Ah Easter. A day traditionally filled with brightly colored eggs and the bunnies that inexplicably lay them, a fat honeyed ham, and clusterbombs. Well, the last one may not be a tradition yet, but the Vineeta Foundation and a coalition of other peace advocacy groups including Code Pink, DAWN, Voters for Peace, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Coalition for Justice and Accountability, Democracy Rising, US Campaign to End the Occupation, Backbone Campaign, After Downing St., Iran Coalition and Jewish Voices For Peace, are going to try their best to get it added to the list. While the kids on the South Lawn are ducking under bushes, presumably escorted by anxious Secret Service officers, during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, some other kids will be getting an early lesson in international human rights in Lafayette Square, where they’ll search for “cluster-bombs” made from tennis balls tucked inside balloons.
A little gruesome, perhaps, but the Foundation, along with many others who have taken to alternative participation in the Egg Roll over the past few years, are getting a little tired of “a White House that has been fairly unresponsive to the sentiments of its people, and [are] not surprised that folks are going to great lengths to get the president’s attention,” as Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of the Family Pride Coalition, told the Post. Well if it’s attention they’re looking for, “kids” and “clusterbombs” seem like a good combination for it, though we wonder if the Vineeta Foundation’s Brian Hennessey’s claim that it’s “funny” might be stretching the term.
A group of children made the “bombs” yesterday during a teach-in, where organizers explained the purpose of the event. Jumping off from the message of peace during Easter, the group wants to bring more attention to the landmine banning movement, as well as the number of American-made munitions that are used in civilian areas and continue to kill or maim both adults and children. As an organizer explained to the Post, “In these countries far away from here, kids find them and they look just like toys. If you saw this, wouldn’t you want to pick it up and play with it?”
The cluster-bomb hunt runs from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, April 9, to coincide with the White House event, and will include an elusive WMD-hunt for the adults, a parody of a parody, if you will.
