The School of the Americas

 

 

Each November thousands of people from all over the country gather in Columbus, Georgia at the gates of Fort Benning.  They gather to protest against a military training school for Latin American soldiers, housed on the Fort Benning campus.  The name of the school is “Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation.”  Now you might say why would anyone be against security cooperation in the western hemisphere?  Well the name is a screen for what is in reality a terrorist training camp.  The school used to be called The School of the Americas.  When it was kicked out of Panama by President Jorge Illueca in 1946 he called it the “biggest base for destabilization in Latin America.” 

 

Over its 59 years, the SOA has trained over 60,000 Latin American soldiers in counterinsurgency techniques, sniper training, commando and psychological warfare, military intelligence and interrogation tactics. These graduates have consistently used their skills to wage a war against their own people. Among those targeted by SOA graduates are educators, union organizers, religious workers, student leaders, and others who work for the rights of the poor. Hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans have been tortured, raped, assassinated, “disappeared,” massacred, and forced to become refugees by those trained at the “School of Assassins.”

 

The recent military coup in Honduras, by graduates of this school, which ousted a legitimately elected President reveals the anti-democratic results of U.S. policies in Latin America.  I am sure very few Americans would think it would be a great idea for our soldiers to be trained by China,  France or Russia.  I realize we want to foster US interests in the region but it is disgusting to think that our country is training thugs who intimidate and massacre their own people.

 

Human Trafficking

Today, millions of lives around the world are in the grip of injustice.

More children, women and men are held in slavery right now than over the course of the entire trans-Atlantic slave trade: Millions toil in bondage, their work and even their bodies the property of an owner.

Trafficking in humans generates profits in excess of 12 billion dollars a year for those who, by force and deception, sell human lives into slavery and sexual bondage. Nearly 2 million children are exploited in the commercial sex industry. The AIDS pandemic continues to rage, and the oppression of trafficking victims in the global sex trade contributes to the disease’s spread.

In many countries around the world, pedophiles find that they can sexually violate children with impunity. And though police should be protectors, in many nations, their presence is a source of insecurity for the poor. Suspects can be held interminably before trials, imprisoned for crimes they did not commit.

The land rights of women are violated on a massive scale worldwide, but with particular ferocity in Africa, leaving widows and other women in vulnerable positions unable to care for themselves or their children. Around the world, women suffer the double indignity of rape and seeing their perpetrators face no consequences for crimes of sexual violence.

Often lacking access to their own justice systems and unable to protect themselves or their families from those more powerful, it is overwhelmingly the poor who bear the burden of these abuses.

  The Facts

  • The total market value of illicit human trafficking is estimated to be in excess of $32 billion (U.N.)
  • Each year, more than 2 million children are exploited in the global commercial sex trade (UNICEF)
  • 27 million men, women and children are held as slaves. (Kevin Bales, Disposable People)
  • 1 in 5 women is a victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime. (U. N. Development Fund for Women)
  • More than 1 million children live in detention, the vast majority awaiting trial for minor offenses. (UNICEF)

 

Homeowners Hurricane Insurance Initiative

 

HHII, Homeowners' Hurricane Insurance Initiative is a part of ACT-II - All Churches Together - a faith based, Christ-centered organization which operates on principles of truth, respect and fairness to all races and classes. ACT-II was developed by Baldwin County pastors in conjunction with Ecumenical Ministries, Inc. Together we work on a wide variety of problems in both poor and affluent communities around the county. Our mission is to develop leaders and empower people to take democratic action to improve the quality of life in our communities using our dialogue to action church-based model and principles.  This particular initiative focuses on significantly lowering premiums, reliability of insurance companies, fair payment of claims and sustainable solutions.

www.hhii.us