This was my third time to go to the School of the Americas Watch and Vigil at Fort Benning, Georgia. This annual event takes place the weekend before Thanksgiving to commemorate the murder of 6 Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter, in El Salvador. The history of the vigil is well-told in Father Roy Bourgeois biography, "Disturbing the Peace." (Sorry I don't know how to underline here.)
My adventure began Thursday morning at the San Francisco Airport when I arrived at the gate for a flight to Atlanta, Georgia. Veteran protester and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Charlie Liteky would be on the same flight, and I was going to ride to Columbus, Georgia, with him in his rental car. (
http://www.mishalov.com/Liteky.html ) I may have met Charlie two years earlier when he spoke at a small vigil in Sacramento, but I was not acquainted with him. He was easily recognized and I introduced myself. Charlie is a mellow, friendly man; he greeted me with a hug. We had a short conversation then boarded the plane.
Charlie’s wife, Judy, had made the travel plans with me; she coordinates the Bay Area group’s hotel stay in Columbus, Georgia, for the School of the Americas Watch Vigil at the gates of Fort Benning. (www.soaw.org ). Howard Johnsons, where we stay, is one of the hubs of workshops, concerts, events, and networking that make up this remarkable annual protest against militarism and torture, the weekend before Thanksgiving.
It was an honor to spend hours talking with Charlie about personal transformation, the theme of a book he is completing. He has transformed from an army chaplain and priest in Vietnam who still believed that war is a necessary evil after serving in VietNam, to an agnostic war protester with a prison record. He defied humanitarian aid sanctions against Iraq, and he was there to witness the “Shock and Awe” attack against Iraq.
Later that evening, I ate with Judy and Charlie and two other people from the Bay area. One of them, Dave, told us about attending a Martin Luther King, Jr. trial in nearby Birmingham, Alabama, decades ago as a young activist. The court had removed all the chairs for spectators, so King’s supporters packed the room standing up, as well as integrating it racially. The trial was for Dr. King not having changed his car license plates to Alabama from Georgia. The Vigil takes place near the heart of Dr. King’s leadership in the Civil Rights Movement: Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham. This is part of the magic of being at this protest---meeting elderly peace activists and touching history through their lifelong activism for justice and peace. Also being so close to where King, Parks and so many others put their lives on the line for justice.
Friday, I walked six blocks to the Columbus Conference Center, the other site (besides the Gates of Fort Benning) of Vigil activity, for a 3 hour non-violence training. A charming couple from Salinas, Kansas, was seated next to me. They had been arrested the previous week near their home, for trespassing on a military installation. Again I felt the magic of being surrounded by people who are actively resisting the military empire.
We reviewed the basics of nonviolence and practiced hassling each other and responding creatively. Some tactics that left me a speechless hassler were: the protester introducing himself, a protester asking me why I believe what I just said, and their friendly disarming demeanors. We stopped for a break. Several young men in suits were in the hallway leafleting us with anti-SOA Watch two-page essay, “Who Will Guarantee the Peace?” published by The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (www.TFP.org ) Soon a handful of nonviolence practitioners had them in conversation.
To conclude the workshop, we discussed why we had come to the SOA Vigil. A mischievous young man answered, reading a line from the flyer. “I come to be at a ‘gathering of the remnants of the religious and cultural left who create a sixties-like carnival atmosphere around Fort Benning.” We left laughing and in high spirits.
It was Friday night at the Conference Center, and activity was heating up. Vendors and non-profit groups had a few booths in the cavernous hallway. The first SOAW silent auction was set up with many lovely items of artensania from Latin America and other delightful items people donated. There is a concert both Friday and Saturday evenings, but this year I decided to concentrate on workshops. Friday evening I attended: “Respect Democracy: How your tax dollars buy Latin American elections,” “End of Prison reform: From Racism and Classism to Justice,” “Venezuela : Towards a New Social contract Among Latin America”. I got back to my hotel, Howard Johnsons, and went upstairs to the ballroom to hear a couple songs near end of the concert. My two suite mates were asleep when I got in and went to bed.
Staying at Howard Johnsons is fun because every room is inhabited by SOA protesters. The dining room is full of peace people at the included breakfast. I got up a little late, ate with some nice people, then went upstairs for the last part of a breakfast teach-in hosted by Witness for Peace. WFP hosts delegations to Nicaragua, Mexico, Colombia and more.
http://www.witnessforpeace.org /
Saturday, there is a rally in the street, which leads to the Gates of Fort Benning. It is blocked off from traffic and has a stage and sound system. The Saturday rally and Sunday Funeral Procession happen here. The road is lined with booths, representing peace and solidarity organizations, religious groups, Food Not Bombs, and much more. The local people barbecue and sell hotdogs, chili, drinks, and lots of other food. I went to the rally to check out all the booths, listen to some music and look at the Gates.
Fort Benning is three or so miles from the town center, so when I needed a ride, I just looked around for some peace type people getting in a car and asked them for a ride. The event draws thousands of Catholics, nuns, priests, and students from Catholic colleges and high schools. The usual gray-haired peace types are there as well, and the young, free spirits with drum circles.
After a late lunch I headed back to the Conference Center. This time I bid on some silent auction items. I attended a workshop on migration that focused on the causes of people’s leaving their home countries and communities. Two migrant men, active in the Imolakee Coalition, one from Mexico and one from Guatemala, shared their stories.
http://www.ciw-online.org /
The highlight of my evening was the premier live auction with Roy Bourgeois, a true hero, the founder of School of the Americas Watch.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Bourgeois I bid on some items and regret having stopped bidding on a week in an apartment in Lisbon that sold for $230. I ended up buying a beautiful small wool rug from Oaxaca.
Sunday mornings of the Vigil, a group of veterans and their supporters march from Days Inn to the gates of Fort Benning. I have not yet witnessed this march. I got to the rally site in time to hear Roy Bourgeois. Twenty thousand people read a pledge of nonviolence together. Soon after, the funeral procession started. What a lovely coincidence it was to find myself beside the couple from Kansas. They loaned me one of their crosses honoring a murdered victim of an SOA-trained soldier since I did not have one. After each name is sung, the crowd sings “Presente” and lifts an artifact (mostly crosses) or a hand.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0RRvTqyZHs&feature=rela... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ds7JiQRQvI8 We were almost the last people in the procession since we began near the stage, and one half of the crowd turns around to form a circular procession, allowing everyone a chance pass by the Gates and leave crosses and other meaningful items. This was my year to try new things. When we arrived at the far end from the stage and gates, to round the corner and move towards the gates, I returned the cross and excused myself to see if the puppetistas needed more actors. They did, and I was assigned a blue “winds of change” flag. After the moving mournful funeral walk, the puppetistas put on a show about the world we will create. This helps us end on a note of hope rather than sorrow.
Stay tuned for Part 2, which includes an unpermitted march outside the "free speech zone" and traveling by bus from Columbus, Georgia to Chicago, IL.
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