Press release

"JAILBIRD GRANNIES" FROM U.S. ARRIVE IN FRANKFURT TOMORROW!

"GERMANY AND EUROPE CAN AND MUST STAND UP TO BUSH," THEY SAY

Four members of the internationally known Granny Peace Brigade will fly at their own cost tonight from New York to join all those who on July 13th will be protesting the invitation of U.S. President George W. Bush when he visits German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Stralsund, Germany. A fifth Granny will join them in Stralsund. Merkel has invited Bush to stop by on his way to the G-8 Conference in St. Petersburg July 15th-17th.

Merkel has invited Bush to have a look at the seaside town in the region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (in the former East Germany) from which the German Chancellor had her political start in life. It is thought that the U.S. and German heads of state will also be discussing the strategy for the Middle East, especially since the Iranian government has been given a firm deadline of July 12th to accept the package of proposals by the U.S., Germany, and other EU nations regarding the Iranian nuclear program.

The Granny Peace Brigade is a group of eighteen U.S. women, ages 60 to 91, who live in New York. Because of their passionate opposition to the invasion and occupation of Iraq, last October they attempted to enlist for military service in Iraq at a U.S. soldier recruitment center in New York City. The Grannies said they wanted to replace their grandchildren who might otherwise die there; they felt it better they sacrifice their own lives for Bush's agenda than the lives of kids on the brink of young adulthood.

All eighteen Grannies were arrested and jailed when they sat down to protest their being denied entrance to the recruitment center.  After a lengthy trial in NY this past spring, all the "Jailbird" Grannies were acquitted.  Their case drew international notice, motivating grandmothers everywhere to openly resist. 

The Grannies have recently completed a ten-day journey from NY to Washington, DC. The eighteen Grannies walked and rode busses to visit approximately twelve cities and towns, appearing at meetings, forums and supporting a newly-formed Philadelphia Grandmothers for Peace group whose members, inspired by the Granny Peace Brigade, were arrested on June 28th for trying to enlist at the local recruiting center.

This "Grannies Trek" culminated in front of the White House on July 4, 2006, U.S. Independence Day. There the Grandmothers joined other anti-war leaders and prominent personalities in the TROOPS HOME FAST. Led by the women’s organization CODE PINK, this US-wide and international fast and hunger strike launched to protest the ongoing war in and occupation of Iraq. Among those participating are Cindy Sheehan, Dick Gregory, the singers Willie Nelson and Bonnie Raitt, the author Alice Walker, the actors Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, and Danny Glover, and the historian Howard Zinn. Some have vowed publicly to continue the hunger strike until at least mid-September.

The eldest Granny, 91, also had planned to come to Germany, but could not for health reasons. Joan Wile, 70, founder and leader of the Grandmothers’ peace group who regularly writes a column for the Web site of the filmmaker Michael Moore, explained why these four women, ranging in age from 60 to 76, think it so important for them to come:

"The Grandmothers are eager to travel to Germany to take part in the very important anti-war actions there. We feel it is vital for other countries to see and hear us as reflective of a strong opposition to the Bush policies in America, to show solidarity with the majority of people all over the world who hate this war, and to give voice to the urgent need for an immediate end to the immoral and destructive occupation of Iraq. Our troops should be brought home now!"

Jailbird Grannies - Who Will Come? The eighteen Grandmothers are an interesting group -- a noted Broadway actress, a psychoanalyst, a pediatrician, an architect, a former New York State assemblywoman, a singer/songwriter, social workers, teachers, and artists.  In addition to speaking, the Jailbird Grannies put on a show -- performing original songs, dramatic and comedy  monologues and a granny chorus line dance. Those who will be arriving in Frankfurt on July 11^th are:

Betty Brassell, 76, a grandmother and a great-grandmother. Betty has been a housing activist for years in her Manhattan neighborhood.  She also went to Vieques, Puerto Rico, a number of times to protest the United States' nuclear testing there. 

Barbara Walker, 73, grandmother of three. She worked for the United Nations for many years in various posts in Africa as an administrator of scholarship programs and U.N. peacekeeping projects.  She is Assistant Director of Grandmothers Against the War.

Susan Nickerson, 62, is an artist who is frequently exhibited in various art galleries.  She is also an NGO representative to the United Nations.  Susan is a past Vice President and Acting President of the West Side Peace Action in Manhattan.

Ann Shirazi, 61, is not quite yet a grandmother. She is a social worker, an illustrator, and an active member of the innovative U.S. women’s peace organization, Code Pink. She is the coordinator of the Grannies Germany Trek.

Ahmad Shirazi, 68, who is Ann’s husband, will accompany the Grannies. Born and raised in Tehran (Iran), Ahmad and came to the US in 1963 to study film directing. He and Ann married in 1969 and have two terrific adult children. Ahmad has worked in NY as a sound
designer and supervising sound editor on dozens of feature films ("Bonfire of the Vanities," "Running On Empty," "Cry the Beloved Country") and on documentaries ("No Nukes").

Elsa Rassbach, 63, invited the Grannies to come to Germany and will accompany them. She is a mother (expects to be a grandmother in the next few years) and a filmmaker. A U.S. citizen who resides in Berlin, Germany, she is active with the German peace movement as well as the U.S. expat organizations American Voices Abroad, Democrats Abroad, and the new Code Pink in Germany.

Diane Dreyfus, not quite 60, will join the Grannies on July 13^th in Stralsund. Nicknamed "Techie Granny" by her associates in the Peace Brigade, Diane is an architect, a city planner and an environmentalist.  She calls herself a Universal Grandmother concerned about all grandchldren everywhere.

(DFG – VK, Kasselerstr. 1A, Frankfurt M, near Westbahnhof)

Wednesday, July 12 at 21:00 to 22:30 Berlin Peace Movement Meets Grannies.

(Max & Moritz Restaurant, Oranienstr. 126, Berlin-Kreuzberg)

(place will be announced)

(event schedule is available)