To the editor:

You may have glimpsed the bright banners in Watson Park during last Saturday’s environmental event, or noticed their picture in the Journal-World. But if you didn’t see the Peace Ribbon up close, you’ve missed a moving experience.

The goal of the ribbon is to have a panel for each person killed in the Iraq war. Some pieces are small works of art; others simply present a name and picture of a parent or family member lost. Those commemorated range from infants killed at social events or in the family car to a 55-year-old American who told his wife, “I’m not too old to fight for my country'” and never returned.

Brought to Lawrence by the Lawrence Coalition for Peace and Justice (LCPJ), the Peace Ribbon is the brainchild of Code Pink, a grassroots movement that is trying to end the war in Iraq, halt new wars and use the resources saved for health care and education. LCPJ added a panel with a bright sunflower, commemorating Kansans who died in Iraq. Two more local panels were made by the children of the Oread Friends Meeting (Quaker), commemorating children and animals killed in the war.

Don’t miss the chance to the see this wonderful, terrible display in the Lawrence Public Library at 7 p.m. Tuesday, at Ecumenical Christian Ministries from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday and during Earth Day (April 22) in South Park.

Anne Haehl,

Beth Schultz,
Lawrence