August 2009

The Art of Exile--The Poetry of William Archila

Poems of Peace

As we approach September 21 and the International Year of Peace we have been receiving poems and writings from Voices' members around the world.  The first poem posted here, "Raushan Haton Kee Dastaken" (Hindi) was written by the late Staish Chaube of Raipur, written in 1955-56, and translated by Lalit Surjan.  The second poem "The Bridge on the Ocean" was written by Lalit and translated from the Hindi by Vani Xaxa.  The author and translator offer us some detailed footnotes to accompany Lalit's poem.

 

Alive in Series of Reporting Sites

Visit a new source for news in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Gaza and Mexico.  The newest member of the “Alive in” group is Alive in Afghanistan.  All of these sites are independent, non-partisan projects formed in collaboration by many partners.

Shimon Perez Peace Center

This month, Shimon Peres celebrates his 83rd birthday.  Many believe that Peres is Israel’s most prominent peacemaker.  In 1993, he helped lay the groundwork for the Oslo Peace Accords and in 1994 won the Nobel Peace Prize along with Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Yasser Arafat.  In a 2008 interview Peres stated: “I prefer to be an idealist than to be cynical.  Pessimists and optimists die the same way, they just live differently.”

In Commemoration of the Dropping of the Bomb on Hiroshima—August 6, 1945

 

At the Makeshift Aid Station

You girls—
weeping even though there is no place
for your tears to come from;
crying out even though you have no lips to shape the words;
struggling even though you have no skin
on your fingers to grasp anything with—
you girls.

Suggested Reading re: "The Boundaries of Destruction"

As supplemental material to our earlier post on Ed Tick's essay "The Boundaries of Destruction," we offer a brief bibliography that highlights some of the work of Einstein, Robert McNamara as well as War and Soul from Ed Tick.

Ed Tick's "The Boundaries of Destruction"

Ed TickOne of Voices' Strategic Partners is Soldier's Heart.

Soldier’s Heart is a veteran return and healing project addressing the emotional and spiritual needs of veterans, their families and communities.  The organization promotes and guides community-based efforts to heal the effects of war based on strategies presented in Ed Tick’s important book, War and the Soul.