What is the Southside Peace group? and what does it do?
Working for peace in our local community
Southside Peace Group was formed in the first half of 2006. We began as a handful of individuals who helped organise the Brisbane leg of US peace activist Cindy Sheehan's national speaking tour.
We had a fantastic turnout to that meeting with 250 people filling the auditorium of the Yeronga
State High School. That gave us the momentum and the energy to get organised.
Since then we've met regularly at the Yeronga Bowls Club to plan events to educate ourselves and other local Southside residents about the reality of the war in Iraq.
In 2003, millions of us around the world rallied and marched to oppose the war. We didn't
believe the lies about weapons of mass destruction or Iraq's supposed connections to world terrorism. We did not believe that bombing a country in the Middle East into submission would make the world a safer place.
We were absolutely right: there were no weapons of mass destruction, Saddam Hussein had no links to Al Quaeda and the world is now a more dangerous place.
But we didn't stop the war and the protests eventually faded. It didn't mean that any of us
had changed our minds, just that we felt powerless to do anything about it.
Southside Peace Group is about trying to bring us together again and to inspire those of you out
there who oppose the war but don't know what to do about it.
We are a low-key, non-politically affiliated group of busy people who want to do our bit to build the
pressure on our government to bring the troops home and stop the horror. And we are focussed on what we can do in our local area.
WHAT WE HAVE DONE SO FAR:
*Film showings including Arlington West, a documentary about the mobile cemetary assembled
every weekend on the beaches of California to demonstrate the human toll of the war, and I Know I'm Not Alone, a brilliant documentary produced by singer Michael Franti about the war in Iraq
*Educational meetings with guest speakers such as Adele Goldie from the Pine Gap Four, a group of peace activists who managed to gain entry to the Pine Gap Spy Base to highlight the role the joint US-Australian facility plays in prosecuting the war
*Co-ordinating the Brisbane part of US peace activist Cindy Sheehan's national speaking tour
*Holding a public meeting with Keysar Trad from the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia
BUILDING CONNECTIONS WITH THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY
The Howard government has made it their business to promote divisiveness and hatred against the Muslim community as a way of boosting support for the war. This is the essence of the "debate" on "Australian values".
According to the government, all Muslims are supposedly violent, anti-democratic and anti-women. But this seems a more apt description of the Liberals! After all, who decided to go ahead with the war despite the majority of Australians opposing it, a war that has seen hundreds of thousands die?
Southside Peace Group wants to build links with the local Muslim community and counter
the divisivenes) that is designed to weaken the opposition to the war. We want those of Islamic faith to feel welcome in our community.
WHAT WE CAN DO IN 2007
2007 is an Australian Government election year. We believe Southside voters can be involved in a range of activities to let our politicians know we want Australia to withdraw from the occupation of Iraq. We will plan these at our regular meetings.
As well, we will continue to inform and educate ourselves and other local residents about the facts by organising meetings with national activists and commentators and showing films that don’t get to the mainstream cinema outlets.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
*Attend our regular meetings. PhoneAdrian on 0418 715 803 for details
*Leave us your contact details so we can let you know by email, snail-mail or SMS about our
up-coming events and actions and how you can get involved
SOUTHSIDE PEACE GROUP MEETS ON THE LAST SATURDAY OF THE MONTH AT 3.30PM
UPSTAIRS AT THE YERONGA BOWLS CLUB
Southside Peace Group was formed in the first half of 2006. We began as a handful of individuals who helped organise the Brisbane leg of US peace activist Cindy Sheehan's national speaking tour.
We had a fantastic turnout to that meeting with 250 people filling the auditorium of the Yeronga
State High School. That gave us the momentum and the energy to get organised.
Since then we've met regularly at the Yeronga Bowls Club to plan events to educate ourselves and other local Southside residents about the reality of the war in Iraq.
In 2003, millions of us around the world rallied and marched to oppose the war. We didn't
believe the lies about weapons of mass destruction or Iraq's supposed connections to world terrorism. We did not believe that bombing a country in the Middle East into submission would make the world a safer place.
We were absolutely right: there were no weapons of mass destruction, Saddam Hussein had no links to Al Quaeda and the world is now a more dangerous place.
But we didn't stop the war and the protests eventually faded. It didn't mean that any of us
had changed our minds, just that we felt powerless to do anything about it.
Southside Peace Group is about trying to bring us together again and to inspire those of you out
there who oppose the war but don't know what to do about it.
We are a low-key, non-politically affiliated group of busy people who want to do our bit to build the
pressure on our government to bring the troops home and stop the horror. And we are focussed on what we can do in our local area.
WHAT WE HAVE DONE SO FAR:
*Film showings including Arlington West, a documentary about the mobile cemetary assembled
every weekend on the beaches of California to demonstrate the human toll of the war, and I Know I'm Not Alone, a brilliant documentary produced by singer Michael Franti about the war in Iraq
*Educational meetings with guest speakers such as Adele Goldie from the Pine Gap Four, a group of peace activists who managed to gain entry to the Pine Gap Spy Base to highlight the role the joint US-Australian facility plays in prosecuting the war
*Co-ordinating the Brisbane part of US peace activist Cindy Sheehan's national speaking tour
*Holding a public meeting with Keysar Trad from the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia
BUILDING CONNECTIONS WITH THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY
The Howard government has made it their business to promote divisiveness and hatred against the Muslim community as a way of boosting support for the war. This is the essence of the "debate" on "Australian values".
According to the government, all Muslims are supposedly violent, anti-democratic and anti-women. But this seems a more apt description of the Liberals! After all, who decided to go ahead with the war despite the majority of Australians opposing it, a war that has seen hundreds of thousands die?
Southside Peace Group wants to build links with the local Muslim community and counter
the divisivenes) that is designed to weaken the opposition to the war. We want those of Islamic faith to feel welcome in our community.
WHAT WE CAN DO IN 2007
2007 is an Australian Government election year. We believe Southside voters can be involved in a range of activities to let our politicians know we want Australia to withdraw from the occupation of Iraq. We will plan these at our regular meetings.
As well, we will continue to inform and educate ourselves and other local residents about the facts by organising meetings with national activists and commentators and showing films that don’t get to the mainstream cinema outlets.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
*Attend our regular meetings. PhoneAdrian on 0418 715 803 for details
*Leave us your contact details so we can let you know by email, snail-mail or SMS about our
up-coming events and actions and how you can get involved
SOUTHSIDE PEACE GROUP MEETS ON THE LAST SATURDAY OF THE MONTH AT 3.30PM
UPSTAIRS AT THE YERONGA BOWLS CLUB
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