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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
MONDAY, MARCH 19, 2007 WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS EVENT ON A MONDAY?Over the past 15 years we have been organizing and co-coordinating events to remember the anniversary of the 1991 "Gulf War" and the 2003 invasion and occupation. While we have had successful attendance, much of the time there are a limited number of people downtown to be able to view our message on weekends as compared to weekdays. This is one reason we have scheduled the event to take place both during the noon/lunch hour (12-2) and rush hour (4-6:30).ISN'T THERE ALSO AN EVENT ON SUNDAY?Yes, there is a march and "peace action camp" that is being planned for Sunday, March 18th by American Friends Service Committee and a number of other organizations. It was originally scheduled in Pioneer Square and now is in the South Park Blocks. More info on that event is at www.pdxpeace.org .We are not participating in that event because we began planning for the Monday event back in December and have also been working on the statewide resolution to bring the troops home. WHO WILL BE SPEAKING AT THE EVENT?We are waiting to confirm some of our speakers.In the noon-2 demonstration, we will hear information reflecting our theme and subthemes, No More Occupations, No More Wars, money for human needs, and defending civil liberties. Among the speakers scheduled are Rev. LeRoy Haynes of Allen Temple on the "war on terror", attorney Tom Nelson, who is working on a case of US government spying, Kayse Jama of the Center for Intercultural Organizing on US involvement in Somalia, KBOO's Theresa Mitchell on North Korea, Martin Gonzalez of the Portland Schools Alliance on "money for education, not war" and many more. We will also have music from Samusson and Tomassi and a few other performers. In the 4-6:30 evening visibility action, while people will be spreading out on the sidewalks with signs to show the rush hour traffic, we will also have music from Simmons/Rose, Terri Grayum, and others, along with representatives of at least a dozen ongoing peace actions in the greater Portland area to let people know about their ongoing efforts to end the war and how to plug in. Scheduled to appear are members of the Oak Grove, Oregon City, Washington County, Lake Oswego, Sunnyside School, and other regular peace actions. WHAT IS THE MESSAGE TO THE IRAQI PEOPLE?The message, which will be held up by several dozen volunteers (if you want to be part of it, please contact us!), will be a message of peace and solidarity with the people of Iraq. Assembly time will be at about 6 PM and the message should be ready to present by 6:20 PM. We will have a professional photographer on hand to take a picture from high above the park and we're hoping to transmit a copy via the internet.The news media may also be there taking additional video and pictures. That is up to their news editors--we could use your help making sure they are interested and planning to send someone to cover the visibility action, particularly from 6:20 to 6:35 PM (remember to be polite!). If you want to call some of the local media outlets to be sure they will cover the March 19 event at Terry Schrunk, check out our list of media contact information. HOW CAN I HELP?Information on volunteering and donating is on our volunteers page.WHO IS PUTTING THIS ALL TOGETHER?This event is chiefly being coordinated by the Peace and Justice Works Iraq Affinity Group. We have a number of cosponsors who are also helping out, and endorsers who are putting the word out to their memberships. Information on cosponsoring and endorsing is on our volunteers page.For more information contact us at iraq@pjw.info or 503- 236-3065.
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