SOA Protest 2001
By Martha Pierce
photograph by gregory roberts

Well, I had a really wonderful weekend at Ft. Benning, and did not get arrested -- not even close. It was a great gathering, full of music and dancing, tears and prayers and laughter and wonderful people. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be among others who share not only my vision of peace, but my commitment to working to make it become real. It is always so strange to be there, facing the forces of domination and death, surrounded by grim-faced army officials and police officers, who stand there unsmiling (mostly) watching the shenanigans of the peace people, who are having a terrific time in their colorful costumes and T-shirts with peace slogans on them, carrying banners, shouting and chanting and singing and hugging each other (lots of reunions going on), with giant puppets and babies in strollers and dogs on leashes, monks in long brown robes, queer liberation guys in dresses, old grey-haired people like me and dread-locked college kids and people in wheel-chairs -- it's a real circus, in some ways, with a serious message but yet with a sense of what's really important: humor, and celebration, and love. One of the chants was "This is what democracy looks like!" And you could tell that the people from the military were appalled at that idea!

One of the most important events of the weekend actually took place on Friday morning before we arrived (as we were stuck at O'Hare airport, actually, due to Atlanta airport being shut down for 4 hours). The City of Columbus had put an injunction on the SOA Watch people, refusing to give them/us a permit to hold the funeral procession/vigil in front of the base on Sunday. Instead of arguing their case, the SOAW people just sent them a copy of the U.S. Constitution; and on Friday they appeared in Federal Court for the hearing, in front of the same judge who had sentenced 26 people to 6 months in prison for last year's protest. He made a big speech in the court, saying that he was bound to uphold the Constitution, and the right of free speech and assembly, and that the city could not deny us a permit! He also said that George W. has told everyone to go back to their normal lives, and that for the past 11 years, "normal life" in Columbus has been this event in front of the gates to Ft. Benning on this weekend, so in effect a precedent has been established by which this weekend is "ours." Further, the Police Chief of Columbus told the judge that he has worked with this group for 11 years, and found us to be trustworthy, non-violent, and no problem. So -- we really feel that we won a big victory, especially in the climate of repression of dissent that is prevailing in our society these days.

Saturday's event was held in a local stadium, which was kind of strange, but still the spirit of the group was strong. There were lots of speakers -- some from Latin America, some from the U.S. -- talking very movingly about the reasons we are opposing the SOA. My friend Adriana shared, courageously, the story of the disappearance of her two daughters (ages 9 and 10), along with her father and baby sister and sister-in-law, in Guatemala in the 1980's. She is still searching for them, and has founded an organization to look for other disappeared children as well. Another man, Sanho Tree, talked about U.S. drug policy and how it is being used as an excuse to repress and violate people, in the service of multinational corporations. It was mentioned repeatedly throughout the weekend that if we want to stop terrorism, our government should stop teaching it to others. There are so many faithful and articulate and knowledgeable people in this movement, it is always very educational and impressive to hear them. And in between there are great singers, and lots of reunions with friends from various parts of the country. On Sunday was the "funeral procession" in front of the base, as usual.

The army did put up a huge chain-link fence across the entrance to the base, for the first time ever, to prevent people from "crossing the line" onto the base as we have done in the past. The good news of this was that the procession then took place on the public street, and anyone could participate, even those like me who were not planning to cross the line. Instead, people walked in a solemn procession, carrying crosses, flowers, photos, signs, and other symbols, in groups of 4 or 5 across, up to the fence, as the names of victims were sung out, and everyone responded "Presente!" to each one. As people got to the fence, they placed their symbols in and on and in front of it -- transforming it into a beautiful memorial to the victims of the terror that has been taught at the SOA. It was really a moving sight, and powerful to behold.

Some groups then chose to do other actions, such as acting out a massacre and "dying" in front of the fence, then " being resurrected" and rising up, walking along the fence, and either crawling under it or going around or over it, and being promptly arrested by the military. Others were arrested for refusing to leave the area in front of the fence after 5:00. All of these were non-violent actions, as we had all committed to at the beginning of the day, and all were well thought-out and planned. One group from Chicago washed an American flag, in a symbolic gesture of cleansing our country of its sins. After the Procession was the celebration part, including a wonderful parade by the "puppetistas" -- more than 200 of them! -- who acted out a little fable, complete with a giant "corporate dragon" and the final triumph of the people along with a huge beautiful quetzal bird (symbol of freedom in Central America) -- and ending with everyone in the crowd dancing and singing "We are rising up, and our spirits are on fire! Brothers and sisters, spread your wings and fly higher!" over and over and over again -- it was amazing and inspiring and so full of hope and joy that we knew, we just knew -- we know -- that we can change the world!

I wish you all could have been there. I hope you'll come with me next time. I hope someday there won't be a next time.

Meanwhile, I wish you peace.
--Martha Pierce