Philadelphia Folklore Project: Statement of Opposition to the War on Iraq

In outrage and sorrow, we have watched our government ignore the cries of the world, and our own cries, for peace. We oppose a U.S. “war on terrorism” which is an excuse for U.S. terrorism, violence, arrogance, bullying, and greed. We oppose this needless and obscene war in which innocent children, our own and Iraqi, are sent to kill or die. We oppose the “massive disinformation” to which we are subjected, in government efforts to “sell” us this travesty.

We oppose a war that diverts critically needed resources for education, housing, and health care (at home and abroad) and that profits well-connected companies. We oppose the erosion of civil rights and freedom of speech. We oppose cutbacks that further dimish the possibilities for poor people, for our own city and across the land.

We believe that the U.S. government is on a dangerous course. We believe that we cannot stand silent in the face of government policies we know to be wrong. Among us are artists who are refugees, victims of war, direct witness to the horror and devastation of war. Their commitment to sustaining the arts which have traveled across borders is based on the knowledge that compassion, and respect for our elders, our earth and other members of the human family is a vital part of artistic practice and teaching. We cannot be silent. We believe that we have an obligation to speak out.

The Philadelphia Folklore Project,

• being committed to creating and/or supporting safe spaces for artists and communities to engage in dialogue and creative expression, and
  
  
• being committed to public education about issues of social justice (and injustice), and
  
  
• being committed to public education about issues of social justice (and injustice), and
  
  
• being committed to developing programs that actively engage artists, cultural and community organizers and the broader public in addressing possibilities for social change,
  

hereby affirms our

• opposition to the U.S. war on Iraq, and
  
• opposition to the senseless waste of lives, American and Iraqi, and
  
• opposition to the daily erosion of our civil rights, including (but certainly not limited to) those of Americans of color, immigrants, and the poor, carried out under the guise of patriotism related to this war, and
  
• commitment to work in concert with artists and organizations engaged in constructive dialogue and actions to reverse the course of events set in motion in the Middle East and in the U.S. by the attack on Iraq, and
  
• commitment to working towards fair distribution of resources supporting domestic social and educational programs, and our opposition to the diversion of resources to the war effort.

Adopted by the staff and board of the PFP, March 2003