On Hiroshima Day - by tragic coincidence also the 11th anniversary of the economic sanctions against Iraq - members of the group Voices in the Wilderness began a 40-day liquid-only fast in front of the U.S. mission to the United Nations in New York City. Many who joined in the fast have spent time in Iraq, witnessing first-hand and documenting the impact on the beleaguered Iraqi people of the sanctions and periodic bombing. Their action in New York City, called Breaking Ranks, urged passing diplomats to break ranks with the U.S. and speak out for an end to the sanctions. The fast concluded September 15, as delegates arrived for U.N. sessions regarding the rights of children.

Once each week of the fast, groups of fasters and their supporters approached the steps of the U.S. mission. A written invitation to the U.S. Mission invited staff to come down to the street and "partake with us in a simple meal of cooked lentils and rice, symbolic of daily fare available to many Iraqi civilians as a consequence of economic sanctions. We will also have with us untreated water from the East River. We don't want to serve or drink it, but rather remind ourselves of how vulnerable Iraqi civilians are to water-borne diseases."

Each effort to break fast, share a meal and initiate conversation was met with arrest and charges of trespass and obstruction. Nine fasters and three supporters were arrested August 15. Ten were arrested August 22, and eight on August 29. On September 4, seven members of the group were arrested, several for the fourth week in a row. Each week, those arrested were briefly held, then cited and released. Those who returned for court dates had charges dismissed, but warrants have been issued for those who did not return to court.

None of the fasters or their supporters were a casualty of the attacks of September 11, and on that occasion they decided to quietly end their daily vigil and do what they could immediately to help the people of New York City cope with the catastrophe.

Ramzi Kysia, one of the fasters, wrote: "For forty days we have been fasting for peace, and calling on the U.N. and American people to break ranks with the U.S. government and end the siege of Iraq. Soon we will end our fast, but our voices are needed now more than ever. All of us, around the country, must do everything we can to call on our friends, and families, and neighbors, and co-workers, and everyone we know, to break ranks yet again - break ranks and be a voice for peace in the midst of all the cries for hatred and war."

For more information, contact Voices in the Wilderness, 1460 W. Carmen Ave., Chicago, IL 60640, (773)784-8065, email: kkelly@igc.org web: www.nonviolence.org/vitw.