No Laughing Matter

Had we all we shown such commitment maybe the world would be in better shape right now:

"Brian Haw, 62, peace activist who rankled British leader" June 20, 2011|By Sylvia Hui, Associated Press

LONDON — To some, he was a crackpot, an eyesore camped out on prime London real estate. To others he was an inspiration, tirelessly fighting for civil rights.

Brian Haw, a longtime British peace activist known for staging around-the-clock protests outside London’s Parliament continuously for 10 years, has died at age 62.

Mr. Haw died Saturday in Germany, where he was receiving treatment for lung cancer, his family said yesterday.

Mr. Haw set up camp opposite the Houses of Parliament in June 2001 to protest US and British bombing raids on Iraq. His protest soon widened in scope, with the invasion of Afghanistan and the Iraq war.

Over the years, British officials tried — but failed — to shut down his protests and remove him from Parliament Square.....

Last year, Mr. Haw told reporters: “We’re there because our country is committing infanticide, genocide, the looting of nations. I’m determined to be there until they kill me.’’  

Maybe they did.

Lung cancer, you say?

For a decade, Mr. Haw’s tent, with his collection of pictures showing war victims and handwritten slogans like “Baby Killers,’’ was a fixture in Parliament Square.

Many did not take kindly to him — passersby often shouted abuse at him, and Mr. Haw scuffled with critics several times. Nonetheless, he always returned to his chosen spot.

A father of seven, he had told reporters that he left his family to campaign for other families in war zones around the world.

Mr. Haw was born in 1949. An evangelical Christian, he traveled to regions torn by conflict — he went to Northern Ireland during The Troubles, and to Cambodia to visit the killing fields as the country tried to heal after years of warfare.

He also worked with troubled youth before starting his protest in 2001.

Jeremy Corbyn, an opposition Labour Party lawmaker, said on Twitter that he was always pleased to see Mr. Haw outside Parliament.

Mr. Haw “reminded us that one person with determination can show principles whilst lies and distortions abound,’’ he tweeted....

I think a little of us all died with him; however, Haw still lives in so many of us.

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