| Issue #50, March 23, 2007 |
TWO VIGILS AND RALLIES HERE AGAINST THE WAR
By Victoria L. Cooper
This past weekend marked the 4th anniversary of the war in Iraq. Across the globe, thousands of people organized peace rallies, candle-lit vigils and protest marches to support not only bringing the United States troops back home, but as an outcry to end the war. Here on the East End, a large support for the troops was evident through the two large-scale, free and open to the public events that took place.
The first event, Eyes Wide Open: New York, scheduled to take place Friday, March 16, but postponed until Monday, March 19 because of the inclement weather. Eyes Wide Open is an exhibit presented by the Social Justice Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the South Fork and the Peconic Bay Friends Meeting. The display, which took place during daylight hours at the Bridgehampton Monument, was very dramatic and moving. The presentation consisted of 145 pairs of empty combat boots, tagged with the names of New York soldiers who have died in the Iraq War, as well as an additional display of 50 pairs of shoes representing the thousands of Iraqi civilians who have died during the conflict.
Eyes Wide Open is a project sponsored largely by the American Society of Friends (AFSC), a low cost but innovative exhibit on the human price of war, created by two Quakers from Chicago. Michael McConnell, Director of AFSC in the Great Lakes region, is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, and Chuck Hutchcraft, is a coordinator for Friends in the Midwest, with experience working at Chicago newspapers. Both men were interested in the idea of representing the human cost of war to the American public and have assembled this memorial throughout the country from coast to coast.
It was evident that people passing by, whether in a car or on foot, were shocked and moved by the visual intensity of the display, which allowed someone to see just how many local New Yorkers have died in what seems to be an endless war.
The other event, which I not only attended but participated in as well, was a candlelight vigil and peace rally in Sag Harbor also on Monday, March 19. The vigil, coordinated by Pamela Topham, a MoveOn.org Political Action member, was a part of MoveOn.org’s one thousand candlelight vigils across the nation honoring those American soldiers who were wounded or killed in Iraq through a reading of personal accounts written by family members.
Situated by the flagpole and Long Wharf in Sag Harbor, more than seventy people, with signs calling for peace and an end to senseless death, stood in the cold and wind. White carnations were handed out and white crosses to honor fallen troops were placed in the ground. MoveOn.org realizes that now more than ever, people are reflecting on the war in Iraq and that it is essential to push Congress to consider a real deadline to bring our troops home. At the vigil, there was much discussion and sharing of thoughts on the war, and mostly everyone agreed that a real change in course is needed. East End residents Linda and Dan Leahy read personal, written accounts of their struggles and opinions that were very touching.
What I first noticed and also what Linda Leahy pointed out, was that there were not many young people, beside myself, at the vigil. Women with signs that read, “Grandmothers for Peace,” lined the sidewalks, but I am almost positive I was the only twenty-something there. Perhaps this is just a coincidence or perhaps this is a true reflection of my generation and the apathy it seems to hold. Regardless, it is amazing to see people in their sixties and seventies commemorating this sad, sad, event.
So it’s been four years. Will there be four more?
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