Amplifying Our Voices By Strengthening Membership
We Continue To Strengthen Our Membership:
Peaceful Tomorrows members are meeting for a virtual mini retreat on June 9. Our meetings both on zoom (image on left below) and in-person (image on right below) are informal gatherings to get to know each other, ask questions, hear about ongoing projects and to collect ideas about how we can continue to amplify our voices and reach greater audiences.
In The Media:
Our current Project Director, Elizabeth Miller, was interviewed by Adam Fitzgerald for his "The Darkened Hour" podcast. As a "9/11 kid", Elizabeth had often felt alone in her calls for peace and concerns for injustice that both she experienced and people around the world experienced due to the absence of rule of law after 9/11. During the podcast she describes her path dealing with the trauma she experienced at age 6 as well as the work she now does together with fellow Peaceful Tomorrows members:
"...I am a 9/11 kid who has different thoughts than others because my goal is peace and forgiveness..."
PT member, Aidan Salamone, shared about his view of the ongoing and dysfunctional military commissions at Guantánamo in The New York Times:
“I was 4 years old when my father, John Patrick Salamone, was killed on 9/11. I doubt my grieving mother could have possibly imagined that, 22 years later, her teddy-bear-clutching little one would still need to call for 9/11 justice...the time has come for the Guantánamo military commission proceedings to end … and President Biden can make that happen now.”
Afghanistan Committee:
The latest news about our Afghan friends is that they are finding new welcoming homes and beginning the successful transition into their new lives. They are hopeful and grateful, rapidly learning the new languages and customs of their host countries. Support is still vitally important for others who are waiting in Pakistan for places to call home. These young people have inspired us with their courage and wisdom for over ten years. If you are able, please, offer your assistance with a financial gift and/or by becoming a buddy.
The International group working with them is tireless and committed to doing everything they possibly can for these amazing young people. CLICK HERE to learn more about this ongoing effort.
Rule of Law Committee:
In mid-May the prosecution in the 9/11 case at Guantánamo held a series of meetings with victim family members—in NYC, Boston, two locations in Florida, and Washington, D.C. Our members attended three of the meetings. We were deeply disturbed to learn that in the absence of any response from the Biden Administration about the “policy principles” that would inform future negotiations about plea agreements with the 9/11 defendants, the prosecution intends to restart pre-trial hearings in July. We also learned that one of the defendants, Ramsi bin al-Shibh will be undergoing a competency hearing, as his mental health has deteriorated to the point that his defense attorney does not believe he can either participate in a plea agreement or in his own defense. Where all this will leave the 9/11 case by July is quite uncertain. We remain more committed than ever to doing what we can to pressure the Biden Administration to act so that at least four of the defendants can plead guilty and be sentenced without any possibility of an appeal. CLICK HERE to contact our Rule of Law Committee Chair, Terry Rockefeller, with any further questions.