Zambia RPCV Ben Bell attends Washington march to rally against Iraq war
Ben Bell would rather see peace than war and rather see money going to the Gulf Coast than to Iraq. Bell is one of many activists traveling to a march in Washington to call on Congress to end the war in Iraq. The march is being organized by United for Peace and Justice, a coalition of over 1,000 groups that includes the Buddhist Peace Fellowship that Bell works with.
The rally is an interfaith event that will bring together Buddhist groups as well organizations representing Baptists, Lutherans and Catholics. Bell, a practicing Buddhist, said he's looking forward to joining with people of different beliefs for this common cause. "It's terrific that everyone can come together and show how they feel about this unjust war," he said. "A call for peace is needed from everyone." That call for peace is one that Bell has dedicated his life to answering since 2003. That's when he got involved with the Montgomery Peace Project, a local anti-war activist organization. Bell was involved in a peaceful vigil the organization put together in March 2003 at the State Capitol.
Bell served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the African country of Zambia. "I was living like (Henry David) Thoreau with no running water or other amenities," he said. There, Bell began to study Buddhism and was moved by the message for peace that he found in that philosophy. He was especially moved by the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism: life is suffering, the origin of suffering is attachment, the cessation of suffering is attainable and there is a path to the cessation of suffering. "I think the Buddhist nature exists in everyone," he said. Read more.
Caption: August 29, 2004 - New York and America Say No to Bush: In a march that stretched for miles and went on for hours New Yorkers and Americans said no to Bush.