A few evenings ago, as the sky began to darken here in Kabul, Afghanistan, a small group of the Afghan Peace Volunteers (APVs) gathered for an informal presentation about WikiLeaks, its Chief Editor Julian Assange, and its most prominent contributor, Bradley Manning. Basir Bita, a regular visitor to the APV household, began the evening's discussion by noting that 1 June would mark the beginning of Bradley Manning's fourth year in prison. Two days later his trial would begin, a trial which could sadly result in his imprisonment for life. On 1 June an international week of support and solidarity, aimed at thanking Bradley Manning, would also begin. Bita believes that the vast majority of Afghans are among the myriads worldwide who have Manning to thank for the information they will need in their struggles for freedom, security and peace. He wishes that more people would find the courage to stand up to military and government forces, especially their own, and act as whistle-blowers as Manning did. I often hear Afghan individuals and groups express a longing for a far more democratic process than is allowed them in a country dominated by warlords, the US/NATO militaries and their commanders. In the US, a lack of crucial information increasingly threatens democratic processes. How can people make informed choices if their leaders deliberately withhold crucial information from them? Manning's disclosures have brought desperately needed light to the US and to countries around the world, including struggling countries like Afghanistan. Hakim, who mentors the Afghan Peace Volunteers, recalled that Bradley Manning passed on documents that recorded 91,730 “significant actions”, or “SIGACTS”, undertaken in Afghanistan by US/ISAF forces, of which 75,000 were released by WikiLeaks. These SIGACTS included attacks by drones, sometimes invisible drones, and night raids. Our group turned to discussing the history of WikiLeaks, how it was formed and how it now functions. Those most familiar with computers and the Internet explained the process of disclosing information by anonymously following a computerised route to a “dropbox.” In fact, the Afghan Peace Volunteers themselves have also been communicating with Julian Assange. Last winter, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mairead Maguire had stayed with them shortly before she travelled to London for a visit to Assange. Through Mairead, they had sent him a letter of solidarity. The APVs heard that Manning has been even more isolated than Assange, and they all shook their heads when Bita reminded them that Manning was initially held in solitary confinement for 11 months. Ghulamai thought through the ironic process of how governments designate some documents as “secret” and how he would presume that the person who shares those secrets was a “criminal”. But Ali said that governments chiefly hide “secrets” from the public in order to maintain themselves in power. Hakim asked Abdel-Hai to imagine himself as the head of a government or of a large family. “If you are working for the good of the family or the state, would you need to do things secretly,” he asked. “No,” Abdel-Hai replied. “If I had power, and I was truly working for the best interests of my people, I would not need to do things in secret.” There was keen conversation about who Bradley Manning was and what he had done. Manning's own words, which journalists had to smuggle out of his pre-trial hearing, described how his mind had largely been made up by watching the secret video that he would come to release under the title of “collateral murder”. “They dehumanised the individuals they were engaging and seemed to not value human life by referring to them as, quote ‘dead bastards' unquote, and congratulating each other on their ability to kill in large numbers. At one point in the video, there's an individual on the ground attempting to crawl to safety. The individual is seriously wounded. Instead of calling for medical attention to the location, one of the aerial weapons team crew members verbally asks for the wounded person to pick up a weapon so that he can have a reason to engage. For me, this seems similar to a child torturing ants with a magnifying glass.” “While saddened by the aerial weapons team crew's lack of concern about human life, I was disturbed by the response of the discovery of injured children at the scene. In the video, you can see the bongo truck driving up to assist the wounded individual. In response, the aerial weapons team crew, as soon as the individuals are a threat, repeatedly request for authorisation to fire on the bongo truck and once granted they engage the vehicle at least six times.” Together, the APVs watched the deeply disturbing “Collateral Damage” video itself. They were avid to learn what they could do to support and thank Bradley Manning. Yet they're aware of the risks faced by people who organise public demonstrations in Afghanistan. It's far easier to stand up for Bradley Manning where I live in the US. I hope many more people will devote the time and energy we owe this young man for risking everything, as he did, to enlighten us and the world. The Afghan Peace Volunteers are eager for ways to link with others worldwide to express their thanks and concern for a remarkably brave and conscience-driven 25-year-old man whose courage and whose light is so acutely needed in this darkening time. I've seen the fierce light of these young people, and, knowing them, I'm certain that others will be seeing it too in the years ahead. Are we readying signals with which to answer them? Are we preparing ways to show people like them, and like Julian Assange and Bradley Manning, that they are not alone? The writer co-coordinates Voices for Creative Non-Violence (www.vcnv.org) and is in Kabul as a guest of the Afghan Peace Volunteers.
