, performances, roles played in different fields and contributions in public debate. Different strategies were adopted on who speaks when. Almost all our talks with them ended in demanding their initiative and participation in a public hearing on the NSS in their respective constituencies. Our message was clear: War produces poverty, engenders hate, destroys creation. All security strategies, which ignore this, bring disastrous results to the entire humanity and make the world more insecure!

Later, Mark Schroeder OFM was interviewed on the Californian TV on the consequences of this advocacy work. Joe Nangle OFM went with the Pax Christi delegation from the US to the Vatican and Europe to request the Pope for a peace pilgrimage to Iraq and talk to the US President, which the Pope did.

Meanwhile back in Raipur city of India where I came from, my colleagues in Peace & Value Education led by Sr. Sarita were circulating in 15 schools and 2 colleges, the email message forwarded from the Franciscan Justice & Peace Office, 101 WAYS TO STOP WAR. 24 teachers and 900 students actively participated in this NO TO WAR YES TO PEACE campaign, through various means - pasting posters with the caption Stop War, lighting candles of Peace, conducting prayer sessions for Peace, and collecting signatures for letters of protests to the US embassy in India.

After-thought

Obviously the US invasion of Iraq did take place. We would have been fools if we believed that our lobbying could convert the Bush administration and the oil greedy industrial groups who were determining the course of events. But this act of ours was a statement which went along with the all-out effort for Peace and Good Will. As one of us put it to the press, "it matters to be where the conversations take place and to make the world listen to the voices otherwise subjugated!"

No doubt the powerful with their hidden agendas and crafty diplomacies have their skills to nullify our honest talks. But then the point we have been making is that civil society has a rightful place in the public space, which should not be turned into a ring where the wrestle between mere economic, political and military interests takes place. Electoral and party politics alone cannot be allowed to occupy this space. It is only a healthy, robust civic sector, which can assure us of a public space where democracy will flourish.

Enforcing democratic procedures, taking representatives to task, reminding and warning those who abdicate their responsibility are important duties of the civil society. It is here I think we have succeeded, namely in keeping the vital links of civil life functioning and making the civil society responsive. We did this first of all by a serious study of a document, which could have gone unnoticed by the public, and by creating a conversation around it. It made the minority voice with its call for a free and fair debate, heard. Today of course, it has become a point of debate in the election scenario of the USA.

Wars and conflicts begin in the minds of people. Therefore, peace efforts have to begin there. Advocacy for peace demands study, consultation, communication at various levels, public relations, strategising, vigilance etc. It calls for a synergized collective work. Such collective actions for the betterment of a globalised world require global beings. This is where we felt the seriousness of our contribution as religious men and women committed to Peace, Justice and the Care of Creation has its value. Global concerns for Peace need to be addressed through the prism of human values and spirituality, and not reduced to economic or political advantages. Values and perspectives have to be brought to bear on policy-making.

Our efforts to influence policy-makers and simultaneously create public opinion using the networks available, on behalf of unheard voices, have certainly acted as catalyst to the civil society. It was an exploration on how spirituality and public policy could enter into dialogue and search alternative paths in the globalisation process. The event was revelatory of the resources hidden for a global peace advocacy and the role religious can fulfill in providing yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.

"When evil people plot, good people must plan. When evil people burn and bomb, good people must build and bind. When evil people shout ugly words of hatred, good people must commit themselves to glories of love. Where evil people seek to perpetuate an unjust status quo, good people must seek to bring into being a real order of justice... Those of us who love peace must organise as effectively as war hawks. As they spread propaganda of war, we must spread propaganda of peace. In short we must shift the arms race into a 'peace race'" (Martin Luther King).

The advocacy for peace which we undertook was on the lines of the dream of Martin Luther King, and the Social Teachings of the Church. "War is a defeat for humanity. It is also a tragedy for religion", said Pope John Paul II addressing an inter-religious delegation from Indonesia on Feb. 20, in the same words he cautioned all the ambassadors accredited to the Vatican on Jan 13, 2003. When humanity is strongly tempted by hatred and violence, it needs courage to work for Peace, which we may not see in our lifetime.

The study, communications, networking and mobilisation (both internationally as well as locally in the parishes, institutions and neighbourhoods) were instrumental in promoting people's participation. The lobbying aimed at facilitating if not a dialogue, at least the to and fro flow of informations and opinions between different sections of civil society and the policy-makers did make its mark, though it was not as spectacular as the anti-war demonstrations. But this was the spade-work which went into making those demonstrations noteworthy.