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Iraq: A Journey Of Hope And Peace
Peggy Gish went to Iraq as an attempt to prevent war. But on March 20, 2003 the bombs began falling on Baghdad. In her book, Gish recounts the moving story of Christian Peacemaker Teams' work in Iraq, before, during, and after the 2003 war and occupation. Told as her personal story, Gish makes real the horrors of war, the character of the Iraqi people, and a passionate vision for peace.
From the fall of 2002 to the spring of 2004, Gish chronicles her Iraq experience, including a brief Postscript. Here are stories of sleeping in a tent during bomb attacks, villages surrounded in razor wire, being deported out of Iraq, fighting for justice for Iraqi prisoners, being robbed, creating relationships with Iraqi citizens, and through it all, seeking the way of Christ's peace.
From the fall of 2002 to the spring of 2004, Gish chronicles her Iraq experience, including a brief Postscript. Here are stories of sleeping in a tent during bomb attacks, villages surrounded in razor wire, being deported out of Iraq, fighting for justice for Iraqi prisoners, being robbed, creating relationships with Iraqi citizens, and through it all, seeking the way of Christ's peace.
317 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2004
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April 11, 2024
This was really dry. It was hard to stay engaged because of the language. It often read like a diary or a report.
That being said, I feel that the message was very inspiring. This was about a group of Christian socialists who went to Iraq to try and prevent Bush’s war and advocate for peace through non-violence. They ended up staying on to help the people where they could, bear witness to their suffering, and use those first hand accounts to advocate for the Iraqi people and call for an end to the occupation. I really enjoyed what the author had to say about meeting hatred and fear with non-violence, and when she called out the hypocrisy of so called Christians who are high up in government then and now. She came for the Evangelists and I found that a little satisfying.
Everything that happened in Iraq was both sad and disturbing but it is very important to understand the whole that America played in the suffering. I hope to read more, hopefully more engaging, books about these topics and to, as a Christian, live a little more like Peggy.
That being said, I feel that the message was very inspiring. This was about a group of Christian socialists who went to Iraq to try and prevent Bush’s war and advocate for peace through non-violence. They ended up staying on to help the people where they could, bear witness to their suffering, and use those first hand accounts to advocate for the Iraqi people and call for an end to the occupation. I really enjoyed what the author had to say about meeting hatred and fear with non-violence, and when she called out the hypocrisy of so called Christians who are high up in government then and now. She came for the Evangelists and I found that a little satisfying.
Everything that happened in Iraq was both sad and disturbing but it is very important to understand the whole that America played in the suffering. I hope to read more, hopefully more engaging, books about these topics and to, as a Christian, live a little more like Peggy.
October 14, 2019
Peggy Gish went to Iraq to address the war the US would inflict on Iraq. A team and her were authorized all the essentials they would need to travel and thrive in the state that Iraq was in. They met with hospitals and ambulances finding they had 1/3 amount of medicines and ambulances needed for the size of their country. Also malnourished children and deformities doubled each year, since they didn’t have the necessary medication for the symptoms. They never have been able to catch up in the medication research, due to them being at war for long periods of time.
What was interesting is throughout the book they are making connections with people they just met through their religions even if they have had completely different backgrounds. It’s crazy that they are making such deep bonds, and connections with them in the spur of the moment. They wore red caps and black t shirts that made them stand out so there were always people looking, but despite that they were treated like they belonged. It baffles me that we are so clueless to the thriving economy and how we take it for granted, while there are almost a million people suffering in Iraq. I believe this book would benefit anyone who reads it.
I don’t ever read these kinds of books on my own but I have definitely gained a new perspective. Anyone who is wondering why we should care or worry for the people in third world countries, this will give them insight on the problems there facing. Also why they haven't been able to fix these problems like we would be able to. But unfortunately some people would not find the book to their taste because it does go rather slow. So overall I believe everyone should read this book at least once.
What was interesting is throughout the book they are making connections with people they just met through their religions even if they have had completely different backgrounds. It’s crazy that they are making such deep bonds, and connections with them in the spur of the moment. They wore red caps and black t shirts that made them stand out so there were always people looking, but despite that they were treated like they belonged. It baffles me that we are so clueless to the thriving economy and how we take it for granted, while there are almost a million people suffering in Iraq. I believe this book would benefit anyone who reads it.
I don’t ever read these kinds of books on my own but I have definitely gained a new perspective. Anyone who is wondering why we should care or worry for the people in third world countries, this will give them insight on the problems there facing. Also why they haven't been able to fix these problems like we would be able to. But unfortunately some people would not find the book to their taste because it does go rather slow. So overall I believe everyone should read this book at least once.
September 5, 2020
Peggy Faw Gish takes peacemaking seriously.
While the vast majority of American Christians lead comfortable lives at a safe remove from the activities of their government’s military forces in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere across the Middle East, Gish’s work as a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams sends her daily into the chaos, warfare and destruction that is occupied Iraq.
Gish first led a Christian Peacemaker Team to Iraq in October 2002, five months prior to the U.S. invasion. She was there in March 2003 as well, and has since returned several times as a leader or core member of four- to eight-person Christian Peacemaker Teams. Iraq: A Journey of Hope and Peace is her thoughtful and sensitively rendered chronicle of her experience.
Gish and her colleagues practice “getting in the way.” Explaining her philosophy of peacemaking to an audience during a winter 2004-2005 speaking tour of the U.S., Gish said, “We get in the way of injustice when we see it. We have the grandmother effect. There are things you wouldn’t do if your grandmother were watching, and there are things soldiers won’t do if other people are watching.”
In addition to literally placing themselves between U.S. military forces and civilians who are at risk of attack, investigating reports of systemic injustice and abuse visited upon Iraqi civilians by U.S. forces, and opening and helping to maintain lines of communication between U.S. forces and Iraqi community leaders, Gish and her colleagues also advocate on behalf of the victims of injustice at the hands of U.S. forces.
“Being North Americans in Iraq carries a lot of privilege,” Gish writes. “On the street, our lighter skin, our hair, and our clothing made us stand out in any crowd. We had access to information and resources from back home that helped us rise above some of the limitations and chaos of post-invasion Iraq. We were able to get into CPA [Coalition Provisional Authority] or U.S. military offices and talk to personnel whom Iraqis didn’t have access to, because of our passports, English language, and some knowledge of how these systems operated. We also had some power as voters back home. We wanted to use this privilege, not only to help Iraqis speak out or to help them access what little help was available, but also to speak directly on their behalf to those in power.”
Gish, who has seen far more death and destruction in Iraq during the past three years than most Americans witness in a lifetime, admits that her volunteer work in Iraq is difficult at times. But she says she finds it more difficult to convey the truth about U.S. actions in Iraq to an American public that does not want to know.
“Probably the hardest work I do is to speak to the people in the U.S. who don’t want to hear anything different from what the mainline media is reporting or anything critical of our government,” writes Gish. “It is especially hard to speak to Christian people who don’t want to try to view the war or occupation in light of the way of Jesus, the way of nonviolent, suffering love. They fear...any criticism of U.S. policy in Iraq....They are accustomed to accepting what the government says, that violence and war are the only ways to deal with evil, even though this is a contradiction of the gospel message. I pray that somehow God will use what I say to open their hearts and minds.”
Although it may be difficult to imagine how anyone could write a book dealing so directly with the horrors of the war on and occupation of Iraq and title it Iraq: A Journey of Hope and Peace, Peggy Faw Gish’s account of her living Christian faith at work in the midst of almost unimaginable danger and difficulty is a labor of love that may well open hearts and minds here at home.
As published in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, August 2005, page 72
While the vast majority of American Christians lead comfortable lives at a safe remove from the activities of their government’s military forces in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere across the Middle East, Gish’s work as a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams sends her daily into the chaos, warfare and destruction that is occupied Iraq.
Gish first led a Christian Peacemaker Team to Iraq in October 2002, five months prior to the U.S. invasion. She was there in March 2003 as well, and has since returned several times as a leader or core member of four- to eight-person Christian Peacemaker Teams. Iraq: A Journey of Hope and Peace is her thoughtful and sensitively rendered chronicle of her experience.
Gish and her colleagues practice “getting in the way.” Explaining her philosophy of peacemaking to an audience during a winter 2004-2005 speaking tour of the U.S., Gish said, “We get in the way of injustice when we see it. We have the grandmother effect. There are things you wouldn’t do if your grandmother were watching, and there are things soldiers won’t do if other people are watching.”
In addition to literally placing themselves between U.S. military forces and civilians who are at risk of attack, investigating reports of systemic injustice and abuse visited upon Iraqi civilians by U.S. forces, and opening and helping to maintain lines of communication between U.S. forces and Iraqi community leaders, Gish and her colleagues also advocate on behalf of the victims of injustice at the hands of U.S. forces.
“Being North Americans in Iraq carries a lot of privilege,” Gish writes. “On the street, our lighter skin, our hair, and our clothing made us stand out in any crowd. We had access to information and resources from back home that helped us rise above some of the limitations and chaos of post-invasion Iraq. We were able to get into CPA [Coalition Provisional Authority] or U.S. military offices and talk to personnel whom Iraqis didn’t have access to, because of our passports, English language, and some knowledge of how these systems operated. We also had some power as voters back home. We wanted to use this privilege, not only to help Iraqis speak out or to help them access what little help was available, but also to speak directly on their behalf to those in power.”
Gish, who has seen far more death and destruction in Iraq during the past three years than most Americans witness in a lifetime, admits that her volunteer work in Iraq is difficult at times. But she says she finds it more difficult to convey the truth about U.S. actions in Iraq to an American public that does not want to know.
“Probably the hardest work I do is to speak to the people in the U.S. who don’t want to hear anything different from what the mainline media is reporting or anything critical of our government,” writes Gish. “It is especially hard to speak to Christian people who don’t want to try to view the war or occupation in light of the way of Jesus, the way of nonviolent, suffering love. They fear...any criticism of U.S. policy in Iraq....They are accustomed to accepting what the government says, that violence and war are the only ways to deal with evil, even though this is a contradiction of the gospel message. I pray that somehow God will use what I say to open their hearts and minds.”
Although it may be difficult to imagine how anyone could write a book dealing so directly with the horrors of the war on and occupation of Iraq and title it Iraq: A Journey of Hope and Peace, Peggy Faw Gish’s account of her living Christian faith at work in the midst of almost unimaginable danger and difficulty is a labor of love that may well open hearts and minds here at home.
As published in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, August 2005, page 72
August 11, 2015
Peggy Gish, as part of the Christian Peacemaker Teams for Iraq had an extreme burden for the people of Iraq when President George W. Bush made the announcement that he was going to attack the country no matter what. She went there before the bombs came down back in October, 2002. She was there alongside Shane Claiborne and other CPT members during the bombings in order to try to speak for the people there and get to know them. She formed great bonds with the people and learned of their hearts and fears and thoughts. While the bombings occurred, she was worshiping alongside other believers of Christ within Baghdad. The Iraqi Christians were in shock as they believed that Christians would seek out peace, yet they said that Bush claimed to be a Christian himself, so they were very sad.
This book gave perspectives of the other side. As a late teen during that time, I thought we were doing right by going in there and trying to help end the oppression, but Peggy Gish gives multiple reports and accounts of those she had built relationships with who were being oppressed by the US soldiers there. She did say that not all were like that, but it was a very small percentage. Because of the fear that the soldiers would instill, many times it would cause the Iraqis to try to protect themselves and so it was a vicious cycle, but most of the time the soldiers would open fire into the crowds of people because they "thought" they saw someone with a gun.
There are countless things I could state about what Peggy Gish saw and how she tried to find reconciliation between the Iraqis and the US soldiers and the Iraqis opinions of Americans. Most of them liked Americans until the soldiers came and began to steal their stuff in raids, started to kill because they believed all were terrorists there (which in this case the US soldiers became terrorists themselves), they would arrest and torture people who they had no information on just because they believed men were usually suspects or on the side with Saddam Hussein. They also would humiliate many of the women there as well. She did show the good and the bad on both sides and that is why she wanted them to reconcile and have peace between them.
One funny part of this book is that many soldiers would often ask why she was there without a gun or a body guard. She said, "I'm safer than you because I don't carry a gun or have protection." I laughed because it is true. She had trust in God to protect her, and He certainly did in her year and a half time that she was there for.
Another thing I learned about that was interesting was about Depleted Uranium in bombs and bullets from the US that have radioactive materials that are extremely dangerous that the people there were exposed to. It is sad that the US seems to be against genocide but have no problem trying to wipe out a nation. The depleted uranium won't be removed for thousands of years because of how high leveled it is. It made me very sad to read about.
Overall a good book. If you are an Anabaptist you will have a better understanding of why the CPT exists and how they want to show love to all sides of all people and to change them with love rather than with weapons.
This book gave perspectives of the other side. As a late teen during that time, I thought we were doing right by going in there and trying to help end the oppression, but Peggy Gish gives multiple reports and accounts of those she had built relationships with who were being oppressed by the US soldiers there. She did say that not all were like that, but it was a very small percentage. Because of the fear that the soldiers would instill, many times it would cause the Iraqis to try to protect themselves and so it was a vicious cycle, but most of the time the soldiers would open fire into the crowds of people because they "thought" they saw someone with a gun.
There are countless things I could state about what Peggy Gish saw and how she tried to find reconciliation between the Iraqis and the US soldiers and the Iraqis opinions of Americans. Most of them liked Americans until the soldiers came and began to steal their stuff in raids, started to kill because they believed all were terrorists there (which in this case the US soldiers became terrorists themselves), they would arrest and torture people who they had no information on just because they believed men were usually suspects or on the side with Saddam Hussein. They also would humiliate many of the women there as well. She did show the good and the bad on both sides and that is why she wanted them to reconcile and have peace between them.
One funny part of this book is that many soldiers would often ask why she was there without a gun or a body guard. She said, "I'm safer than you because I don't carry a gun or have protection." I laughed because it is true. She had trust in God to protect her, and He certainly did in her year and a half time that she was there for.
Another thing I learned about that was interesting was about Depleted Uranium in bombs and bullets from the US that have radioactive materials that are extremely dangerous that the people there were exposed to. It is sad that the US seems to be against genocide but have no problem trying to wipe out a nation. The depleted uranium won't be removed for thousands of years because of how high leveled it is. It made me very sad to read about.
Overall a good book. If you are an Anabaptist you will have a better understanding of why the CPT exists and how they want to show love to all sides of all people and to change them with love rather than with weapons.
July 8, 2012
I know Peggy Gish as a dedicated pacifist-activist from Athens, Ohio. Over the last decade, she and her (now late) husband, Art, joined Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq and Palestine serving as witnesses and peacemakers in these conflict zones. This is her account of her time working in Iraq leading up to and shortly after the US invasion. Though her choice of descriptions is not without blind spots—the depravity and violence of Sadaam’s regime warrants only occasional mention—her book is an earnest and shocking account of how America war-making affects Iraqi civilians on the ground. For example, the amount of carcinogens and radioactive material that remained after the “shock and awe” is shameful. Before the war, the Christians were described as “human shields”—not so. They were, however, led around by government minders. After the war, some of her civilian informants change their tunes. Happy that Sadaam had been deposed, many were unhappy with the American invasion and occupation.
August 26, 2014
This writing begins immediately before the U. S. "Shock and Awe" bombing of Iraq in 2003 when the author traveled as a member of the Christian Peacemaker Teams to witness for the Iraqi people in the interest of peace and justice. If you would like a deeper understanding of the damage done to the Iraqi people by economic sanctions, the Gulf War and Shock and Awe, depleted uranium, and corporate contol given to U.S. companies Bechtel and Halliburton, then this book will inform you.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews