|
RALLY SPEAKERS
Sarah Fuhro, Military Families Speak
Out, mother of a soldier in Afghanistan:
“We
recently decided to broaden our focus to include the war
in Afghanistan. It was very controversial
at first with some of our members.” Fuhro
said that they had a lively debate in MFSO and that most of the
families were ultimately convinced that Afghanistan is
no more principled a war than Iraq is.
Matthis Chiroux,
Iraq Veterans Against the War, discharged soldier
who is refusing orders to redeploy to Iraq:
“Is
Afghanistan the good war? Are we
fighting terrorists over there? No! We’re fighting the people who
live there.
“We
can’t kill ourselves out of this problem. What the Afghan
people need are solutions not more death. And since that seems to
be Obama’s policy then we will continue to
resist. And we will keep driving this thing on all the way through
to the end.”
Sarah Roche-Mahdi, Greater Boston Code Pink:
Sarah
visited Gaza and the West Bank in June 2009 and is
promoting the Gaza Freedom March scheduled for
the end of this year.
“Israel does not allow chocolate or
school books into Gaza. White phosphorus was still
smouldering. People were living in rubble.
There is a shortage of water in Gaza; children are dying of
kidney disease from drinking sea water.
“Israel has no intention of making
peace. We have got to put pressure on this government to relegate Israel to outlaw status in the
world.”
Peter Knowlton, President, District 2 of the United, Electrical,
Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE):
“The
privatization of the oil sector is the objective of all parties in
the Iraqi government.”
Tito Mesa, coordinator, Proyecto Hondureño:
“I
want to address Barack Obama
directly: No more coups d’états in Latin America! What’s so difficult about
saying you won’t recognize a coup government?”
FACES IN THE CROWD
Karen Slater, founding member, Boston Stop the Wars Coalition:
“There
are lots of young people out here today who are getting their first
exposure to what the antiwar movement has to say. …We are echoing the
majority opinion in this country that the U.S. should get out of Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Lyn Meza, coordinator, Chelsea United Against the War:
“We’ve
had a change of presidents but the war goes on just the same. I believe
the total troop levels have actually increased under Obama. Our mission remains the same—to stop
the U.S. wars around the world
and the war on workers at home.
“It’s
not going to be stopped by Obama winning the
Nobel Peace Prize or by people sitting at home answering opinion polls
that they’re against the war. We all have to get out in the streets and
demand that the war be brought to an end.”
Bill Shein, newspaper columnist,
Greater Barrington:
“During
the campaign last year people didn’t listen to Obama
when he said he wanted to focus on Afghanistan and increase the size of
the military.”
Lisa Beade, Providence chapter,
Progressive Democrats of America (she carried a sign reading
“No troops, No bases, No delay”):
“I
really believe that if Obama wants to be
thought of as a Nixon or Johnson then he’s on the right track. … We’ve
become the mercenaries of the oil companies and the technocrats and
people’s children are being killed for the meaninglessness of other
people’s profits.”
Becca, a junior at Framingham State College:
“I
heard about it from the Human Rights Activist Committee on
campus. I came because I really don’t know enough about the war and
this seemed like a good place to come and learn. … We haven’t
really done antiwar stuff on campus. But we’re thinking about it after
this.”
Liza, junior at Brandeis University (she carried a trumpet to
play in the New Orleans jazz band at the front of
the march; she came as part of a group of 20 students from Brandeis):
“I
think U.S. policy in the Middle East is entirely destructive.
“Afghanistan is the biggest
disappointment of the Obama presidency for
me. With health care and GLBT rights I can understand the
difficulty. But not withdrawing from Iraq and Afghanistan is completely inexcusable.
“Obama needs to start listening to the will of the
people and the women of Afghanistan. The Afghanis don’t want us there.
And the majority of Americans don’t either.”
Max, senior at Boston University, member of the Boston University Anti-War Coalition (One of
20 BU students at the march):
“We
shouldn’t send more troops to Afghanistan. It’s not a good idea.”
Andrew, 17, high school peace activist from
Providence, R.I.
“It
feels nice to be in a group of people who stand for peace. … I’m here
to show those in power that there are people out here who stand for
peace.”
Yliana, 25, originally from Querétaro, Mexico; Wheaton College student who heard of the
march from the Latin Student Association):
“The
speeches have been powerful. My heart rate is rising. This is what we
need.”
Said Ahmed, Roxbury neighborhood of Boston (marched with seven
Ethiopians holding signs against U.S. support for genocide in Ogaden):
“Ethiopia is doing what the U.S. wants by attacking Somalia. The quid pro quo is that
the U.S. will look the other way
while Ethiopia genocides its ethnic
Somali minority in Ogaden.”
John Harris, Greater Boston Stop the Wars
Coalition, New England United:
“We
need to organize a united broad-based movement in the streets to
demand the immediate withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, Iraq, and everywhere else
in the world. … We need to have a united spring action
organized by the entire antiwar movement.”
|