Toronto Disaster Relief Committee -- Statement Against the War
When evil people burn and bomb, good people must build and bind. Where evil people would seek to perpetuate an unjust status quo, good people must seek to bring into being a real order of justice. - Martin Luther King
The Toronto Disaster Relief Committee condemns the cries for war from the United States government and its supporters. The violence of war can never bring justice, or peace, or freedom. It can only bring more violence. There is another way: a dedicated, global campaign for justice, peace and social development.
The history of the 20th century is soaked in the blood of war. There were more than 250 wars last century, with a loss of 110 million lives. In the first 50 years of the 20th century, about half the deaths were civilians. By the 1970s, three-quarters of all war-related deaths were non-combatants. In the 1990s, up to 90% of war-related casualties were civilians. Canada should refuse to join in the U.S.-led war in Iraq. The U.S. has the military power to act alone, but it wants the legitimacy of other countries. The United States should be encouraged to be part of the global community of nations and be responsible to that global community. Instead of beating the drums for war and trying to bribe or bully other nations into joining it, the U.S. government should work for peace within the umbrella of the United Nations and other representative groups.
Every day of the year, about 27,000 children under the age of five die around the world from preventable causes. All this suffering and dying is not because our planet lacks the resources to take care of our children and their families, or because we lack the programs and policies. Our world is literally full of good ideas that cannot be implemented because of deliberate choices made by governments and private markets. Politicians in Canada, and around the world, must take sides. Either they are on the side of peace and justice, or they are on the side of war and violence. Feeding the multi-billion-dollar military machine at a time when children are starving is unconscionable.
The Toronto Disaster Relief Committee is working in one of the richest countries in the world with people who are dying for lack of basic shelter – all because federal and provincial governments made massive cuts to social and affordable housing spending in recent years and the private markets refuse to build housing for low-income households. We see massive injustices and too many deaths in our work. And we know from our contact with colleagues around the world that these injustices are multiplied in many countries. We call on our supporters and partners to join in the campaign for justice, peace and social development. We call on politicians at the local, provincial, national and international levels to wage peace as aggressively as the United States government is urging them to wage war. We call on all levels of government in Canada to adopt the One Percent Solution – a fully-funded national housing strategy.
For information, 416-599-8372, or tdrc@tdrc.net. On the Web: www.tdrc.net