Fwd: Help us with women's peace walk across the De-Militarized Zone in Korea
From: patty guerrero (pattypaxicloud.com)
Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2015 18:28:13 -0700 (PDT)
I think this is such a great thing that women are doing so wanted to share it 
with Pax-Salon list.   It reminds me of the Ribbon Around the Pentagon in 1986. 

> Begin forwarded message:
> 
> 
> FYI: update on Women Walk for Peace Across the DMZ
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Christine Ahn <christineahn [at] me.com <mailto:christineahn [at] 
> me.com>>
> Date: Sun, Mar 22, 2015 at 4:44 PM
> Subject: Help us with women's peace walk across the De-Militarized Zone in 
> Korea
> To: Christine Ahn <christineahn [at] mac.com <mailto:christineahn [at] 
> mac.com>>
> 
> 
> Dear friends,
> 
> Please excuse the group email, but with raising my 2 turning 3-year old 
> daughter Jeju and managing the crazy politics of this project, I can’t send 
> personalized notes to you all though I hope you know how much I wish I could.
> 
> In May 2015, in just under two months, 30 women from around the world will 
> walk for peace in Korea. We are hoping to meet with North Korean women and 
> learn about their hopes and aspirations for a reunited Korea free from war. 
> We are also hoping to meet with South Korean women and learn about their 
> hopes and aspirations for a reunited Korea free from war. As if that weren’t 
> challenging enough, we hope to cross the De-Militarized Zone (DMZ) that 
> divides them and millions of families. You can visit our website  
> <http://womencrossdmz.org/>to learn more about who is walking and why we’re 
> walking to reunite families and end the Korean War.
> 
> As you can imagine, it is quite the epic journey that requires traveling 
> through Beijing, obtaining visas, coordinating travel from a dozen different 
> countries, and everything else that comes with such a major overseas trip. 
> Most of our delegation of dedicated women peacemakers are paying their own 
> way, but the reality is that it is a costly event. But the impact could be 
> “game changing” as The Nation journalist, Tim Shorrock, tweeted last week.
> 
> We got our first glimpse of how game changing our women’s walk for peace 
> could be after our press conference at the United Nations last week where 
> Gloria Steinem, Ann Wright, Suzuyo Takazato, Abigail Disney, Hyun-Kyung 
> Chung, Suzy Kim, Kim Keum-ok of South Korea and I announced our walk. Every 
> major international media outlet covered our event, including The New York 
> Times 
> <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/12/world/asia/women-aim-for-peace-in-korea-with-plan-to-walk-across-Demilitarized-Zone.html?_r=0>,
>  Associated Press, UK Guardian, Agence France Press and dozens more. Their 
> coverage launched our women’s peace walk into the hemisphere. As a result, 
> people from all walks of life, from Switzerland to South Korea have contacted 
> us to ask how they can get involved to make our walk happen. It has caught 
> the imagination of the world that the DMZ, the most militarized border in the 
> world, can and must be crossed to help heal the divided peninsula.
> 
> The peace walk was covered in every major South Korean media; It was just the 
> thing we needed to tip the balance in our favor because the South Korean 
> government had not yet responded to our request that they approve our 
> crossing the DMZ from North Korea to South Korea. But soon after the press 
> conference, the South Korean Mission to the UN contacted us to let us know 
> that Seoul is now considering our proposal. We also heard from a journalist 
> based in Seoul, "I am hearing that Seoul is likely to OK the border crossing… 
>  a govt spokesman here said South Korea generally has "a postive position" on 
> DMZ crossings by foreigners. And its related agencies will review your case. 
> Sounds very positive.” 
> 
> On Christmas Eve, we received a yes from the UN Command that they would be 
> prepared to facilitate our crossing pending approval from South Korea, which 
> we are still waiting for. Although North Korea had given a tentative yes last 
> year, it came with a stern caveat: if the conditions were right. Given the 
> tense circumstances now with the joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises 
> underway, we weren’t sure if they were. But just yesterday, I received an 
> urgent message from the DPRK Mission to the UN saying that my visa would be 
> soon ready and that I ought to go right away to Pyongyang to sort out the 
> logistics. 
> 
> Although things can change on a day-to-day basis, it is looking like we have 
> managed the impossible: getting permission from both governments, as well as 
> the UN Command, to cross the DMZ.
> 
> As you may know, this is a completely voluntary event. We have no corporate 
> or government support—just the sheer will of women peacemakers wanting to 
> help bring peace to the 70-year divided Korean peninsula. While the majority 
> of the women are paying their own travel costs, we will need to raise funds 
> for accommodations, event venues, meals, transportation, materials, press 
> packets, banners, and logistical support in China and South Korea. There are 
> also many women from the Global South who will need travel support, which we 
> are gladly doing in solidarity. To do all this, we must raise $50,000 to meet 
> our budget goals.
> 
> Fortunately, with Gloria Steinem’s help, an anonymous woman donor has 
> generously offered us a $25,000 matching gift. We have until the end of March 
> to raise the rest. I’ve raised $11,000 already, and I think we can do it. I 
> know we can do it. But it will take dozens of friends who can pitch in as 
> generously as you can. 
> 
> Although we were going to launch a crowdsource campaign like Kickstarter, 
> because it is way too public, our advisors urged us to try to raise it 
> privately until we have secured both government’s approval. Here is a video 
> that we would have used to launch our fundraising campaign. 
> 
> You might wonder, what will this peace walk do? For one, it has already 
> conveyed several important messages: 1. The Korean War must end with a peace 
> treaty; 2. Women can and must be involved at all levels of peacemaking; and 
> 3. We must act now to reunite millions of families tragically divided by a 
> man-made division. If the barbed wire fences lining the DMZ were erected by 
> men over 60 years ago, men and women have the power to bring them down.
> 
> Please help us make the DMZ history by making a tax-deductible donation 
> online at: http://www.peacedevelopmentfund.org/women-cross-the-dmz/ 
> <http://www.peacedevelopmentfund.org/women-cross-the-dmz/>
> 
> Or send a check to:
> Peace Development Fund
> PO Box 40250
> San Francisco, CA 94140-0250 
> Memo: Women De-Militarize the Zone 
> 
> With gratitude and in peace,
> Christine Ahn
> 

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