Kathy Kelly, of the anti-war organization Voices in the Wilderness, encouraged Oberlin students to engage in non-violent resistance and told stories of her own activism last Tuesday in Wilder 101.

Since 1979, Kelly has been a “tax resister.” She has served time in prison for crossing the line at Fort Benning, Ga. at the School of the Americas and has always prided herself on being something of a thorn in the side of the U.S. government.

Kelly explained the reason for her action.

“U.S. troops crossed the line into a sovereign country on an unfounded idea of holding weapons of mass destruction,” she said.

Kelly set herself up to cross the line in a place known for its ties to destruction, she explained.

Several times over the past decade, Kelly has traveled to Iraq, learning about the culture and the people.

Kelly remembered the numerous hoax stories fabricated in the United States “to sway public opinion to market the war.”

“It seems essential to ask ourselves ‘why?’” she said.

As she stayed in Iraq, Kelly witnessed the first waves of bombing and the effect the violence had on the local children. Some began to grind their teeth in the middle of the night, others lost control of their bladders,and more fell victim to insomnia. The older children grew reserved.

“Who wouldn’t try to become a little numb to what was going on?” said Kelly.

Luckily, U.S. Marines arrived to her hotel before the looters could break through the doors after the bombings had occurred. The troops were eager to speak to Kelly and her companions, attempting to gain a new perspective on the war and learn about the Iraqi people’s reactions and feelings.

“I don’t think we can say bad apples,” she said. “We have to say there is something rotten about a system. Our way of life is an international liability of over-consumption.”

In closing, she sang a song that Iraqi children were going to perform at a recital before the attacks and looting ruined their school for the arts. “This Is My Song,” written in the 1930s, was transliterated into Arabic for the children to sing.

She briefly mentioned the plight of Camilo Mejia, a member of the Florida National Guard that refused to return to Iraq after witnessing inhumane treatment in detention camps. He is now serving one year in prison for “desertion” and receiving a bad-conduct discharge from the Army.

In 2003, Kelly was a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.