First visits in Vietnam

We have just completed our first three days in Ha Noi, Vietnam. Commemorating the near 40 years since the DC Nine action challenging the United States government and the Dow Chemical Company, Catherine Sagan and I are undertaking visiting the victims of Agent Orange and concerned persons for the next 16 days from Ha Noi, Hue, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City and nearby villages. We want to lend support to the efforts toward reconciliation and healing needed since the war with Vietnam ended in 1975.

Catherine and I began by visiting VAVA (Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange) on Wednesday afternoon. We met with three leading members led by Dr. Nguyen Trong Nhan. It was a rreunion for me sisnce I had met Nguyen at Portland State University in 2005 when he was touring the United States about Agent Orange. This reception committee share basic information about VAVA's efforts to educate the public, to move the US government to address the need for redress to victims, families, and the environment. A lawsuit has been proceeding through the U.S. Courts to little avail to date, next stop the United States Supreme Court. Readers can begin educating themselves by going to www.vava.org.vn.

Putting the human face on the issue, we visited The Friendship Village yesterday. Here we met the persons running this place of peace and reconciliation, along with students who are victims, ages two to twenty. These children were not alive when Agent Orange was sprayed over the jungles of South Vietnam, but suffer the effects anyway because their parents unintentionally pass them on or because the water and soils speread the deadly dioxan. Not only do these children suffer from Agent Orange, but they are like orphans at the Village. The staff and volunteers cannot fully replace the nurturing care and love of parents and sibblings. We enjoyed visiting them, but felt that there was not much you can do to help during a short visit. Smiles and hugs. This was a gratifying way to spend Christmas day, a day to remember the immigrant child Jesus' birth in Bethlehem.

Today we met Thao Griffiths, who works with a peace organization to assist with the effects of unexploded ordinance from the war. Each year thousands of rural people die from tripping the firing mechanisms on personnel bombs dropped during the War. With each of these visits, we not only listen to their stories and work, but also share the work we are part of making peace. Needless to say, each of these organizations is doing wonderful work, but do not have the necessary resources to address the full problem. The United States government needs to step to the plate along with the corporations which profited from War.

Tabitha

Tabitha

The PLU psychology class
A small student group in a warm evening classroom
The American Gandhi invited by a middle age student
Activist, alive with inquiry.
Questioned and explored, Gandhi laid out his wares
Penetrating the human, the evolving human
From the primitive
To the scientific primitive of this day
Live truth, the truth in you.
Discover by experimentation
Let integrity develop by self-realization
Be authentic.

And, Jesus brought the authentic—by acceptance—
Into the Ordinary.
With Jesus acceptance entered the world.
Find your truth and live it.
Accept yourself.

But, acceptance is social. Our identity is social.
We find ourselves among others.
The human way. “I am” in the midst of you.
Jesus acceptance.

Tabitha—a student presenting her inquiries
Late in the class.
My family members see things differently.
Searching questions, emerging analysis, how handle this?
Reaching out, trying to grab hold…what’s the answer,
Gandhi?
Find your truth. Do you want it?
To be integral, human, authentic.
Struggle for acceptance.

Jesse Jackson in the Obama election crowd of millions.
Jesse Jackson, Martin’s lieutenant of many
Civil rights battles, of latter efforts “to be” …….
president. To find acceptance in
America.
Jesse, one in the crowd, not on the stage,
Jesse with tears running down his cheeks.
A black had found acceptance—elected in
America. Among other blacks with tears
Among all seeking acceptance.
Wanting acceptance.
The primal human desire.
Tears of acceptance.

Tabitha’s query, Tabitha’s searching struggle
The struggle of all.
Gandhi—my only purpose is to attain God.
Only done by service.

The American Gandhi’s service—the truth of
Acceptance. Stand strong in yourself.

By Bernie Meyer
November 2008

Touring Vietnam as the effects of war continue

On December 22 I am scheduled to fly to Vietnam, if the weather allows. We are having a snow fall with cold snap. The occasion is the commemoration of the 40Th anniversary of the DC Nine action in March 1969. We decided to have a reunion next May. Most of us have not seen one another since the sentencing on May 5Th, 1970, the day after the Kent State University killing of four students and wounding of 12 by the National Guard. Catherine Sagan, one of the nine will meet me in Seoul Korea airport, from which we will fly to Ha Noi for a 16 day tour.

The DC Nine entered the Dow Chemical Company's lobbying office in Washington DC to protest Dow's production of napalm and Agent Orange used in the Vietnam war to defoliate the jungle. Nine of us entered the office on a Saturday, hung photos of napalmed children, splattered blood, broke office equipment, and threw files out the window. Then, we waited for the police to come as the media covered the story. My role was to lead the media to the site. (This is more fully described in my book, THE AMERICAN GANDHI, My Seeking Truth With Humanity at the Crossroads.) Catherine and I went to prison for this action.

Agent Orange has not stopped maiming and killing. 3,000,000 Vietnam citizens suffer the effects because the dioxin remains in the soil and the water. American Veterans also suffer along with many of their family members. For the next two plus weeks I will journal the experiences of this trip on this blog.

We will begin in Ha Noi at The Friendship Village, later proceed to the Central Highlands and Hue, and end up in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly, Saigon). The Vietnam Association for the Victims of Agent Orange (VAVA) is facilitating the visits with treatment sites and their work to redress the wrongs. Peace Tours will facilitate our itinerary.

Ending violence by way of India's culture

Peacemaking takes on a decidedly cultural flavor in India, especially at religiously sponsored events. I just returned from the 7Th International Conference on Peace and Nonviolent Action in Jaipur, India. The primary sponsor is ANUBHIA, a Jain initiated organization for the betterment of the world. (I attended the 6Th ICPNA last December.) It is very clear that this is a religious event with the ritualistic presence of His Holiness Acharya Mahapragya and his retinue. Then, you find that the former President of India, Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, has coauthored a book with His Holiness. The book, The Family and The Nation, gives a succinct overview of cultural and societal history to lead to a vision for a peaceful and just society. Religion is fundamental to the contents, but with a much different rationale than you would find in the United States where separation of church and state has prevailed, at least until recently.

To understand this, a person would need to spend some time learning about Hindu religion with its acceptance of diversity, even within the Hindu faith. No centralized body is charged with overseeing orthodoxy and dogma. The ancient culture sets the tone. the individual expresses belief within the culture.

As a result, when you look beyond the white clothing of the monks and ignore the blue masks preventing harm to microbes, you find a rationale and scientific presentation for peace and nonviolence. Ahimsa, nonviolence, is the central tenet of Jain religion. (Jain religion is not Hinduism, but comes from the same roots and communicates the same acceptance.) The 7Th ICPNA took another step toward overcoming violence and finding peace in our troubled world.

I was invited to this Conference as The American Gandhi. I attended the five days of sessions and activities as TAG. In addition, I was invited to address two other gatherings at the same location, including The Conference on Nonviolent Economics. I do not know how much my words communicated, but my physical presence, as Gandhi, did communicate. As someone said, you are the best known person in Jaipur. This was due to photos in the daily papers. I feel that that is well and good, but my message is of crucial import and my main purpose for attending. Gandhi is symbolic only. (My message is recorded in my website.)

Related to my message is the November 7-9 gathering of the World Economic Forum in Dubai. The attendees were aghast at the state of the world. A "reboot" is needed. It is worth checking.

SILENT AND INVISIBLE TO THE HUMAN EAR AND EYE

SILENT AND INVISIBLE TO THE HUMAN EAR AND EYE

The particles in the air, particles of CO2,
Gases of many kinds, the stuff of climate heating
Silent and invisible to the human ear and eye

Agent Orange—visible by colors merges
With the soil and dust—lethal
Not perceived And, water.
Silent and invisible to the human ear and eye

Nuclear radiation—of many elements and intensity levels—
Low to high—invisible to eye and ear
As cause visible, and harsh in effect
In the air and in the water, on the beach sands
Silent and invisible to the human ear and eye

Depleted uranium— U 238,
Depleted of U 234, or U 235, for other uses.
U 238 just as lethal when ingested in aerosol form.
Used by the megatons in recent wars,
Tested regularly in the environments near home,
Silent and invisible to human ear and eye

Gamma radiation, alpha radiation, beta radiation—
Lethal to humans, lethal to life
Silent and invisible to the human ear and eye

63 years of uranium extracting from the earth,
testing, using, and wasting
Millions of years enduring
Beyond human life experiences on earth,
Shortening life experiences
Ending life experiences on the visible and audible Mother Earth

Ingested and DNA incorporated

The silent and invisible

The normal and the abnormal

Another journey is now completed. My sense of "our reality" grows deeper. I traveled by train from Seattle, Washington to Cleveland, Ohio with my daughter, Amanda, and her 19 month old son, River. For the most part the ride was beautiful across the mountains and plains states. Our little family grew together and enjoyed the world family on the train and in the Chicago station.

We had a family reunion at Geneva on the Lake, catching up with everyone and experiencing the storms and the calm sunsets over the lake. My 92 year old mother was also able to visit with us for a day. Our four generations are blessed.

We stayed with old friends from the Thomas Merton Community of the 1960's. Though the near West Side of Cleveland has become gentrafided over the years, my bonds with the friends has only grown stronger. We still share concerns for our society and the world which is more precarious than the conflicted days of the 60's. We have grown in spirit and in deed. Now, yoga, community gardens, and peace demonstrations have transformed the expressions of forty years ago.

I worked hard on this trip. With the help of peacemaker friends, I offered twenty Gandhi appearances. Three colleges, two high schools, and an interfaith peace gathering were the venues. Also, I offered two book signing events. Finally, we traveled to Dayton to the Peace Museum where we participated in the International Day of Peace on September 21st. We were hosted by Chris Dull who made the original request for my Gandhi portrayals. What a heartfelt time!

The twenty day experience in Ohio was overshadowed for me by the consciousness of global threats: finance and climate change. Hurricane Ike reached up to Ohio from Haiti, Cuba, Texas. Forty four or the 48 counties in Ohio had electrical breakdowns from wind storms. Caravans of electrical repair trucks crossed Ohio to the south from New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The Storm was deadly and costly.

The financial crisis caused by the failure of several institutions and by the governments inability to handle the crisis (suddenly the private markets were screaming to the government to bail them out) occured during my last week in Ohio. As of this writing, we are still watching the harried efforts of Congress and the "Presidency" to come up with a plan. No doubt that whatever the plan is human services and US infrastructure will suffer for years. My reading on this trip was Richard Heinberg's PEAK EVERYTHING, WAKING UP in the CENTURY OF DECLINES. It was most instructive that in the midst of the financial crisis, I happened to read the chapter noting the collapse of the US economy. Even the Wall Street types are claiming that there is no clear way to handle this, could be much worse than the depression's collapse.

My Gandhi presentations at least mentioned the usual three: climate change, the effects of peak oil, and nuclear weapons/war making. I think people are traumatized, ignorant, and empty handed. Some have their eyes open. Our hope.

Carrying the message on

The Round Table Conference was held at the World Peace Centre in Pune India on August 1St and 2Nd. The theme was "Role of Science and Spirituality in Promoting a Culture of Peace in the World." This subject is right up my ally! Followers of this blog would recognize my comments because I have been saying that unless we humans begin acknowledging the ultimate Truth of the universe, nature, and humanity and live by the laws of nature, we do not have much future on this earth. As an invitee to this Conference, I had the opportunity to elaborate on this theme and to apply it to global climate change, fossil fuels and natural resources, and to war, in particular to nuclear weapons.

Attendance was from around the world. I had opportunity to rub elbows with people from New Zealand, Belgium, the Philippines, Africa, other Americans, and, of course, Indians. Since I spent eight days at the Centre, we were able to exchange experiences and insights informally. These were very rich. Two contacts expressed interest in inviting my Gandhi presence to participate in their service projects for the poor villages and communities. I am edified by the work my new friends are doing for humanity and look forward to working with them.

Dr. Karad, who founded and leads the World Peace Centre, hosted this Conference and related activities with his usual vigor and energy. (I had participated in the January 2008 Congress for Youth and a Culture of Peace.) We had the opportunity to attend local Hindu Peace religious services and to visit Gurukul, a unique higher education campus incorporating the principles of science and spirituality. From India's millennia of history, culture, religion, a deep expression of human meaning and direction arises. Gurukul expresses this through modern lenses.

I do not know how well my message was heard, certainly it was heard and expressed by others. I made a resolution challenging the scientists to apply their skills to resolving the three major issues I identified. The resolution was cited in concluding remarks. The Conference will be reporting out to leaders, philosophers, scientists around the world. I continue to belief that we need a grassroots "uprising" to spur official world leaders to act with urgency and immediacy.