Thousands Say 'No to the War'

By Kerry-Ann Hamilton

ChicagoIMC Half a million people marched through the streets of Washington Saturday and 200,000 demonstrated in San Francisco in the largest U.S. demonstrations yet against war with Iraq.

"One, two, three, four—we won't fight your oil war," was one of the chants hurled by the thousands of war protesters who marched in the nation's capital over the weekend despite frigid temperatures.

The protest, which started on Saturday, attracted 30,000 to 500,000 people, by various accounts.

The rally against the Bush administration's threat to go to war against Iraq was in full gear as people young, old, and of different racial groups marched through downtown Washington. Their message was the same: �No to the War.�

The group, International A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) led the protest. Peta Lindsay, a Howard University freshman, is the national youth and student coordinator for the A.N.S.W.E.R Coalition.

The 18-year-old D.C. native rode the rally truck and led protest chants on a megaphone. She says she is dedicated to the cause.

"Shortly after September 11, I became involved. I felt a movement to end war and racism was one I wanted to be a part of," Lindsay said.

Louise Franklin, 97 and confined to a wheel chair, bore a sign bashing the pro-war approach Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. "We don't want war," Franklin said. "We are living in seriously dangerous times."

Phillip Miller, 78, a World War II veteran who fought in the Battle of Manila, said, "I saw a lot of civilians killed. I saw the people not as the enemy living in the bushes, but as people."

The Colorado native traveled to Washington for the rally. He maintained that the September 11 attacks were being used as an excuse to go to war.

The campaign against the war was by no means limited to adults. Naomi Zuckerman, 13, accompanied her father. She learned about the Iraq issue in her world studies class.

"It is wrong to go into Iraq for oil," Naomi said. "We should not enter because we have not found anything threatening."

African American protesters were few. Denise Williams performed with the Boston-based group Bojah and the Insurrection. She attributed the underrepresentation of blacks to lack of information.

"We [blacks] are not aware of the facts," Williams said. "In suburban schools there is more access to information and more liberal teachers."

The Haitian-born activist, now living in Boston, said that African Americans are encouraged to be meek and turn the other cheek.

"Blacks don't want to come out and march, they are afraid to resist the government," Williams said. "We, more than any group, know about oppression and we should act against it."

During the march, the recurring theme was �no blood for oil."

Park Police maintained order. Barricades kept protesters several feet from the White House. But the metal barriers were no restraint for the 16 persons arrested after they breached the barricades. Park Police forced them down to the snow-covered grass, handcuffing them using plastic cuffs. Those arrested would be taken to the city�s Anacostia facility, processed and released, according to Major C. Clark.

A contingent from the All Japan Federation of Student Councils traveled from Tokyo.

Takahiro Saito, who chairs the student council at Tohoku University in Japan, was happy to join his American counterparts. "We came from Japan to rally against the Iraqi war," Saito said. "I want to say to Bush, �do not kill innocent Iraqi children.�"

Some attendees, such as Ian Sherr, a junior from University of California Santa Cruz, had a different view.

"What the protest does, is show the world that as Americans we are not of one opinion," Sherr said. "American people are portrayed as a people standing behind their president. These protests defuse that thought."

The UCSC junior said he did not think the protest was successful. For many, marches in Washington have become a clich� and they have somewhat lost their effectiveness.

"I don't think this march was a success in terms of changing policy," Sherr said. "I don't think Bush or his officials are listening. They may have closed their windows or turned up their music louder."

The International A.N.S.W.E.R coalition plans a week of anti-war resistance from Feb. 13 to 21.

Kerry-Ann Hamilton is a student at Howard University and campus editor of The Hilltop.