“I remember vividly when they killed the Jesuits … It would be like if someone kidnaped the four favorite professors here [at Guilford] and murdered them.”
In a meeting with Guilford’s Amnesty International group on Nov. 11, renowned activist Gail Phares recalled when she heard the news that School Of the Americas graduates had abducted, raped and murdered four Jesuit nuns, some of whom were personal friends.
“They killed Mara Clark … Clark was one of the most gentle people I know.”
Phares, North Dakota native and long-time Raleigh resident, was dubbed “one of the country’s leading human-rights activists” in a 2001 interview with The Independent Weekly.
She is also a founding member of two watchdog groups that monitor United States involvement in “dirty wars,” an accomplished Central American traveler, and member of the liberal Catholic group, the Maryknoll Sisters,
After the briefest of personal introductions, Phares began a movie that attempted to explain what the School Of the Americas was, and is.
The United States founded the SOA in Panama during the Cold War, to train the militaries of Latin America so the United States would not become surrounded by countries overrun with Communists. In 1984 the school was relocated to Fort Benning, Georgia.
The film detailed atrocities orchestrated and perpetrated by School of the America graduates; a catalogue of rapes, murders, and genocides – so many that the SOA has been nicknamed the School Of Assassins.
In 2000, under public pressure, the military officially closed the SOA.
In 2001, the military officially opened the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation. WHISC operates on the same site as the SOA, and teaches the same curriculum, but with an optional course in human rights.
“Nothing changes at the SOA,” said Phares.
Phares was quick to point out that not all members of the military support the SOA; in fact, “many … are embarrassed by it,” she said.
She pointed to a list of atrocities on the board. “This is an embarrassment. They like to see themselves as ‘the good guys,’ not as human rights violators.”
“Most U.S. citizens haven’t a clue [about the SOA]. If they did, I imagine they’d be quite upset,” said Phares.
She urged attendees to spread the word and take action. “We need those letters,” she said, encouraging students to pressure their congressman into supporting H.R. 1258, a resolution which would close the SOA for good.
And then there’s protesting.
“You don’t have to get arrested, just being there’s enough,” Phares said, recalling Vera Brown and Robbie Hilton-Smith, two Guilford students who served six and three months jail time, respectively, for trespassing onto SOA grounds during last year’s annual protest.
Their sentences began in May; Brown was just released this past week.
“It was a heavily discerned decision of theirs that they put a lot of spiritual energy into,” said Amnesty co-coordinator Will Robinson.
“I thought [Phares’] presentation went very well, though it was definitely coming from a one-sided perspective. She did an effective job of demonstrating why the SOA is still something to be concerned about and why our presence is still needed,” said Robinson.
From Nov. 21 to Nov. 23, thousands will rally at Ft. Benning, Georgia, in protest.
Again, Guilford College students will be among them, including first-year Erin Burns.
“If more Americans were aware of the atrocities committed by School of the Americas graduates, I definitely think there would be more widespread resistance to the school. It is important to educate people about both the government and the protesters’ perspectives, and then let them decide whether to support the SOA themselves,” said Burns.