Oct.30: Fasting to Close the SOA

• Here you will find a few suggestions of possible public fast locations or events you could plan in your community on or around Tuesday, October 30, 2012. We encourage you to be creative in planning your fast or events, and keep us informed of what's going on out in your region!
• The School of the Americas: Class over?

Hendrik Voss, SOA Watch

October 17, 2012 | October 30, 2012 will be a day of fasting for SOA Watch; a time to organize fasts in your community to bring attention to SOA/WHINSEC victims and an opportunity for each of us to commit ourselves to closing this place of injustice. Local fasts nationwide can educate the public about the School of the Americas / WHINSEC, the reality of U.S. foreign policy towards Latin America, and the upcoming November Vigil at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia (November 16-18, 2012).

If you are fasting as part of a group or by yourself on October 30, please click here <> to pledge your participation in the 2012 Fast to Close the SOA.

Here you will find a few suggestions of possible public fast locations or events you could plan in your community on or around Tuesday, October 30, 2012. We encourage you to be creative in planning your fast or events, and keep us informed of what's going on out in your region! Some fast or event locations could include:

• Outside a district Congressional office that has not supported legislation to close the SOA/WHINSEC
• On your university's campus
• At a community center

Other ideas:

• Organize a screening of Somos Una América, Tom Bottolene's documentary ¡NO MAS! The 20th Annual Sunday Vigil, or Tomas Laffay's 14 minute film Today was a Victory / Hoy Fue Una Victoria, which focuses on the November Vigil as a rallying point and a place to network for many grassroots organizations struggling for social justice in our Americas. (All three titles are available on the same DVD.)
• Distribute SOA 101 informational flyers and palm cards about the November Vigil.
• Schedule a meeting with your Congressperson
• Hold a "fast-in"
• Dedicate a religious service at your place of worship
• Wheat paste posters around your community
• Support the campaign with a fundraising party
• Get your event picked up by local media outlets
• Mobilize others in your community to join the trip to the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia, in November for the vigil to close the School of the Americas (SOA/ WHINSEC) and to resist U.S. militarization.

Good luck with your planning! If you have questions or suggestions, please call the DC SOA Watch Office at 202-234-3440.

Related:

The School of the Americas: Class over? Inside Story

• Campaigners continue to risk jail trying to close one of the most notorious US institutions that sowed regional strife.
• Share this video.
• Mobilize your community for the November Vigil (Nov. 16-18, 2012) at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia.