War Voices: Building Community After a Decade of Struggle at Home and Abroad

October 7th, 2011 will mark 10 years since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and the start of the Global War on Terror. To commemorate this sad anniversary, we are calling for a month of local and national activities from September 7th to October 7th. During this time, we hope to promote relationship-building among people and communities affected by U.S. militarism and the U.S. war economy, both in the U.S. and Afghanistan, reflect on how our world has changed in the past 10 years, and share our "war stories" from the last decade.

We have spent the last 10 years marching in the streets and participating in many forms of nonviolent action to end the wars, put a stop to the growing militarization of U.S. communities and borders, and redirect our country’s resources to meeting human needs here at home. Despite of these efforts, we’re still entangled in two (or more) wars; at least 200,000 civilians have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, over 6,000 U.S. troops have died in combat, and thousands more have taken their own lives; Muslim individuals and communities as well as immigrants to the U.S. are under ever-increasing surveillance by a racist and Islamophobic "Homeland Security" system; unemployment numbers keep rising and funding for education, social security, and healthcare are all being gutted while Congress continues to increase military spending. 

In Washington D.C. on October 7th, we will be marking this commemoration of the Global War on Terror with a unique forum, War Voices, which will bring together people directly impacted by U.S. militarism and the U.S. war economy with ally groups, as well as writers, musicians, and artists. 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. We will be providing a live webcast of the forum in D.C. for those who are unable to join us for the event. At the forum, we also hope to premiere new digital media featuring Afghan organizations talking about their work.

On September 7th, we will be launching a new popular education-inspired curriculum on the U.S. war economy, as well as a section on the current on-the-ground reality in Afghanistan and Afghan-led organizing efforts for a more just society. These materials will be posted to our website on September 7th, but if you are interested in hearing more about the curriculum or using it to build with economic justice groups in your local area, we welcome you to contact us at: info@warvoices.org. 

We’re calling on our members and supporters to help us promote these events nationwide and organize a workshop or forum in your own community on or before October 7th. We will be posting resources on how to adapt these tools and projects to meet your local needs. 

For general questions about the month of local and national activities against 10 years of war and occupation, contact: info@warvoices.org. Please help us to spread the word!