Note of Explanation: Rosemary Persaud was one of 11 anti-war protesters arrested for occupying the Cedar Rapids office of Senator Charles Grassley on February 26th. She was sentenced on July 6,2007. This was her statement read in Linn County District Associate court at her sentencing, and the sentencing of 10 others, on simple misdemeanor criminal trespass charges:
"Why did we do this act of civil disobedience? Because we want peace. If the state's prosecutor had asked every single one of the Cedar Rapids 11 at trial this question: Why did you do this civil disobedience? I think she would have heard 11 times, the answer: Because I want peace. Because I want peace. Because I want peace. And she would hear a chorus of the same from all of you sitting here today.
But is anyone else listening? I know I have the right and I believe I have a duty as a citizen of this country, to speak up when I see my government go so badly off course. But because the current president is not listening and has never listened to the American people, I'm more determined than ever to be heard and faithfully represented at least by my elected Congresspeople.
Congress has the power to end this unjust war and illegal occupation of Iraq. They can stop funding it. We're asking Mr. Grassley as a ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee to do everything in his powere to cease the funding of this war.
I want to ask Senator Grassley, as someone who has spent years of service investigating fraud and waste in government spending, why he sees no waste in human life as this war goes on and on, year after year. Is not a life worth more than a dollar? It seems our Congress has lost its ability and courage to measure what matters, and has lost its moral compass to find us home. The American people want our troops HOME, to live, and we want the Iraqi people to live. It was a crime for the United States to invade Iraq and it's a crime to continue waging a brutal war for oil. Congress must stop it. They must end it now.
Sen. Grassley has, I think, made a good effort to listen to and know the people of Iowa, so we hope that he will take seriously what we offer as our best qualities to help him do what is right. This is why we are all here today, why some of us were at his office on Monday, February 26, asking him to listen and to act. We refused to budge because we refuse to give up hope for a chance at peace. To Sen. Grassley we offer all our best qualitites because we want and demand a participatory democracy. So to start, I suggest Mr. Grassley take some of Megan's compassion and Tim's energy and Ryan's commitment. Let him have David's determination and Joshua's understanding. Let him know John Paul's heritage. Let him lear some of
Justin's ideas, and ask Andrew's questions, and use Conor's words. Also, he can take Frank's freedom if necessary. Because we want peace.
As a mother I have to speak out against this war and All wars. As a mother, I have the responsibility to teach my children to be understanding of other people and to find ways to solve problems and settle differences non-violently. It's hard to teach your kids these lessons when their government is provoking and waging war as a means to an end.
Our children grip our hearts. They girp our hearts so tightly and so unexpectedly at times that it transforms us somehow from citizens of our state into people of the world. It's been said that when you bring a child into the world you agree to let your heart walk around outside your body. Mothers and fathers -- everywhere -- want the world to know their children, to know their dreams and their potential and their inherent goodness. Mothers want peace for everyone, not just their own children, and mothers believe peace is possible because we've learned that it's through our hearts that we're all connected in the world. Our children teach us this. So I refuse to offer my children or anyone else's children as fodder for the war machine. Instead I offer my children's hope, and I offer some of my own time spent away from tending them to help tend our world as well. Because we want peace."
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