American Friends Scrvice Committe Spring 1969 160 North 15th Strc~c't Pltiladelphia, Penn\?l/vntiin 19102 ."X- NATIONAL EDITION
Nigeria and Biafra relief programs in operation stable and Red Cross teams havc nioved in, refugees who havc been hiding many months filter out, ragged, dirty, with their fcw possessions on their hcads. No doubt ninny of them havc died exiled from their homes, for those re- fly HETII BINFORD turning arc nicrcly skin and bonc froni "Our goal is to build all-American starvation or swollen from lack of pro- ricighborlioods," says Tony Edgerton, tcin or wracked by diseasc. director of the AFSC's community rcla- "It is the cliildren and old ones who tions program in Xenia, Ohio, Rich- havc suffcrcd most-the fornier bccausc mond and Muncic, Indiana. Tony has thcir growth rcquircments dcniancl pro- helpcd get public attention in thcsc cities tein urgently, the oldcr ones because focused on the nced for hettcr housing their reserves arc Icss." and for desegregated neighborhoods and Abiriba Joint Hospital schools. Through pcrsonal contacts, letters, spccclics. niovies lic 1i;is sparked Thc Riafri~Program is bascd ;it Abi- intcr-faith anti inter-racial groups to riba, and is co-sponsorctl hy the AFSC work on thcsc problcnis. and the Mennonite Centrill Conimittcc. "We also encouraRe individuals to 1 llc /\rncr~ci~nFr~cnds Service Com- year's crops from being planted. AI- tlerc tlie team has assumed administra- live up to their ideals and to take re- mittee has now established two separate ready the supply of staple bulk foods, tion of the Abiriba Joint Hospital and sponsibility for making their community relief programs, one in Nigeria, the with which the present supply of high- tlic over ten feeding stations it operates hettcr. Not to say 'Why don't they,' other in Biafra. protein concentrates must be mixed, is in a twenty-mile radius. but 'Why don't I,' " Tony comments. The Nigeria Program, with its field running- low. At present the Quaker-Mennonite "If people get personally involved in base at Lagos, is co-sponsored by the Second, the is strivingto provide team includes two doctors and a nurse, some kind of action program they help AFSC and the Friends Service Council medical services to groups of mothers with one of the doctors, Linford Geh- overcome the myths and fears in their of Great Britain. and children, many of whom have had man, acting as field director. Current own neighborhood. It's this kind of Kale Williams, executive secretary of no access to such services for more than plans call for the assignment of an addi- personal responsibility, I think, that the AFSC Chicago Regional Office, has ..am.. tional seven persons. The program is makes democracy really work." '1,. ycal. taken on the duties of program field 1 working in coo~eration with Caritas Tony started Fair Housing Councils k. director, and his wife, Helen, assistant One of the doctors with the team Internationalis (Catholic agency), which help people find homes of their director. The Williams' left at the reports: "As the front has become continued on page 4 continued on page 3 beginning of the year to start their six- month assignment, taking the places of the voting process and why the vote is Bradford and Jean Abernethy who re- Youth Service O~~ortunitiesvolunteers hel~build important," explained John Turner, one turned to the States in December. of the volunteers. "We also handed out Three doctors, four nurses, one sample ballots." mechanic, one generalist and the Wil- A little bit of confidence "'The registrars were very un-co-op- liams' are now at work in the Lagos Story and p1toto.r ~JJMIKE DZURA When the unit first arrived in Robe- crative and were always running out of area. When fully staffed (five more According to the United States Census son, less than 50% of the eligible voters registration material," said another volunteers are to be appointed) two Bureau, Robeson County is the seventh were registered. Consequently, a great volunteer, "and we watched them care- medical and food distribution teams poorest county in the country. It was deal of leg work was done going around fully to see that they filled the forms will be in operation. in Robeson County in September of the county talking to Indians, blacks out correctly. Finally, extra registration 1967 that the American Friends Service and poor whites about registering and commissioners were appointed, and Nigerian authorities Committee established a Youth Service voting. about 4000 people registered." The program will work in close as- Opporturiitics Program for eight young "We wrote a 15 page teaching guide sociation with the appropriate Nigerian men and women seeking something hcfore wc began the citizenship cduca- Watched for irregularities authorities and in consultation with worthwhile to do. Their first project tion classes. The guide included facts The drive climaxed with state-wide other voluntary agencies such as the was a voter registration drive and an about health and welfare regulations, elections in May 1968. The volunteers Nigerian Red Cross and the Interna- adult education program. the duties of local and state officials, drove people to and from the polls and tional Committee of the Red Cross.. watched at the polls for irregularities. The logistics for this were set up by They did the sanie for the run-off elec- the Abernethys who also established the tion on June 1, 196%. During the run- Lagos office-residence and purchased off election, YSO ' Bob Cates was the drugs and three trucks the teams "assaulted, intimidated and threatened" are now using. by a nicnibcr of a large landholding The emphasis of the AFSC-FSC family in tlie county. Thrs incident has teams will be in two vital areas. First, become the first tcst case of the 1968 instead of attempting to import food Civil Rights Act. supplies froni abroad, they are working Rob recallcd what happened that toward more effective distribution of day: "I was poll watching during the already available food stocks. run-off election when a man called me Large stockpiles of food await dis- over to hi? car, leaned out of the win- tribution on Lagos' piers while only a dow, grabbed my coat, yanked me down few hundred miles away millions of and asked me where I was from. Before children in refugee camps suffer from I answered, I asked him to let go of my severe malnutrition and starvation. coat, and then I told him my home is in The need for this distribution is Maine." The next thing Rob knew was heightened as a severe rainy season, the man had pulled a gun and said "Do the worst since 1892, prevented this Chas Bicking supervises some of the Rocklond, North Carolina day-core center children. cotttinrred on page 2 issues to focus on such as the schools, a number of women in the area of the Commission on its purpose and how it welfare and tenant farming. "I'm look- center. Now she has been encouraging All-American will operate. Forms have been distrib- ing forward to the paper getting into the these women to attend a sewing class. uted to persons who want to file a com- power struggle," he said. "Although I liked the children very contirrueci from page I plaint with the Commission about dis- Steve is presently on leave from the much, I felt at odds with the day care choicc in the neighborhood of thcir crimination encountered. YSO unit and receives his maintenance center's anti-Head Start philosophy, and choice. "This is the way to begin build- When l'ony found Richmond realtors salary from THE LUMBEE. He felt did not think I would be given an op- ing a healthy spirit of a real ncighbor- soliciting door to door for listings, that if the paper were to become con- portunity to introduce new ideas into hood," he says. attempting to play on the fears of white troversial, his being a YSO might inter- the program," she said. Therefore Pat residents, he worked to counteract the fere with the other volunteers. has been exploring state and county Typical week scare by meeting with residents, distrib- welfare rights and plans to work with uting literature and involving the city's Talks to student groups During a typical week lie may meet the first rural chapter of the National with city anti statc oBicinls on housing religous leaders. Tony talked to the Welfare Rights Organization which is Chas Bicking returned to Robeson, progranis nnci problcn~s,attend ;I work- mayor so he would understand the need operating in two communities in Robe- to combat "panic peddling." but set off again to make the rounds of shop at :I Friends Mccting, or tnlk to son County. colleges in tlie state, talking informally church committees. 'This past year he After threc-and-a-half years what met with high school classes anci itre the results of the AFSC's 7-ri-City to student groups about war, racism New directions and the draft. Duke, North Carolina ;tns\verc~i quc~tions on riots, Black progr;tm? "In Xcnia, at the beginning State, East Carolina University, and John Turner is another volunteer Power and integrated housing. He of last ycar, 23 Negro families had Pcmbroke State College are among the whose original activitics have led him in 5howcd m~\~ics--':A Matter of Color" rnovecl into six formerly all-white areas campuses hc has visited and led dis- new directions. As a result of his early ;tntl "Violence, Law and Conscience" with no fuss," says Tony, "and progress cussions. work in the registration drive and citi- --to stinii~lotcgroups to take an interest Ii;ts kept pace throughout the year." Presently Chas is working in a day- zenship classcs, he is known to many in community service. Working with a Xenia citizens and city olTicials arc care center is Rowland, North Carolina, of the people in the county as a person Kichmonrl community ccnter hc helpcd working on the nccd for low-income where he assists in a Head Start Pro- whom they can trust and to whoni they staff set up employment counseling, job housing and rcnt-supplement programs. gram aimed mainly at poor black and can 'go with thcir problen~s. rct'crr;tl and block clubs. Concerned Low-income housing Indian children. One woman tolcl liini inspectors had with policc-community relations he ;tr- Pat Egan and Susic I-loffm:tn workecl t:tckcd ;I notice on her privy which said ranged ;I meeting hct\vcen Kicliniond's In Richmond, one can see quite a in day-care centers after thcy joined thc that she had to tear it down, fill in the Illnck yr>utli nnri the mayor and police bit of progress as well. The city recog- unit last September, but thcir interests hole, anti build a new one with n con- chief. He sct up a worksliop u.itli fac- nized the need for better housing and have shifted to welfare rights. crete lx~se. "I asked her if others had tory supcrviso~.~to help them i~nclcr- built I88 low-income housing units. Pat recalls walking in the ncighhor- a similar prohlcni and Icarnc? 20 fami- stand poor and or black employees. In Muncic, the city administration is hood of the day-care center with one of lies needed ne\\. privies, or at least some Tony rnllicrl co~nmunitysupport in now pushing for an ordinance to set up her "students" and introducing herself repairs." I
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Officials now estimate more than 100.000 amputees in South Vietnam. AFSC looks to the time when peace is restored and its work can be greatly ex- panded to help alleviate this tragic condition. The Quang Ngai program continues to operate a day care center for refugee children. Here, 75 children between the ages of 3 and 6, benefit from a good meal, a bath, and those other subtle but loving services provided by the staff. They also learn to read and write enough to enter regular school. THE QUIET REBELS The Story of the Quakers in America Ry MARGARETH. BACON Published by BASICBOOKS, Price: $5.95.
Reviewed bv MARYHOXIE JONES Margaret H. Bacon, a member of Ger- The American Friends Service mantown Monthly Meeting and a staff Committee takes its proper place in this member of the American Friends Ser- history of Friends. Its brief account vice Committee, begins her book, Tlic. conies near the end of the book and no Quit.? Rchcl.~,with the question in one can feel that its activities are chapter I, "Who are the Quakers?" stressed unduly. Friends' interests in The remaining nine chnpters are all missions, work with the mentally ill, attempts to answer this question which with prisoners, are given their rightful has been asked through the centuries share. This book should help its rcad- by COU~~~SSpersons, both young and I crs, Friends and non-~riends alike, I John Turner stacks lumber for the outhouse project. A completed unit is behind him. old. In one way, the title of the-book gain a clearer understanding of Quak- labor, was able to bring the average cost is hardly accur;tte. Never has there crism-its contribution to the Anlcrican per family to a mere $15. Meanwhile been :I religious group who ha.; cu- Build confidence culture and its relcvnnce to thc issues John has applied to the Bureau of Pub- pressed itself more ~ntcnselyby the writ- of the day. Margaret Bacon has met cotititirtcd from pa,qcp .? lic Health for future funds for privy ten word, the spoken word. or by dccd. her challenge well. "?'hen I encouraged some ladies to I>uilding. And yet the title is accurate because, go from house to house to collect money with few exceptions. 1;ricnds have gone John and several other YSO's feel to l7uy rnateri;~lsso wc could hegin con- about their alfairs quietly and without Relief programs such a strong coniniitmcnt to Roheson struction." he said. John managed to desire of world accl:um. County that thcy arc seriously consid- c.or~titi~rctlf~orn ~(ISP I get the materials at a tremendous sav- ering staying after thcy have complcteii Far from quiet World Council of Churches (Protestant ings, and with the people providing the their service with the AFSC. organization), ICRC (Red Cross) Perhaps the exceptions could be teams and Biafran authorities. listccl as the first Fricnils to come to the Before the war some 500,000 people New World in 1656. Mary Fisher and lived in the region served by the Abiriba Ann Austin, who tried to take Boston Hospital. Now this facility provides the A6SC spends 97.6 million in F968 by storm were indeed rebels and they only medical services available to be- The American Friends Service Committee grams have been carried on for many were far from quiet. They were tween 700,000 and 1,000,000 people. spent $7.6 million during its 1968 fiscal years by the lnternational Affairs Division. silenced, however, by the authorities, Atlee Beechy, assistant secretary of year on programs in the United States and The division invested part of its $625,000 sent back to England and efforts were the Mennonite Central Committee, re- 18 countries abroad. 1968 budget in seminars arranged for young made to do the same for the Quakers It received in income during this period leaders in the Ivory Coast and Malaysia, as turned on January 22 from a five-day of nearly $7.5 million from individuals, cor- well as diplomats' conferences in Bulgaria, who followed after. It took many visits visit to the Abiriba Quaker-Mennonite porations, and bequests. Almost $4.5 mil- Switzerland, Ceylon and Japan. by many vociferously unquiet men and program. lion of this income was in cash and The Committee's efforts on behalf of women to establish the Ouaker faith in securities and nearly $500,000 in aifts of world peace have, over the last four years, the Puritan stronghold oi~ewEngland. Needs immense clothing, food, textiies and supplies. 94 had a -national focus on ending the war in bequests, totalling $1,144,441 were added Vietnam. The heart of the P~ACSFducatlon The difficulities were not so great in Atlee reported that the saff was hard to the bequest fund, while $1,791,710 was Division's work toward this goal has been the land farther south. at work and that the "needs were im- appropriated for current activities from be- to publicize AFSC viewpoints at the com- There have been many books mense." He went on to say that the quests received in previous years. $745,000 munity level where support for peace was received in other income, such as initiatives must be built. The AFSC's stand written about Quaker history, Quaker severity of the condition shows up in faith and Quaker works. This partic- ocean freight reimbursement, participants' against conscription was reaffirmed with the the "sharp increase in the numbers of fees and literature sales. publication of a major study, "The Draft?" ular book has been written primarily refugees, the growing military and civil- During the year, the AFSC committed which presents evidence of its dangerous for school and college age young peo- ian casualties, the growing scarcity of a larger sum than ever before to projects impact on national life. Peace Education invested nearly $900,000 in these and other ple and covers the 312 years between food on the local markets and the infla- directed to ending racial discrimination in the first arrivals in Boston in 1656 to our society. More than $1 million was '68 activities. tion of prices." channeled by Community Relations Division the present day, including the Friends The AFSC programs on both sides into programs identifying with the victims Channel energy and talents World Conference at Guilford College, will try to be catalysts in the solution of of inequality, unequal justice and discrimi- Almost $1.5 million was spent by Youth North Carolina in 1967 and efforts to nation. Services Division in projects attempting to the common refugee problems: relief lnternational Service Division distributed help in both North and South Vietnam. and rehabilitation. AFSC work is being channel the energy and talents of young more than $1.7 million over its broad people into direct participation in social Historical material carried out strictly on a humanitarian spectrum: a prosthetics program in a Viet- change processes. These ranged from sur- basis without regard to the tribal back- nam War zone, plans for self-help housing veys testing racial attitudes in an affluent Margaret Bacon has handled well ground or political afiiliation. in Zambia, and at year's end a major effort Minneapol~swhite neighborhood, to coun- the historical material dealing with all to bring relief to civilian refugees with the seling young men opposed to the Vietnam An annual budget of $250,000, not establishment of medical and distribution phases of Quaker philosophy and of War. including $200,000 to $300,000 per units in both Nigeria and Biafra. Close to $1.7 million was spent by the action. She goes all the way back to year for food and medical supplies, is World-wide corps of leaders Committee for general administration, per- the beginnings of Quakerism in Eng- projected for AFSC work in Nigeria sonnel, publicity and finance. If you would land, its transplanting in the New World, and in Biafra. The Committee expects The AFSC has generated the good will like a more detailed financial statement, the new political climate and the of a world-wide corps of leaders who have please write the Finance Department, AFSC, the programs to be in operation for the participated in its lnternational Seminars 160 N. 15th Street, Philadelphia, Pa., 19102, changes which migrations across the next three to five years. and Conferences for Diplomats. Both pro- for a copy of our '68 Annual Report. American continent broughtu into the picture. How the Society of Friends tried to, or refused to, adapt itself to its Non-Prof~tOrg. environment, comes out well in this U. 5. POSTAGE book. Of necessity she has to rush along to cover over 300 years within a PHILADELPHIA. PA. readable volume but it is hopcd that Permit No. 389 her readers will become sufficiently in- terested and excited by this survey to want to rcad more and will turn to some National Edition of the books mentioned in the bibliog- i American Friends Service Committee raphy. Students of Quakerism will find 160 North 15th Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19102 this an invaluable book. How could so small a religious body have such a wide influence and 1 Addrass Correction Requ~sterl accomplish so much? This is a fasci- nating topic for consideration. Quakers can also feel exceedingly humble to see how far short they have fallen in ful- filling the inheritance given to them. AFSC RUI,LETIN Number I01 em