Interview with Brooke about Christian Peacemaker Teams

Posted by Benjamin on: 07.08.2008 /

Recently I e-met Brooke of Rivervision.com via a comment she left here on Jacques. I went and poked around her website, and found out she is joining Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) and I was terribly curious, so I asked Brook a few questions, which she has very graciously and fascinatingly answered. Thank you Brooke!  There are also some pictures of Brooke’s recent rip with CPT here.

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What is CPT?

First from CPT itself:

“Enlisting the whole church in an organized, nonviolent alternative to war, today CPT places violence-reduction teams in crisis situations and militarized areas around the world at the invitation of local peace and human rights workers. CPT embraces the vision of unarmed intervention waged by committed peacemakers ready to risk injury and death in bold attempts to transform lethal conflict through the nonviolent power of God’s truth and love.

Initiated by Mennonites, Brethren and Quakers with broad ecumenical participation, CPT’s ministry of Biblically-based and spiritually-centered peacemaking emphasizes creative public witness, nonviolent direct action and protection of human rights.”

And 2 important points to stress about CPT:

• CPT is a non-conversion organization - members of CPT, when approached by someone about converting to Christianity, will turn those people to other bodies who’s mission is conversion. For me, and my beliefs and practice of my faith this is terribly important because it directly implies a respect and honoring of how all people worship, or not.
• CPT doesn’t place teams in places where they aren’t invited first. Again - coming from the west, this is so important to me because in the west we are known to go places whether invited or not. From my point of view this disempowers those places that the west goes into uninvited and it implies that we know best, when we really don’t. CPT gets this important point.

How did you first hear about/get involved with CPT?

I don’t know when I first heard about CPT, but I know I remember hearing about the kidnapping crisis in Iraq that resulted in the tragic death of Tom Fox. Also - there is a former full time CPTer from Springfield, Oregon, which is right next to my hometown of Eugene, Ore. Hearing about him and the kidnapping crisis was my first exposure to CPT. Then, well I’ve always had this vision of actually putting myself into a conflict zone and being able to learn and witness first hand about the conflict. Particularly I’ve been interested in being able to go to the Middle East, because, right now in history it is that area of the world that my country, the US, holds as it’s great enemy and as a pacifist I’m drawn to those areas to try to understand why they are the great enemy. I found myself surfing the web one night winter of ‘08 and I dropped on to Shaine Clairborne’s websites and he mentioned going to Iraq with the CPT, so I surfed over to their website and saw that they have short term delegations that anyone can participate in. The cost was one that I could afford and the timing was at a perfect time, so I applied, was accepted and off I went.

Tell us a little about your recent trip with CPT, including one or two highlights.

Let’s see.. that’s a big question, because there is just SO much to tell. a    Graffiti at Dheisheh Refugee Camp
The short story is that the dates were 27 May - 9 June, and considering
travel - we were together as a delegation from 29 May - 8 June. Our time was spent traveling throughout the West Bank, with one day down to the Negev, meeting with partners and friends of the CPT within Palestine and Israel learning about the conflict there, the work of the CPT, and hearing individual stories of those affected by the conflict. We got to spend the night with families throughout the West Bank, including one family in Deheishe refugee camp in Bethlehem, a night in the orphanages of the Islamic Charity Society that currently have closure orders on them, and I, along with another delegate, the remote village of Maghayir Al Beed who’s houses are old Ottoman caves. Also - we got a chance to meet with a settler woman who lost her son in the March attack on a Jerusalem yeshiva, and go through Yad Vashem - the holocaust memorial museum in Jerusalem. It was truly an amazing experience, and the stories touched my heart and changed my life.

A highlight for me: We were heading back to the CPT apartment in Hebron, after a visit in the village of Beit Ummar, and we came across a road crossing that was blocked. The crossing was blocked because Israeli youth were on a bike ride as a part of Israeli independence celebrations. When we got there the Palestinians there had been there for 2 hours so far and while we were told only 15 more minutes, we really didn’t know how long we’d be there. At the time I didn’t know that the Palestinians automatically knew that since we were on that road we must be supporters of their cause so I walked up to a group of women just to connect and let them know that I was in solidartity with them. I ended up talking to one woman for a bit, and as the road crossing was opened she put her arm around my shoulders and we walked about half way across the road like that - arm in arm. I know - it sounds so simple, but its rare that a peace activist in the US gets thanked for their work, and here - just the simple act of being there had an impact and I was thanked in such a kind way. Her action was terribly kind and even more humbling to me. I think it was in those moments that I came to the realization that I had to make a bigger commitment to this work.

Another highlight: Meeting with the settler woman who lost her son in the attack on a Jerusalem yeshiva in March. She’s been friends with CPT for at least 6 years, and back in March she invited CPT to sit shiva with her when her son was murdered. Until then we had been hearing story after story about the settlers and the horrific things that happen to Palestinians because of the illegal settlements in the West Bank. In some ways she represented for me the other side, or - using conflict terms - ‘the enemy.’ I was grateful to hear her story, and also grateful to her for showing us her grief about loosing her son to this conflict - she showed such strength in the face of such tragedy. I got to see the other side of the conflict through her eyes, but more importantly I got to connect with this woman on a heart level. While I wasn’t convinced that she has a right to live in the illegal settlement, the humanity of those settlers was reconfirmed to me, and for me it is that kind of connection between people that enables the beginnings of peace.

Brooke at the wall which cuts off
Palestinian access to Jericho and
University

Of course other highlights include: all the other stories we got to hear, sitting and talking to merchants in the old city of Jerusalem about their stories of living under occupation, the friendships I made with those on the delegation, connecting with the fulltime CPTers, having worship on the Mt. of Olives, the Garden of Gesthemane, and along the Via Dolorosa, hearing my friend Vaughn sing in St. Anne’s Church at the Pools of Bethesda, etc..

I understand you are putting off completion of your Ph.D. dissertation in order to work with CPT for three years? That’s a pretty huge commitment and seems to demonstrate that you are really excited and passionate about the work of CPT.

I’m actually not going to put it off. If I can get my butt in gear I’ll get through a lot of it before I join CPT - if they accept me of course. I’ve just submitted my application for full time service, and then there is a month long training in Chicago in Dec / Jan. It won’t be until sometime after that training, if I get accepted to that, of course, that I and CPT will then make a definite committment to each other. But yes, I am really hoping that it all goes as I hope it will and I’ll be able to join the CPT in May of ‘09. By that time I will be done with my comprehensive exams - I’m planning those for October - and my proposal defense - which I’m planning for November - and hopefully the study for my dissertation. If all goes as planned I’d be writing from Hebron or At-Tuwani. Of course my dissertation adviser would rather me stay in Utah until I get it all done, but my heart may not let me. I’ll see how it goes - because really it all depends on me and how distracted I am by events over there, which cause me to procrastinate a lot on my work.

What specifically drives your commitment and passion about CPT?

Well, I guess - first off - I’ve been told I’m a passionate person. I don’t really notice it - it’s just who I am, but apparently not everyone is like me when it comes to this. Then there is this deep connection that I have to peace and social justice work. I don’t know when that began - but I’ve been thinking about politics since at least ‘84 - when I went canvassing for Mondale and Ferraro at age 11. I just have a strong committment to helping those who do not have the privileges in this world that I have, and honestly I wish I could turn that off because it would make my life easier, but try as I might, I can’t. Full time work with the CPT would force me to make ‘an uncomfortable sacrifice’ - the kind I’ve always admired other people taking to make a difference in the world. Instead of just watching people do what I admire, I should just do it.

Then there is the faith aspect of CPT. Let’s see - the short story of a long story is that after years of not joining a Christian Church - but having a strong draw towards Christianity - I joined the Mormons in 2006 because I had such a strong experience of God in an LDS Ward house one day. I am now in the process of leaving them to pursue my faith within mainline progressive Christianity. To be able to do peace and social justice work with a grounding in the strength and hope that God and Christ bring to *me* (and I highlight me, because I don’t think that my faith is any better than anyone elses, and I don’t hold any judgments whatsoever of those who do not profess a Christian faith - non-Christians are my brothers and sisters as much as Christians are) is exactly the atmosphere in which I want to do the difficult work of social justice.

What will you be doing during the three years you are planning to work with CPT?

Well, lets see - I’m still learning myself. But, here’s what I have figured out so far - I’ll be called to support victims of violence through witness and through standing in solidarity with them. The CPT spends a lot of time videoing and photographing those stories that don’t get told in the mass media, so I’ll do a lot of that. I’ll be writing press releases, connecting with other organizations to support them, supporting those being oppressed in acts of non-violent protest - direct action and not, writing in my weblog. I will also learn Arabic.

Also - full time CPTers spend 3 months on in a crisis area and then 1 month off - back home or some place out of the crisis area. So, the one month off is spent rejuvenating, doing talks about what is happening, learning the language of the area that they are in, studying more about the crisis, etc.

What event, story, or person in your past opened your eyes to the overwhelming need for more justice in the world? Tell us a story.

I actually don’t know if there is one person or one particular story that I can tell about this. I can tell you this story - that for me highlighted the need for people to understand each other:

When I was just a kid I was lucky that I had a grandmother who was very much a member of the religious right who I would talk about politics with. Here I was 11 years old – raised by her liberal, non-God believing, academic daughter — talking to my grandmother, who watched Pat Robertson every day and went to a conservative evangelical church in Virginia Beach, Va., about abortion rights. These kinds of discussions continued until she died. I loved her with all my heart and yet our discussions would often turn into yelling matches, which ended with both of us acknowledging the love we had for the other. So, from a young age I knew that someone’s political and religious points of view didn’t determine how much I could love them.

This experience with my grandmother very much taught me that this “us” and “them” paradigm that so many of us seem to live in really bites. That it serves to separate people and put walls up. If I allowed political differences to get in the way of loving my grandmother I would have regretted so much. More recently the shootings at Va Tech - I have a very close personal connection with those shootings and the reactions of people after those shootings - those not personally affected - blew my mind. Some of the hateful things I heard people say in the aftermath - people here in Utah, was just unconscionable. People didn’t seem to understand the link between what they were saying and how those things can cause people to take the kind of actions that were taken that day. And now - living as a whacky liberal here in Utah. I have friends who couldn’t be more conservative - religiously and politically, yet they are gifts to my life and I am such a better person because I get to share my life with them. I guess this is the big story of my life. I have a freakish need to connect with and love people, and I need to look at those things that divide us and I want get rid of that divide. Of course, though, I’m not perfect at this - I still have conflicts with people and I get angry, but at least I’m trying.

The social justice side - I learned that from being an ally to the GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender) community since 1994 and being very touched by their stories. And more recently in my life - working for LEAD - a teen leadership program in Eugene. One of LEAD’s big goals is to help youth and adults understand the various forms of oppression in the world and do what can be done to stop oppression. I mean - before LEAD I was aware, but working there made me even more aware and esp. my place in the world as a white, highly educated, middle class privileged, English speaking, straight, non-immigrant, adult. If I have this privilege, I have to do something with it - because there are so many people not doing anything with their privilege and look at all the suffering in the world because people won’t stand up. Someone has too, and so why shouldn’t it be me?

Do you have to raise funds etc.?  If someone was interested in helping or in keeping up with your story during your time with CPT, how would they go about doing that?

If I get accepted and get to go I won’t *have* to raise funds because CPT pays for living and travel expenses while in country + a little stipend - but it’s that month off that will be more difficult - because while we do get a tiny stipend it probably won’t be enough for me to cover that month off - even staying with people. Plus I have 2 cats that I am going to be looking for someone to take care of during the 3 years that I’m with CPT full time and I want to be able to give the person who takes care of them - yet to be decided - money for food and such. So, at some point - as reluctant as I am because there are people who need the help so much more than me - I probably will do some fund raising. But, I’ll figure that out if / once CPT and I decide that a fulltime gig with them is a for sure thing.

As far as keeping in touch with me - my blog - rivervision.com. I’ve been blogging at rivervision since election day of 2000. It’s rather compulsive for me at this point - just a part of my weekly / daily habits. Or email - rivervision at gmail.com is always a good way to keep in touch with me. I have a little laptop that I tend to carry with me everywhere.

How did you happen to run across justiceandcompassion.com?

The Simple Way. I liked the title and clicked on the link - and then really liked what I read. Whoo hoo - more people like me. How blessed am I that there are people like me in this world?
Anything else you’re just dying to tell us?

Well - you won’t be surprised at this - but - get involved. So many people throw out excuses for not getting involved with what is going on in the world, esp. those in the West. If you are a Westerner and you are reading this you’ve got to understand how your actions effect people who may seem a world away. Even if you don’t have time - educate yourself about some place in the world and talk to others about what you learn. And when I say some place, I don’t mean some place far away - I mean even in your own backyard - the homeless in your city / town / village / county. I was born and raised in Blacksburg, Va - in the Appalachain mountains of Southwestern Va. I could easily find a lifetime of social justice work just around there - in Appalachia. Just do *something* to help lives around you be a bit easier, or better. And I know - sometimes all we can do is just pray - well, if that’s all you can do right now - and you do pray - pick someone, or some group, and pray. And if you need a list of people to pray for - email me - I have folks you can pray for - from a family in North Carolina who pray every day that the cancer that could have taken their daughter’s life doesn’t reoccurr, to innocent Palestinians, to those in Darfur. It’s not hard to find someone to do something nice for, and it doesn’t have to take 3 years of your life to do it, heck - it doesn’t even have to take an hour. YOU can make a positive impact in someone’s life.