'The people of Iran want peace, and they want dialogue,' she says

For 20 years, Dr. Catherine Thomasson, an Oregon physician, has been an active member of Physicians for Social Responsibility, which allows her to work towards peace and social justice issues and against nuclear weapons and global warming.

"I felt it was important for physicians, whose opinions seem to matter (to the public), to weigh in with a strong, medical-research based voice," on topics like war and environmental destruction, she said.

PSR is the United States affiliate of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, which received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985. Thomasson, who was president of the Oregon chapter for five years, is now president of the national organization.

In March, she was the PSR representative in a delegation from the Fellowship of Reconciliation's Iran Initiative. She and 22 other delegates visited four Iranian cities in two weeks, meeting with everyone from victims of chemical weapons during the Iraq-Iran War, to the vice president of culture for the Iranian government, to clerics and professors.

The group wanted to get beyond what the United States is saying about Iran, and to find out more about the public's support of Iran's theocracy, which sources of information they trust, and how the people feel about the nuclear situation.

"We wanted to know what people there perceive about their nuclear program," she said.

She found a lot in Iran to be hopeful about. Sixty percent of the population is 30 years old or younger, and 60 percent of the university population is female. With a strong middle class and an educated population with access to many forms of information, including the Internet, Thomasson said "you're going to have change."

Universally, every Iranian they came in contact with openly embraced them and was enthusiastic about creating dialogue. Nowhere did the American group experience prejudice or anger.

"People wanted us to take a message back to our government," she said. "The people of Iran want peace, and they want dialogue."

Thomasson said she saw in the disconnect between the people and their government a reflection of the situation in the United States. Like in the U.S., Iran's government seems to be speaking out of two mouths, one a hard-lined, threatening voice, the other softer and more conciliatory.

"To end conflict, you have to talk, or punish, or you can attack," Thomasson said. "But eventually, you have to talk."

Thomasson is hoping the delegation's experiences in Iran and the information they have brought back will help the United States work toward a peaceful resolution to current tensions between the two countries. She is giving talks to Oregonians, including one in Corvallis, to help present a broader conceptual understanding of the history of Iran, its complex relationship with the United States and the importance of continuing dialogue.

She will present "Iran: Exploring Myths, Revealing Realities," at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Oddfellows Hall, 223 S.W. Second St., Corvallis. The talk is free.