help fund "let them stay", the book

Some of you may remember when wmtc was obsessed with the War Resisters Support Campaign, a fact that was noticed in some very interesting places. (Hi CIC! Are you still reading?) I joined the Campaign in 2007, then in 2009, I began school for my Master of Information degree.

I managed to stay active in the Campaign during my first two years of school, but by fall of 2011, night classes plus my library page job on top of my regular paid employment forced me to take a back seat. I thought I'd reactivate immediately after graduation... then over the summer... and now I'm aiming for mid-September.

But although I have only attended Campaign meetings sporadically for some time, I'm still involved in the fight to keep US war resisters safe in Canada, and to support war resisters who have returned to the US. War resistance in general, and specifically Iraq War resisters in Canada, are still the most passionate and pressing concerns in my mind and my heart.

Because of that, I'm very excited to share this Indiegogo fundraising campaign with you.

Let Them Stay, by Luke Stewart and the War Resisters Support Campaign, is a compilation of oral history, personal narrative, and public statements of Iraq War resisters in Canada from 2004 to the present. When published, it will be both a moving tribute and an important historical document.

You can help make this book a reality by donating any amount to the Indiegogo campaign below. From the Let Them Stay team:

Long before Bradley Manning released the Iraq War logs, Canada had its own WikiLeaks in the embodied form of the American soldiers who fled to Canada seeking refuge from the UN-deemed illegal war in Iraq. Now, after an almost decade-long struggle to stay in Canada, their stories and related documents have been collected in one place: Let Them Stay, the book.

These stories are vital to understanding how the politics of war changed the lives of men and women who had valiantly served their country but whose consciences would not allow them to continue to fight. Did you oppose the Iraq War? So did these US soldiers. By contributing to Let Them Stay, you will help document the sacrifices made by these brave men and women fighting to stay in Canada.

What We Need:

With many War Resisters and activists volunteering time and talent to Let Them Stay, our supportive publisher, Iguana Books, has managed to keep production costs low. Among others, a professional editor, a professional graphic artist, and a professional videographer have all donated their time to getting this book launched.

Even with all the unpaid time and effort that have gone into the making of this book, we still need to secure funding for some aspects of production, marketing, promotion, and on-line world-wide distribution for eBook and print. The total budget for this campaign is $6500.

We would like to see the campaign exceed that goal so we can make a donation to the War Resisters Support Campaign. Additionally, Iguana Books and Luke Stewart are donating the majority of the royalties to WRSC. This means that once Let Them Stay has been released, 85% of all sales will go directly to support the fight to keep conscientious objectors in Canada. Buying a book will help WRSC to Let Them Stay!