Articles : Washington Witness
July 6, 2009 issue
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Congo’s conflict minerals
The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery; they have oppressed the poor and needy and have extorted from the foreigner without redress. And I sought for anyone among them who would repair the wall and stand in the breach before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. — Ezekiel 22:29-30
“I sleep like an animal,” Noella, a woman who lives in a camp for internally displaced people in eastern Congo, muttered dejectedly.
May 25, 2009 issue
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Random acts of gun violence
A few weeks ago, as I waited for a bus in Washington, D.C.’s Chinatown, five teenagers — three girls and two boys — clashed over a tacky, pink and silver backpack.
Dec. 22, 2008 issue
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A weapon that kills civilians
Suraj Ghulam Habib, 17, of Afghanistan lost both his legs when he found a cluster bomb that he mistook for a can of food. He and five members of his family were walking home from a picnic when the bomb exploded. Suraj’s cousin was killed instantly, and everyone else was injured by the blast.
Nov. 24, 2008 issue
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Modern-day prodigal sons
You’ve probably heard a version of this story before:
A rich businessman wrote his will, dividing his wealth equally between his two sons. The younger son, a worldly lad, asked his father for his share immediately, and the kind father consented.
May 26, 2008 issue
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Human face of immigration
Isabel left El Salvador in 1988 during a bloody civil war. As she made her way to the United States, one of her coyotes — people smugglers — forced her to have sex with him as payment (she was 17). That night she would have preferred death in the civil war to the humiliation she endured.
Feb. 25, 2008 issue
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Refugees are Iraq’s silent crisis
“I had bodyguards with me all the time. I received many death threats for my support of U.S. efforts in Baghdad. Finally, I had to leave Iraq,” said Hassan.
Dec. 3, 2007 issue
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Turn youth away from crime
Mennonites have a long history of finding creative ways to resolve conflict through personal and community action rather than through the courts.
Oct. 22, 2007 issue
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Suffer the little children
As I write this article, Congress and the president are locked in a battle over children’s health care. By the time this goes to print, we will know who won — the president, who vetoed the popular Children’s Health Insurance Program, or Congress, which attempted to override his veto.
June 25, 2007 issue
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Facing immigration’s causes
Immigration reform filled the airwaves and the halls of Congress as spring drew to a close in Washington. Senators bargained the possibility of legalization for 12 million people against tougher border strategies, a guest-worker program and a new system aimed at attracting professionals instead of families.
May 28, 2007 issue
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For worse, and for better
In early August, I will leave the Mennonite Central Committee Washington Office after serving as director for 13 years. Cindy and I will move to Amman, Jordan, and serve as co-MCC representatives for programs in Jordan, Iraq, Iran and Palestine.
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