Join Us at Fort Benning, November 18-20, 2011. Commemorate the Martyrs, Celebrate the Resistance: Close the SOA!
Dear Supporter,
Itching to take the resistance to the streets again? Are you willing to stand up for justice and self-determination in the Americas?
This November, the SOA Watch movement returns to the gates of Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia. We will strengthen and build alliances, remember our fallen sisters and brothers in struggle; demand the closure of the SOA/WHINSEC; and an end to oppressive U.S. foreign policy in the hemisphere. Our yearly vigil is a dynamic and transformative space, attracting thousands of all ages, colors, genders, and abilities, with last year's being the most inclusive and energetic thus far!
Check out the video by Thomas Laffay of last year's vigil.
The SOA/WHINSEC continues to leave a bloody trail in Latin America and the Caribbean, and so we must continue our struggle. Despite the Pentagon's efforts to suppress the names of the school's graduates, SOA graduates are making the news in the hemisphere. In June, Guatemala's SOA-trained General Héctor Mario López Fuentes, was arrested on charges of genocide, carried out in the 1980s. On July 3, a captured leader of the Zetas drug cartel - himself a former Mexican Special Forces member - claimed that he helped recruit Special Forces members who had received training at Ft. Benning. And SOA-led repression in Honduras has left over 100 dead since the June 2009 coup...
Join Us November 18-20 at Ft. Benning to Demand an End to Oppressive U.S. Foreign Policy
We need you to mobilize your communities and networks to make this year's vigil and conference the best yet. This year, in addition to a special focus on Mexico and Honduras, we reaffirm our solidarity with immigrants in this country who are targets of Jim Crow-like laws, such as HB87 in Georgia. We encourage all vigil attendees to prepare to come to the Stewart Detention Center rally - the nation's largest immigrant detention center - on Friday, November 18. The rally at the gates of Fort Benning will take place on Saturday, November 19, followed by workshops, plenaries, film screenings, strategy sessions, a concert and more. A solemn funeral procession to commemorate those who were murdered by graduates of the SOA/ WHINSEC is going to take place on Sunday, November 20.
Organize Your Community!
Distributing palmcards and broadsheets in your communities is a great way to start spreading the word. Order 100 palmcards for $6 or 100 bilingual broadsheets for $10.
The SOA Watch Conference is also a great place to network and strategize to build a movement. Please check the November Vigil page for information on registering for workshops, tables and getting an ad in the vigil program.
We also encourage you to join a SOA Watch Working Group to help organize this year's vigil. Working group members coordinate everything from media work, volunteers, translation/interpretation and logistics. We need you!
Click here for tips on getting to Columbus, and where to stay.
Direct Action at the Gates
Each year, SOA Watch activists put their bodies on the line and put the SOA/WHINSEC on trial. Since 1983, when Father Roy played Archbishop Romero's last homily over the barracks of Salvadoran troops stationed at Fort Benning, 245 individuals have been sentenced for nonviolent civil disobedience. If you are interested in participating in direct action at the gates, please email direct...@soaw.org. There are many former prisoners of conscience who can help you see if this action is right for you!
Donate to the 2011 Vigil Fund
We can't do a successful mobilization in November without your financial support. There are many ways to grow the movement, and making a contribution today will keep the wave of justice rolling forward! Thank you!
We look forward to seeing you and your community again this year at the gates of Ft. Benning. It's going to be an awesome weekend!
In struggle,
Nico
SOA Watch Field Organizer
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Video: Survivors, Activists Fight to End Torture
"Few people have survived torture in Colombia, so I am very lucky to tell this story. Most people get tortured for ten days, that's the standard, and then they get shot and killed. Many have been disappeared — more than 80,000." - Hector Aristizábal, Torture Survivor and SOA Watch activist.
Watch the video and article by Russia Today about the Torture Survivors' Event in Washington, DC.
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