Peace and Justice Vigil  to Commemorate
4000 U.S. Deaths Held in East Harlem

By William Gerena-Rochet

Special to East Harlem Preservation, March 24, 2008

Holding a copy of the front page headline of the NY Daily News that read “4000 Dead: Tragic milestone for U.S. in Iraq” and a banner, “El Barrio-Harlem Movement for Peace and Justice,” a handfull of community activists, residents and workers chanted “Bush lies, 4000 dead, 30,000 wounded, Bring the troops home now,” next to the East 103 Street US Army Recruiting Station situated across the Ortiz Funeral Home.

This was part of several other vigils held in other parts of the city and the second one in front of the recruiting station called for by the local anti-war activists, El Barrio-East Harlem for Peace and Justice. Incidentally the 4 soldiers killedt that raised the total to 4000 happened on Easter Sunday.

Taking another look at the chant: “Bush lies…” – who doesn’t know by now the two main lies of the Bush-Cheney regime’s claim that (1) there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and (2) that Saddam Hussein’s Iraq was allied with Osama Bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda and as such was responsible for 9-11. But, when you hear someone saying such lame things as “New York City Police have gotten killed on duty (comparing them to the soldiers who are on duty as well), so does this mean we bring them back?” – while resorting to the second lie to somehow strengthen his argument –  it is not hard to imagine why folks out there haven’t risen up and thrown Cheney and his puppet out of the White House. Maybe the 2008 presidential elections will do just that.

On the part of the 30,000 wounded, well, the Daily News quotes 27,000 wounded, but unofficial estimates are that there may be up to 100,000 wounded, injured, or mentally ruined by this war.

The Iraqis have suffered up to 655,000 deaths according to a recent report on CNN, almost 5 million Iraqis had been displaced by violence in their country (UN Refugee Agency report), and over 2 million refugees have left their country as a result of this disasterous 5-year war.

Vice (President) Dick Cheney and his chosen Bush successor, John McCain, entertain the idea of a hundred years war (back to Middle Ages type of wars). They must figure that in one hundred years at the rate of deaths up to now, we will reach 80,000 and only by then will the American public will have said enough!

But before reaching the year 2108, a  reporter from ABC News this week told Dick Cheney, in regards to Iraq, “two-thirds of Americans say it’s not worth fighting.” And Cheney cut her off with a one word answer: “So?”

“Was this a  “So?” As in, “So what?” As in, “F*** you. I could care less,” as Micheal Moore states in a recent article.  When the total deads reached 4,000, Cheney was fishing off the Sultan of Oman’s royal yacht. “So?” (http://www.commondreams.org)

Back to the 4,000 East Harlem vigil and why in front of the US Army Recruting so-called “Career Center?”

Well, with high drop-out school rates and unemployment in East Harlem, it is part and parcel of the “way out” appeal for the youth of our community by the U.S. Army. It is a cynical scheme that has the recruiting station called a “career center.” Inside the premises was one recruiter clad in combat apparel and once one of the demonstrators suceeded in catching his attention, he came out and told us to move away. He threatened to call the police, they arrived, but left us where we were, just to the side of the “career center.”

According to the NYC Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU): “Military recruiters are under constant pressure to meet and exceed recruitment quotas. U.S. Army statistics list New York City as a primary source for enlistment, and recruiters are using aggressive, heavy-handed tactics to entice NYC Youth to enter military service.”

For this reason and others, The NYCLU has a  Project on Military Recruitment and Students' Rights to give students, families, educators, and advocates the tools to defend their rights against intrusive military recruiting (http://milrec.nyclu.org/).

Last Saturday, March 22, 2008,  a number of East Harlem residents were part of the thousands that lined 14th Street in the River to River: Join Hands for Peace demonstration: a joining of hands that symbolized unity in the call for peace and for funding our communities, not war! This event ended in a gathering on Union Square East to mark the 5th anniversary and all the casualties of the Iraq War.

On Wednesday, March 19 (actual anniversary date of the war), a number of actions and events took throughout the city. In Washington DC, a number of events took place as well and  it was connected to more than 1,000 actions in all 50 states marking the 5th anniversary of the war and occupation in Iraq, and demanding that it be brought to an immediate end. And all of this was preceded by 3 days of powerful testimony given by brave veterans of the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan during the Winter Soldier hearings (www.ivaw.org) organized by Iraq Veterans Against the War.

On Tuesday, March 25, 2008,  NYC United For Peace and Justice (organizers of the river to river event) will hold a a candlelight vigil to mark the death of the 4000th US military personnel killed in Iraq, to mourn the lives lost and call attention to the human cost of the Iraq War at South Plaza, Union Square, at 14th Street.