Gandhi in California

[Clara T]

Gandhi in California
The 2006 Latino Peace Pilgrimage to End the Iraq War
Saturday 11th March 2006, by David Howard

Seventy-six years ago, on March 12, 1930, Mohandas Gandhi began the Salt Satyagraha, a seemingly quixotic journey of nonviolent protest against omnipotent empire, a march to the sea powered by what Gandhi called his “inner vision.” Joined by thousands of ordinary Indians, Gandhi walked 400 kilometers (241 miles) from Ahmedabad to Dandi, Gujarat.

The British then held a monopoly on salt, and Gandhi knew that the proceeds of the salt tax helped finance the forces of empire at the expense of the impoverished masses-the campesinos. When he arrived at Dandi on the Arabian Sea, Gandhi picked up a grain of salt and spoke prophetic truth to arrogant power: "With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire."

<snip>

Like Gandhi in India, they will walk 241 California miles between Tijuana on the Mexican border and the Pacific Bay city of San Francisco. Each stop on the march for peace and justice is important to the history of the Latino movimiento: la frontera, the border between North and South, privilege and poverty; La Paz, the burial site of César Chávez; Camp Pendleton, where generations of troops have trained for the killing fields of Southeast Asia, Afghanistan and Iraq. The march will end in San Francisco’s Mission District on March 26-27, where participants will donate blood for both soldiers and civilians in Iraq.

The leaders of the march are Fernando Suárez del Solar, whose Marine Corps son was among the first US soldiers to die in the Iraq War; Pablo Paredes, the Navy seaman who was court-martialed for refusing to board an Iraq-bound ship; Camilo Mejía, who chose military prison over redeployment in Iraq; and Aidan Delgado, who was granted conscientious objector status while stationed at Abu Ghraib prison.

http://www.selvesandothers.org/article13417.html

[Liberty Belle]

1. Kicking and nominating

Fernando is amazing, a Mexican immigrant who taught himself English so that he could speak out against this administration that caused his son's needless death. His son was one of the first soldiers killed in this war.

For those who don't know him, Fernando Suarez del Solar is the founder of the Guerrero Azteca project, which teaches high school kids about alternatives to military service. Fernando has traveled to Iraq, raised money to help the children in Iraq, and traveled to DC to lead a delegation of citizens lobbying Congress to end the war during the Sept. 24th rallies.

One peace activist told me how Fernando once chased away some Protest Warriors (pro-war demonstrators) from a peace march shortly after his son's death. "My son, he died in Iraq. You have no right to be here -- go home," he told them in broken English. Amazingly, they did.

Appropriately, he received the Gandhi award from a peace organization recently.

Fernando is a true America patriot.

:kick: :kick: :kick: :kick:

[Clara T]

3. Yes

Peace and Solidarity

[Liberty Belle]

2. kick