Maine Activists Aren't Forgetting the Iraq War
by Bruce K. Gagnon
In recent months we Maine activists have stepped up our efforts to keep the
war in Iraq on the minds of citizens in our state and in front of our
congressional delegation.
Folks from Peace Action Maine, Veterans for Peace, and other groups carried
out non-violent occupations of the Portland offices of Senators Susan
Collins and Olympia Snowe, and Rep. Tom Allen. The five-hour office
occupations were used to read the names of all U.S. GI's killed in Iraq as
well as the names of an equivalent number of innocent Iraqi civilians who
have been killed.
The goal of these occupations has been primarily to express opposition to
the recent supplemental appropriations of another $80 billion for the war,
to make a call for an immediate planned withdrawal (as expressed in the
Woolsey resolution in the House of Representatives), and to request that the
Maine delegation hold a town hall meeting on the war.
At the March 18 occupation of Tom Allen's office, artist Pat Wheeler from
Deer Isle, brought a large banner she called the "Iraq War Cloth" and made
X's as each name was read. She videotaped the five-hour occupation and
afterward produced a dramatic 30-minute documentary about the action that
ends with her consecrating the cloth with tea. The moving video has been
shown on several cable TV stations in Maine and is getting great reviews.
She is selling them for $10 each and we urge people to get them and show
them locally. Contact Pat at: wheelpl@verizon.net
Friends around the state, led by Veterans for Peace member Dud Hendrick from
Deer Isle, have picked up the call and have organized several visits to the
offices of Collins, Snowe, and Mike Michaud in Bangor. Peter Stewart, from
South Montville, has also been key in helping to organize visits to
congressional offices in Bangor. As a result of these efforts, Rep. Mike
Michaud has signed onto the Woolsey resolution in the house. Plans are being
developed for continued office visits to the Bangor offices of all the
elected officials.
After months of intense pressure on Tom Allen, he recently informed PAM
President Karen Wainberg that he is willing to hold a town hall meeting on
the war. (His office though has been slow to offer details.) We urge readers
to continue to call Rep. Allen's office about holding a public event.
The son of Dexter and Gretchen Kamilewicz, Orrs Island residents, is soon
to be sent to Iraq. The couple has been working hard to get churches in
Maine engaged on the Iraq issue, and recently reported that they have been
successful in getting permission to place tables for writing letters to our
congressional delegation at a couple of churches following Sunday services.
This, they hope, will spread as others learn about the effort. They are
making the request for a town hall meeting a key point in the letters.
The war rages on and life goes on here in Maine. We plant our gardens, drive
our kids around, and curse the price of gas. Some feel powerless to stop the
war, while others try to block it from their minds. But we all know that our
nation, with our hard-earned tax dollars, has created a colossal mess in
Iraq. We must break out of our lethargy and find some way to take
responsibility for ending the madness our nation has created. We urge
everyone to keep writing letters to the editor, keep calling the offices of
our congressional delegation, and to join or organize a delegation that
visits the office of our elected officials. It is our war now. The sooner
we act, the sooner it will end.
Back to Peace
Talk Index, Summer 2005