Pat Taub
It doesn’t happen every day, but when it does you are visibly moved. You’re in the presence of an individual whose commitment, passion and tireless work for humanitarian causes stops you in your tracks.
Kathy Kelly is one of those women who stops you in your tracks. Her record as a peace activist stretches back to 1978.
Kathy’s petite frame, soft voice and calm demeanor belie her remarkable courage. Over the past 25 years Kathy has traveled to war zones in Kosov, Iraq, Gaza and Baghdad. She doesn’t just whip in and out of hot spots. She takes up residency in order to be of service to war victims.
Kathy speaking about Afghanistan
As part of a peace mission Kathy arrived in Baghdad in 2003 shortly before the start of the Iraq War. She stayed on during “shock and awe,” offering help to victims.In 2009 she was in Gaza during the final days of Operation Cast Lead attacks, living dangerously close to the border where the bombings were at their most intense.
Kathy’s commitment to Gaza has been unwavering. She made a hurried trip to Gaza in 2012, one day after the cease fire of Operation “Pillar of Defense,” in order to interview survivors to make sure their stories got out, recognizing the tendency of the mainstream media to minimize or ignore Gaza’s suffering.
Kathy lives by the belief: “Where you stand determines what you see.”
In 2011 Kathy was on board The Audacity of Hope, the flotilla that attempted to sail to Gaza with medical supplies and good-will letters. The boat was interrupted by the Israeli navy and forced to return to Greece. In the skirmish that ensued, the Israelis killed nine unarmed passengers.
Since 2010, Kathy has made 17 trips to Kabul where she lives among ordinary Afghan people, forming lasting friendships with poor Afghan women.
She challenges the US government’s claim that their programs have improved the lives of Afghan women, insisting that in spite of the billions spent, Afghan women are only slightly better off.
Joining with the Afghan Peace Volunteers, Kathy has spearheaded the Duvet Project, which donates duvets to destitute families in Kabul. A duvet can make the difference between life and death during Afghanistan’s punishing winters.
A truck filled with duvets for needy Afghan families
In addition to Kathy’s non-stop trips abroad she manages to find time to join in peace actions at US air force bases, protesting US drone attacks in Pakistan, responsible for hundreds of civilian deaths: 890 adults, and close to 200 children.
For her nonviolent peace actions Kathy has been arrested 60 times at home and abroad. On several occasions her arrests led to jail sentences.
Kathy shortly before her latest arrest in 2015
Her most recent imprisonment was from January to April 2015 when she was imprisoned for attempting to deliver a loaf of bread and a letter about drone warfare to the commander of Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.
Kathy has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize on several occasions. I’m all for starting a draft to nominate her for this year’s Nobel. She seems a far more worthy candidate than you-know-who.
To learn more about Kathy’s work, consult her organization, Voices for Creative Nonviolence (www.vncv.org) and watch my August 2012 interview with her (http://vcnv.org/kathy-kelly-video-interview)
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