APRIL 2006

“Why are we here?”
Reflection written by Tom Fox in Iraq the day before the abduction
2 December 2005
As I survey the landscape here in Iraq, dehumanization seems to be the operative means of relating to each other. U.S. forces in their quest to hunt down and kill “terrorists” are, as a result of this dehumanizing word, not only killing “terrorists,” but also killing innocent Iraqis: men, women and children in the various towns and villages.
It seems as if the first step down the road to violence is taken when I dehumanize a person. That violence might stay within my thoughts or find its way into the outer world and become expressed verbally, psychologically, structurally or physically. As soon as I rob a fellow human being of his or her humanity by sticking a dehumanizing label on them, I begin the process that can have, as an end result, torture, injury and death.
“Why are we here?” We are here to root out all aspects of dehumanization that exist within us. We are here to stand with those being dehumanized by oppressors and stand firm against that dehumanization. We are here to stop people, including ourselves, from dehumanizing any of God’s children, no matter how much they dehumanize their own souls.

The Association of Muslim Scholars in Palestine called for the release of the remaining hostages


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English translation of the statement:
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful,
The Association of Muslim Scholars in Palestine deeply regrets the killing of the peace activist Tom Fox on Iraqi land.
We were shocked and grieved to receive news of Tom’s death on the morning of the 11th of March 2006. We renew our call to our brothers in the Swords of Justice group to release our brothers that are still in captivity: Norman Kember, James Loney and Harmeet Sooden.
Signed,
Association of Muslim Scholars Palestine

Palestinians mourn Fox’s killing
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Palestinians throughout the West Bank expressed sorrow Saturday over the killing of American Tom Fox, 54, who had traveled to the West Bank to protest for their cause before he was taken hostage in Iraq.
Fox’s body was found shot in the head and chest Thursday near a Baghdad railway station. He had worked with Christian Peacemaker Teams in the Palestinian areas before he began work with the group in Iraq.
Fox, from Clear Brook, Virginia, had demonstrated in the West Bank town of Jayyus against the construction of the security fence and he helped Palestinians pick olives, local Palestinians said.
“Tom used to sit in front of the (Israeli) bulldozers to block them,” said Jayyus’ mayor, Shawka Shamha. “Hearing news that he was killed makes me very sad.”
Sharif Omar also from Jayyus said that Fox lived at his brother’s house for three months while local Palestinians and foreign activists protested against the construction of the barrier.
“I’m very sorry to hear that he has been killed,” Omar said.
Palestinians in the West Bank city of Hebron also remembered Fox. Neither Fox nor the Briton and two Canadians taken hostage with him deserved to die, said Hisham Sharabati, a human rights activist who met Fox.
“I’m calling for the kidnappers to release the other hostages,” Sharabati said. “This killing harmed the Palestinian and Iraqi causes because the hostages were working for peace.”
The two Canadians - James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden - also worked in the Palestinian areas.
When the four were taken hostage in November last year, the Palestinians’ top Muslim clergyman, Mufti Ikrema Sabri, called for their immediate release.

A US reporter held hostage in Iraq for more than two months has been freed. BBCWorldNews

Jill Carroll, who works for the Boston-based Christian Science Monitor, was abducted by unknown gunmen in west Baghdad on 7 January.

She told Iraqi television she had been treated well and was looking forward to being reunited with her family.