Witness for Peace: A Story of Resistance [Paperback]

Ed Griffin-Nolan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1991

In this graphic, thought-provoking book, Ed Griffin-Nolan depicts the experiences of Witness for Peace (WFP), a group of Americans who bore witness to the war in Nicaragua-an event that resulted in the killing and wounding of many innocent Central American civilians. The author describes how WFP participants spent weeks in the war zones in order to understand the impact of U.S. policy on simple people living "at the end of a gun barrel," as phrased by a member of WFP.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The Witness for Peace (WFP) movement grew out of the commitment of some U.S. citizens to halt their government's support for the Nicaraguan contras in the bloody war against the Sandinista government. From 1983 to 1990, nearly 4000 Witness participants visited war zones, most for short stays, others for protracted periods. By placing themselves in villages vulnerable to assault, Witnesses hoped to prevent contra attacks. They also placed great emphasis on the power of prayer and on the power of the press to bring pressure on the U.S. government to withdraw support for the contras . In their own words WFP participants describe how their experiences changed their lives. Descriptions of the reactions of Nicaraguan campesinos to the arrival of vehicles laden with yellow-shirted gringos are insightful and often humorous. The book presents a thoughtful, balanced assessment of the effects of the WFP program overall. Recommended for public library collections.
-Ruth M. Mara, Agency for International Development, Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Ed Griffin-Nolan has lived more than half of his adult life in Latin America, working among the poor and seeking to to understand how the United States' foreign policy affects Latin Americans. From 1985-1988, he served on the staff of Witness for Peace in Nicaragua.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press; 1st edition (May 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 066425179X
• ISBN-13: 978-0664251796
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,492,769 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Our torture of innocent civilians at Abu Ghraib & Gitmo are not new: see Reagan's invasion of Nicaragua, El S. & Nixon's Phoenix, March 4, 2008

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C. Scanlon "least helpful reviewer" (among us humans) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Witness for Peace: A Story of Resistance (Paperback)

When we remain blind to our history we repeat it ever more blindly.

May this book begin to reopen our blinded eyes, our stuffed ears and our callous hearts stopped up all by the monopolistic, immoral, evil warmonger's bloody and profitable cries. May this book reopen our souls to our Faith and her pursuit upon the path of peace as prayed in the Magnificat. May this book awaken us once more to life in its fullness, and our call to action.

Why do these resources for peace get plastered with the camouflaged face of the Teuton warrior, both here as in One of the Guys: Women as Aggressors and Torturers. Here at least the face of a resolute , unarmed and watchful peaceworker seems more fitting to the topic, as in the excellent and well-researched Witness for Peace publications, but certainly the great Griffin-Nolan, contra investigator, reporter and one time kidnap victim on the Rio San Juan, had little say as to the cover of this more commercial publication, which cover the Westminster/John Knox Press for its Practical Theology/Peacemaking/Social Issues series confided to Julia Comer.

Mr. Griffin-Nolan, who served in Nicaragua from 1985 to 1988, is an experienced journalist and reporter and a lively writer; this book serves as proof. His close friend, Paul Dix is a noted photojournalist as well as commercial photographer, and his excellent pictures, some of which I assisted in the black and white chemical lab work under the punishing ninety-plus degrees and high humidity of Managua, including the photo of contra kidnap victim Richard Boren with his armed contra escort shortly before his release. I also in the Managua office assisted Mr. Griffin-Nolan archive the many reports flowing in from the field of contra crimes against humanity, which we filed upon then state of the art portable Kaypro computers, which did not nevertheless have the then common cassette tape filing system employed by the Tandy TRS-80, etc.

This book presents the totality of Mr. Griffin-Nolan's personal experience, including as contra kidnap victim. In this book we find as well Mr. Griffin-Nolan's comprehensive account of Witness for Peace's history in the field in Nicaragua. God knows we need them now in new unjust, immoral battlefields worldwide, as reported in A Stupid, Unjust, and Criminal War: Iraq, 2001-2007.

Each chapter presents not always in chronological order this history, with commentary and interpretation, and is impossible to put down, reports from a time when individual US citizens could make a difference in working nonviolently and directly for peace and justice. Each chapter begins with a salient quote, including this quote from Bill Casey in Bob Woodward's "Veil: the Secret Wars of the CIA 1981 - 1987": "If Tip O'Neill didn't have Maryknoll nuns who wrote letters, we would have a contra program." Now we have little to no Maryknoll nuns writing letters, only the great and Reverend Father Andrew Greeley and Jesuit Father John Dear, and we have profitable war on all sides and more to come.

We also find this quote from Catholic pacifist, contemplative and activist Dorothy Day: "If they come for the innocent and do not have to step over our bodies, then cursed be our religion." echoing Our Lord's own remarks about the useless brood of vipers who passed as faithful in his time, and calling us to decisive action in witness for Peace.

And we may here read the original Witness for Peace statement of purpose: "To develop an ever-broadening, prayerful, Biblically based community of United States citizens who stand with the Nicaraguan people by acting in continuous nonviolent resistance to US covert or other interventions in their country. To mobilize public opinion and help change US foreign policy to one which fosters justice, peace, and friendship. To welcome others in this endeavor who may vary in spiritual approach but are one with us in purpose."

Where have all the flowers gone?

Several other historical resources are available, including Reed BRody's Contra Terror in Nicaragua: Report of a Fact-Finding Mission, September 1984-January 1985, Gutman's Banana Diplomacy: The Making of American Policy in Nicaragua 1981-1987, Holly Sklar's Washington's War on Nicaragua, and Gary MacEoin's Unlikely Allies: The Christian-Socialist Convergence Sanctuary: A Resource Guide for Understanding and Participating in the Central American Refugee Struggle, but none ring as readably and as immediately as my good friend, Mr. Ed Griffin-Nolan's first hand experience.

See also the new Walker - Criterion Collection for an early history of US invasion of Nicaragua for resources and business interests, events also recounted in The Nation Thief.

But start here for a great, accurate and informative read. Then be not afraid to arise and to witness for peace.

5.0 out of 5 stars witness for peace, a pacifist's manual..., April 29, 2009

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Margot Gehm "margot" (tiburon, california) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Witness for Peace: A Story of Resistance (Paperback)

I haven't finished the book yet, ... but I really liked the courageous stories that it told. It breaks my heart what happened, .. but I'm proud to read of how so many tried to stop it. I feel bad that so many people bought the Reagan administration's myth that communism is so horrid, it's worth it to try and anihilate people who live in its path. How dumb can people be to buy that garbage?

I wish WITNESS FOR PEACE were required reading in all high schools and junior highs... Maybe we wouldn't have had the fiasco that was George W. Bush, if we'd learned our lessons from Nicaragua, .. or if Iraq had been closer and the witnesses had gone there too. People really need to wake up and see war for what it is: a chicken hawk's way to make you or your kid die for their financial gain. Sick, but that's what the bottom line is. Nobody can die for their own freedom, it's physically impossible. And people who say FREEDOM isn't FREE, drive me the most nuts. Freedom HAS THE WORD FREE IN IT!@ Of course freedom is FREEEEEEE! It's OIL that's not free, it's Gasoline that's not free, !!!, ... it's politicians like W Bush who aren't free. Did he do one thing for California in his 8 years in office? Probably not... we didn't give him any money, why would want to help us or listen to us, .. or god forbid, learn from us? Oh no, .. he's rather see the world heat up,m ... etc etc etc etc I'm rambling, sorry, .. mg.