The movement to close the US Army's School of the Americas (SOA) is growing to become one of the largest and most powerful of our generation. This November an estimated 15,000 people will gather at the gates of Fort Benning in Georgia to denounce its history of oppression and attempt to permanently close its doors. This school, which has trained nearly 60,000 Latin American soldiers in its 55-year history, includes in its curriculum interrogation methods of torture, blackmail, execution and rape. Its infamous graduates are responsible for countless atrocities: the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero, the Uraba massacre in Colombia, and the rape and murder of four American churchwomen just scratch the surface of pain attributed to the SOA. Notoriously brutal dictators such as Manuel Noriega of Panama and Leopoldo Galtieri of Argentina record the SOA as their alma mater.
The fact that such a blatantly immoral institution continues to receive more than $20 million tax dollars each year is beyond my comprehension. Congress is now remarkably close to passing legislation that would close down the school - only a handful of representatives are needed to bring this shameful chapter in our hemisphere's history to an end.
There is no doubt we will succeed in our quest; the incarceration of dozens of peaceful citizens cannot be ignored. Next month's vigil will draw thousands willing to risk arrest as they seek justice for the innumerable victims of the SOA. These people come from all walks of life; nuns alongside college students will decry the human rights abuses endorsed by our government. I will join a number of other Tufts students attending the vigil Nov. 17-20, and plan on participating in acts of civil disobedience as I have in years past.
The annual demonstration is held on the weekend in November closest to the anniversary of the massacre of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her 13-year-old daughter in San Salvador in 1989. This November will be particularly meaningful to me due to an emotional encounter that occurred on the last anniversary of this tragedy. Having attended the SOA demonstrations in '97 and '98, my mind was on the movement even though circumstances prevented me from being present. I had with me the symbolic white cross I received at my first vigil, with the name of one of the SOA's victims inscribed. As a gesture of peace and remembrance I brought it to a mountaintop near the village in Venezuela where I was living, where it caught the attention of another person enjoying the beautiful summit view. The man, a Catholic priest from Spain, approached me with tears in his eyes and explained that the victim whose name appeared on my cross, Joaquin Lopez y Lopez, was one of his dear friends. He was also a Catholic priest from Spain who had worked for most of his life in Latin America; it was his unyielding defense and compassion for the poor which contrasted with SOA doctrine and probably attracted his assassins. Learning about his life and witnessing his impact on another person moved me tremendously. I will return to Fort Benning this year with renewed determination and faith in justice.
The School of the Americas is an evil institution that promotes the use of force and psychological intimidation to keep Latin American governments corrupt and to keep the people in fear. The purpose of our journey to Georgia is to promote peace among the American nations; a crucial concept in this time, especially, with continuing violence in places like Colombia and Chiapas.
Emily Good is a freshman who has not yet decided a major. She is a member of the Coalition for Social Justice and Non-Violence.
