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Remembering the "Close the School of the Americas" Demonstration Voices of the Northwest
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"Understanding is the ground
Compassion is the root
Plant Peace"
During the fall of 2001, through some sort
of serendipity (or as Friends would say, "The way opened"), a group of
four of us, all from Oregon, came together, with the vision of crossing the country
in a van, showing a video and talking about the historic Army School of the Americas,
now re-named Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. We would end
the trip with participation in the huge annual demonstration to close the school,
in November, at Fort Benning in Georgia.
We were Bonnie who lives near the coast, is a teacher, and does Guatemala accompaniment
work; Nick originally from England, and now living in Eugene; Bethany, who also lives
in a rural area not far from the coast and is a retired physical therapist, and myself,
a Friend (Quaker) from Eugene. We named our journey "Pilgrimage to Close the
SOA and Plant the Garden," and arranged, through much advance planning, to travel
south to Los Angeles, then east to Georgia, being hosted by individuals and groups
along the way, giving talks wherever we were invited.
We wanted to raise awareness of the existence of this school, our very own U.S.
school of terrorism. Founded in 1946, this school has trained and encouraged
militaries throughout Latin America to use torture, massacre, forced disappearance
and assassination, in order to combat Communist infiltration and in counternarcotic
activity.
Our positive vision was especially represented by Nick, from an "Avant Gardening
Collective." He carried a large box filled with a variety of organic seeds.
He engaged in "seed swaps." These seeds, and others carefully collected
and preserved around the world, are precious. Healthy and sustainable farming and
gardening are being destroyed in our global economic system, by huge commercial farms
with commercial fertilizers and pesticides, by genetically modified seeds, by commercial
patenting of the traditional seeds of indigenous peoples, by the fumigating of crops
in Colombia and elsewhere, a part of the "War on Drugs." The "Seed"
is a symbol among Friends of the Inner Light, the Divine that is deep within each
one of us. The Garden can be found within the mythology of many religions.
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Can we find hope, in this time of our history, that a new Garden can be planted, hope for a transformation in our world? Along the way, we gave presentations at universities, peace and justice centers, churches, and in Friends Meetings. We met and talked informally with so many others, who provided hospitality and help. Generous donations helped us along our way. Did we make a difference? Indeed, did the Fort Benning demonstration make a difference? How can we say? We like to believe that each action we take does make some kind of a difference. However, even if we get the school closed, that will not mean that the atrocities taught there will be ended.
This movement to close the school is a part of a larger movement to raise awareness of U.S. economic policies and the horrific role played by military and intelligence institutions. And it is a movement to bring dignity for all people around the world and a planet that is sustained and protected. What is a pilgrimage? Perhaps it is a seeker, or seekers, who set out on a sacred journey, their destination a sacred place, traveling with the hope to deepen their own spiritual commitment in the process. Does this description fit our story? The other side of the coin of this journey is what happened to each of us, how we were touched and taught.
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Along the way, we were also spiritually fed and inspired at the Friends of Peace Pilgrim retreat center near Placerville, east of Sacramento; by Quaker Center in Ben Lomond, near Santa Cruz in California; by the Oscar Romero Catholic Worker House and an off-the-grid homestead in Oklahoma City; by the dilapidated Friends Meeting house in Los Angeles, bustling with activity day and night; by the Civil Rights Institute and memorial park in Birmingham, AL.; by the collective of young adults, in Oakland, working with commitment and imagination for a better world; by so many Friends and others with whom we met and shared and from whom we received hospitality. Our awareness of the weaving of love, dedication, hard work that is happening around the world, its beauty and its strength, was deepened, and we were heartened. We touched each other, too, with massage, with our frailties, with reflections, with love. We agreed that "Peace begins in the van," or, even more importantly, it begins deep within each one of us.
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commemoration of the hundreds of thousands of massacred in most of the countries of Latin America. Planning had been complex, because the leaders were told that we were not to be given permission to use the road going into Fort Benning which has been used for many years, nor any other road in or near Columbus. There was an injunction against some of the staff of SOA Watch. SOA Watch took the City of Columbus to court, believing that our constitutional rights were being violated.
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When the procession was over, there were other actions: a die-in. People lay on the ground for hours, surrounded by their friends. They were finally arrested after the legal vigil was over. A puppet pageant arrived, depicting with color and energy the repression and the vision. A global village was constructed on the spot, out of cardboard and paints. One of the puppets was a huge dragon, with a ladder hidden inside. They successfully raised it up and over the fence, to the tune of many cheers. Some people managed to get under the fence, others around it, to be arrested on the other side. Some people began to curse the military police, in violation of the nonviolence pledge. Peacekeepers and staff came forward to talk with these people and end that behavior.
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Our little group, Nick, Bonnie, Bethany and I, had a long group hug. We were suddenly at the end of our time together. Nick and Bethany took the van back across the country, while Bonnie and I went on to families for Thanksgiving. I left at the end of the formal vigil, for restaurant, reflection, a warm bath and bed. But meanwhile, many people stayed after the legal time was up, risking arrest. Riot police appeared and faced off opposite puppets and peaceful singing. My friends reported the look of puzzlement in the eyes of many of these police. (The eyes were the only part of their bodies that could be seen.) Most demonstrators were able to respond in legal ways, getting to the edge of the road or on the property of Fr. Roy Bourgeois. But well over 100 were arrested, and some jailed. Some fasted in jail until their sentence was reduced. Others will be tried, and may serve time in prison. People were charged with unlawful assembly, obstruction of police, blocking a road.
They believe that these actions are minor in comparison with those of dictators and generals, proven authors of massacres all over Latin America, who still have not been brought to justice, some of whom are in the School's Hall of Fame. And so, we have completed this action. How effective was it? There was considerable media coverage, nationally and internationally. We believe that this is a movement that is seeping into the public consciousness. Is it possible that, in time, the public will no longer allow for U.S. support of atrocities all over the world? In time, will we recognize the power of compassion and heed the words of Jesus and other great world spiritual leaders?
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What comes next in our efforts? 1) Please urge your Representatives to co-sponsor and support HR 1810. This bill will close the school (WHISC, Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation). It will establish a joint congressional task force to assess the U.S. training of Latin American military.
2) Come to Washington, DC for the Colombia Mobilization, cosponsored by SOA Watch, Witness for Peace and many other groups, April 19-22, 2002. We need to act strongly to end the terrorism and devastation our U.S. policies support there. Over 10,000 military personnel from Colombia have been trained at the school.
Peg shares two favorite sites:
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See National Catholic Reporter's story on sisters and Sisters. Gwen
and Dorthy Hennessey who served many months in federal prison for their non-violent
protests at the SOA demonstrations last year.