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Remembering Tom Fox

Celeste Kennel-Shank
SojoMail 3-13-2006

Some said they wanted revenge. Others said they were trying to forgive those who took his life. Others came to pay tribute to their friend and colleague.

In a discussion led by Tom Fox's colleagues and professors from Eastern Mennonite University's Center for Justice and Peacebuilding on Saturday night in Washington, D.C., participants pondered peace issues, response to Fox's death, and the possibility of reconciliation with those labeled enemies.

It was "a conversation Tom would want us to have," said Lisa Schirch, professor at the center and friend of Fox. Schirch, several of her colleagues, and students in the master's degree program of the university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, traveled to Washington, D.C., for the event.

Before joining Christian Peacemaker Teams full-time in 2004, Fox, 54, a Quaker from Clearbrook, Virginia, studied for one semester at EMU's Center for Justice and Peacebuilding.

Ron Kraybill, also a professor in the program, posed three questions to the roughly 50 people gathered at a Washington, D.C., bookstore and café, Busboys and Poets: What would you say to those who killed Fox? What would you say to the people of the U.S. about this event? Who else do you know who is working for peace in the world?

To those who took Fox's life, Roger Wolcott, a participant in several delegations with Christian Peacemaker Teams, a Chicago- and Toronto-based violence reduction organization, said, "What we wish for you is that you may find peace." Wolcott has not traveled to Iraq. CPT currently has projects in Canada, Colombia, Israel-Palestine, Iraq, and the U.S.

Moving to address the people of the U.S., Kraybill said: "What I would tell to the American people is that there is hope; there is a better way. People are working courageously around the world to create the kind of communities needed to work peacefully. There people are leaving their mark."

Also addressing people in the U.S., and around the world, who would seek retribution for Fox's death, Nancy Good Sider, professor at the center, said, "There's a natural response to want to get even." She prayed, she said, to make the nonviolent response the natural one, "to love even when horror comes my way, because that's what Tom did."

Schirch, who has traveled to Iraq, said Fox and his abductors were both working to end detainee abuse, but employed different means. While Fox documented detainee abuse, the Swords of Righteousness Brigade claimed responsibility for taking Fox, Norman Kember, 74, Harmeet Sooden, 32, and James Loney, 41 - who appeared in a video dated Feb. 28 but whose present situation is unknown - on Nov. 26 in Baghdad to demand the release of the detainees.

"So many people in the world believe there is only one way to meet goals," Schirch said. "There are other ways to bring about security, such as the means Tom sought."

Several CPT reservists and former delegates attended the event, coming from the D.C. area and visiting from Chicago. CPT has roughly 30 full-time members and 125 reservists who work on projects after going through a month-long nonviolence training. The group leads delegations to the projects each year.

Langley Hill Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Virginia, where Fox had been a member for 15 years, also held a service to honor him Saturday. Eastern Mennonite University is planning a memorial service for Fox on Wednesday.

Peacemakers around the world remembered by participants included CPT members, Christian workers in Nigeria, and a Palestinian woman.

In a closing meditation, Kraybill said, "Thanks for this man, thanks for the courage that was planted in his heart, thanks for Tom Fox."

Celeste Kennel-Shank, editorial projects assistant at Sojourners, attended the Saturday event as a former Christian Peacemaker Teams delegate.

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