School of the Americas documentary screening Thurs Nov. 13th

Hi lovelys,

Thank you to all who made it out last week for the documentary and discussion on "Voices of a Mountain," and thank you to Caitlin for taking the time to educate us on the community of Santa Anita.

This week at the Green House Collective we will be showing a short documentary on The School of the Americas (SOA). The intent of this weeks showing, like all weeks, is for educational and informational purposes. The majority of this weeks event will be discussion, Q & A, and what you can do to help close the SOA. Below is a brief introduction into the SOA:

The School of the Americas (SOA), in 2001 renamed the “Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation,” is a combat training school for Latin American soldiers, located at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Initially established in Panama in 1946, it was kicked out of that country in 1984 under the terms of the Panama Canal Treaty. Former Panamanian President, Jorge Illueca, stated that the School of the Americas was the “biggest base for destabilization in Latin America.” The SOA, frequently dubbed the “School of Assassins,” has left a trail of blood and suffering in every country where its graduates have returned.

Over its 59 years, the SOA has trained over 60,000 Latin American soldiers in counterinsurgency techniques, sniper training, commando and psychological warfare, military intelligence and interrogation tactics. These graduates have consistently used their skills to wage a war against their own people. Among those targeted by SOA graduates are educators, union organizers, religious workers, student leaders, and others who work for the rights of the poor. Hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans have been tortured, raped, assassinated, “disappeared,” massacred, and forced into refugee by those trained at the School of Assassins.

Green House resident Ryan has been volunteering with the local non-violent activist group SOA Watch OR for the last year, and will be traveling to the annual vigil next week for his first time, where he will be one of over 20,000 people that travel to Ft. Benning annually to close the SOA. We look forward to seeing you all this week

What: Vegan Potluck @ 5:30, movie starts @ 7
Where: The GHC, 4407 SE Tibbetts St, located of the Clinton St bike superhighway, and bus lines 4, 9, 75, and 14
When: Thursday November 13th

Also, the GHC is having it's first book club on Sunday Dec. 7th. We will be reading and discussing "The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love" by Bell Hooks. This book is currently available for sale at Powells Books, available for check out at most library locations, and one copy is available for check out at the GHC. If you are interested in participating in this months book discussion or future book club discussions, please email us at thegreenhouse@riseup.net.

In peace and solidarity,

The GHC