what's new at courage to resist

I've been meaning to highlight some of the great work going on at Courage To Resist these days. I have several emails from them sitting in my inbox, with lots of interesting and important developments.

On their website, there's an interview with Hart Viges, who enlisted in the military after September 11th.

Hart quickly found himself as a mortar man attached with the 82nd Airborne. Later he participated in the initial invasion of Iraq. "After we killed enough people (with artillery), we moved into the town... I saw dogs fighting, donkeys fighting, birds fighting in the sky. It seemed like the violence from humans fighting spread out to the rest of life that lived there... I came head on with the question of how can I be a Christian and live the teaching of Jesus, and be a soldier at the same time?

The answer was, he couldn't. Viges became a conscientious objector: audio interview here.

There's also a story about another resister, Tony Anderson, who refused deployment. Anderson is part of a large and growing movement. According to AP, soldiers are resisting service at the highest rate since 1980 - up 80% since the the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Anderson is applying for conscientious objector status, a difficult battle he's fighting with the help of James Branum, the same lawyer who is representing Robin Long.

Courage to Resist also has another brief message from Robin Long, who was deported from Canada, against the wishes of the majority of the Canadian people. Robin says:

I am locked up at The Naval Consolidated Brig at Miramar, just North of San Diego. It's quite a change from Nelson, British Columbia, where I have called home. I feel as if I have been torn away from my home, family and friends!

I feel as if I was a pawn, a gift from one regime to another (Harper to Bush).

For my Canadian friends, and people I don't know, Stop this! Fight this! Don't let another conscientious objector, war resister, person of conscience and morals to be deported.

For my fellow Americans, keep courageously driving on to stop this war and undo the mess that the last 8 years of Bush has brought to our great country. I have received many letters of support. We are strong! We can be an example. We can spread the word and mobilize and protest the atrocities.

It is easy for me to be locked up knowing I stood up for what is right! This is but a bump in the road. They will never grind me down! I will only come out stronger! And guess what? I can now protest from within this country!

It is easy for me to be locked up knowing I stood up for what is right! I read that, it goes right to my heart, tears come to my eyes. I can only hope I could have the same moral courage.

You can write to Robin through Courage to Resist, but you can also write to him directly; the address is here.

Courage To Resist and the War Resisters Support Campaign are both in the middle of fundraising appeals. I know you are beset from requests for donations from all sides, but if you want to contribute to the peace movement, this is the most concrete way you can make a difference. As Courage To Resist says, "Support The Troops Who Refuse To Fight".

Courage to Resist
484 Lake Park Ave #41
Oakland, CA 94610
USA

War Resisters Support Campaign
Box 13, 427 Bloor Street West
Toronto, ON M5S 1X7
Canada