In the long history of political protests, the most effective protesters have been those with a personal connection to the injustice they are attempting to correct.
This Saturday, Fernando Suarez del Solar, whose son died in Iraq, will speak at Cozmic Pizza.
The event, entitled “Military Father Speaks Out,” is sponsored by the Committee for Countering Military Recruitment, an organization created by Eugene PeaceWorks and the Community Alliance of Lane County. CCMR’s mission is to inform people about certain aspects of joining the military that it feels military recruiters do not discuss. Along with Suarez del Solar, the event also will include a political poster art contest and a performance by the band Azuquita.
“The principal point is to explain to younger people that the promises of military recruitment do not always reflect the reality,” Suarez del Solar said.
Suarez del Solar’s son, Jesus, was a U.S. soldier who died in Iraq on March 27, 2003. Since his death, Suarez del Solar has campaigned against the war in Iraq and false promises of military recruitment. Suarez del Solar will give a number of speeches across the country through his involvement with the organization Military Families Speak Out, and he also is planning a trip to Iraq to visit the place where his son was killed.
“He’s a great spokesman for the sacrifices people have made for this war,” CCMR co-coordinator Philip Weaver said. “He doesn’t object to the military or military service, but he doesn’t think that the war in Iraq is worthy of sacrificing our youths.”
Suarez del Solar’s speech will be in his native Spanish with an English interpreter. The reasons for this are both symbolic and pragmatic.
“Partly it’s because it is the language he is most comfortable with,” CALC volunteer/board member Carol Van Houten said. “Part of it is also that he wishes to speak to many immigrants like himself, who are one of the biggest targets for military recruiters.”
This campaign is not the first the CCMR has put together. The committee also has organized hip-hop shows and put together an information campaign to inform local high school students about certain aspects of their privacy rights.
“Part of the No Child Left Behind Act is that schools are required to give the contact information for their students to military recruiters, otherwise the school can lose their federal funding,” Weaver said. “Most people didn’t know that students could opt out of it so that the military recruiters wouldn’t get that information. We got speakers onto campuses so people would find out that they didn’t have to be contacted.”
Cozmic Pizza is located at 199 W. 8th Ave.. “Military Father Speaks Out” begins at 8 p.m. with Suarez del Solar’s presentation and Azuquita’s musical performance followed by the poster art show. The speech and poster show are both open to the public, but donations will be accepted. The tickets for Azuquita will be sold on a $2-5 sliding scale.