Nobel Peace Prize winner to speak at MCC Oct. 21

Kathy Kelly, three-time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, in the McHenry County College Conference Center, 8900 Route 14 in Crystal Lake.

In her presentation, "Witness to War: Injustice From Palestine to Pakistan," she will speak about her personal experiences in the war zones of Iraq, Palestine and Pakistan where her interactions with innocent victims there help us understand the injustice and depth of human suffering caused by the violence of war.

Kelly is co-founder and coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence and a renowned world peace activist. Her friend Studs Terkel devoted an entire chapter to her life in his book, "Hope Dies Last" and called her a model of faith and hope. Her fierce determination to end U.S. military conflict in the Middle East has placed her among the most respected leaders in the American peace movement.

Kelly has led 26 delegations to Iraq delivering medicines and humanitarian aid in defiance of economic sanctions. With the Iraq Peace Team, she remained in Baghdad throughout "Operation Shock and Awe" in 2003. Last year, she witnessed the Israeli attack on Gaza where she lived near the border between Egypt and Gaza, an area subject to constant bombardment by Apache helicopters and F-16 bombers. This spring, she led a fact-finding mission to Pakistan and visited the Shah Mansoor displaced persons camp.

For years she has risked her life in war zones and practiced nonviolent civil disobedience in order to put a human face on the violence of war. She served one year in maximum security prison for planting corn on nuclear missile sites. Last spring, she was arrested at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada while protesting the U.S. use of drones in the Middle East.

The program is co-sponsored by McHenry County Pax Christi, McHenry County Peace Coalition, and Student Peace Action Network at McHenry County College. For information, call (815) 455-3683 or e-mail lib4paz@comcast.net.