[R-G] September 11 Family Members in Iraq

[DavidMcR at aol.com]

In a message dated 1/9/03 12:15:44 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
ipamedia at nationalpress.com writes:

<< 
          Thursday, January 9, 2003
 
          Interviews Available:
          September 11 Family Members in Iraq
 
     Family members of people killed in the September 11 attacks are 
 currently in Iraq. The four-member delegation represents September 11 
 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, an advocacy group seeking effective, 
 non-violent alternatives to war and terrorism.
 
     Other members of Peaceful Tomorrows in the U.S. are available for 
 interviews including DAVID POTORTI, who lost his brother, Jim, in the World 
 Trade Center. Potorti is reachable at: david at peacefultomorrows.org, 
 http://www.peacefultomorrows.org [ Also see: 
 http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0108-09.htm ]
 
 COLLEEN KELLY
 Kelly lost her brother, Bill, at the World Trade Center on September 11. 
 Kelly went to Iraq because she "wanted to understand that Iraq is not just 
 one man, Saddam Hussein, but many, many people, with hopes and dreams and 
 families, just like my brother." Currently in Iraq, Kelly said: "I've found 
 immediately an understanding of what we have gone through, which is 
 something that you do not always find in America...."
 
 KRISTINA OLSEN
 Olsen, who lost her sister, Laurie Neira, on Flight 11, said: "I feel a 
 deep sense of moral responsibility, both as a citizen of the global 
 community, and as a person who lost a loved one on September 11, to promote 
 the message of peace -- by bearing witness to the suffering of innocent 
 people, as well as by working toward creating an opening for constructive, 
 non-violent approaches to dealing with conflict in our world. This I feel 
 is the most meaningful way I can honor the memory of my sister." The group 
 visited the Amariya bomb shelter, where several hundred Iraqis were killed 
 in 1991 by U.S. bombing. Olsen, a nurse from Newburyport, Mass., said: 
 "It's devastating. The concrete and the wires reminded me of Ground Zero."
 
 KATHLEEN TINLEY
 Tinley lost her uncle, Michael, at the World Trade Center. She said, "My 
 hope is that all people will come to realize that loss of more human life 
 will not solve the problems of the world."
 
 TERRY KAY ROCKEFELLER
 Terry Kay Rockefeller lost her sister, Laura, at the World Trade Center. 
 She said: "Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. recognized the connections between 
 war and poverty, between war and the diminishing of human rights. We hope 
 our search for non-violent alternatives to war in Iraq will help to build 
 trust within the global community so that it becomes possible to truly end 
 terrorism and war, in all of their manifestations." The Peaceful Tomorrows 
 group derives its name from King's assertion that "wars are poor chisels 
 for carving out peaceful tomorrows."
 
 For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
 Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167
 
 
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