2003 was the year that the USA and UK went to war against world opinion. It is increasingly clear that President Bush was gunning for Iraq before he even entered office. The opposition to the war almost turned the tide in the UK but Tony Blair backed George Bush to the hilt, Blair making the wrong assessment of the basis for war. In Ireland, Bertie Ahern shrugged off opposition to Irish involvement through US use of Shannon with his typical prevarication and obfuscation - anything but admit the truth that the Irish government was too craven to the USA to say the mildest of 'boos', even if it wanted to which is doubtful.

Much of the early part of the year was taken up by anti-war activities, which those involved in INNATE were heavily committed to, and we did our best in Nonviolent News to cover the anti-war movement in Ireland. If 'once bitten, twice shy' means that public opinion will not be so easily swayed by the lies from governments (US American, British, Irish), then a major achievement has been won. However, the demands of the anti-war movement meant that, for example, INNATE organised no major seminars during the year (though, for example, we were delighted to have Joanne Sheehan, chair of War Resisters International, speak at a Belfast meeting abut the US peace movement).

However, INNATE tries not to be 'anti' but 'pro', being 'an Irish Network for Nonviolent Action Training and Education'. There were alternatives to war in Iraq. And in every issue of Nonviolent News we report on how groups and organisations, North and South, are working and building for change in the areas of peace, human rights, ecological issues, and world solidarity. There are some great things going on. And we always welcome hearing from new initiatives or ones we have not covered for a while.

Nonviolent News was produced the full ten times during the year with some good feed-back on occasions from recipients. The e-mail distribution list continues to grow but it should be pointed out people can receive both paper and e-mail editions if they like (the content of the expanded e-mail edition is the same as goes on the website).

Our website is getting more and more visitors. Some of these (coming via a search engine) are people who log off almost before they log on but, for example, if someone comes via a web search for 'consensus decision making', the chances are that they will download at least a few pages and possibly much more. The pamphlets on-line, the Billy King; Rites Again column and news sections of Nonviolent News are all well utilised. Internally, the word search facility means that an item can be found quite easily. Visits to the website currently average just over a hundred a day, or, in other words, one every quarter of an hour on average. There is much more that we want to add to the website (on training, 'Dawn' magazine etc) but getting the time is the problem; offers of help welcome.

While INNATE is a membership organisation (though individuals and groups can receive Nonviolent News without being considered members), with individual and group membership around the country, it functions mainly in the area of information and networking. A small INNATE networking group meets regularly in Belfast and anyone is welcome to attend. We try to support various initiatives from time to time in the fields of peace, nonviolence, training and political and social change.

If you make a query and we don't come back to you immediately, please ask again. We do try to respond as fast as we can but this can be difficult. Acting as an unpaid and part-time coordinator for a network without an office, and with only a small number of volunteers, is problematic. However the contribution that can be made by any additional volunteers is disproportionate to the time they have to offer; sometimes particular activities or actions just require 'one more' person for them to be viable. Think about it. I would also like to point out that INNATE exists on less than a shoe-string budget, with difficulty in meeting costs, so your financial contribution is vital.

Anyway, and in spite of the workload and a desk whose piles of paper continually threaten to slide off, I continue to think of being coordinator of INNATE as a privilege because it brings me into contact, at home and abroad, with an amazing range of people doing some pretty amazing things with amazingly small resources. INNATE is about promoting nonviolent and peaceful alternatives. If you think we can do something for you, please ask. And if you think you might be able to do something for us, please get in touch.

Rob Fairmichael, 
Coordinator, INNATE and Editor, Nonviolent News.

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