John Ewers' Journal from Prison
Oct 18, 2001 - Nov 17, 2001
10-21-01
I start month four of my journal. That feels real good! I look forward to the final three months of challenges and surprises.
Yesterday was an absolutely perfect day. I spent the first part of the
day reading a terrific paper on the "war" that Beth Lerman sent by way
of Paula. It was titled, "The War in Afghanistan: 47 Questions and
Answers" by Michael Albert & Stephen R Shalom. I hope it gets
widely distributed. It took me the better part of an hour to read. I
plan on reading it again.
I completed my journal and bundled
it with my papers to send home to Paula tomorrow. I wrote my third
letter to the government officials making, I think, a strong, clear
case for closing the school of terrorist training.
Mid-day I had an excellent run on the hill. I went eleven strong laps,
about 3 1/2 miles. If I feel that good today, I might try for a little
more.
I had a couple of humorous incidents involving CO's
(Correction Officers) - one yesterday & one today. I was checking
out the paint job on the barn we painted Friday. It was early right
after my morning prayers. A CO was making his perimeter check and he
hollered at me, "What are you doing?" - in a rather challenging voice.
It took me off guard a bit but I hollered back that I was checking the
paint job. He hollered back for clarification that it was my paint job.
He turned and walked away. I got out of there right away, taking no
chances.
Today I was late getting our of our Bible study and I
had told Paula I'd call her before she left for church. I had 20
minutes before the 10am count. No problem. It's only a 15 minute call.
I reached her and we were chatting up a storm when, low and behold,
they called the count seven minutes early! I signed off with Paula and
was hustling back when I heard a commanding voice behind me holler,
"Hey, crusader, you're late!" I made the count with one minute to
spare. I don't think I'll take a chance like that again. A typical
result of missing a count is a few days in the hole. I think the CO
that hollered at me was the one I talk to regularly but I doubt he
would have cut me any slack.
This CO thing is no big deal but it was strange because you don't see the CO's much except for counts and mail call.
On the subject of the Horrendous (I think) strategy of bombing civilian
and infrastructure "targets" our Bible study class this morning was
discussing John 8:42-47. Jesus was castigating the Pharisees for not
accepting and loving him. In verse 44 Jesus says, "You belong to your
father, the devil.." The Pharisees were so convinced that their path
was correct that they just could not and would not accept Jesus as the
Messiah, the Son of God.
I empathize with the Pharisees.
They were the leaders. They were following the Mosaic Law. They had
power, prestige & authority. If they accepted Jesus, they would
probably lose all or most of that.
I didn't write this
story and its background for itself although it's an excellent story.
Looking at the current "war", the US power structure has "bet the
ranch" on our military might and a $350 billion military budget being
the correct strategy.
In all humility, I believe it
is wrong in so many ways not the least of which is that it is illegal
under international law. And yet I empathize with Bush and his command
structure. Over the years, this is usually the way we respond to
conflict. If the administration changed the strategy, they would have
to set aside their unilateral decision-making and essentially admit
they were wrong and that there is a better way. I see the relationship
between the problem of the pharisees and the problem of the
administration.
But nevertheless we must change if we
have any hope for ending terrorism much less improving relationships in
the middle east and real world peace down the line.
How
do we achieve peace? To start with, the job of people who say they want
real peace is to challenge the current strategy in a non-violent but
confrontational way much like Jesus did with the Pharisees. We need the
leadership of peace activists and religious leaders. Especially we need
the Christians who are the rank and file church members like me.
Following the current US strategy is not following Jesus.
It also means that a lot of members of Congress need to stop acting
like lemmings and risk their political reputations to challenge the
strategy and open meaningful hearings and broad-based discussions
involving all points of view.
We also need some
prophetic leadership like the Civil Rights movement leadership of
Martin Luther King, Jr. Only in involvement like this will a mass
movement occur. I think it is the only way the administration will
change its position.
Are we willing? Sadly, I doubt it. Is it possible? Yes! There have been many great movements. There needs to be another one.
10-24-01
I haven't had time to journal for a few days, so here goes.
It has been unseasonably warm which allowed us to finish painting the
barn yesterday. That's the good news. The not-so-good news is that I
didn't have anything to do today so I puttered around and did a few
odds & ends including studying some Spanish.
Bill & I
had our three month reviews which they call, "Camp Team." Each of us
sat for a few minutes with Mr Spurloch, the Camp Manager, Mr Sparks,
our Case Manager & Mr Hinton and Mr Lutz, Counselors. Basically,
they confirmed we're doing our work assignments very well, don't have
any disciplinary problems and are still on track for Jan 14 release. I
asked if I got any "good time" for early release and Sparks said, "No."
I pretty much knew that but thought I'd ask. As it gets toward the
release time, we make various arrangements. I'm not thinking much about
it for now.
I'm still having more and more good conversations
with guys and meeting new guys coming in. Nothing special or unusual
but, nevertheless, I'm feeling more comfortable.
News from
Afghanistan still sounds lousy. I got some good reading material by
mail on the subject. Bill received a good article from the "New York
Times" making a case for this being a religious war. I read everything
I get my hands on regarding the "war" and the SOA closing. I feel like
I need to do it but there are times when too much in one dose is
depressing.
I'm half way through Jack Nelson Pallmeyer's new
SOA book titled, "Guns, Greed and Globalization." Talk about getting
demoralized: it is so tough to see the documented direct ties to
atrocities even as I write. And yet I know, it is excellent
documentation. I'm probably going to get a few copies and get them to
people who may be on the fence.
I received a nice letter
Monday from Sophie Strand, daughter of Glen Strand, my cousin &
Linda Kelsey. Sophie is a freshman at Carleton College in Minnesota.
She sounds like a budding activist and thinks it's pretty cool that her
dad's cousin is a POC (Prisoner of Conscience). I'll write her in a
week or so.
I almost forgot-I was just coming out of the
shower yesterday afternoon when an older guy was getting a haircut in
the washroom. He lost consciousness. Several guys called for help and I
helped get him off the chair. The C.O.'s took over and got him to the
hospital. The word is that he had a mild heart attack and is resting
comfortably.
The only ghoulish aspect of the episode was that
one of the inmates started a rumor that he had died. Of course that
"flew" around the compound. One of the guys from our unit came over
when we were on break from our Spanish class and told us. I was really
nailed with the news and I immediately went to pray. I know the guy
from chapel & Bible study. Halfway through the second hour of
Spanish, the PA system came on with the good news of his real
condition. I was relieved but also teed-off that anyone would start
such a rumor.
10-27-01
It's Saturday morning and
quiet as usual. A lot of the guys are still sleeping including my
celly, Scott, who is snoring away. I didn't wake up until almost seven.
I almost missed breakfast. Speaking of "break-fast", I was thinking of
something I could do in solidarity with the November vigil. I thought
of fasting. I ran it past Bill & he seemed warm to the idea. I'm
thinking of starting the fast after Friday supper and ending it with
breakfast on Monday morning.
I went up to my favorite place to
pray and there were a few snowflakes in the air. It was cold and very
windy yesterday. As I looked out in the distance this morning I could
see that the trees are almost bare. My run yesterday was in long pants
and sweatshirt. I did have one break with the wind - it was out of the
northwest which had the effect of "helping" me run up the hill.
I weighed in yesterday down another pound for the week, bringing my
total loss to 14 1/2 pounds and bringing me under 190 for the first
time in at least five years. My motivation is strong to break under 180
before I head for home. I'm currently running 20 miles a week and I
think I'll get up to 25 or so soon. My thought process now is to have a
smooth transition when I get home by continuing the same schedule.
Things were slow in Maintenance the last two days. We woke Thursday to
the news that one of the CO's from FCI was murdered Wed night. He came
home from work to find three guys in his house. It devastated the
staff. They postponed the start of work schedule till nine. They did
catch the guys. They were not inmates.
Scott & I started
painting our cubicle Thursday afternoon and I finished it up yesterday.
Starting Monday I'm on the painting crew. We will paint the visiting
area next week.
Spanish class is going good. Each of us had to
write 6 sentences for homework. We shared them and got a critique by
Frank, our instructor. Next week we work on conjugating verbs in
present, past & future tense. We have about 4 weeks left in the
class.
I'm looking forward to this weekend. Jerry & Lynne
Swaim are coming for a visit today & Paula is coming tomorrow-and
it is her 65th birthday. I can't give her a tangible present but I can
and will sing "Happy Birthday" to her! Rich is fixing her birthday
dinner and has, as a surprise, invited some of Paula's friends.
10-28-01
Evening chow is finished and it's pretty quiet in the unit. A lot of
the guys are watching TV. Paula & I had a great visit. It started
with the regular kissing and hugging and then, while holding hands at
arms length I sang "Happy Birthday" to her. A nice moment.
Paula had opened her cards and presents before she left home this
morning. She was wearing the present Rich bought on my behalf. It's a
really pretty long sweater with a cape. As usual, she looked great.
Yesterday's visit with Lynne & Jerry was really nice. We had a good
two hour chat. They're special-as virtually all human rights activist
are! As it turned out, they brought Hazel down to visit Bill. Her ride
didn't materialize and Paula hooked her up with Jerry & Lynne. It
worked out fine and they had an opportunity to visit on the way. All of
us met together briefly. We got no flack from the CO's, as usual.
During my visit today I took a bathroom break escorted by a CO. I was
making conversation with the CO by asking how the staff was dealing
with the murder last week. His response was personal-"Life goes on.
I've got plenty to deal with with three kids." No big deal but I
thought the staff might have more of a fraternal relationship.
There was no Bible study this morning and no announcement why not.
There is a new Catholic priest and their service, which has been over
by 8:30, wasn't over until nine. However our leaders didn't come and
when I checked up front, the CO didn't know anything about it. I'm
going to write a "cop-out" to Chaplain Puryear and find out what's
going on.
I've got about six letters to write tonight before the 10pm count - so off I go.
10-31-01
This week started slowly. Neither maintenance supervisor was in on
Monday so the whole crew was off. Actually I was pleased to have the
time. I wrote a few letters and worked on a special project-a poetic
piece titled "Nelson Mandela Camp". The Cleveland Interreligious Task
Force on Central America has invited persons to submit poetry from the
US & Latin America. They included the SOA26. They will have a
reading and possibly have a pamphlet. Anyway, I felt kind of motivated.
My piece relates to our first trip to Colombia and our experiences
visiting the Nelson Mandela displacement camp. It was that experience
that got me involved in SOA Watch. Here it is:
Nelson Mandela Camp
We stood in the midst of the camp.
Plastic shacks. Cardboard shacks.
Rutted roads. Soon to be mud.
Kids running. Babies crying.
Fathers digging. Mothers cooking.
We stood in the midst of the camp.
Not here last year Garbage dump.
Twenty-five thousand displaced this year.
More every day. No where to go.
Eyes are hopeful. Eyes are hopeless.
We stood in the midst of the camp.
U.S. church group. Looking. Hearing.
Seeing. Talking. Translating.
Paramilitaries. Guns. Get out.
Our home. Our land. Get out. Now. Gone.
Comprehending. Not comprehending.
We stood in the midst of the camp.
Ashamed. Frustrated. Crying.
Our country. Involved. SOA.
Not believing. Not wanting to believe.
Do something. Anything. Help. Now.
We left the midst of the camp.
Our hearts stayed.
In the midst of the camp.
Tuesday and today we got going big time on our painting projects. Hawk,
John & I started painting the visitor area. It's a big project that
will take at least 2 weeks. At the same time, the weather has turned
warm this week which makes it ideal to finish the outside painting. The
project is painting the 68 windows, 17 in each of the four units. As
soon as the chill is off, I go outside and paint windows. I hope to
finish this week but it might take a day next week. The windows look
like they haven't been painted since installed. Definitely it's a good
project. I enjoy this kind of stuff. It definitly keeps the time moving
by.
Mail was good Monday as it usually is but not much since
then. Monday's included a lot of SOA Watch stuff and commentary on the
horrendous outlook for starvation this winter in Afghanistan. Margaret
Knapke had an excellent Op-Ed article published in the Columbus GA
paper. Her thrust is that, more than ever, we need the November vigil
and solemn funeral procession in light of the terrorism training by the
SOA/WHISC.
Especially after reading commentary by Adler &
Noam Chomsky, I was very depressed. We must have a halt in bombing and
fighting to allow organizations to get food in before winter sets in.
This weekend I'm going to write some letters to Bush, DeWine, Voinovich
and Tony Hall. Tony should be in agreement and carry some weight in
light of his history of being involved in hunger issues.
I'll close on an upbeat note. I finished reading I Corinthians and am starting II Corinthians.
11-03-01
It's a bright, chilly Saturday morning. 8am and the camp is pretty much
sleeping. I'm sitting in the library. For now it's quiet.
The
week past was a busy one. The weather continued unseasonably warm. I
was able to start outside painting at 7:30 am yesterday. I was able to
finish painting 60 windows - 8 to go. If the weather stays warm, I can
get started on the second coat. They badly need it. Half the window
frames only had a factory primer on them. Some were showing early
stages of rust. I like jobs like this because what I do is functional
rather than just brightening them up.
I had a good week
running with the great weather. So far I've run ten laps-three
miles-all but one day. I think I'll try to go four miles today. I
dropped another pound this week bringing my total to 15 1/2 and my
weight to 188 1/2.
I didn't get a response to my cop-out from
Chaplain Puryear regarding the Sunday Bible study. However, I noticed
the chapel announcement board had been updated. I talked to the
librarian when I came in this morning and he said he had arranged with
Mr Mollett to use a library room for Bible study. I'm surprised the
chaplain didn't jump right on solving the obvious scheduling conflict.
Paula & Jim Lucas sent me a bunch of e-mail and reference material
this week. It's good to feel like I'm keeping pretty much up to date.
On the other hand, I haven't seen any evidence of a humanitarian
strategy on the part of our government to protect the several million
people in Afghanistan that are at serious risk of starvation this
winter. This is so frustrating. I'm embarrassed to think a country like
ours, with plenty of resources, will not work hard to protect the
innocent, defenseless victims of a war environment that we initiated!
I'm very disappointed that the US religious community isn't totally
outraged and mobilizing in a massive effort to change government
strategy.
I have an open day-no visits- so I'm going to write
my pastors, Robert E Jones & Walter Stuber and Executive Presbyter
Margaret Haney. I'm also writing my congressional reps.
11-05-01
I didn't get the letters written on the Afghanistan crisis but I got a
lot of last week's reading done which has helped fill out my
understanding of various situations - SOA, Iraq, Afghanistan. I also
did a bunch of answering correspondence Sat & Sunday.
I've
been thinking about how best to use my last 2 months here. I decided I
will make a strong push with all supporters who are in touch with me to
write their congressional reps. I put together a basic packet on letter
writing techniques and basic SOA Watch info that will help folks. The
rationale is to tie in the terrorist tactics taught at the school with
the terrorism the US is trying to eliminate.
I had strong runs
both days & felt really good. Sat. I ran 14 laps on the hill which
is a little over 4 miles. Sun I ran 3 miles and picked up the tempo to
about a 10 minute mile pace.
I decided to treat myself last
night. I watched the seventh game of the World Series. It was a
terrific game with Arizona pulling it off with a 2 run rally in the 9th
inning to win 3-2. I didn't get to sleep until 11:30. I'm dragging a
little today even though I have the day off. It's the latest I've gone
to bed since I arrived here.
I'm off to more letter-writing.
11-08-01
This is Thursday evening and another busy week about to end. The fall
weather has been wonderful. The nights are in the 30's with a frost
warming to about 60 during the day. The running on the hill has been
great. All but one day this week I've run 2 laps and then taken off my
shirt. Believe it or not, I still have a pretty good tan.
Once
again, mail has been great. I'm still hearing from family, friends and
folks I don't know-but do now. I'm starting to get feed-back that folks
have written their elected Senators & Reps-or are about to do so.
I'm absolutely convinced that this is the way to close the school.
We have a weekly unit inspection on a randomly selected day. This week
my celly, Scott, and I were both "dinged" for not meeting regulations.
I had 6 family pictures mounted above our writing desk and Scott didn't
have his sheet folded back over the blanket. We got called into
Counselor Byrd's office and warned. If there is a "next time" (which
there probably won't be) we will get a "shot" and have extra duty
assigned.
I've been painting seven hours each day this week.
While the day warms up, I've been working on the crew painting the
visiting area. After that I'm out on the 4 unit roofs, painting the
window frames. The weather has been so good, I'm almost finished
putting on 2 coats. They look sensational, if I do say so myself! Doing
all this painting has me thinking of looking for painting-for-pay jobs
when I get home. Things have been a bit tight financially because my
social security monthly payments have stopped while I'm in prison. At
this time, I'm just considering it.
The Spanish class is
almost finished. Our final test is next week. It's been good and I've
learned a lot. Paula & I need to decide whether we'll continue
trying to learn more.
Bill Houston started a fast Tuesday in
solidarity with the people heading for Ft Benning and the vigil next
week. He plans on carrying it through the vigil week-end. I haven't had
much success with fasts in the past but I'm going to try a juice-only
fast on Friday 11/16 and end it with breakfast Monday 11/19.
I'm going to try to call Paula now and then hit the sack and read the
"Biography of John Adams" that Nance & Art just sent me.
11-11-01
It's a cool Sunday morning with a bunch of sunshine. Our Bible study
was good with some new faces which is also good. It's 45 minutes until
the Chapel service so this is a good time to journal.
There
really isn't a whole lot new and different going on but here goes. I
weighed in Friday morning and only lost a half a pound last week.
That's still OK. It evens me off at a pound a week for 16 weeks. I've
decided to run a steady 3 miles a day and pick up my pace a little.
Then try to get up to 5 miles on one of the week-end days. I'm going
for 15 laps this afternoon or about 4 1/2 miles. This would be my
longest if I make it.
I finally finished the letter to the
Pentagon Colonel yesterday. I felt pretty good about it & I sent
him some documentation on atrocities committed by SOA grads. I don't
expect a response but it would be interesting to get one.
I
wrote Bobby Peters, the Columbus GA mayor last week urging the city to
issue the permits for next week's vigil. Jeff Winder suggested it. My
main point was our right of free speech and assembly. I wrote a letter
last night to the former POC's who are gathering Thursday night. Jeff
also suggested this. I sure wish I could be there.
Speaking of
the vigil, I was disappointed to learn our associate pastor, Walter
Stuber, can't go as planned because Pastor Jones is on vacation. I also
got a letter from Bob Swab last week saying he can't go. I don't know
why but it may be his wife's health. On the upside, Bob and Chris Ellis
are coming here for a visit next Sat. And speaking of visit, Paula will
be here tomorrow. She is travelling home from Colorado today. She is
bringing Hazel Tulecke for a visit with Bill.
We painted the
Control Room up front last Friday. It was fun to hear what goes on
there. We didn't learn any deep, dark secrets of the BOP but a few
pieces of how the staff runs the Camp fell into place. I also painted a
bunch of windows on my project Friday afternoon.
We're on a
Veteran's Day holiday tomorrow. The weather forecast for Tuesday looks
good so I should be able to finish the windows Tuesday. I feel real
good about that project because it needed it so badly. If the weather
holds next week, there is another outside painting project-a couple of
mini-towers that flank the front of the camp. I seem to be the only one
who enjoys getting up in the air. I'd be working off an extension
ladder-pretty much like painting a house.
I'm off to chapel. Then some letter writing and a good run.
11-14-01
First things first. Bill and I will be released 2 months from today! I
feel good about our progress, productivity and acceptance.
Bill, Hazel, Paula & I had a really good visit Monday. We spent
most of the time in two-somes but also talked as a group - particularly
about some of Hazel's experiences at Pekin.
Work this week has
been steady. We finished painting the Visiting Area yesterday and today
I finished the 2nd coat on the unit windows. I painted 68 windows, 2
coats = 136 windows. After lunch today I was talking with Mr Salyers,
the other maintenance supervisor, about my next project. I suggested
the mini-towers but he asked me to do some doors. Guess what I do first?
The weather is still great. Running is great. I ran shirtless and logged my fastest 3 mile so far, today.
I got a response from Chaplain Puryear on the "cop-out" I submitted
about Sunday Bible study. All is well-meeting in the library except for
the constant interruptions from the PA announcements.
I got a
letter from Pastor Jones yesterday. Among other things he said the
church would look into actions and response to the US strategy on
Afghanistan. Speaking of this, I've continued to put my postage stamps
upside down with the message about why I'm doing it. I haven't had any
comment but I think I'll continue to do it. Bill received an excellent
op-ed column published in the Asheville, NC "Citizen Times". It is
excellent and thought-provoking for Christians particularly. I'm going
to send a copy to Pastor Jones when I write him.
Bill is in
the 9th day of his fast and is tolerating it quite well even though he
caught a lousy cold over the week-end. He's getting better now. He's
lost quite a bit of weight. When my celly, Scott, found out I was going
to fast Fri-Sun, he decided to join me. That will be nice to be in
solidarity with the folks at Ft Benning.
Speaking of fasts,
Josh Raisler-Cohn and Eric Robison are on an 18 day hunger strike at
Sheridan Oregon FPC. They thought they would be "thrown in the hole"
but the warden was convinced by staff not to do it. They were the
"Oregon" item in "USA Today" last Friday. It was a short but excellent
article. Josh comes up with some great, in-your-face ideas. He'll be
released next week since he surrendered upon sentencing May 23rd. Eric
will have to serve his last 2 months on his own. Several of the guys
here get "USA Today" and a couple of them told me about the article and
one passed it on to me.
One of the inmates, Mark, came by our
cube tonight to talk to Scott. I got talking to him about the SOA when
he saw my picture of the SOA26. We talked about terrorism training and
he was appalled, as folks usually are.
He's a nice young guy,
about 35, I'd say, with a wife and two small children. He is a first
time drug distribution offender with an eight year sentence. He's done
20 months with 6 years to go. His family lives fairly close so they
visit every week-end. He's dealing with the lenghthy sentence but
admits to being demoralized. He wonders why a first-time non-violent
offender doesn't get a couple of years and a longer sentence if he's
stupid enought to break the law again. I totally agree with him. If
he's such a risk to society, why would he serve his entire sentence in
a Federal Prison Camp?
This sure makes the need for
sentencing reform a must. I gave him one of my FAMM (Families Against
Mandatory Minimums) newsletters. I suggested he join for $10 and
complete his case history and send it to FAMM. I hope he does. He's a
good guy working on his G.E.D. The problem is that, once he gets it,
there is no continuing education here for him. What a waste!
Saturday the 17th is our 4 month anniversary of starting our sentence.
This means I write my letter to the 6 government folks and send off
this month's journal to Paula for typing and distribution. I plan on
focusing my letter on Colombia and give some specific examples of SOA
grad involvement. As in the past, I'll add the letter to the end of
this month's journal.
11-17-01
Today I start the
2nd day of my 3 day fast in solidarity and spirit with the thousands
from around the country and the world who have gathered in Columbus, GA
at Ft Benning to remember and celebrate the martyrs who have died at
the hands of the SOA graduates. Today, with them, I rededicate myself
to the sacred cause of closing the School of the Americas/WHISC which
has contributed so much pain, death and sorrow to our brothers and
sisters in Latin America.
I sure wish I was there with them
but it's good that Paula is there and she will carry a symbol of some
sort, representing me. She told me that each of the SOA26 will be
represented. Forunately, Hazel will be there in person!
Today
Bill and I have visits. I know Bob Swab, a friend and Habitat
co-worker, will be here along with Beth Lerman. There probably will be
others but I'm not sure who. We'll find out when they get here.
I had several interesting things happen yesterday. One was that I
weighed in at my regular Friday & I was down 2 pounds for the week.
This brings my total to 18 pounds. The previous week I only lost 1/2 a
pound. With my 3 day fast this week-end, I expect to lose several
pounds this week. I'm cautiously optimistic that I'm on track to lose
30 pounds during my incarceration. I'll give it a good try!
Yesterday I was painting some louvered doors to the boiler rooms when
Mr Salyers came by and asked me to go with him to size up a painting
job in the administration building at FCI, the main prison at Ashland.
It was the first time I've been in that building since July 17, the day
we reported there by mistake! We did a walk through and decided what
needed to be done and that it was a job we could do. I felt good to be
consulted and have the feeling that I'm considered a solid member of
the maintenance crew. I've been working more closely with Mr Salyers
while Mr Kelly, my regular supervisor, is on vacation. I've had an
opportunity to observe him. He's a good first-line supervisor. There is
a new warden coming in soon and they are wanting to spiff things up.
The new warden is female which is surprising to me but gratifying.
A new guy in our unit dropped by yesterday and asked me if I was a
priest! I told him I wasn't. We talked a bit about why I was here. As
we finished, he said, "You're a Catholic, right?" I said, "No." but
that I was a protestant Christian. He said, "Well anyway, God bless
you." I thanked him.
On that upbeat note, this closes my 4th
month of incarceration & journaling. It has been a pleasure and a
privilege. Here is my 4th letter to President Bush, Secretaries Powell
& Rumsfeld, Senators DeWine and Voinovich and Representative Hall.
Dear Mr President ( and others):
This afternoon as I am sitting in my cell, thousands of U.S. citizens
are engaged in a solemn funeral procession at Fort Benning GA
remembering the thousands of Latin American innocents murdered by
graduates of the SOA/WHISC.
By their presence they are
committing themselves to right a grievous wrong. They are pleading for
their government to close the School of the Americas now known as the
Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation.
Last
year at this time I was doing the same thing. I was arrested and
subsequently convicted for trespassing. I was peacefully exposing the
truth of the involvement of our country in training Latin American
soldiers who have returned to their country and grieviously oppressed
and murdered their own people.
This is my fourth letter to you
on this subject. This month I write you with additional reasons for
closing the school. This letter highlights the guilt of Colombian
SOA/WHISC graduates. I first became involved in the horrible human
rights problems in Colombia on a church trip.
I stood in the
midst of the Nelson Mandela Displacement Camp outside of Barranquilla
which housed 25,000 citizens driven out of their homes and off their
land by paramilitary bands. The utter crudeness and hopelessness of the
situation moved me deeply.
I studied the Colombia situation
and discovered the deep and continuing involvement of SOA/WHISC
graduates. I committed myself to do whatever I can to close the School
and improve the Colombia internal stability by elimating the training
of the Colombian military which has been instrumental in the
paramilitary assassinations and atrocities perpetrated on the Colombian
people.
Enclosed is a brief authoritative summary of this
involvement as reported by our State Department and the Human Rights
Watch organization.
I humbly renew my plea to close the SOA/WHISC.
Very Truly Yours,
John T Ewers
Other Entries in John's Journal:
- The First Month (7/17 - 8/17)
- The Second Month (8/18 - 9/17)
- The Third Month (9/18 - 10/17)
- The
Fifth Month (11/18 - 12/17)
- The
Sixth Month (12/18 - 01/17)
