Dear Friends,
The upcoming issue of Presente is now at the printer (union!) and thousands of copies will get delivered to 200+ activist distributors in 31 states across the country. We ordered 6,000 extra copies, so if you haven't yet ordered your box, and you still want to get in on the action, you haven't missed your chance yet. Place your order today: SOAW.org/order
 Use Presente to spread the word, grow the movement and educate our communities about the reality of empire, militarization, and about the beautiful resistance. Mobilize and motivate people to take action! History is made by movements of people who organize themselves to struggle collectively for a better world.
 The Fall2014 issue of ¡Presente! includes:
- articles on the root causes of migration by unaccompanied Central American minors, and on police militarization at home and abroad
- a report on SOA Watch’s recent "Youth Encuentro" in Venezuela that brough 33 young Latin American leaders together
- important information about our upcoming 25th November Vigil at the gates of Fort Benning in Georgia
It also features artwork by the Washington, DC-based artist MasPaz, one of the many great artists who have contributed their skills and work to the movement.
¡Presente! literally means "here" or "present" in Spanish. There is a long tradition in Latin American movements for justice of invoking the memory of those who have lost their lives in the struggle. It is used in the ritual at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia, when we remember those who suffered and were martyred by the graduates of the School of the Americas. We pronounce their names and bring their spirits and witness before us as we respond: ¡Presente! You are here with us, you are not forgotten, and we continue the struggle in your name.
Calling out the names of those killed by politically repressive regimes has a long tradition in Latin America. At the funeral of Pablo Neruda on September 25, 1973 in Chile, Hernán Loyala reports that mourners responded with "Presente" to the shouting out of Neruda's name, as well as that of Salvador Allende, the recently deposed (and killed) president. This was the first public act of protest against the 14-day-old regime of Augusto Pinochet.
|
|
