TO MY FRIENDS IN THE MOVEMENT FOR PEACE & JUSTICE:
I would ask that each of you please take the time to
read this. I have no other way to convey the
importance of this appeal other than by being somewhat
"personal" here despite my use of the very impersonal
tool of a mass mailing on large email lists.
We have some extremely important events and campaigns
coming up that can truly have an impact
nationally--and even internationally—but the success
of this work is in no way guaranteed ahead of time.
Before I get to describe what I’m talking about, for
those of you who prefer to cut to the chase, let me
get right away to what I'm asking. Bluntly put: we
need your participation and your money. If you can’t
participate, we need your money. Here’s what’s going
on.
This Monday, February 27, at Cinema Paradiso in Fort
Lauderdale at 7:30pm, we’re hosting a fundraiser
featuring three amazing and well-known leaders of Iraq
Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace: Stan
Goff, Camilo Mejia, and Kelly Dougherty. We’re also
premiering an incredibly inspiring and moving
half-hour film entitled "Soldiers Speak Out." I had
the privilege of previewing it last night and it is a
MUST SEE, an excellent organizing tool in its own
right, and together with our three speakers, this
event Monday night is one that you don’t want to miss.
This is the program you really want to get your
friends, co-workers, and family to. The ones you
can’t get to go to a protest, or maybe even the ones
who are still on the fence about the war. The cost is
just $10 to get in. There’s a similar event the next
night, Tuesday the 28th at Tap Tap Haitian Restaurant
in Miami Beach (819 5th St.) & starting at 7:00pm,
asking $20 for a buffet or donate what you can. More
info on these events at the end of this message.
If you want to skip to “where do I send the check?”
and forget reading the rest, I’ll make it easy for
you. Here’s what to do. Make checks payable to
Veterans for Peace and send directly to Camilo who has
laid out a lot of money himself to make these events a
success:
Camilo E. Mejia
201 178th Dr. #323
Sunny Isles Beach, FL 33160
We know that Miami’s own Camilo Mejia put himself on
the frontline for the movement by spending eight
months in military prison for his refusal to kill in
Iraq. We can’t make that time up for him, but please
help make sure that our treasured comrade and friend
at least doesn’t lose any money! But beyond making up
expenses (which I am genuinely concerned about),
Camilo and several of us have laid out a lot of money
including money for renting the theater. But beyond
NOT losing money, we really need to raise a TON of
money for the historic March to New Orleans next month
that many of you are aware and which I’ll explain
below. The expenses for that could exceed $100,000.
Please give generously by making out a check to
“Veterans for Peace” and Camilo has asked if folks can
mail it directly to him at the above address.
Please do this one thing and if you could, let me know
with a quick note to me (Paul Lefrak) at
ftlpaul@yahoo.com.
For those who haven’t heard about it, there will be a
historic March next month along the Gulf Coast
composed of veterans and Katrina survivors calling for
justice and an end to the war. Declaring that “every
bomb dropped in Iraq explodes over New Orleans” this
event, “Marching to New Orleans: Veterans and
Survivors March for Peace and Justice” begins Tuesday,
March 14, 2006 in Mobile, Alabama and ends Sunday,
March 19, 2006 with a rally in New Orleans, Louisiana.
For more info, please go to: http://vetgulfmarch.org
or to http://ivaw.net.
Making stops along the way to directly aid Gulf Coast,
this March—in the spirit of previous historic Southern
marches like the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery March--will
draw national and international attention to the
connections that need to be made. Connections between
the never-ending slaughter of war and occupation in
Iraq, the obscene Pentagon budget, and the racist and
classist disregard for the lives of people before,
during, and continuing NOW after Katrina. We’re
seeing how survivors--especially if they’re poor and
Black--are being treated as essentially a domestic
enemy, a threat. And of course, that gets to the
question of who else the government and military
consider to be a domestic enemy or a threat. As we
know from recent disclosures--undoubtedly just the tip
of the iceberg--the Pentagon and the entire “national
security” apparatus considers people like us opposing
the insane slaughter in Iraq or Afghanistan to be the
real threat.
But maybe they’re right. In one sense, we need to be
the “threat” that they’re worried about. After Iraq
and Katrina, Guantanamo, Abu Gharib—the list goes on
and on—all the world can see how their power is
corrupt, wrong, and in fact, illegitimate. I’m sorry,
but I just can’t accept that any group or “special
interest” has any right to jeopardize the continued
existence of all humanity and life on this planet. I
believe strongly that we’re at a real historic
juncture here, at this very time and place here in the
belly of the beast in 2006. I think we need to be a
threat to those who hold the real reins of political
and economic power; those who are getting filthy rich
from their endless wars for oil and empire. Those
interests who are profiting from the continued
devastation in their “rebuilding” i.e., their ethnic
cleansing USA-style taking place right now in New
Orleans and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast—and in
neighborhoods throughout the U.S. And forcing people
to choose between prescription medicine and food is
nothing less than a form of violence and domestic
terrorism against poor people and all working people.
There are the two Achille’s Heels for those in power:
the wars abroad and the wars at home. That’s
exemplified so clearly before the entire world by Iraq
(and soon, Iran?) and Katrina. Making these
connections is VITAL if the antiwar movement is to
broaden and gain the active support of much broader
layers of working people, particularly people of
color, that this movement needs in order to make real
advances. Connecting the “gulf” between the
devastation taking place in both Gulfs: the Persian
and the U.S. Gulf Coast. Only by doing so, can we
make real advances in our struggles for peace and for
economic, social, and political justice here and
abroad.
I thank you for taking the time to read this (and
forwarding to others who might be interested), AND for
giving as generously as you possibly can to help with
this with your attendance and your financial help.
Below I will append the detailed info on the events
next week to support the March.
In solidarity,
Paul Lefrak
Broward AntiWar Coalition, South Florida Peace &
Justice Network
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From the Producers of “The Panama Deception” &
“Coverup: Behind the Iran Contra Affair”...
"SOLDIERS SPEAK OUT"
Please join our three Special Guests, all featured
in the film:
***Stan Goff – Activist writer, Veterans For Peace
***Kelly Dougherty – Leading female GI antiwar
voice,
Iraq Veterans Against the War
***Camilo Mejia – Former Amnesty International
Prisoner of Conscience, Iraq Veterans Against the War
Monday, February 27th:
7:30 PM doors & refreshment stand open.
8:00 PM screening followed by discussion with
Special Guests.
Cinema Paradiso
503 SE 6th Street
Fort Lauderdale
For a Fundraiser and Release Screening of Empowerment
Project’s new documentary.
"This powerful film serves a loudspeaker to the
courageous anti-war and anti-occupation movement
within the military and their families. This half-hour
documentary will serve as a counter-recruitment and
organizing tool for activists, schools, and
organizations. It provides a sober view of the war in
Iraq and an important counterpoint to the
‘stay-the-course’ rhetoric of the Bush
administration."
Cinema Paradiso is located just east of the Broward
County Courthouse and 1 block west of Federal
Hwy/US-1, downtown Ft. Laud, south of the New River.
I-95: between Davie Blvd. & Broward Blvd. exits, head
East. Call 954-525-3456 for more directions.
Tickets $10 - All donations will support the "Marching
to New Orleans: Veterans and Survivors
March to New Orleans" taking place March 14-19, 2006.
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