Rick McDowell and Mary Trotochaud have spent the past year living in a Baghdad neighborhood. Now, they bring their firsthand experiences to Baltimore in Voices of Dissent, an evening of music and firsthand testimony from soldiers and others who have experienced the tragic human costs of war with Iraq.

The pair offers insights into the true cost of this war and occupation - providing a window into the stark realities of living in Iraq. The event is sponsored by the American Friend Service Committee, an international social justice organization and the Center of Social Concern at Johns Hopkins University.

Voices of Dissent will be held Thursday, October 14 at 8:00 p.m. at Johns Hopkins University, Hodson Hall, on the west side of the Homewood Campus in Baltimore.

The physical and social fabric of Iraqi society has been destroyed by three wars, economic sanctions and years of a brutal regime. The present situation in occupied Iraq can only be described as one of deteriorating security, prosperity, and hope.

Mary has worked as a facilitator of nonviolence training in New England and around the United States. She traveled to Iraq in December 2002 with a U.S. religious leadership delegation. Since 1996, Rick has led or accompanied 15 delegations to Iraq, including a U.S. Quaker/AFSC delegation and a Fellowship of Reconciliation delegation of Nobel Peace Laureates. He has been involved in Middle-East related issues since 1988.

Voices of Dissent also features folk singers and activists Charles King and Karen Brandow. Described by Pete Seeger as "one of the finest singers and songwriters of our time," Charlie King has been at the heart of American folk music and activism for over 35 years. He is a musical storyteller and political satirist whose central mission is to infuse listeners with a sense of optimism and possibility about the future. His songs have been recorded by such performers as Holly Near, Ronnie Gilbert, Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, and John McCutcheon.

He has released a dozen solo albums since 1976 and three albums with his group Bright Morning Star. King's musical activism on behalf of peace, human rights, and environmental sanity earned him the War Resisters League's Peacemaker Award in 1998, and Pete Seeger nominated him for the Sacco-Vanzetti Social Justice Award, which he received in November 1999.

Karen Brandow, another musician with a social conscience, has been performing with Charlie King since 1998. She began singing and playing guitar as a teenager in the U.S. While doing human rights work in Guatemala from 1986-1994, she studied voice and performance at the Angelica Rosa Academy of Performing Arts and classical guitar at the National Conservatory of Music. She wrote a book about the Guatemalan labor movement called The Sky Never Changes, published in 1996 by Cornell University Press.

Hosted by Erik Gustafson, a Gulf war veteran and director of the organization Education for Peace in Iraq, Voices of Dissent, will be one of the first anti-war events in Baltimore this fall. Several speakers will provide up-to-date testimony about the devastating impact of the Iraq war. Also sharing their
insights:

• Celeste Zappala, who lost her son, Sherwood, in Iraq;
• David Chasteen, an Iraq war veteran and spokesperson for Operation Truth;
• Peggy Gish, who coordinates the work of the Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraq.

Johns Hopkins University's Hodson Hall is located on the west side of the Homewood Campus 3400 North Charles Street, in Baltimore. Homewood is the main campus for Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, School of Professional Studies in Business and Education), and Whiting School of Engineering.

Founded in 1917 to provide conscientious objectors with an opportunity to aid civilian victims during World War I, the American Friends Service Committee is grounded in Quaker beliefs respecting the dignity and worth of every person. The Service Committee has programs in the United States and in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East that focus on issues related to economic justice, peace-building and demilitarization, social justice, and youth.

In 1947, the AFSC and the British Friends Service Council accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the Religious Society of Friends for humanitarian service, work for reconciliation, and the spirit in which these were carried out.

The Center for Social Concern emphasizes the value of service with others, rather than the commonly accepted concept of service to others. The Center's programs and efforts are striving to create a "better community" in and around the Johns Hopkins campus.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information on the event, contact Max Obuszewski, 410-323-7200, or 410-377-7987; or Laura Bennett, (410) 323-7200 ext. 16.
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The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization that includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace and humanitarian service. Its work is based on the belief in the worth of every person and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice.