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Healing the Hurts ....(continued from Page 1)

from PTSD while a similar study by the RAND Corporation put the number at 20%. The Pentagon has acknowledged that the suicide rate for soldiers is growing and far exceeds the suicide rate in the general population.

Mick, a 20-year-old GI in Killeen says that part of the problem is due to trying to struggle with the mental images of war while integrating back into "normal" society. "They expect you to be the perfect soldier and the perfect civilian," he said. "The government expects us to be bipolar, to separate work life from home life."

The medical costs of treating PTSD, even though they are only part of the social costs, are expected to grow dramatically in coming years. According to the Washington Post, "about 300,000 U.S. military personnel who have deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan are suffering from post-traumatic stress or major depression, a mental toll that may cost the nation as much as $6.2 billion over two years."

Like the returning soldiers, the millions of men, women and children of Afghanistan and Iraq are likely to suffer even more in coming decades. They've seen their cities and towns ripped apart, destruction and dead bodies littering streets. At least 8 million have had to flee and become refugees - many living in camps - at some point during the past decade. There are at least 6.6 million who still live as refugees or internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the two nations. Families without the comfort and safety of homes. Children without schools and the security of normal life. Neighborhoods and social life fragmented. The effects of munitions, like depleted uranium (DU) and other WMDs left behind by U.S. troops, will scar the landscape and generations to come.

Unlike many Iraqi mothers, Um Haider, who fled Baghdad to Houston, is one of the fortunate ones. Her children are all well and without injury, but she worries for the cousins left behind. "The situation in Iraq is terrible," she says. "Everywhere there is destruction, walls, burned buildings and ruined lives." Um Haider doesn't know if she'll ever be able to return, but unsure how she will support her family in their new home of Texas.

While Americans watch movies like The Hurt Locker, most real images of war are sanitized and removed from view. The victims of war are forgotten, even when they walk among us. Do not look away.

However, we have a civic and moral obligation to help to heal the wounds and hearts of this human tragedy. Even more so since, as a nation, we are the ones directly responsible for their injuries in the first place. We must accept responsibility for the returning troops and for the civilian victims left in their wake. They shouldn't have to do it alone.

Even more, as Texans who believe in peace and social justice, we have an even greater challenge to salve war's wounds. Peacemakers are directed not only to help end, or prevent, wars but are also called to be healers. Some, like Peggy Kelsey, are in Afghanistan right now.

In Texas, we have a particular need to be involved. Not only has this state sent the largest groups of soldiers off to war, who are now returning as veterans, but we are also becoming home to tens of thousands of Iraqis and Afghans. These neighbors will need to get along and, as in Vietnam, soldiers of conscience will want to revisit and rebuild the countries they destroyed. Even when the war is over, the work of peace won't be "done". As peacemakers we not only need to empathize with both victims and perpetrators we have to help "mend the pieces". It is our way. And, afterall, these are your sons and daughters.

There are many resources and organizations that focus on the aftermath of war: Veteran's groups, support organizations, Iraq and Afghan societies, and humanitarian organizations. All could use volunteers and financial resources. At the same time, peace and social justice organizations - some working directly in the "red" zones - also need your support.

Listed below is a small selection of organizations that you can become involved with. Together, we can help heal the hurts.

U.S. VETERANS

Coalition for Veterans
Iraq and Afghan Veterans of America
Iraq Veterans Against War
Farmer-Veteran Coalition
Injured Marines Fund
Laptops for the Wounded
Our Military Kids
Swords to Plowshares
TexVet
Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)
Under the Hood
Veterans for Peace

IRAQIS/AFGHANS

Afghan Women's Mission
Global Exchange
Help the Afghan Children
Help the Refugees in San Antonio (FB Group)
Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston
International Rescue Committee (IRC)
Iraqi-American Association of North Texas Iraqi Red Crescent
Women for Women International

Peace and Justice,

Charlie Jackson
Texans for Peace

LAST WEEK: Light a Candle in 2010