January 28, 2007
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By DOUG FRASER STAFF WRITER WASHINGTON, D.C.
Nauset Regional High School senior Sam Silver was honest about his reasons for going to Washington this weekend for what organizers hoped would be a massive rally against the war in Iraq.
(Staff photo by Paul Blackmore)Brian Bilbo, 18, of Eastham participates in the protest against the Iraq war in Washington, D.C., yesterday. Two buses filled with Cape Codders left for D.C. Friday night.
He wanted to experience a big protest, hear the arguments against the war, and listen to how people wanted to go about ending it.
''I'm definitely not on the fence; I don't feel it's right,'' he said aboard a crowded bus that left Orleans Friday night. ''But I don't feel it's right to be vehemently one way or the other without having a good knowledge of the truth, although being anti-war seems like the way to go.''
Two buses left Cape Cod Friday night for Washington with more than 100 protesters on board.
In less than a week, 35 of Silver's peers signed on to pay $65 and spend 22 hours round trip on a bus for just eight hours marching and listening to speeches on the National Mall. Silver said many more expressed interest in going, but found it hard to arrange on just a week's notice.
''The pop culture tries to pass us off as being apathetic, but we're not,'' Silver said of America's youth.
The students' interest prompted the trip, said Jennifer Smith, one of the coordinators of the Cape caravan. The second bus was filled with members of Cape Codders For Peace and Justice.
Under sunny skies, the Mall warmed to 54 degrees yesterday, positively balmy to those who left the Cape's single digit temperatures Friday night. Gradually, the Mall filled up with protesters, although it was impossible for participants to get an accurate count of how many were there.
Thousands demonstrate
Trip organizer John Bangert said the march was expected to draw more than 300 bus loads of protesters, or about 150,000, plus those who walked or drove themselves. Protesters from more than 30 states were expected to make the trip.
The protest was largely organized by the group United for Peace and Justice, a coalition of 1,400 local and national organizations. Included in the coalition are the National Organization for Women, United Church of Christ, the American Friends Service Committee, True Majority, Military Families Speak Out, Iraq Veterans Against the War, the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, CodePink, MoveOn.org, and September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows.
Police officials declined to provide crowd estimates, but Hany Khalil, a spokesman for United for Peace and Justice, said the protesters numbered around 400,000.
Counter-protesters also converged on the mall in far smaller numbers.
Demonstrators listened to speeches from a roster of politicians and entertainment figures including the Rev. Jesse Jackson, U.S. Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, D-Ohio, a candidate for the presidential nomination in 2008, and U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. Actors Jane Fonda, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins also addressed the crowd.
As speech after speech droned on, with bleachers filled with press photographers blocking their view of the speakers, a small knot of Cape Cod protesters dressed much like their parents probably did in the Woodstock era, moved through the crowd, looking for a little excitement.
''I came here because I believe that patriotism means standing
up for what you believe,'' said 17-year-old Whitney Bashaw of Orleans. Her long, flowing peasant dress, headband, dreadlocks and peace sign painted on one cheek would have fit seamlessly into the protest garb of another generation.
Bashaw said she reads the British Broadcasting Corporation news online because she believes it gives her a less biased view of the United States. Bashaw would like to see American leaders reduce their emphasis on military operations in Iraq and put more money into rebuilding the infrastructure of the country and help the Iraqi government function independent of U.S. influence.
Mimi McConnell of Cotuit said she was marching on Washington for her children and grandchildren.
McConnell said she felt there were deeper meanings to the protest than just ending the war. She worried what was happening to democracy and government in the United States, with Congress and the people allowing the war to continue along with domestic wiretapping and the torture of prisoners. With Democrats making significant gains in November's mid-term elections, McConnell said the time is ripe for change.
''Congress is finally waking up; maybe this (demonstration) will help stiffen their backbone,'' McConnell said.
Nauset Regional High senior Anna Struna, 17, said it was important for her generation to participate by voting and expressing opposition to policies with which they don't agree.
''We're the ones who have to pay for this,'' she said.
Struna said some of her friends were already paying a high price: Veterans in their 20s who have returned from the war changed forever by their harrowing experiences.
Adults, some of whom were veterans of Vietnam War protests, were thrilled to have the students onboard.
Jennifer Smith said student enthusiasm for the trip was a motivator for the adults, both the ones on the bus and the ones who couldn't go. Smith said she received scores of e-mails and phone calls from people who couldn't go because of health or scheduling. Many of those contributed money to help defray the costs, so the trip was more affordable for students.
''You are marching for those who are too ill and tired to march anymore,'' she told the students.
Like many teens who attended yesterday's protest, Whitney Bashaw said she would vote when she comes of age. For now, she is flexing her citizenship muscle united in a common cause.
Bashaw's group struck up an impromptu dance circle on the Mall, fueled by drums, guitars and even a jazz trumpet. A chant broke out that wasn't flattering to President Bush, but finally settled into ''Peace, Not War.''
Sophie Hatch, 16, of Eastham said she'd done research on the U.S. civil rights movement and the Vietnam War protests. She said her mother and father had participated in anti-Vietnam War rallies.
''It's in my blood,'' Hatch said.
Doug Fraser can be reached at dfraser@capecodonline.com.
(Published: January 28, 2007)
By KAREN JEFFREY
STAFF WRITER
Delight rang through Sarah Peake's voice when she heard that a bus load of Cape Cod
  Nauset Regional High School sophomore Aneka Davidson, left, and junior Tory Meter prepare signs at the Earth House in Orleans for use in tomorrow's march in Washington protesting U.S. policy in Iraq.(Paul Blackmore/Cape Cod Times) |
''That's wonderful, just wonderful. Oh, I'm so glad,'' said Peake, during a telephone conversation from the Statehouse, where she recently began her first term representing the 4th Barnstable District.
''It is gratifying to see that young people are beginning to understand the repercussions of this war, that the cost of this war will continue long into their adult lives,'' she said.
Peake is not the only one gratified to discover young people want to express their views on the war.
''The response was nearly overwhelming,'' said Jennifer Smith, an Eastham resident and member of Cape Codders for Peace and Justice, which planned the trip.
The response from adults was no surprise, but the response from students at Nauset Regional High School was unexpected, she said. Within hours of sending out an electronic notice, Smith heard from almost 50 teens, thanks in part to Nauset teacher Lisa Brown, who mentioned the trip to some students.
Within two days, Smith was able to secure a bus, and with the help of some Lower Cape residents - who donated money to defray the cost - Smith had close to 30 students signed up. Parents are accompanying those 16 or under. ''We probably have 30 kids signed up. Not really room for any more on the bus. I just wish there was time to rent another bus because the interest has been that high,'' said Smith, who has four children and is a captain in the Eastham Fire Department. ''These kids are very knowledgeable, very articulate and very much want to be involved.''
Peake, a Democrat, will also travel to Washington for the rally. She is one of more than two dozen Cape residents - not including the teens - who will travel 11 hours on the Cape Codders for Peace and Justice bus.
Peake is going, she said, both as a private individual and as a representative of the 4th Barnstable District, which covers most of the Lower Cape. ''I am doing my part for the troops in voting in favor of benefits for veterans,'' she said, ''and now I will go to Washington as part of a nationwide movement to call for bringing our troops home, and ensuring they have a soft landing when they arrive.''
Karen Jeffrey can be reached at kjeffrey@capecodonline.com.
