Welcome to the ‘Pilgrim and Storyteller’ website

This site shares the journey of Australian peace activist and writer, Donna Mulhearn, since embarking on a personal pilgrimage in July 2002, which saw her living in a Buddhist nunnery in Tibet and later war-torn Baghdad.

It includes stories and photos from her three visits to Iraq during war and occupation, as well as occupied Palestine and Tibet.

Donna was part of the human shield movement during the war in Iraq. She later returned as a humanitarian aid worker to set up a shelter for street kids in Baghdad and assist homeless families. During this time she survived constant bombing, being kidnapped by fighters and shot at by American soldiers.

She is a former journalist and political adviser who is now an independent writer and speaker on non-violence, spirituality and politics.

Donna’s latest trip to the Middle East included time in Iraq and the West Bank of Palestine, where she spent four months as a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement.

She is now doing talks around Australia, continues fundraising for projects in Iraq and is working on publishing her writings.  

In order to undertake aid work in Iraq, a group of former human shields, including Donna, established ‘Our Home – Iraq’ as an independent organisation designed to carry out projects to assist children and families affected by the war. Its work has included setting up a shelter for street-kids in Baghdad and a centre for traumatised children. It is now supporting projects to assist refugee families made homeless by the war.

Donna is motivated by the tradition of non-violent action, and inspired by the radical Christian teaching of non-violence as a way of life. Donna’s inspiration to join the human shields was the Prayer of St Francis of Assisi: ‘Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, where there is hatred, let me bring love…

She has a spirituality of action and contemplation which includes the practice of Christian Meditation. This is an ancient spiritual tradition, also called the prayer of the heart, which has been revived in recent years through the teaching of the late John Main, a British Benedictine monk.

Christian Meditation allows a person to connect with God within, through silence and stillness. It teaches the use of a mantra, or sacred word, to clear the mind of distractions. Meditation allows a person to ‘be’ in the present moment and over time to develop a deeper sense of self-awareness. John Main said: “in meditation you know who you are because you are who you are”.

The contemplative tradition is a mystical spirituality that encounters the divine within, but also in various places and situations. It also respects and draws wisdom from other spiritual traditions. It creates a heightened sense of love, compassion and justice. Contemplation goes hand-in-hand with action.

Featured on ABC Television’s Australian Story program, Donna is available for speaking engagements (including images) about the war on Iraq, the situation in Palestine, non-violent action, Christian Meditation and how to make a difference. She can be contacted by e-mail on donnamulhearn@yahoo.com.au