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Drums of peace
by Paul F. P. Pogue Jan 22, 2003

Drums of peace echoed in the skyscraper canyons of downtown Meridian Street the afternoon of Jan. 18. Freezing winds howled into Monument Circle, where hundreds of people gathered against impending war in Iraq.

Sarge Visher, Julia Carson"s chief of staff, commented, "This is a stellar turnout, especially considering the weather."

One group of 20 or so marched up and down Meridian Street for two hours in the bitter cold, picking up supporters along the way. They spoke not as Democrats or Republicans but voices for peace, criticizing George W. Bush and Tom Daschle equally. These marchers, drawn from every walk of Indiana life, were not alone. Hundreds of thousands gathered in solidarity all across the country. Charlie Wiles, co-director of the Peace Learning Center, MCed as speakers took to the steps of the Circle in their call for peace. Congresswoman Julia Carson: "I am not ashamed of my vote against war. I am not ashamed of my vote against homeland security. I am not ashamed of my vote against economic stimulus packages! Ö Just a few years ago, the vice president was CEO of Halliburton, and he and Saddam had a thing going on! And that thing was oil! Now it is all in the name of oil. Now it is all in the name of greed. Now it is all in the name of sending somebody else"s children, but not their own!" Garnett Day: "Martin Luther King is here today! He is among us! You can kill the dreamer but you cannot kill the dream!" Harold Donle, Marine Corps combat veteran in Vietnam: "You are not alone in this. There are 200,000 people in Washington, D.C., right now. The buses have shut the city down! Ö You are the true patriots in this. I don"t want to see another Vietnam Wall. We don"t NEED another Vietnam Wall! When you leave here today, do something! There are petitions to be signed, letters to be written." "This is a stellar turnout, especially considering the weather," said Sarge Visher, Carson"s chief of staff. "I"m optimistic. It smells to me like there"s enough monkey wrenches in the mix, that [Bush] is going to have real trouble doing this." When one person asked how many veterans were in the crowd, dozens of hands went up. "Isn"t it ironic," Wiles asked, "that those who have worn a uniform are those who are most opposed to the war, and those with oil connections who have never worn a uniform are those pushing hardest for war?" Bashaer Nisralla, an Iraqi woman, spoke, fighting back tears: "They said the war was for peace, but it is not. I lived through the war with Iran. I lived through the war with the United States, and I have lived through 12 years of the sanctions. Just imagine 9/11 every day! Just imagine going to bed and not knowing if your friends or family are going to die in the next moment. I have lived through the loss of friends and family. George Bush told the people, rise up and we will help you. But Bush pulled out, and Saddam killed us! He killed everyone who rose up against him! And the U.S. Army stood by and watched us die Ö They say this war is to liberate us. The only thing I see for this war is occupation, not liberation." This protest was not the last. People will continue to gather every Friday at 4:30 p.m., at the old federal building on the corner of Michigan and Pennsylvania streets.

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