Mark the 8th anniversary of the U.S. war in Iraq - a war that continues in its destructive violence on the ground, as well as in the physical, emotional, moral and spiritual suffering inflicted on the Iraqi people, U.S. military personnel, and families of fallen soldiers. According to Iraq Body Count, there were 4,036 Iraqi civilian deaths by violence in 2010. Also in 2010, sixty U.S. military were killed in Iraq. For the second year in a row, [http://www.congress.org/news/2011/01/24/more_troops_lost_to_suicide; the U.S. military has lost more troops to suicide than it has to combat in Iraq and Afghanistan]. Coalition deaths in Afghanistan for 2010 were 711. The war goes on...
Camilo Mejia, the first U.S. veteran of the Iraq war to publicly refuse further service, will speak in Palo Alto on Sunday, March 20, 4pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Palo Alto, 505 E. Charleston Road. The panel responding to Mejia will include:
Karen Meredith - Gold Star Mother whose son 1Lt. Ken Ballard was killed while serving in Iraq;
Ben Daniel - Presbyterian minister and writer of faith-based social and political commentary; and
Paul George - director of the Peninsula Peace and Justice Center.
"I was afraid of waking up one morning to realize my humanity had abandoned me. ... By putting my weapon down, I chose to reassert myself as a human being. ... Refusing and resisting this war was my moral duty." -- Camilo Mejia
Sunday, March 20, 4pm
Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto Main Hall
505 E. Charleston Ave., Palo Alto
Click "read more" to learn more about Camilo Mejia, see how to order his book, and download flyers.
Camilo Mejia, an immigrant from Nicaragua and Costa Rica, joined the Army and served as an infantryman on active-duty, decorated and promoted, from 1995-1998, before transferring to the Florida National Guard. His contract with the National Guard was to end in May 2003, but he was stop-lossed and sent to the Middle East, where he served five months of frontline combat in Iraq. On leave, he went AWOL rather than return to Iraq, citing moral concerns about the war. Five months later he turned himself in to call attention to U.S. policies. [http://www.multifaithpeace.org/article.php?story=20110309134049706; Click here] to read Mejia's own words while in imprisoned by the U.S. military. Mejia is the proud father of a 7-year old daughter, and the author of The Road From Ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia.
Click here to purchase Camilo Mejia's book, The Road from Ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia: An Iraq War Memoir from Reach And Teach. We'll also have copies available at our event.
The event is free and open to the public. Donations will be gratefully received!
Sponsored by Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice, along with the Peninsula Peace and Justice Center, American Muslim Voice, Los Altos Voices for Peace, Veterans for Peace Chapter 101, Unitarian Universalist Church of PA Action Council, Mountain View Voices for Peace, First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto, West Bay Chapter of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, First United Methodist Church Outreach Committee, Network of Spiritual Progressives and Stanford Says No to War.
We thank Voices in the Wilderness and Soldiers of Conscience for the photos of Mejia.
Flyers and Bulletin Inserts to Spread the Word
Please download and share these flyers and bulletin inserts to help promote this event: