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HISTORY
Recent History of APN
By Sylvia Gibson
I founded Alameda Peace Network in 2002 with my mother, Janet
Gibson, Arthur & Gretchen Lipow ), Michael &
Ingrid, and Laura Woltz. It is a revival
of an Alameda peace group active for many years called the Alameda
Peace Education Network. We took out the word "education" because
we wanted to encorporate direct action (the vigils, etc.), although
educating ourselves and the community about peaceful solutions to
global and local problems is still the backbone of APN.
It all began when I was
home with my newborn son listening to KPFA. I heard a live
interview with a man in Palestine whose daughter and son in law had
recently been shot by Israeli soldiers. The couple was shot in
their car. The man was taking care of his 8 month old
granddaughter who had been in the car with them, but was not
injured. He was crying because he did not know what to feed the
baby. His daughter was dead and his son in law had collapsed
after carrying the baby to his house and was in the hospital. I
heard the baby crying in the background. I had to do something,
so I made a big sign that said, "Free Palestine from Israeli
Occupation" and stood out on a corner near the Tube from 4-5pm every
weeknight. Arthur and Gretchen soon joined me. Then Michael
and Ingrid came along. At some point Laura and Paula joined us.
We had many pleasant evenings together, standing in solidarity with an
oppressed people, and in our conversations we came up with the ideas
that brought APN to life.
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