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in Latin America An Evening with Saturday, May 6th, 2006 7 pm Father Roy
Bourgeois is an internationally acclaimed human rights activist, and the
founder of the School of the Americas Watch (SOAW), a Washington DC based human
rights organization dedicated to closing the infamous School of the Americas
(SOA). The SOA is a combat training school for Latin American soldiers, located
at Ft. Benning, GA. In 2001 the SOA was renamed the Western Hemisphere
Instituted of Security Cooperation (WHISC). Also known
as the School of the Assassins, the SOA has trained over 60,000 Latin American
soldiers in counterinsurgency techniques, commando tactics, military
intelligence, sniper training, psychological warfare, and
“interrogation” tactics. These graduates have consistently used
their skills to wage war against their own people. Among those targeted by SOA
graduates are educators, union organizers, religious workers, student leaders,
and those who work for the rights of the poor. Hundreds of thousands of Latin
Americans have been tortured, raped, assassinated, “disappeared,”
massacred, and forced into refugee by those trained at the SOA. Father Roy
Bourgeois, a Vietnam War veteran and Purple Heart recipient, is a
Maryknoll priest who has spent many years working with the poor all over Latin
America. Father Roy has spent over four years in US federal prison for
nonviolently protesting the SOA. He was awarded the Pax Christi USA Teacher of
Peace Award in 1997 and the Thomas Merton Award in 2005. Sponsored by: the School of the Americas Watch-Oregon (SOAW-OR) and St.
Francis Catholic Church. Endorsed by:
Portland Catholic Worker, Witness for Peace, Portland Central America
Solidarity Committee (PCASC), Students for Unity. Northwest Veterans for Peace
(NWVP), Oregon Peace Works (OPW), American Friends Service Committee (AFSC),
Portland SOA Watchers (a project of Peace and Justice Works). For More Information, Contact: Phone: (503) 288-8014 Email: philipdonofrio@msn.com or visit www.soaw.org |
