Ban Bus heads through the buckeye state
(Youngstown, OH: November 15,1997) The ban bus began two days of activities through Ohio in Cleveland, where they attended a luncheon at the Cleveland City Club. Bobby Muller President of Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation was the key note speaker.
Bobby gave an inspiring and passionate speech covering the problems of living in a landmined area to disassembling the administrations landmine policy. A press conference followed the luncheon. Campaigners, as well as Bobby Muller spoke with the media. The event was well covered by local network affiliates ABC, CBS, NBC. The event was well covered in The Cleveland Plain Dealer having a full quarter of a page detailing Bobby’s speech and the global landmine problem. The team then split into groups and spoke at high schools and colleges in the area. The Campaigners trip to Cleveland ended with a presentation at the Quaker Meeting House.
The next day, the ban bus headed to Youngstown, Ohio and the Southern Park Mall. Campaigners set-up a day long exhibit of photos by John Rodsted, Afghan Children’s Postcards from Mette, and displays assembled by Dalma. Everyone was available to answer questions from the general public on a myriad of landmine related issues. Ohioians were reminded to thanks Represenatives Hall, Strickland, Kaptur, Kucinich, Stokes, Brown, Sawyer, Pryce, and LaTourette for co-sponsoring H2459 (Landmine Elimination Act) and ask Senators Glenn and Dewine, Representatives Chabot, Portman, Oxley, Gillmor, Hobson, Boehner, Regula, Traficant, and Ney to get on board the ban. All three network affiliates
covered campaigners at the mall, including, WKBN a CBS affiliate, WYTV an ABC affiliate and WFMJ an NBC affiliate.
In Cleveland, special thanks to Tracy Movaro of Peace Action, Mary Sutphin of the Cleveland Campaign and Denise and Jim Brown for opening their beautiful home to the team and making us feel like part of the family. In Youngstown, thanks to Gloria Jones, The Youngstown Coalition to Ban Landmines, UNA-USA, the Peace Action Council, and anyone else we forgot!
The Ban Bus is an advocacy initiative. We are now striving to achieve a ban on cluster bombs by the end of 2008. Our immediate mission is to build strong support for the Oslo Process in countries through Europe, conducting a 10 000 km journey from the Balkans to Oslo.