Code Pink at Camp Casey

Dear Friends

Tomorrow is Day 22 of my Fast for Peace.

Last week I went to Camp Casey with Codepink to plant a memorial peace garden and remember the innocent lives lost throughout the Middle East.

When we arrived on Wednesday, the plot of land we were to plant was raw dirt. And for those of you who’ve never had the pleasure of visiting Crawford, raw dirt, baking in the 105 degree Texas sun, is hard and dry. The rototiller arrived at about 5 p.m. And by the time the sun had set, we had finished rototilling (is that a verb?) and had decided on the placement for the big plants, the bench, the birdbath and the tree. After we stopped working for the day, there was a beautiful ceremony officially welcoming the vets to Camp Casey.

The next morning we got started again early in the morning — some of us were planting like crazy, while others picked up the bench, the birdbath and more flowers — and at 11 a.m. we presented the amazingly pink garden to Cindy and the residents of Camp Casey. There is a mound of children’s shoes at the front of the garden, representing the innocent lives lost in Iraq, Lebanon, Israel and Palestine.

Here’s a picture of the codepink gals with Cindy in the garden — note the pink flamingo. You can see more pictures at: http://www.codepinkalert.org/article.php?id=1176

The ceremony was intimate and unbelievably moving. Jodie Evans spoke of Cindy’s courage and sacrifice. Cindy talked about her upcoming surgery and the strength she got from seeing flowers blooming in Camp Casey. A veteran of Operation Desert Storm talked about her participation in the action known as the Highway to Hell, where American forces surrounded and attacked Iraqi forces retreating from Kuwait City and from al Jahra. Some estimate as many as 25,000 Iraqi were killed. She said many women and children were trapped in the slaughter and that seeing the pile of shoes “brings me right back there. And I need to go there. It is the worst thing I ever did.” Then the mother of a veteran spoke, “I guess I’m lucky, my son made it back alive. But I keep feeling like I’m just minutes away from becoming a Gold Star Mother. He is so tortured by what he did and what he saw. There have been suicide attempts...” This is the war we don’t see on the nightly news. Embedded journalists don’t show this side of war, any war.

Camp Casey is smaller this year and had to start up early when W changed his vacation plans. His guys obviously learned something from last year. When he’s in Crawford, the press covers Cindy. When he’s not at the ranch, the national press corps is not in town, so she doesn’t get as much coverage. I would never say Cindy drove him out of town, but...

As you drive into Crawford there’s a big billboard proclaiming: “Welcome to Crawford, Home of President Geo. W. Bush.” Outside Camp Casey there’s another sign, “Welcome to Crawford, Home of Cindy Sheehan.” Guess the town wasn’t big enough for both of them.

I returned from the trip full of feelings, nourished by the strength and commitment of the band of sisters and brothers camping out on Cindy’s land. Some of you have sent moving, supportive emails. Thank you. I hope my fast encourages you to act for peace. If you are so moved, you can contribute to codepink’s Let Peace Live campaign at: https://secure.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/codepink/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=1733&t=F.dwt

Love and peace (now!!), Susan

P.s. Cindy had a hysterectomy today — no cancer!! She will be in the hospital, Providence Health Center in Waco, for the next several days.
P.s. I’ve decided to end my juice fast for peace September 1. I will have fasted for a month.