WWFOR has a Vibrant History
by Ruth Yarrow
WWFOR has had a vibrant history, including working on the Freeze Campaign, US-USSR reconciliation, solidarity with Central America, trying to prevent the Gulf War, medical supplies to war victims, the Campaign of Conscience, and more.
More recently, WWFOR has been working on opposing the so-called never-ending war on terror and supporting multilateral efforts to gain peace.
At present, WWFOR is co-leading an effort to bring our billions of tax dollars home to provide the education, health care, libraries, public transport, environmental support and more that our state so desperately needs. We have held Peace Activist Trainee (PAT) programs every July for eleven years.
Many of our members continue to work with other organizations on efforts from health care for all to stopping torture. But we find ourselves running out of funds and energetic people power for WWFOR itself.
If WWFOR ceases to exist, the PAT program will go away or morph into another program with another organization. The liaison work that our WWFOR organizer does to connect WWFOR with other organizations will end. Individuals and chapters may be able to carry on the retreats, the Seabeck conference, and the Bring Our Billions Home campaign, but it will require more work to coordinate among volunteers.
I would be sad to see WWFOR end. On the other hand, those of us who have been working hard to save it have limits on our time and energy. So maybe it is time to celebrate what has happened.
That said, I will work hard for the next six months to see what we can do. WWFOR continues to plan a 2012 Peace Activist Trainee Program. I would love to see PAT parents contribute and be involved with WWFOR. I know this is possible to some extent because we have had four PAT parents contribute greatly to the Abe Keller Peace Education Fund. I would love to see the Bring Our Billions Home effort actually grow into a campaign. We will need to educate people effectively and involve new people and include young people, especially through nonviolent, courageous, creative, and sometimes risky action.