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Two internationally renowned peace activists will
visit Springfield next week during Days of Decision: We the People Declare
Peace, a series of peace-and-justice events that will culminate on Sept. 21
with the International Day of Peace. Eric Le Compte, a national organizer for the School
of the Americas Watch, will present “Commit to Peace by Ending
Torture” at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 10, in the Howlett Building
auditorium. Le Compte researched human-rights issues in Colombia and says
that he witnessed abuses committed by soldiers trained in the United
States. He is currently working to shut down the Western Hemisphere
Institute for Security Cooperation. At 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19, in the Howlett
Building auditorium, Jesuit priest the Rev. John Dear will present
“How About Nonviolence for a Change? Caring for Communities, Country,
and Creation.”
Dear, who counseled thousands of relatives and rescue
workers after Sept. 11 as New York City’s Red Cross coordinator of
chaplains, has been arrested more than 75 times in acts of civil
disobedience against war and has spent eight months in prison for a
Plowshares disarmament action. He is now stationed with Pax Christi New
Mexico, working on a campaign to disarm Los Alamos. Diane Lopez Hughes, one of the two-week event’s
main organizers, says that to have both of these speakers in Springfield
for Days of Decision shows how the city and its interest in the peace
movement have grown. “Springfield is blossoming as a large city;
it’s not just a town anymore,” Lopez says. “There are
more and more people from different walks of life who are concerned with
the war in Iraq and with the diversion of resources from human-service
needs.”
Days of Decision will also include the following
events: “An
Evening of Poetry and Peace,” 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12, Club Room,
Hoogland Center for the Arts, 420 S. Sixth St. The
regular weekly vigil sponsored by Pax Christi Springfield, noon Saturday,
Sept. 15, Federal Building, Sixth and Monroe. Reception
for Dear, 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19, Dominican Motherhouse, 1237 W. Monroe
Ave. “We
the People Pray for Peace: Interfaith Service on the Eve of the
International Day of Peace,” 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 20, First
Presbyterian Church, Seventh and Capitol. International
Day of Peace Rally, 4:45 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21, Capitol steps, Second and
Edwards. “It is my hope that these speakers and events
will inspire,” Lopez says. Days of Decision: We the People Declare Peace is
sponsored by Pax Christi Springfield, Operation Home Now, the Mary Wood
Branch of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, the
Justice and Peace Office of the Hospital Sisters of Saint Francis, and the
Dominican Sisters of Springfield.
Contact Amanda Robert at arobert@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Aug 30 – Sep 5, 2007.
