They don't go away when Veterans Day ends

*putting on my American hat today*

One and a half million sons, daughters, husbands, wives, mothers and fathers, neighbors, and friends.

One and a half million US service members have put their lives and families on hold to serve in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some believe in the cause, others don't, but they all believe in their duty to serve and protect, and have made tremendous personal sacrifices to do so.

Over thirty thousand service members have been physically wounded, but many more have experienced less visible but no less traumatic psychological wounds. Numerous veterans are returning home suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, with all that that entails, including increasing rates of suicide, alcohol and drug abuse, homelessness, and domestic violence.

These traumatic affects of conflict, left unaddressed, could have far-reaching negative consequences for the individuals affected, their families, their communities, and our entire country.

I've spoken to you before of Survivor Corps’ work among those affected by war around the world. They are working just as hard to help the less obvious victims of war in our own backyard - our veterans.

YOU CAN HELP!

Operation Survivor
Survivor Corps has shown time and again that community reintegration is a key factor in victims' overcoming this trauma. Survivor Corps is building peer support programs at the community level. These programs bring service members and veterans together for mutual support and encourage both individual responsibility and collective action to help others in need. Survivor Corps' alternative “treatment” can be made readily available in all communities, even those beyond the reach of traditional military or government centers of support.

Click Here to read more about Operation Survivor and to see what you can do to help.

We failed them after Vietnam. We owe it to those who suffered then, who continue to suffer now, to learn from their legacy of pain and isolation and do better for those who struggle now.
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Rebuilding a better world, one survivor at a time

Most people have heard at least something about the international campaign to ban landmines. Many have even heard that the late Princess Diana was involved. For most of us though, that is as far as it goes.

Until a few weeks ago, I had never heard of Jerry White, let alone known that he is a leader in the international fight against landmines. I didn't know that he has this calling because he himself lost his leg to a landmine when he entered an unmarked minefield in the north of Israel, my own country, in 1984. I didn't know about his struggle to redefine his life after his accident, to choose survival, and I didn't know that he had taken it one step further, going on to found the Nobel Peace Price-winning Landmine Survivors Network (LSN), the same organization that Princess Diana was involved with.

I didn't know that he had recently expanded LSN's mission from aiding those injured by landmines to aiding all those who are victims of the worst epidemic of all - the very preventable epidemic of war and violence. The new mission bears a new name as well - Survivor Corps - which reflects both its calling and its philosophy.

Now I know, and I am proud to help spread the word. As you can see from their website,

"Survivor Corps is a nonprofit organization that serves victims of global conflict, by providing tools and support to help them rebuild their lives, improve their communities, and ultimately work together to break the cycle of violence in the world."

They do this through peer support, training and international advocacy, right in the affected communities. After all, who has more of a stake in ending a conflict than those scarred by it? Take some time to visit Survivor Corps' website and read their stories.

Innocent bystanders in faraway places are not the only ones who need encouragement to choose survival. Soldiers returning home from war also need support. Survivor Corps is launching a special program to help American Service members connect with each other and their communities to work together to heal the trauma of war and re-find their place in the world.

Jerry White has taken the lessons he has learned from his journey, and the innumerable lessons he has gathered from others who walk their own paths towards survival, and has written a book - I Will Not Be Broken: Five Steps to Overcoming a Life Crisis - which strives to answer the question "given that bad things do happen, how do people absorb the blows and move through them?" How do we come back after a major life blow - a death, an illness, an accident, loss of a loved one, loss of a job... What determines whether we sink into despair or claw our way back into the light?

I am pleased to announce that Around the Island will be a stop on I Will Not Be Broken's upcoming blogosphere book tour and look forward to sharing my impressions with you. Given what I've read of Jerry White's story so far (and the sneak preview I got of the first few chapters) it's sure to be a powerful and inspiring read.

Thursday Thirteen #12 - 13 Anti-War Songs

Sunday is Israel's Memorial Day. As a young country born of and in many ways still of war, Memorial Day is taken VERY seriously here. It is a day of ceremonies, of quiet reflection, of soft, sad music on the radio (yes, there is an entire genre like that). Memorial Day, as all Jewish holidays, actually starts at sundown the evening before. The solemnity of the day begins with a 2 minute siren all across the country. While the siren is going everything comes to a standstill - cars on the highway come to a halt while their drivers stand silently by, remembering, thinking. Shoppers in stores stand still, listening. All over the country you see people standing quietly and remembering the ultimate sacrifice made by so many to give us the country we have today. At 10 o'clock the following morning the sirens wail again, and again, everything stops. The different branches of the army and the police hold memorial services for their fallen, other ceremonies remember those lost to terrorism. All places of entertainment are closed.

As the day progresses and darkness falls, Israel moves from grief to celebration. The conclusion of Memorial Day moves straight into the celebration of Independence Day, which begins at 8pm that evening. How wise were the founders of this country, to inextricably link these two days, so that it is impossible to rejoice in what we have without reflecting on how we got here.

To mark Israeli Memorial Day with my own futile but fervent wish that these sacrifices should end, that we should "study war no more", I offer you 13 anti-war songs. These songs come from different countries and different wars and convey their message in vastly different ways, but wherever it strikes the tragedy of war is the same. I hope that you will choose to listen and take a moment to reflect on their message, and to imagine the shape of a world without war.

1. And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda - The Pogues
2. Christmas in the Trenches - John McCutcheon
3. Through the Night - Ray Scudero - (You may have to pick "Through the Night" to see the actual lyrics, but they are well worth the extra click. To hear a clip, listen to Track 15
4. I Ain't Marchin' Anymore - Phil Ochs
5. The Patriot Game - The Dubliners
6. No Bomb is Smart - SONiA (listen to Track 6)
7. There Were Roses - Tommy Sands - a hauntingly beautiful song about a true event. I had the privilege of seeing him in concert several times last spring. When I told him that as many times as I heard the song it made me cry every single time, he shared with me that the men in the song had been friends of his, and that it had taken him 10 years to be able to put words to their story.
8. Draft Dodger Rag - Phil Ochs
9. Eve of Destruction - Barry McGuire
10. The Grave - Don McLean - another powerfully haunting song
11. The I Feel Like I'm Fixing To Die Rag - Country Joe and the Fish
12. Kill For Peace - Oscar Brand (sorry, couldn't find a link for this one)
13. Peace Will Come - Tom Paxton

And following in the spirit of Memorial Day, next week's list will move from sadness to joy, with 13 celebrations of life in Israel.




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