A First-Timer's Experience at the WHINSEC Vigil

by
Parrish W. Jones

November 19-20, 2004 I journeyed to Columbus, Georgia to participate in the annual vigil marking the date, November 16, on which six Jesuit priests, their co-worker and her teenage daughter were massacred in El Salvador in 1989. That massacre was a straw that broke the camels back for Latin American human rights activists. Enough was enough and School of Americas Watch was born.

Eventually, the School of the Americas was closed, but the closing was a cynical act on the part of our government. Immediately, in its place was born the Western Hemispheric Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC). Same faculty. Same Goals. Different name.

I arrived on Friday evening in time to catch late supper with some of members of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship before time for bed.
They included persons with whom I journeyed to Colombia, persons with whom I'd worked on PPF projects and other justice concerns, and colleagues in ministry. That reunion and fellowship began what would prove to be a rich spiritual experience.

Saturday, the PPF had 60 persons for its breakfast. During breakfast we recognized our delegation of students from McCormick Seminary in Chicago and then presented a certificate of appreciation to Dwight Lawton who was a Prisoner of Conscience who served 6 months for crossing the gate at Ft. Benning last year. We had already given such awards to several others at the General Assembly in Richmond.

Saturday at the gate was sort of a street festival outside the gates of Ft. Benning. People milled about, browsed the tables set up by a number of organizations, listened to music punctuated by short speeches, embraced old friends and made new ones, and ate food prepared by local organizations. At the Civic Center there were training events on non-violence and the legalities of acts of civil disobedience. There were also screenings of a number of movies.

Sunday is the big day-the day of the vigil and acts of civil disobedience. We arrived at 8:45 and walked to the back of a large crowd that had already gathered. In less than an hour the throng had gathered behind and in front of us to better than 15,000. We sang, heard inspiring speeches, and a powerful prayer by Martin Sheen. Then the vigil began.

The vigil was led by Sheen, Rev. Hagler from Pilgrim Congregational Church in DC, leaders of Latin American Human Rights organizations, one of the Indigo Girls, clowns carrying caskets, puppets and other clowns (Clown may not be the right word as they were dressed as the dead.). This funeral procession walked down the middle of the crowd which had parted for them. Cantors began to sing names and ages of persons killed by right wing military personnel trained at the SOA.

"Hernando Dias, 50 years old", a singer sang. Then a tympany like drum beat. We raised our crosses and called, "Presente!"

"Julia Sanchez, 23 years old and with child". Drumbeat. "Presente!"

"Irma Yane Diaz, cuatro años edad" sang one in Spanish. Drumbeat. "Presente!"

The singing, the drum beats, the chant of "Presente!" went on as the 15,000 began to move in a long circle down one lane of the street and back up the other. With few exceptions the crowd moved in somber, reverent, holy silence. Almost everyone had a cross with the name of one who had died.

The procession gave plenty of time to consider the meaning of all this. My emotions went from near tears to stunned silence to tears and to joy. When the biers went by I could only imagine the tears of moms and dads and neighbors in villages across Latin America where this scene was real. Who was this little girl whose cross I bore? This cross that grew spiritually and emotionally heavier as each name was called. What was her story? Did she die with her parents close by? Had she seen them die and then died slowly without their care? Had they seen her die? What could it have been like? What had it done to their faith? Why God, can this happen?

The joy came when I recalled the witness taking place around me—15 thousand persons had come from all over the U.S. and thousands more were there in spirit to protest this evil. This communion of saints makes a difference. We speak for those who have no voice—the quick and the dead.

We closed our time together as the PPF at the gate commissioned persons to travel to Colombia to accompany persons under threat from the government and the right wing forces. They will stand with the living in hopes there will be no more deaths at the hands of evil.