Chicago CTA member Kathy Kelly and 13 others held a vigil and fast in New York City July 25 - Aug. 13 to urge an immediate end of U.S. and U.N. economic sanctions against Iraq. The public "Fast for Life" near the U.N. headquarters was sponsored by Voices in the Wilderness (VitW), an international campaign against the eight-year old sanctions. VitW says the sanctions are not affecting Iraqi government behavior regarding weapons of mass destruction, but are themselves such a weapon, because they are producing a cycle of disease and malnutrition that has killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians. UNICEF and other agencies report that at least 4,500 Iraqi children are dying each month. The U.N. says basic medicines, life-saving drugs and essential medical supplies are lacking throughout the country. Fifty percent of rural people have no potable water, and most waste water treatment in urban areas has shut down. Mary Robinson, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said: "How can you expect me to condemn human rights abuses elsewhere, when the U.N. themselves are responsible for the worst situation in Iraq?"

The Fast for Life, a 21-day liquids only fast, was also observed by VitW members keeping vigil in other U.S. cities, across from 10 Downing Street in London, and across from the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad.

Kathy Kelly and Fr. Bob Bossie will conduct workshops about VitW at the CTA Conference. You can participate in VitW: call 773 784-8065. On the Web: www.nonviolence.org/vitw