About 25 Guilford, UNCG, and GTCC students listened intensely on Tues., Oct. 29, when Gail Phares came to King Hall to lead a discussion on an organization called Witness for Peace. Phares is one of the original founders of this group wich works towards peace in Latin American countries. Witness for Peace has worked in Nicaragua with sweat shop issues, trying to raise awareness and improve working conditions. WFP also works with Mexico and Cuba on trade issues, and with Columbia on U.S. policy.

“We’ve been working with Latin America for forty years,” said Phares,”and I have never seen a more politically complicated area.”

Peace and Conflict Studies and Amnesty International hosted the talk lead by Phares, focused on the School of Americas. The SOA is located at Fort Benning in Georgia, and trains Latin American soldiers in combat against civilians. The school has recently been renamed WHINSEC (Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation).

Phares’ most recent work has been in Columbia, and she spoke extensivly on the effects of U.S. policy and the School of Americas in this area.

Her group argues that the current $2,000,000,000 U.S. military aid, intended to further the War on Drugs in Colombia, just adds fuel to the fire. Cocaine production in Colombia has actually increased in recent years, and fighting between guerilla groups and the military and paramilitaries has only escalated. Half of the SOA students are Columbian, and they are trained to kill their own people.

The military in Columbia works closely with the brutal paramilitary groups that also happen to be on the U.S. terrorist list. These groups commit most of the politically motivated killings in Columbia.

Phares said that the paramilitary has death lists of people who are accused of being communist or who are involved in peace movements or church and human rights activism.

There are peaceful protests at Fort Benning against SOA every year. The attendance at these protest grows significantly larger each year. Phares urged the small group of students attending to be a part of the protest.

Many Guilford students have already been involved. “Everyone carries a sign with the name of someone who was killed by SOA graduates,” said junior Eileen Naples.”They represent floods of gravestones.”

The protest falls on Nov. 16 each year to commemorate the SOA massacre of six Jesuit priest and their coworkers. Amnesty International is bringing a van to the protest and organizing car pools.