SOA

This past weekend, I went down to Georgia to protest the School of the Americas. Up until Sister Maria invited us to attend, I had never heard of it before so I did some research. I learned that individuals from Central and Southern America trained by the SOA have been responsible for many acts of human rights violations. We left bright and early on Friday morning and arrived around 4 PM for some teachings about the SOA. Some of the other Mercy Volunteers who we had met during orientation were also there so it was really good to see them. Saturday we attended some talks in the morning and then went over to the gates of Fort Benning later on in the afternoon. Saturday night, we attended a mass with everyone who was there which was really nice.

Sunday morning was the main part of the weekend. 25,000 people gathered outside the gates of Fort Benning to stand for a few hours and then we began a slow procession. All 25,000 people walked up to the gates and put a cross up on the fences in memory of someone who had died as a result of the SOA. All the names were read out of those who had lost their lives and the entire procession took over two hours. It was very moving, especially when those who had died could not be identified by name or age but were simply identified as "child." Overall, it was a very interesting and eye opening weekend and I'm glad I could be a part of it.