WALKING THROUGH FIRE

Through Iraqis eyes--through their stories--this book tells the truth about what war and the U.S. governments antiterrorism policies have really meant for them. Iraqis recount the abuses they experienced in the U.S. and new Iraqi detention systems, the excessive violence, and collective punishment of the U.S.-led occupying forces, as well as tensions between Kurds and Arab Iraqis--tensions rooted in Saddam Husseins genocide against the Kurds. Stories coming out of Iraq between 2004 and 2011 also describe the efforts of courageous and creative Iraqis speaking out against injustices and building movements of nonviolence and reconciliation. We also get a glimpse of how the author, a peace-worker, immersed in the violence and chaos of war, dealt with the pain and suffering of those around her, as well as her own personal losses and kidnapping ordeal. Her experiences strengthen her belief that the power of nonviolent suffering love (the way of Jesus) is stronger than the power of violence and force, and can break down barriers and be transformative in threatening situations. She counters the myths of the superiority of violent force to root out evil in places such as Iraq and challenges us to do all we can to prevent the tragedy of any future war. Peggy Faw Gish steadfastly refused to let war sever the bonds of friendship that had grown between her and numerous Iraqi friends. She witnessed the ongoing U.S. torment of Iraqis. By remaining with people afflicted by economic and military warfare, listening carefully and honestly chronicling what she saw and heard, she has created a compelling description of life in a country devastated by invasions, dictatorship, sanctions, and war. --Kathy Kelly, Voices for Creative Nonviolence By living in Iraq under U.S. bombs and occupation, Peggy Faw Gish has learned to see with Iraqi eyes. By reading her inspiring story of suffering love, we, too, can learn to see--and be transformed. --Jim Douglass, author of JFK and the Unspeakabl