Letter - It was a life-changing evening

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To the editor:

My husband and I attended the documentary film event last evening at the Technical College entitled Pray the Devil Back to Hell.

It was hosted by the Diversity Resource Action Alliance and was the moving story of the women of Liberia in 2003, both the Christian and Muslim women, working together through determination, prayer, organization and sheer numbers to bring peace to their war-torn country through non-violent means. As a result of their constancy, sit-ins, blockading, and persistence, they influenced the peace talks to finally come to an agreement, and were instrumental in not only bringing democratic elections to their country, but also electing the first woman to the office of president.

It was a wonderful tribute to what can be done when people work together to obtain such a huge goal. This film will be part of a PBS special next year. We were extremely fortunate to have the award-winning director with us to share many stories of her research and discussions with the people of Liberia.

Two important points that she made: It was not a war of ideology or ethnic groups, but rather a simple grab for power by gangsters and thugs, as is many of the actions going on in Third World countries. The other point is that we must stop the weapons trade, which is a huge business in the world.

It was a life-changing evening.

Barbara Lehman

Alexandria, MN

Tags: barbara lehman, opinion, letters, lehman