From August 23-August 30 2004 Arun Gandhi will head a delegation to Jordan, Israel and Palestine to carry his grandfather's legacy of nonviolent resistance to the people of the Holy Land. This blog will be updated daily during the tour.
Click [here] to find the current time in Jerusalem.
Gandhi Tour of Israel & Palestine
Monday, August 30, 2004
More News
This article appeared in the Jerusalem Post today: Gandhi visits Yad Vashem
This article also appeared in the Jerusalem Post today: Arun Gandhi: Lessons from my grandfather
This article was published by the Palestine Media Center: Gandhi Urges Palestinians Not to Lose ‘Moral Ground’
This article appeared in Haaretz today: Needed: A great soul
This article appeared August 27 in the Independent (UK): Gandhi Heir Urges Palestinians to Adopt Non-Violence Tactic
Walid Batrawi prepared lists of the press coverage of the Gandhi visit. You can download them in Microsoft Word format from the P4PD site: Arabic Press and English Press.
This article appeared in the Daily Dispatch, Eastern Cape, South Africa: Gandhi grandson condemns wall
This article appeared in the International Herald Tribune: Gandhi's grandson ends visit to W. Bank
 Sunday afternoon Gandhi visited Tel Aviv to meet with the initiators of the Geneva Accord, an unofficial peace plan written in 2003. Here he is shown with Member of the Knesset Yuli Tamir. |  Arun Gandhi addressed a crowd of thousands at a candlelight prayer vigil in Manger Square in Bethlehem Sunday. |
Sunday, August 29, 2004
MORE NEWS:
Al-Jazeera ran the following editorial today: Gandhi in Palestine: Grandson of All Battles
This Associated Press article ran in the Kansas City Star and many other papers: Quereia: Stop Building Settlements
The International Press Centre of the Palestinian National Authority issued this release today: Gandhi's Grandson Visits Gaza Through Video-Conference, Describes Occupation as 'Ten Times Worse than Apartheid'
Reuters put this story on the wire today: Gandhi's Grandson Urges Palestinians to March Home; this Reuters story ran on August 27: West Bank barrier is like apartheid: Arun Gandhi
Two Associated Press photos (1) (2) of Gandhi at the Geneva Initiative Office in Tel Aviv ran today.
Associated Press released a 1:37 minute video of the Rally in Abu Dis: Gandhi Grandson Slams Israel's W. Bank Barrier (You can view it on Yahoo News, here) There is a :40 second Reuters Video: Gandhi Legacy Hopeful To End Mideast Violence, available form the same Yahoo link.
The Sunday Times (Australia) ran this article today: Gandhi peace call
Cox News Service ran this article yesterday: Gandhi chides Palestinians, Israelis alike , which can be read in the San Diego (Calif.) Union-Tribune and other papers.
This column by Susan Ives, one of the companion travelers on the Gandhi tour, appeared in the Sunday Op-Ed section of the San Antonio Express-News Sunday:
Fighting Peacefully in a War-torn Land
JERUSALEM — The dateline may say Jerusalem, but already I've been to Abu Dis, Jericho, Ramallah, Qaquilya, Tulkarem and Jayyous. Today I am in Tel Aviv.
I'm traveling this week with Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mohandas Gandhi, on a tour of Israel and Palestine organized in the United States by San Antonio-based Palestinians for Peace and Democracy and here in the Middle East by a new coalition, the Palestinian Campaign for Freedom and Peace.
Gandhi crossed the Allenby Bridge from Jordan and was greeted outside Jericho at the Monastery of St. Erasmus by about 150 people, mostly farmers from the Jordan Valley on the shores of the Dead Sea.
It couldn't have been a more appropriate place: the grandson of the man who started the salt march that led to India's independence being welcomed to occupied Palestine at the saltiest place on the planet.
The point wasn't missed by the farmers. A young man told me that Palestinian TV has been showing the movie "Gandhi" almost nonstop for the past few weeks in preparation for this historic visit.
The Palestinians understand nonviolent resistance — the two words are always used in tandem here — and have long been practicing it alongside the violent resistance that dominates the front pages of the newspaper.
Nine days before Gandhi's arrival political prisoners held in Israeli jails went on a hunger strike. The entire West Bank joined in. People walk in procession to solidarity tents erected in the center of every Palestinian city after Jum'a prayer on Fridays and after church services on Sunday. On Monday, the children of the 7,500 fasting prisoners walked in procession; the next day Palestinians involved with the legal system donned their robes, marched and fasted. Our group fasted on Friday.
There are nonviolent drives here to boycott goods made in the Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. There are campaigns encouraging workers to refuse to work on construction of the wall that is snaking its way through the West Bank.
In the 1980s Palestinian activist Mubarak Awad developed a list of 160 creative ways that his countrymen and -women could resist the occupation. Refuse to open official letters written in Hebrew. Show up for work on Israeli holidays. Refuse to pay taxes for services you are not receiving.
For the first few days of my visit I stayed with Terry Boullata in Abu Dis. "Where do you take your trash?" I asked, a curious housewife wondering about the mechanics of daily life.
The next morning, a municipal trash truck stopped by the army outpost that looms outside her kitchen window to collect their garbage. The truck stopped by the homes of the three Israeli settler families that had moved into the neighborhood a few months ago. They didn't pick up any trash from the 13 Palestinian families living in the area, not one pita crust or mango peel.
Some days she feels bold and slips her small bag of trash into the army's dumpster. Most days it goes into the trunk of her car, and she looks for a safe and legal place to drop it.
She pays the highest property tax rate in Israel, she says, and drives around with her trunk full of garbage because the city will not pick up a Palestinian taxpayer's trash. That stinks.
In Jericho, Gandhi recalled that as an Indian boy growing up in South Africa, he was beat up by both whites and blacks. He was consumed with rage, and at 12 was sent to India to learn how to control his anger from the expert, his grandfather.
Anger is like electricity, his grandfather said. Uncontrolled it can burn down a house. When properly harnessed, it can light a city. Learn to control your anger and you can be a light to the world.
César Chávez said that the first principle of nonviolence is to say no to everything that is humiliating. Carrying garbage in the trunk of your car is perhaps a small humiliation, but the daily stripping away of your dignity fosters a deep anger.
The Palestinians will continue to be angry; it would be inhuman not to be so. We can but hope that Gandhi's visit will electrify this anger with a current of nonviolence. It could power a revolution.
Friday, August 27, 2004
More News:
The Herald (Britain) carried the following article today: Gandhi’s grandson urges Palestinians to follow peaceful path
Al-Ayyam (in Arabic) carried photo and long article on the front page today.
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, also in Arabic had an article on the front page today as well.
This article appeared in the Jerusalem Post today: Gandhi leads thousands in Abu Dis peace rally
This article appeared in several Indian publications: Gandhi's grandson teaches 'Satyagraha' mantra to Palestinians
This UPI report was printed in several sources: Mahatma's grandson urges non-violence
This article appeared in Haaretz today: 2,000 Palestinians, Israelis march in support of peaceful protest
The following article appeared in CNS News today: Gandhi's Grandson Opens 'Non-Violent' Palestinian Peace Movement
Thursday, August 26, 2004
RALLY IN RAMALLAH  |  |
President Arafat Meeting |  |
| Today Gandhi was the keynote speaker at a major peace rally in Ramallah. Photos: Rally in Ramallah; banner welcoming Gandhi into the city; Gandhi stepping up to the microphone. He also met with Palestinian President Arafat. Photos: meeting with President Arafat; Press conference folliwing the meeting. The delegation also visited the Amira refugee camp; attended a reception at the Canadian Office and a film premiere of "Soraida: a Woman of Palestine," directed by Tahani Rached; and participated in a panel discussion at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute. | |
More News:
There was considerable news coverage of today's events:
From USA Today: Gandhi's grandson talks nonviolence with Arafat
This Associated Press article was printed in numerous newspapers: Gandhi's grandson talks nonviolence in Ramallah
The New York Times ran the Reuters report: Gandhi Kin Urges Palestinians to Rise Up Peacefully (a free subscrition is required to view this.)
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
REFLECTION
August 25, 2004
This reflection for the trip was provided by Laura:
When Elijah fled from the wrath of Jezebel, he found himself in a cave in the mountainside. The Word of God came to him in that place and said, "Elijah, what are you doing here?"
It is still a good question from our God.
"What are you doing here?"
We have visited Holy sites of three of the world's great religions today - amazing because they are within walking distance of one another in the Holy City of Jerusalem.
And we have heard the stories of people whose lives are broken and disrupted, at best, as they deal with the reality of living in the occupied and now Israel developed West Bank.
And our God asks us still, "What are you doing here?"
What difference will it make that Gandhi visits the Holy Land?
What difference will it make if any of us do?
It all depends on how we answer the question our God continues to ask, "What are you doing here?"
The question is not: "What business do you have here?" nor "Who gave you the right to be here?" but "What are you doing here?"
Our God asks: What are you doing with this life I have given you?
What are you doing with the power I have give you?
Are you loving my children? All of them? Even the ones you don't like?
It is rather easy to walk these streets - to walk from holy site to holy site. It doesn't take much.
But it takes courage to walk the distance from your life to the life of an other. It takes courage to take time to listen and understand.
It takes courage to live a whole life in answer to God's question, "What are you doing here?"
 | Today Arun Gandhi had breakfast with members of the Palestinian Legislative Council and civil society. He then toured the old city of Jerusalem: in the background of the photograph to the left is the Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall. He also met with representitives of the Waqf, the Latin Patriarch, Michael Sabbah, and visited with prisoner families who are supporting the prisoners hunger strike. Below: visiting the AlHaram Sharif and breakfast with Palestinian leaders. |
 |  |
More News:
The BBC had several reports today: Gandhi's non-violence message to Mid-East and Gandhi grandson visits West Bank
AFP (the French news agency) had the following report today: Gandhi grandson to hold one-day fast in support of Palestinian prisoners
The Associated Press had this article on the wire today: Gandhi's grandson visits Israel
More News
The Daily Times of Pakistan reported this today: Arun Gandhi to hold one-day fast in support of Palestinian prisoners
This article by Amira Hass appeared in Haaretz today: Between violence and non-violence
This article appeared in the Jordan Times toady: Peace delegation heads to West Bank
Franciscans International, a Nongovernmental organization of the United Nations, printed this statement by the heads of churches in the Holy Land today: Holy Land: Palestinian Prisoner Hunger Strike
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
MORE NEWS
The India Express Bureau published this article today: ‘Arun Gandhi's initiatives an education in non-violence’
The Times of Oman reported on Gandhi's proposed fast in this article: Israel declares hospitals off limits for Palestinians on hunger strike
The Gulf Daily News (Bahrain) reported on the Gandhi visit in this article today: Israel plans 530 West Bank homes
An opinion piece by Arun Gandhi ran in the Daily Star (Lebanon) today: The true meaning of nonviolence in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict
 | Arun Gandhi crossed the Allenby Bridge from Jordan on Tuesday, August 24 and was greeted by a delegation of farm families from the Jordan Valley. Here a group of women and children await his arrival at the Monastery of St. Erasmus, near Jericho. |
 | Many people greeted Arun Gandhi as he set foot upon Palestinian soil for the first time. He told the group that his grandfather had always wanted to visit Palestine but it took more than six decades for his grandson to make the trip in his place. |
 | Sahar, a member of the Gandhi companion tour, is a Palestinian woman from Houston who has never before been to Palestine. She was so overcome by her first visit to her homeland that she knelt to kiss the ground upon her arrival. Mohammed Alatar, president of Palestinians for Peace and Democracy, is helping her rise, and Arun Gandhi is in the background.
|
Monday, August 23, 2004
PRESS RELEASE for local media
In Solidarity with Palestinian Prisoners
Against the Occupation and the Wall
For Freedom and Peace
Join massive rallies with the participation of Dr. Arun Gandhi
At the time when the Israeli occupation is escalating its oppression against our prisoners, and at the time when occupation forces continue its daily aggression by planning to expand Israeli settlements and by continuing to build the racist occupation Wall, the Palestinian people insist on resisting occupation and struggle to gain our legitimate rights and will continue to organize non-violent public campaigns in solidarity with prisoners in Israeli prisons, to resist the building of the Wall, resist the expansion of settlements and resist the occupation.
On a daily basis, our people gain more victories and supporters from all over the world who are shocked by the daily crimes of the Israeli occupation. Our supporters deeply believe in our just cause derived from the principles of justice and equality. Our supporters organize solidarity campaigns everywhere, to show the suffering of Palestinians for all the world. They take part in demonstrations against the Wall, they demonstrate in front of Israeli checkpoints, and they boycott Israeli goods.
The visit of Dr. Arun Gandhi, the grandson of the Liberator of India, comes to voice the Palestinian cry for peace and freedom to the international community
Gandhi’s visit to Palestine, accompanied by a delegation of political and religious figures is yet another proof of the legitimacy of our struggle. Their participation in massive rallies in Ramallah , Abu Dis and Bethlehem, their visit to the our besieged President and their solidarity with our prisoners, open the road to expand solidarity movements with our people, put pressure on the Israeli government to implement the ruling of the International Court of Justice regarding the racist occupation Wall and is also a call to implement the Fourth Geneva Convention.
We call upon you to participate in the massive rally that will take place on August 26 at 12:00 in Friends Soccer Field, Al-Bireh, the rally in Abi Dis taking place on August 27 (Abu Dis-Azariya junction) after the Friday prayers and the candlelight vigil in Bethlehem on August 29 at 8:00 pm in the Manger Square.
The Palestinian Campaign for Freedom and Peace
August 24, 2004
MORE NEWS
The Gandhi visit was mentioned in Newsweek Magazine this week : Palestine: A Change of Direction and there was an article today from Press Trust of India/Agence France Presse: Gandhi's grandson in MidEast to back Palestine
UPDATED SCHEDULE:
Tuesday, August 24:
Dr. Gandhi & party will cross the Allenby Bridge from Jordan and be received in Jericho by a delegation of farmers who have been affected by the wall.
Wednesday, August 25:
9:00 am: Breakfast with PLC members and Palestinian civil society members.
10:00: Tour of the Old City of Jerusalem
1:00: Tour of AlHaram Sharif followed by lunch with Waqf representatives
4:30 pm: meeting with Patriarch Michael Sabbah
7:00-9:00pm: By-invitation only discussion on "The Thesis of Nonviolence and the Strategies of Resistance" followed by a reception at the Ambassador Hotel, for invited Palestinian/Israeli peacemakers, activists, politicians and diplomats.
Thursday, August 26:
10:00: Meet with President Arafat and press briefing
11:00: Palestinian Peace Rally in Ramallah
12 noon: visit to Am'ari Refugee Camp
3:00-4:00 pm: By-invitation reception at the Canadian Representative office followed by a film showing at the Qassabeh Theater.
7:00 pm: Panel discussion at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem. Open to the public.
Friday, August 27:
Arun Gandhi will be fasting today in solidarity with Palestinian political prisoners
9:00 am: Visit to Augusta Victoria Hospital
12 nooon-1:00 pm: Meeting with the Palestinian Prime Minister in Abu Dis
1:00 - 2:00 pm: Palestinian-Israeli peace rally in Abu Dis
Saturday, 28 August
All day: Tour of the Wall in Tulkarem, Qalqilya and Jayyous, meet with farmers affected by the Wall.
Sunday, August 29:
Afternoon: meetings in Tel Aviv with the Steering Committee of the Geneva Initiative and other NGOs and meetings with Israeli media.
7:00 pm: Candelight vigil in Manger Square, Bethlehem, with leaders from the three major faith traditions.
Monday, August 30:
9:00 am: Press conference
Afternoon: return to Jordan for flight back to United States
MEDIA ADVISORIES
There will be a press conference at the conclusion of Arun Gandhi's tour, 9:00am on Monday, August 30, 2004 at the Ambassador Hotel in Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem. For more information, or for other media inquiries, contact Mr. Walid Batrawi, 972-59-649721.
Dr. Gandhi will be speaking at a by-invitation only event at the Ambassador Hotel in Jerusalem, on Wednesday, 25 August, 2004 from 7:00-9:00 pm. The topic is "The Thesis of Nonviolence and the Strategies of Resistance." Other participants in the panel discussion include Mohammed Alatar, Hanna Amira and Dr. Shalomit Aloni. Media who wish to cover this discussion should contact Mr. Walid Batrawi, 972-59-649721.
Thursday, August 19, 2004
More News:
This article by Charles Demers, reprinted from Seven Oaks Magazine, appeared on ZNet today: Non-violence In The Palestinian Arsenal
ISM published a list of activities being conducted as part of the prisoner's hunger strike, which includes a mention of Gandhi's visit: Palestine Solidarity Updates. Essentially the same release was printed in Rojo y Negro, the newsletter of a Spanish worker's union.
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
More News
Another, even longer article appeared in the Jerusalem Post today - Gandhi's grandson: I'm not anti-Semitic.
Bernama, the Maylasian National News Agency, reported this on August 16: Mahatma Gandhi's Grandson To Visit West Bank
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Mohandas Gandhi on Israel/Palestine
Mohandas Gandhi's writings about Israel and Palestine have been controversial. You can read his most significant article, written in 1938, here: The Jews in Palestine. A long list of online articles about Gandhi and Israel/Palestine is available on the P4PD Web site.
More News
A news brief about the Gandhi visit is on the Web site of the Internation Christian Embassy Jerusalem (scroll down the page): Gandhi Grandson to Promote Palestinian Nonvolence. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) issued this news brief (scroll down the page): Gandhi grandson to join Palestinians.
Monday, August 16, 2004
P R E S S R E L E A S E
Regarding my visit to the Middle East, let me affirm the following:
Upon an invitation from Palestinians for Peace and Democracy, an organization that believes in a just peace for the Palestinian people, I am on an independent peace mission to help all parties stop the bloodshed in the Holy Land. No one can deny the Palestinians’ right to their freedom and to resist occupation. No one can deny the Israelis’ right to their own state and to security.
What my grandfather said in 1938 is still true today, “According to the accepted canons of right and wrong, nothing can be said against the Arab resistance in the face of overwhelming odds.”
Nonviolence works. Nonviolence worked in liberating India from the British Occupation. Nonviolence worked for the African Americans in claiming their civil rights. Nonviolence worked for the South Africans in winning their freedom from Apartheid. Nonviolence will work in the Holy Land. In fact, nonviolence is the only solution to breaking this cycle of violence. Violence fought back with violence only creates more violence. The only way to peace is peace. This is not passivity. The nonviolence that is needed in the Holy Land is active, courageous, and creative that will resist the humiliation of the Palestinians or any peoples, that believes in the human dignity for all peoples. Nonviolence will work for the Palestinian people. It is their choice. There is no amount of walls and fences that can keep a people from their freedom.
Arun Gandhi, Grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, August 16, 2004
Upon an invitation from Palestinians for Peace and Democracy, an organization that believes in a just peace for the Palestinian people, I am on an independent peace mission to help all parties stop the bloodshed in the Holy Land. No one can deny the Palestinians’ right to their freedom and to resist occupation. No one can deny the Israelis’ right to their own state and to security.
What my grandfather said in 1938 is still true today, “According to the accepted canons of right and wrong, nothing can be said against the Arab resistance in the face of overwhelming odds.”
Nonviolence works. Nonviolence worked in liberating India from the British Occupation. Nonviolence worked for the African Americans in claiming their civil rights. Nonviolence worked for the South Africans in winning their freedom from Apartheid. Nonviolence will work in the Holy Land. In fact, nonviolence is the only solution to breaking this cycle of violence. Violence fought back with violence only creates more violence. The only way to peace is peace. This is not passivity. The nonviolence that is needed in the Holy Land is active, courageous, and creative that will resist the humiliation of the Palestinians or any peoples, that believes in the human dignity for all peoples. Nonviolence will work for the Palestinian people. It is their choice. There is no amount of walls and fences that can keep a people from their freedom.
Arun Gandhi, Grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, August 16, 2004
Sunday, August 15, 2004
More News:
There is a long article about the Gandhi visit in the Jerusalem Post today: Gandhi heir to lead rally in Ramallah.
The Gandhi visit is mentioned in this Al-Jazeera article: "Palestinian prisoners endure hunger strike."
An open invitation to a panel discussion (in English):
Can Non-Violent Strategies Lead to Peace
between Palestinians and Israelis?
Chairperson: Dr. Shimshon Zelniker, Head, The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute
Opening Remarks:Walid Salem, Director, Jerusalem office Panorama Center for the Dissemination of Democracy and Community Development
Participants: Arun Gandhi, President, M.K. Gandhi Institute for Non-Violence; Dr. Ivy Sichel, Hebrew University and Hacampus-lo-shoteq; Lucy Nusseibeh, Director, Middle East Non-Violence and Democracy
Screening of excerpts from the documentary film: Non-Violent Resistance in Bidu and Beit Laqiya, Spring 2004, by Shai Carmeli
Thursday, August 26, 2004, 19:00, at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, 43 Jabotinsky Street, Jerusalem, Tel. 02-5605222 / www.vanleer.org.il
Saturday, August 14, 2004
NEWS COVERAGE
An article about Gandhi's visit to Palestine and Israel, written by Amira Hass, appeared in the Haaretz Daily on Friday. "Gandhi's grandson to launch non-violent Palestinian campaign against occupation."
An article about Gandhi's visit also appeared in the India Express today, "Gandhi grandson’s campaign against Israeli occupation."
Yet another article appeared today, written by the wire service UPI; this version is from the Washinton (D.C.) Times: "Gandhi grandson to teach Palestinians."
This article appeared today in the Telegraph, Calcutta, India: "Gandhi grandson in Palestine cry."
This article appeared today in the China View: "Grandchild of India's Gandhi to visit Palestine."
This appeared today in the Hindustani Times: "Mahatma’s grandson to address Palestinian rallies."
Gandhi's visit was mentioned in this article in the Gulf Daily News (Bahrain) today: "Palestinian gunman dies in West Bank shootout."
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
The official U.S. delegation consists of:
- Mohammed Alatar, director of Palestinians for Peace & Democracy
- Douglas Dicks, a representative from the Presbyterian Church (USA)
- Arun Gandhi, grandson of M.K. Gandhi
- Ann Helmke, director of the San Antonio peaceCENTER
- David Link, director for the International Centre for the Healing and the Law
Monday, August 09, 2004
On Monday, August 9, 2004 the following press release was issued. Note:the dates and events are subject to change, and some planned events are not yet listed, pending final confirmation of the details.
P R E S S - - - R E L E A S E
Palestinians for Peace and Democracy (www.p4pd.org) announces a nonviolence campaign and peace delegation to the Holy Land, August 23-30, 2004.
Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, will be part of the peace delegation to Jordan, Palestine, and Israel. He will be speaking and carrying the nonviolent legacy of his grandfather to this troubled land to inspire millions of people in the Holy Land to adopt nonviolent methods in their struggle and conflict.
Major events during the campaign tour:
23 August: Fundraising dinner in Jordan to raise monies and re-plant razed olive treesDr. Arun Gandhi, founding director of the M. K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, is the grandson of Mahatma and is committed to carrying on that great legacy. Arun travels and speaks, nationally and internationally, inspiring this nonviolent legacy within the given context and climate. Dr. Gandhi also has his own legacy of nonviolent training development and community organizing. His latest book is "Legacy of Love."
24 August: Visit to the largest refugee camp in the world
26 August: The main event -- massive peace rally in Ramallah
27 August: Israeli & Palestinian peace rally in Abu Dis to resist the Wall
28 August: To be determined
29 August: Inter-faith candlelight vigil with Christians, Muslims, and Jews at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem
30 August: Visit to Yad Vashem
Palestinians for Peace and Democracy, San Antonio, Texas, is a non-profit organization and grassroots movement of Palestinians in the U.S. and in Palestine. It is dedicated to the promotion of peace and justice for the Palestinian People and the use of peaceful resistance to the occupation of Palestine -- its land and its people.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN TOUR, CONTACT:
Palestinians for Peace and Democracy
210.389.4890 until August 20
011972544411921 after August 20
During the actual tour a daily report can be found at: www.p4pd.org/blogger.html
New features!
We have added two new features to the Gandhi Visit blog:
- This blog is now available as a syndicated news feed. The URL is www.p4pd.org/atom.xml and it is in the Atom XML format.
- We have added the capability for anyone to add comments to this blog. To add your own comment, click on the word "comments" at the end of any post. Comments will be reviewed frequently and any that are not in the spirit of Gandhian nonviolence will be edited or deleted.
Saturday, August 07, 2004
On Sunday, August 8, 2004 a quarter page ad announcing the Gandhi Tour will run in the San Antonio Express-News. (You will need Adobe Acrobat reader to view the ad, which is in PDF format. If you do not have that free program installed, you can download it here. The ad is 519k.)
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
about ARUN GANDHI
Born in 1934 in Durban, South Africa, Arun Gandhi is the fifth grandson of Mohandas Karamchand "Mahatma" Gandhi. Growing up under South Africa's apartheid for someone of Eastern heritage was difficult, humiliating, and often dangerous. Hoping that time with his grandfather would help the twelve-year-old Arun control his rage and deal with prejudice through nonviolent means, his parents took him to India to live with The Mahatma" (or "great soul") in 1946.
Arun's stay with his grandfather coincided with the most tumultuous period in India's struggle to free itself from British rule. His grandfather showed Arun firsthand the effects of a national campaign for liberation carried out through both violent and nonviolent means. For eighteen months, while Gandhi imparted lessons to his grandson, the young man was also witnessing world history unfold before his eyes: this combination set Arun on a course for life.
His journey was strengthened by the resolve of his parents Sushila and Manilal, Gandhi's second son, to raise their children according to the principles of nonviolence. Arun's father, Manilal, spent more than fourteen years in prison for his efforts to change South African apartheid nonviolently. Arun's mother, Sushila, spent fifty-four years at Gandhi's ashram, Phoenix, outside Durban.
At twenty-three Arun returned to India and worked as journalist and reporter for The Times of India. He, his wife Sunanda, and several colleagues started the successful economic initiative, India's Center for Social unity, whose mission is to alleviate poverty and caste discrimination. The Center's success has now spread to over 300 villages, improving the lives of more than 500,000 rural Indians.
Arun and Sunanda came to the United States in 1987 to compare race issues in the American South, color discrimination in South Africa, and the caste system in India. In October of 1991 the Gandhis founded the M. K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence. Its mission is to examine, promote, and apply the principles of nonviolence thought and action through research, workshops, seminars, and community service.
Sunanda and Arun have two children and four grandchildren.
