SOA Watch and Vigil

It has been quite the week. Pecan harvest is still the big concern but nothing stands still at Koinonia. Yesterday Al Zook and his friends from West Virginia dropped by for a visit. Al and his family moved to Koinonia in 1968 and they were close friends of the Jordans, Fullers and Mosleys. Most of the Koinonia community sat in the museum and listened intently as Al recounted his stories about the golden era of Koinonia Partners. These people - Millard and Linda Fuller, Don and Carolyn Mosley, Al Zook are truly the spiritual elders of Koinonia. We have been blessed to meet them - and saddened that they have been called beyond Koinonia in their personal spiritual journeys.

We are now coming up on the SOA (School of the Americas) watch and vigil. School of the Americas (SOA) - now named Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) - is responsible for training Latin American soldiers in commando techniques, torture and psychological operations which they often use in the suppression of their own countrymen. The SOA is located at Fort Benning - about 60 miles from Koinonia - and for more than 30 years Koinonia has been active in drawing attention to the abuse and injustice that originates from these programs.

In recent years, more than 20,000 people descend on Fort Benning during the weekend of Nov 21. They come from all over the US and Latin America to call for an end to the injustices and the interventionist programs. Koinonia has been a launching pad for these protests for decades. Today we have seen a multitude of people come, pitch tents, sleep on floors, etc. Tomorrow we will drive up to Columbus for the big event.

For more information on the SOA - please check this site http://www.soaw.org/index.php

(In the photo: Nashua - Koinonia's Peace Clown, veteran of several SOAWs, Prisoner of Conscience, and our dear friend - getting ready for the big event.