Decade of War Awareness Month

This weekend, our nation will somberly mark 10 years since the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.  As we grieve for the victims and their families, another milestone looms: the October 7th anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan and the beginning of the Global War on Terror. A decade in, the American public still knows very little about the Afghan people or the situation on the ground in Afghanistan.  Meanwhile, Congress continues to increase military spending as we are faced with rising unemployment, a foreclosure crisis, and funding cuts for education, social security, and healthcare.

In response, IVAW is working with a coalition of anti-war and social justice organizations to launch a Decade of War Awareness Month from September 7 to October 7. Throughout the month, we will be working with our partner organizations (including Military Families Speak Out, War Resisters League, Veterans for Peace, and Afghans for Peace) to promote relationship-building among people and communities affected by U.S. militarism and the war economy in both the U.S. and Afghanistan.

At WarVoices.org, you'll find resources on the U.S. war economy and current on-the-ground realities in Afghanistan, including a full public education curriculum designed for your community. We encourage you to use this curriculum to orchestrate workshops and explore how U.S. militarism and military spending relate to your local campaigns for social and economic justice, both directly and indirectly, across a wide-range of issues.

The month will culminate on October 7th in Washington D.C. with a unique forum, War Voices: Building Community After a Decade of Struggle at Home and Abroad. Through story-telling, workshops, discussions, and cultural performances, we will build our power as a movement by meeting one another, building relationships that will inspire us for the long haul, envisioning new directions for the future, and planting the seeds for structures of mutual support and solidarity that will allow us to create a demilitarized world. 

To register local events in your community to commemorate the 10th anniversary or for more information, please visit WarVoices.com.