Investment in Iraqi people key to nation's stability, nun says

Published: 2006-03-14

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- For a peaceful, stable Iraq, money needs to be invested in the Iraqi people, not in the U.S. military and U.S. corporations currently operating in the country, said Sister Simone Campbell, who is national coordinator for Network, a Catholic social justice lobby. "Part of the problem is that money is going to the military and not into development," Sister Simone, a Sister of Social Service, told Catholic News Service March 13. She said that another aspect of unrest in Iraq is the high rate of unemployment, which she estimated to be between 40 percent and 50 percent of the working-age population. Sister Simone added that U.S. corporations in Iraq rebuilding infrastructure are not hiring Iraqi people, so are not helping to solve the unemployment problem. Sister Simone was one of about 10 interfaith religious leaders who led an ecumenical prayer service for peace in Iraq outside the U.S. Capitol. The "Blessed are the Peacemakers" prayer service, which drew approximately 200 participants, was part of a March 10-13 ecumenical advocacy effort for peace and justice organized by grass-roots religious groups including Church World Service, Union for Reform Judaism, Muslim Public Affairs Council, National Sikh Gurdwara and the Interfaith Alliance. Sister Simone, who traveled to Iraq in December 2002 on a two-week peace mission, said three components are needed to materialize simultaneously for a peaceful Iraq: economic development, a unity government and a decrease in the number of U.S. troops in the country.

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