Sr. Pat Hoffman protests School of the Americas
Rochelle Lozano
Issue date: 12/8/05 Section: News
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This protest was a four-day event in which 20,000 people converged to express to urge the U.S. government to stop the inhumane acts towards El Salvadoran people, said Hoffman.
The SOA is a combat training school for Latin American soldiers. According to Hoffman, the SOA has been in operation for at least 15 years. The SOA is now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, (WHINSEC) when it was renamed in 2001.
"The thought that an American Army base in Georgia was training the Central American militias and death squads on our soil was beyond comprehension," Hoffman said.
"It has been going on for too many years, hence the need for a peace-filled protest at this Army base this year. We intend to stop the training and the torture manuals no matter how long it takes."
Hoffman explained the history and background of this event.
"I got involved in this protest because of my awareness of the refugees fleeing their homeland from El Salvador and Guatemala during the '70s and '80s.
"Many people were forced to leave their homeland because they were going to be killed or be one of the 70,000 disappeared.
"Many religious communities here and across the U.S. brought the plight of the refugees to the attention of peace-filled activists who deplored the injustices and human rights denied to thousands of citizens in these Central American countries."
Hoffman arrived in Atlanta prior to this event and was supposed to drive to Columbus, where all the sisters from different groups were gathering.
"It was interesting to see different kinds of groups and people who wanted to participate," said Hoffman.
The group of protesters carried crosses and held them up for two and a half hours, marching in a circle in front of the barbed wire entrance.
Hoffman said, "every time the name of a deceased person killed in these events was mentioned, everyone said 'presente,' which means blessed are they.
"Another reason why I went is to commemorate the 25th anniversary of four sisters' death in El Salvador," said Hoffman.
The four sisters were Maura Clarke, Ita Ford, Dorothy Kazel and Jean Donovan. "This was a powerful experience," Hoffman said.
She did not even see one soldier from one of the largest U.S. Army camps during this event, and she mentioned that she "only saw local police there to keep things in order."
Hoffman said two NDNU students were at Fort Benning participating in this event to emphasize the number of youth there.
"I was inspired and motivated by the number of youth of high school and college participants from all over the United States to come to this four day event," Hoffman said.
"We have no right to do this to other countries," said Hoffman.
"What is sad is the truth, and that is the United States Army is supporting the militia. We're not going away and we'll go back again."