Grandmothers for Peace Volunteer for US Army

BREAKING NEWS – HAPPENING NOW!
Monday, March 17, 2008

Contact: Grace Hawkins, 678-654-0787, gracemhawkins@gmail.com
Azita Ebrahimi, 404-421-1333, aebrahimi@afsc.org
Sylvia Carroll, 954-234-1142, scc913@aol.com

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ATLANTA – Ten grandmothers and supporters ranging in age from 57 to 80 are attempting to enlist in the US Army at 9:30 am today. They and other supporting grandmothers departed minutes ago as a group for the Army Recruiting Station in Midtown Place Shopping Center, 650 Ponce de Leon Avenue. If they are not accepted as enlistees, the grandmothers say they are prepared to remain in the office indefinitely, risking arrest if necessary, as an act of nonviolent civil disobedience.
Similar actions by grandmothers are happening in at least 17 other cities this week, marking the fifth anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq (www.grandmothersforpeace.org/gatw). Many mass marches, acts of nonviolent civil disobedience and other antiwar actions are also scheduled.
“We consider all young people, including Iraqi children and US soldiers sent to kill and be killed in Iraq, to be our children,” said Doris Benit, 80, of Kennesaw. “We are volunteering to enlist so our young soldiers can come home now and be protected from further death and maiming.”
The women, from Atlanta, Decatur, Kennesaw, Roswell, Norcross and Snellville, have a total of 26 grandchildren. 73-year-old Dot Shaw of Snellville served in the Air Force Civil Service. Two were married to military officers and two had military family members who served during World War II or Vietnam. Several are retired teachers or social workers; some are still working as a neuromuscular therapist, a videographer, a medical technologist and the director of a nonprofit women’s peace organization. Two describe themselves as previous long-time Republicans.
“We believe our young people were sent to Iraq on a web of lies and deceit,” said Benit. “We believe they are being used as cannon fodder in an illegal and unjustified war against a nation which posed no threat to us.”
Almost 4,000 US troops have died in the war and occupation launched by the US on March 19, 2003. Tens of thousands have been wounded and many will require lifelong care. Authoritative estimates of Iraqi deaths range from 650,000 to more than 1,000,000, and several million Iraqis are now refugees. Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz recently estimated the long-term costs of the Iraq war and occupation to the US at $3 trillion ($3,000,000,000,000) and climbing.
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ATLANTA GRANDMOTHERS FOR PEACE

Biographical information and quotes from the ten participants in the March 17 action.

Doris Benit, age 80, Kennesaw. 4 grandchildren. Life-long Republican.
“During the Vietnam War, I was married to a U.S. Air Force officer and volunteered at the base hospital. The huge aircraft would fly in from the war zone filled to capacity with wounded/mutilated men. Fully understanding the pain, suffering and hardship they were facing was heart wrenching and forever etched in my mind. It was then I decided that no government or leader would ever again convince me that war was necessary or just, with one exception: if we came under attack.”

Ella Ruth Hunnicutt, 79, Roswell. 8 grandchildren. Retired public school teacher in special education.
“This is a terrible time in our history. We are no longer respected by other nations—the land of the free and the home of the brave. Our young people are dying, come home wounded, many mentally deranged and with no promise of medical assistance. The war has gone on with no end in sight. Our grandchildren are of age and could be involved. I do not want Iraqi or American or our world’s children to die.”

Betsey Miklethun, 74, Norcross. 4 grandchildren. Retired social worker.
“I had four older brothers. All were in World War II and one didn't come home. My dad's words when he got the telegram that his second son was killed were: "What a waste!" I've thought of those true words often through life. War is such a WASTE! Grandparents – and parents – must take stronger steps to stop our government's continued intervention in and occupation of Iraq. We must do it for our grandchildren and theirs.”

Dorothy (Dot) Shaw, 73, Snellville. 4 grandchildren. Retired Air Force civil service; now substitute teacher.
“I used to help build the military-industrial complex and I used to be a Republican. Now I am active in the peace movement and work in the Gwinnett Democratic Party. It’s not just that I don't want my grandchildren to fight a war; I don't want us to waste our country's youth in such a brutal and useless endeavor. I hope we can make friends of enemies. I also regret the Iraqi loss of life in this useless war.”

Minnie Ruffin, 66, Atlanta. 2 grandchildren. Retired educator.
“Getting out of Iraq is important to me because I have grandchildren. I would like them to grow up in an America that is free from conflicts, especially ones that we started. Also, I would like to see my country once again admired for good deeds instead of despised for trying to control the world's resources and people.”

Gloria Tatum, 65, Decatur. 4 grandchildren. Neuromuscular therapist.
“The Bush administration made over 935 false statements in the two years following 9/11 (www.publicintegrity.org/WarCard) about the national security threat posed by Saddam Hussein. The blood of the Iraqi people, U.S. troops, and coalition soldiers who died because of those lies now stains our national soul. We cannot bomb a country which did nothing to us, kill its citizens, call these atrocities bringing freedom and democracy to Iraq, and expect to win hearts and minds.”

Ann Mauney, 65, Atlanta. Retired public school history teacher.
“I believe that Georgians do not want a U.S. empire and parents do not want to send their sons and daughters to occupy and to die in a country that never threatened us. Even when these young soldiers return alive, they carry physical and emotional scars forever. If we believe our leaders are using our grandchildren as cannon fodder, we grandparents must do what we can to stop these criminal actions.”

Judy Conder, 60, Decatur. Freelance videographer.
"I have no grandchildren, but I'm a grandmother in spirit. We have had the opportunity to live our lives, make our choices, and grow old. We now have a responsibility to our grandchildren to insure that they have the opportunity to grow, pursue their goals, and try to find happiness. If you are outraged by the rising statistics (4 thousand U.S. troops killed, one million Iraqis killed), become outrageous for peace. I believe that a group of old women can make a difference. We're not dead yet."

Bobbie Paul, 58, Atlanta. Director of nonprofit women’s peace organization.
“Vietnam crippled many of my generation. Forty years later, its crippling effects are still being felt. I don't want another mother or grandmother to suffer the anguish of losing a son or daughter in this immoral war in Iraq. I hope today that we, the women, can help empower other women to unite in one voice calling for an end to pre-emptive attacks on other nations and an end to massive Pentagon spending that leaves us weak at home and pushes us to war.”

Susan Keith, 57, Decatur. Medical technologist.
“I am doing this because I don't want any more young people to be damaged by the horrors of war. I think that if the armies of the world were all grandparents the killing and destruction would stop and we would be playing with children and planting gardens instead. Wouldn't that be lovely?”

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