A War Without End?

For many families in London, the war in Afghanistan has always taken centre stage, as they fear for the safety of relatives caught up in the conflict. Meanwhile the ongoing occupation has inevitably caused underlying tensions within integrated communities. Wednesday’s talk, organised by Wandsworth Stop the War Coalition and held at Tooting Islamic Centre, set out to bridge this divide and instigate debate on this difficult subject.

Following a call to the centre’s main hall for evening prayer, Stop the War Coalition’s Lindsey Orr delivered a damning verdict on the war, at one point describing the occupation as no more than an imperialist crusade. Orr’s political standpoint was one reflected by other speakers and by the majority of the audience, and was backed up by solid statistics. Two figures in particular stood out – firstly, that in a time of recession, the ongoing war effort costs £192,000 per taxpayer per year. Secondly, that after eight long years, the country remains so unstable that 1 in 4 new police officers are killed whilst on duty.

Lindsey Orr concluded her speech by demanding that Tony Blair be brought to account for the casualties the war in Afghanistan has caused. Whilst it may appear reactionary to claim resolution would come from punishing one individual, there is a sense that, should the Chilcot Inquiry find the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to be unethical, justice should be sought for those it has affected. Three years from stepping down as Prime Minister, Lindsey Orr made an argument that may have made the former leader of New Labour feel slightly uneasy, ahead of the entrance of one of old Labour’s most respected figures.

Tony Benn, the popular left-wing former MP and current president of Stop the War, gave a short, optimistic speech that contrasted well with the first talk, and gave hope that perhaps the question posed by the meeting’s title could be answered in the affirmative. Responding to questions later in the session, Benn claimed that for those fighting to end bloodshed and oppression, there may never be a finish line. For him, the most important factor remains the education of younger generations, whom he felt were much more politically motivated than they are given credit for.

Benn also commended the collaborative nature of the meeting, as the centre opened its doors to non-Muslims. Imam Suliman Ghani, speaking after Tony Benn, was keen to point out that the centre was always happy for non-Muslims to attend. Sulimani gave a clear, concise speech, in which he asked for Afghanistan’s people to be given the opportunity to rebuild their own nation, and re-iterated the need for peaceful diplomacy to resolve the conflict.

The talk concluded with a question and answer session, which threw up some strong arguments. Most notable were questions on how to equate the undeniably tragic death of British soldiers with the dubious nature of the war they have been fighting, and a call to use the upcoming general election as a platform to push the war in Afghanistan back into the political and public consciousness. There was a strong sense of communion between the regular visitors to the mosque and those attending the talk, although the slightly uncertain, polite tone of the evening stifled the debate at times.

The family of Shakeer Ameer, a Battersea father who has been held illegally in Guantanamo Bay since the Afghanistan war began, came to the stage to highlight his ongoing struggle. It was a poignant, personal note on which to end. Heading out afterwards, it was hard not to feel positive about these first, tentative steps to get our community talking collectively about some of its more difficult and divisive issues. Perhaps further meetings can help better shape a movement to highlight and tackle the problems in Afghanistan. Either way, it is encouraging that so many local residents appear determined to remain united against a war that has caused so much division across the world.