Women in Black
by Frances Sandiford

Since the first of the New Year, no one passing the Merritt Bookstore in Red Hook on a Saturday afternoon could have helped but notice a group of men and women carrying signs and standing side by side on the pavement. When it rains or snows, the group brings umbrellas. When it is especially cold, they wear hats with earflaps and scarves.

The group started with a handful of participants, but recently the number of picketers has grown to thirty or forty on any give Saturday. Their signs, which they proudly display for all passersby, all say in some way, NO WAR IN IRAQ. Cars driving through this busy intersection often blow horns in support or give the group "thumbs up." If someone calls out a derogatory comment, the picketers remain unflappable. It is all in an afternoon's work.

The organizer of the first days of the vigil or picket back in January was Victoria Lashley, a Red Hook resident and an admirer of the international peace movement, Women in Black. This group is a loose-knit worldwide organization of primarily women (men welcomed too) who stand in opposition to the use of violence. The group formed in 1988 when Israeli and Palestinian women, draped in black, stood together to protest the occupation of Palestine. Over the years, the group has expanded its message and its supporters. In view of the impending war in Iraq, Ms. Lashley felt that, as a concerned citizen, she wanted to promote the message of Women in Black in her own community. Like -minded groups had already formed in Woodstock, New Paltz, and other neighboring communities. Joined by neighbor Patty Gordon, Ms. Lashley took her cause to the pavements of Red Hook, where the group now stands for an hour's vigil from one to two o'clock every Saturday afternoon.

"What unites all Women in Black groups is their passion for peace and justice for all people in the world," Ms Lashley says. Frank Stoppenbach, who regularly participates, says that his concern is "How our country is perceived in the world. It should be a vehicle of moral leadership, not aggression."

The picketers send their message in handmade signs like the one that says: "War Is Not Treating Others As We Would Have Them Treat Us." By preference, the group stands in silence. They maintain that words cannot express the tragedy of war. Undaunted by the weather and the daily news broadcasts, they continue their vigils, and invite anyone who shares their concerns to join them on any given Saturday.