Fernando Suarez del Solar. Taken when Fernando Suarez del Solar stopped at the South-Central Farm in Los Angeles leading a "coalition of the willing" on a "241 mile quest for peace starting in Tijuana, Mexico, going through Marine Corps Depot Camp Pendleton to the Cesar Chavez burial site in La Paz, CA, culminating in The Mission district of San Francisco with a memorial ceremony and blood drive", March 27, 2006. Photo by Nic Paget-Clarke.

The world today is faced with the possibility of an imminent third world war; we stand at the gates of Hell itself with so many human lives being killed in the misnamed cause of “Peace”

The occupants of the White House have prepared in great detail the shock waves of terror which have brought these atrocious military attacks on the innocent peoples of Iraq, Lebanon, and Afghanistan and they are preparing to unleash even more violence on the peoples of Iran, Syria, etc. The question then becomes: Where is the world going with this course of action? What future can our youth look forward to as one by one the doors to universities are closing to them, leaving them only the doors to military bases? Where is this hateful militarism leading us?

Today the world is experiencing yet another war: Israel against Lebanon. But can we say it is really a “war” when the civilian population of Lebanon is being killed like flies by bombs and missiles manufactured in the United States -- bombs and missiles that explode on their homes while they have no real idea why?

Is it right to kill innocent children to rescue two soldiers kidnapped by a gang of wrongdoers called terrorists?

Is that reason enough to destroy an entire people?

Today banner headlines tell of the horrors happening to the Lebanese people, but what happened to the “other war”, the one where more than 2,500 north American youths have died, as well as thousands of ordinary Iraqi civilians, the immense majority of whom were children? It seems that human beings have gotten used to seeing the dead of war, and to not reacting until the black bag arrives at their family’s doorstep, carrying the mutilated body of their own son or daughter. That’s when they raise their voices and ask for Peace. Why wait until then? Why not start NOW to raise our voices, to act and demand a Ceasefire, the withdrawal of the invading troops and respect for the sovereignty of other nations?

That is why I have decided to issue a general call to all people to unite in a single voice, to rise up as one body, and to resist these attacks which are not only act of aggression against one people, but against the whole of humanity itself.

It is ludicrous and at the same time worrisome to realize that in the United States our youth are facing shrinking opportunities for a quality higher education under the pretext of a “War on Terrorism”, that in their search for opportunities now they are being pointed to enrollment in a military system which sooner or later will destroy them and end their lives. It is criminal that the Bush government designates millions of dollars for a deceitful system of military recruitment in the schools, while monies for real education are reduced day after day.

The truth is I am sickened, disturbed at the whole world’s passivity in this terrible situation. I am tired and frustrated to see the deaths mounting day by day, children dieing, parents losing their children, and it seems that there is no hope for a future of peace and justice among the nations. My son died, and it is true that nothing I do or write will bring him back. No. But I am convinced that my words, my actions can bring awareness to others so that we can begin to build another type of army -- an army of non-violence, an army of peace that fights with words and education for a better world.

Fernando Suarez del Solar
Founder & Director
Guerrero Azteca Peace Project
www.guerreroazteca.org

Por Una Generacion Llena De Paz Y Amor
For A Generation Filled With Peace And Love

Published in In Motion Magazine August 5, 2006

Also see:

• El Mundo Hoy
  Fernando Suarez del Solar
  San Diego, California
  
  
• From Grief To Protest:
  How Peace Loving Fathers Honor Their Fallen Sons
  by Paul Rockwell
  Oakland, California
  
  
• Fernando Suarez del Solar
  At the South Central Farm in Los Angeles
  (Photo of the Week 352)
  
  
• Photo of the Week 310
  "In December 2003, Fernando Suarez traveled to Iraq.
  He visited the site where his son died, and he brought back
  thousands of letters of peace from Iraqi children."
  Photo by Medea Benjamin