In May 2015, in just under two months, 30 women from around the world will walk for peace in Korea. We are hoping to meet with North Korean women and learn about their hopes and aspirations for a reunited Korea free from war. We are also hoping to meet with South Korean women and learn about their hopes and aspirations for a reunited Korea free from war. As if that weren’t challenging enough, we hope to cross the De-Militarized Zone (DMZ) that divides them and millions of families. You can visit our website to learn more about who is walking and why we’re walking to reunite families and end the Korean War.
As you can imagine, it is quite the epic journey that requires traveling through Beijing, obtaining visas, coordinating travel from a dozen different countries, and everything else that comes with such a major overseas trip. Most of our delegation of dedicated women peacemakers are paying their own way, but the reality is that it is a costly event. But the impact could be “game changing” as The Nation journalist, Tim Shorrock, tweeted last week.
We got our first glimpse of how game changing our women’s walk for peace could be after our press conference at the United Nations last week where Gloria Steinem, Christine Ahn, Suzuyo Takazato, Abigail Disney, Hyun-Kyung Chung, Suzy Kim, Kim Keum-ok of South Korea and I announced our walk. Every major international media outlet covered our event, including The New York Times, Associated Press, UK Guardian, Agence France Press and dozens more. Their coverage launched our women’s peace walk into the hemisphere. As a result, people from all walks of life, from Switzerland to South Korea have contacted us to ask how they can get involved to make our walk happen. It has caught the imagination of the world that the DMZ, the most militarized border in the world, can and must be crossed to help heal the divided peninsula.
The peace walk was covered in every major South Korean media; It was just the thing we needed to tip the balance in our favor because the South Korean government had not yet responded to our request that they approve our crossing the DMZ from North Korea to South Korea. But soon after the press conference, the South Korean Mission to the UN contacted us to let us know that Seoul is now considering our proposal. We also heard from a journalist based in Seoul, “I am hearing that Seoul is likely to OK the border crossing… a govt spokesman here said South Korea generally has “a postive position” on DMZ crossings by foreigners. And its related agencies will review your case. Sounds very positive.”
On Christmas Eve, we received a yes from the UN Command that they would be prepared to facilitate our crossing pending approval from South Korea, which we are still waiting for. Although North Korea had given a tentative yes last year, it came with a stern caveat: if the conditions were right. Given the tense circumstances now with the joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises underway, we weren’t sure if they were. But just yesterday, we received an urgent message from the DPRK Mission to the UN saying that the visa for our key organizer Christine Ahn would be soon ready and that she should to go right away to Pyongyang to sort out the logistics.
Although things can change on a day-to-day basis, it is looking like we have managed the impossible: getting permission from both governments, as well as the UN Command, to cross the DMZ.
As you may know, this is a completely voluntary event. We have no corporate or government support—just the sheer will of women peacemakers wanting to help bring peace to the 70-year divided Korean peninsula. While the majority of the women are paying their own travel costs, we will need to raise funds for accommodations, event venues, meals, transportation, materials, press packets, banners, and logistical support in China and South Korea. There are also many women from the Global South who will need travel support, which we are gladly doing in solidarity. To do all this, we must raise $50,000 to meet our budget goals.
Fortunately, with Gloria Steinem’s help, an anonymous woman donor has generously offered us a $25,000 matching gift. We have until the end of March to raise the rest. I’ve raised $11,000 already, and I think we can do it. I know we can do it. But it will take dozens of friends who can pitch in as generously as you can.
Although we were going to launch a crowdsource campaign like Kickstarter, because it is way too public, our advisors urged us to try to raise it privately until we have secured both government’s approval. Here is a video that we would have used to launch our fundraising campaign.
You might wonder, what will this peace walk do? For one, it has already conveyed several important messages: 1. The Korean War must end with a peace treaty; 2. Women can and must be involved at all levels of peacemaking; and 3. We must act now to reunite millions of families tragically divided by a man-made division. If the barbed wire fences lining the DMZ were erected by men over 60 years ago, men and women have the power to bring them down.
Please help us make the DMZ history by making a tax-deductible donation online at: http://www.peacedevelopmentfund.org/women-cross-the-dmz/
Or send a check to:
Peace Development Fund
PO Box 40250
San Francisco, CA 94140-0250
Memo: Women De-Militarize the Zone