Traveling to the School of the Americas
I spent last weekend with 40 of my closest college students. We traveled to Georgia (yes, the state of) by bus (19 hours each way) in order to attend the School of the Americas (SOA) Protest that takes place every year in November at the gates of the Fort Benning Military base.
The School of the Americas, now titled the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC), is a place where terrorists are trained. Started during the early cold war era, the school has trained militants from countries across Latin America in interrogation techniques, torture, and counter insurgencies tactics. Run by the U.S. Military, the SOA trains people to uphold dictatorships (supported by the U.S. Government of course) that are not democratically elected and who support U.S. corporations (such as DOLE) in unfair trade agreements where most of their profits return to the United States.
Militants from the SOA have traditionally targeted educators, clergy, student activists, and other non-profit groups dedicated to providing a voice for the poor. Government supported militants have also committed mass murder and terrible atrocities, one of the most notable examples being the massacre at El Mozote during the El Salvadorian Civil War in 1981. (A book about this is The Massacre at El Mozote)
Many of the students who came on the trip were a part of the Coalition for Student Activists, one of the student organizations that I am faculty advisor for. The reflected quite a bit on protests, mass movements, and current issues where activists are need to provide a voice for the voice-less around the world.
The bus ride down was not as bad as I thought it would be. We watched movies, we read, and we slept. I got to know a lot of the students and I also did a tremendous job at sleeping overnight on the bus. Early Saturday morning we stopped at the Waffle House (a bit freaky) and then drove to the state park where we planned to camp, so we could set up our tents (this was a great adventure with students with a variety of camping experiences- my favorite being the Somali students who had no idea) It was a beautiful spot- wooded, hilly area on a small lake, with lots of leaves still on the trees.
The protest was interesting… strict boundaries of where you could be, where you could not be—it is on the edge of a military base after all. The first day of the gathering is a lot of speakers, music, and seminars on activism. It was interesting to see the locals out selling food but not supporting the protest., and all the different causes that set up booths.
Camping was chilly and interesting. My co-trip leader and I held successful reflection sessions with the students, but only after she let them stop at the liquor store on the way to the campground – and I love her, but that complicated things. Especially when at 12:30 some students were singing drunkenly (and loudly) around the fire. Luckily in retrospect they think it is funny that I eventually made them poor water on the fire to quiet them down. Oops- they had to head into the tents! It was cold- about 20 degrees- overnight.
The protest on Sunday is traditionally about mourning all the people who have been killed by SOA militants. 20,000 people carried white crosses, and after leaders read the name of each person recorded, in unison the crowd chants “PRESENTE!”, we marched to the gates of the military base and hung the crosses on the gates while we were watched by the men in military uniform. It was a powerful reminder of just how many people have been killed by the SOA. The students were very moved by the demonstration, the name reading went on for over five hours.
In the end the bus ride back was long, but had no major incidents. I felt towards the end of the trip that I had seen every gas station bathroom between here and Georgia and I just really wanted to sleep in a real bed. But the trip was valuable. I got to know a lot of students that I will work with and I think that the students learned a lot about the School of the America and about all the complex ways our government’s policies impact people all over the world.
The School of the Americas, now titled the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHISC), is a place where terrorists are trained. Started during the early cold war era, the school has trained militants from countries across Latin America in interrogation techniques, torture, and counter insurgencies tactics. Run by the U.S. Military, the SOA trains people to uphold dictatorships (supported by the U.S. Government of course) that are not democratically elected and who support U.S. corporations (such as DOLE) in unfair trade agreements where most of their profits return to the United States.
Militants from the SOA have traditionally targeted educators, clergy, student activists, and other non-profit groups dedicated to providing a voice for the poor. Government supported militants have also committed mass murder and terrible atrocities, one of the most notable examples being the massacre at El Mozote during the El Salvadorian Civil War in 1981. (A book about this is The Massacre at El Mozote)
Many of the students who came on the trip were a part of the Coalition for Student Activists, one of the student organizations that I am faculty advisor for. The reflected quite a bit on protests, mass movements, and current issues where activists are need to provide a voice for the voice-less around the world.
The bus ride down was not as bad as I thought it would be. We watched movies, we read, and we slept. I got to know a lot of the students and I also did a tremendous job at sleeping overnight on the bus. Early Saturday morning we stopped at the Waffle House (a bit freaky) and then drove to the state park where we planned to camp, so we could set up our tents (this was a great adventure with students with a variety of camping experiences- my favorite being the Somali students who had no idea) It was a beautiful spot- wooded, hilly area on a small lake, with lots of leaves still on the trees.
The protest was interesting… strict boundaries of where you could be, where you could not be—it is on the edge of a military base after all. The first day of the gathering is a lot of speakers, music, and seminars on activism. It was interesting to see the locals out selling food but not supporting the protest., and all the different causes that set up booths.
Camping was chilly and interesting. My co-trip leader and I held successful reflection sessions with the students, but only after she let them stop at the liquor store on the way to the campground – and I love her, but that complicated things. Especially when at 12:30 some students were singing drunkenly (and loudly) around the fire. Luckily in retrospect they think it is funny that I eventually made them poor water on the fire to quiet them down. Oops- they had to head into the tents! It was cold- about 20 degrees- overnight.
The protest on Sunday is traditionally about mourning all the people who have been killed by SOA militants. 20,000 people carried white crosses, and after leaders read the name of each person recorded, in unison the crowd chants “PRESENTE!”, we marched to the gates of the military base and hung the crosses on the gates while we were watched by the men in military uniform. It was a powerful reminder of just how many people have been killed by the SOA. The students were very moved by the demonstration, the name reading went on for over five hours.
In the end the bus ride back was long, but had no major incidents. I felt towards the end of the trip that I had seen every gas station bathroom between here and Georgia and I just really wanted to sleep in a real bed. But the trip was valuable. I got to know a lot of students that I will work with and I think that the students learned a lot about the School of the America and about all the complex ways our government’s policies impact people all over the world.
posted by KLOU | 7:41 PM
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