Good news! The Quaker Conference on Torture is rapidly taking shape. It is set for June 2-4, 2006 at Guilford College, Greensboro NC. Our keynote speaker, Jennifer Harbury, is a leading and eloquent voice in the rapidly growing movement to expose and end torture as an instrument of public policy. Her own husband, Everardo, was kidnapped and tortured to death by Guatemalan military, acting in collaboration with American officials. Jennifer’s books, “Searching for Everardo: A Story of Love, War, and the CIA in Guatemala,” and “Truth, Torture, and the American Way: The History and Consequences of U.S. Involvement in Torture,” tell this story and point the way toward action. She most recently helped establish a Unitarian anti-torture campaign, and is continuing her work on this issue.

Hector Aristizabal, a torture survivor and human rights activist, has also agreed to be a major speaker. Hector worked for human rights in Colombia, where he was jailed and tortured by soldiers under the Colombian equivalent of the Patriot Act. He later left Colombia and settled in California, where he is currently an actor, playwright, and the clinical director and co-founder of CITYSCAPE, an art therapy program in Los Angeles. Hector has conducted many powerful workshops and performances on torture and human rights for a wide range of groups.

Conference attenders will also have a choice of several workshops to delve deeper into the issues, gain access to information and resources, and network with other anti-torture activists.

Remember, though— space at the conference is limited, so we hope you’ll register soon. The conference fees are modest, but late fees apply after April 28. We are urging local Meetings to send Friends to the conference on their behalf, to bring back information and motivation. With this conference, Friends can begin to take their rightful place in a broad, long-term work to end torture. This is a burden of our time, which we dare not shirk.

This conference is being organized by QUIT, the Quaker Initiative to End Torture. Numerous monthly and yearly meetings, including several in Baltimore Yearly Meeting, have endorsed it. It has also received major support from the Friends World Committee for Consultation- Section of the Americas. More information and a registration form is at our website: http://www.quit-torture-now.org. Please pass this message on to others.

Submitted by Chuck Fager, QUIT Committee