School of the Americas Watch Continues its Quest
By Greg Speltz
Each year for the past decade or more, the School of the Americas Watch has introduced federal legislation to close the School of the Americas. This year, 2007, it came close to success, coming within six votes of victory. All six of Washington State's Democrats voted for the closing.
The School of the Americas is a military training school at Fort Benning Georgia, and trains Latin American military officers. Its graduates have been involved in most of the atrocities in Latin America, including the massacre of 800 at El Mozote, El Salvador, the death of Archbishop Romero, the six Jesuits and their housekeepers, the four American Church women and thousands of peasants.
Their involvement in illegalities continues today. In resent months, military leaders in Colombia arrested for involvement in drug trafficking are graduates of the School of the Americas.
Looking at this year's narrow defeat in Congress, Fr. Roy Bourgeois, founder the SOA Watch, commented simply, "We'll keep our hands to the plow."
Bourgeois has had his hand to the plow since 1990, when he first sat with a few friends at the gate of Fort Benning in protest of the School's existence.
In the intervening time he has spent years in jail for his activism against the SOA. He has visited 13 Latin American countries to urge that they send no further military to the School. Pursuing that goal, he opened a Watch office in Caracas, Venezuela last year, He gained the agreement of four countries, Venezuela, Argentina, Uruguay and Costa Rica to send no more military to the School of the Americas. He has toured the country year-round, speaking at universities, churches and a host of other venues. He has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to support his cause. Last year the vigil at Fort. Benning drew 22,000 supporters.
Currently, he is busy helping organize the 2007 vigil at the gates of Fort Benning, scheduled for November 16-18.
The local chapter of the School of the Americas Watch, which includes six members of St. Patrick's social justice committee, is working closely with the national effort. Each year about 50 Seattleites journey to the national vigil at Fort Benning. Of that group about 20 are students at Seattle University. For the first time this year, eight students from Seattle Prep High School will join the contingent.
On September 24 the group will sponsor an "SOAW Roundup," a public meeting that will offer an update on the School of the Americas Watch movement and activities. It will be at St. Patrick's and is cosponsored by the parish social justice committee.
On November 12, again at St. Patrick's, there will be a sendoff ceremony and reception for those going to the Fort. The public is invited.
The local group is also involved in raising funds the SOAW office in Venezuela. It raised $5,000 last year to open the office, and has just begun an effort to help fund its program in the upcoming year.
Anyone interested in joining the local chapter of School of the Americas Watch or gaining further information can call 206. 632. 1523. The website for the national movement is http://www.soaw.org.
