Info on the "Economic Cost of War" Program

NATIONAL PEACE ACTIVIST TO SPEAK IN GREENSBORO ON TAX DAY ON THE ECONOMIC COST OF WAR
Local residents gather to learn about and discuss the effects of the US presence in Afghanistan


Greensboro, NC- The program “The Economic Cost of War in Afghanistan” will take place on Friday April 15th at 7 PM in the Atrium of the Guilford College Library (5800 W. Friendly Ave. Greensboro, NC 27410). The event will feature Peter Lems, the Program Director for Education and Advocacy on Iraq and Afghanistan for the American Friends Service Committee.

The free program is sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker organization dedicated to peace and nonviolence. Local co-sponsors to the exhibition include Guilford College’s Center for Principled Problem Solving, New Garden Friends Meeting Social Concerns, and NC Peace Action.

Symbolically held on tax day, this event will call attention to how our taxpayer dollars are disproportionately spent on war at a time when drastic cuts are being made to social programs.

Featured speaker Peter Lems has visited the Middle East several times, including Afghanistan and Syria, and has led multiple delegations of Quakers to Iraq. Since 1988, he has worked for a variety of organizations focused on the Arab world. Peter helps coordinate and implement national educational and advocacy campaigns around Iraq, Afghanistan and U.S. foreign policy for the American Friends Service Committee, headquartered in Philadelphia.

This program is part of a series of events connected with the national, traveling mural exhibition Windows and Mirrors: Reflections on the War in Afghanistan. The exhibition is a collaboration of more than 40 artists from around the world. Forty-five, 4-foot by 6-foot panels, each uniquely designed by an artist or group of artists, comprise one large display memorializing Afghan civilian casualties. Guilford College students designed four of the murals, which were painted during a “Community Paint-for-Peace” day in April 2010.Windows and Mirrors will run through May 8th, 2011 and then continue on Chicago, IL. For a full schedule and frequent updates, please visit www.afsc.org/greensboro.

Through the series of events associated with the exhibition, AFSC hopes to raise attention about the human and financial cost of the Afghanistan war. Ann Lennon, Coordinator of AFSC’s Area Office of the Carolinas, states, “Every minute the US spends $2.1 million on the military. Imagine what just one minute’s worth of that spending could do if it were used for peace.”

For more on AFSC’s programs for peace, visit www.afsc.org or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

###
The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization that includes people of various faiths committed to social justice, peace and humanitarian service. Its work is based on the belief in the worth of every person and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice.

American Friends Service Committee Area Office of the Carolinas
529-D College Road Greensboro, NC 27410 | 336-854-0633 | www.afsc.org/greensboro