Bourgeois: SOA protests spread peace fervor, Latin America to Iraq
It is a testament to the peace vision of Fr. Roy Bourgeois that 18 years after the Salvadoran military assassinated six Jesuits and two women co-workers on Nov. 16, 1989 at the Jesuit university in San Salvador, the mass vigils and commemorative protests at SOA in Georgia are still happening every November, and the crowds are still growing — 22,000 last fall, and a similar turnout this year. Furthermore, when CTA invites Roy to speak again at conference, large crowds still flock to hear him — including people new to the movement!
Jacqui Griswold, editor of the newletter of CTA Indianapolis, was hearing Roy and the message with new ears, and was powerfully moved. She made it the principal subject of her CTA conference article in her next issue. She gave CTA News permission to reprint her report here.
My second highlight was the lecture by Roy Bourgeois, MM, on the Struggle for Peace in Latin America (and Iraq). He said the greatest enemy in the U.S. is ignorance. We know so little about other countries, their histories, cultures and religious beliefs – and very little about U.S. foreign policy and what it means to the people of Latin America. Roy was a naval officer serving in NATO and Vietnam before returning to US and joining Maryknoll.
He served five years in Bolivia and saw the people struggle to survive, with U.S. military supporting the repressive dictator (Gen. Hugo Banzer) and U.S. corporations exploiting natural resources. People who organized labor were seen as dangerous and many were put in prison.
After returning to the U.S., Roy founded the School of the Americas (SOA) Watch in 1990. The goal is to close the school at Fort Benning Ga., that has trained 50,000 foreign soldiers (based on Freedom of Information documents). In Latin America it is know as “School of Assassins” and the U.S. is referred to as “The Empire.”
The yearly vigil outside the School of Americas (SOA) has continued to grow in numbers. The timing of this event is in November to coincide with the time that the Jesuits, who were speaking truth to power, were killed in El Salvador by soldiers trained at SOA.
Roy has dedicated his life to this and is so genuine and sincere. The good news is that the SOA Watch team has made progress by coming at the problem from a different angle. By visiting with Latin American leaders they have obtained commitments by some leaders NOT TO SEND TROOPS to be trained in the U.S.
Editor’s Notes
Other themes Roy touched in his remarkable talk:
1. IRAQ. The SOA Watch movement is well integrated with the wider movement to end the U.S. occupation and war in Iraq, especially since torture and interrogation tactics that have become an issue in the current war are part of the curriculum at SOA. Roy was in Iraq doing “citizen diplomacy” — people-to-people connections — with Kathy Kelly’s Voices in the Wilderness shortly before the U.S. invaded Iraq. Roy came back and preached the immorality of the U.S. war, quoting Pope John Paul. But many Catholics walked out on his sermons, more than ever before. “Most people bought into the government lie,” he said. “It was the lowest point in my 30 years as a priest.” But American public opinion has changed. More recently, Roy and Charlie Liteky bought a large ad in the Columbus, Ga., local newspaper, saying the war in Iraq was a terrible mistake and appealing to our soldiers to come home. “We got lots of mail in response,” he said. “Seventy-five percent of it supported our position.”
2. PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE. Roy served 18 months in federal prison after trespassing at Fort Benning playing a recording of Archbishop Oscar Romero’s last homily on a boombox for SOA students to hear. He said jail time “gave me my hope and joy back, my sense that truth cannot be silenced.” Scores of protesters have crossed the line into civil disobedience and faced federal prison time every year since. Eleven did so Nov. 18, 2007 and will stand trial in January.
3. GANDHIAN NONVIOLENCE. Roy and SOA Watch are deeply influenced by Gandhi’s nonviolence and its connection with that of Jesus. Roy described his excruciating 35-day, water-only fast at the SOA gate in the early days of SOA Watch.
To keep abreast of the SOA Watch movement, check the website — www.soaw.org — on a regular basis. There are photos, up-to-date press coverage, information about prisoners of conscience, and a host of action opportunities. There is an active legislative watch on Capitol Hill, where Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) is the principal sponsor of the bill to cut off funding and close SOA. A vote last spring to do so fell short by only six votes.
Click here to purchase Roy Bourgeois' talk from conference