They are mothers, grandmothers, veterans and young adults. They gather at 5 p.m. at the Delmar Four Corners when others are driving home from work every Monday with signs and placards reading, ‘The war is a big mistake and No more blood for oil.`
They are the Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace, and week after week since January 2003, these hardy souls continue to brave below-zero weather in winter and scorching heat in summer to wait for a honk of support or a thumbs up to confirm their belief that the war in Iraq is wrong on all fronts.
`This is the only way I know how to raise my voice against war,` said Jane Streiff, a grandmother of 12 who has lived in Bethlehem since 1963 and attended her first protest in 1963 when she opposed the Vietnam War.
`I attended rallies in Washington back then,` said Streiff. `We didn’t have anything here like this.`
The Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace meet for one hour after their weekly protest at A Perfect Blend to further discuss how they feel about the war and what they can do to raise awareness to others.
`There is a difference of opinion within the group,` said Richard Jeroloman.
`Some protestors oppose only this war, others protest all violence against other people.
The way I see it, you are not justified to go in the Army and murder people in Iraq, but that is a debatable question within the group.`
This past weekend marked the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq, and a Walk for Peace was held in Albany. More than 3,200 Americans have died in Iraq since the war began.
`It has been averaging 17 guys a week that have been killed,` said Jim McLean, a Vietnam Veteran who holds his own signs with a weekly tally of those Americans who are killed in the war.
`We do have support from soldiers,` said McLean, who recently braved sub-zero weather to display his anti-war signs.
`It was really cold last week, but in cold weather, people appreciate your efforts more,` said McLean.
When the peace group first began protesting the war, they assumed it would last a few weeks, maybe a few months, and the war would be over and they would be back home. Not many believed they would still be out every Monday looking for support four years later.
`I am out here 50 out of 52 weeks,` said Trudy Quaif, a mother of two sons, one of them who encouraged her to go out and protest.
`He said if you are going to complain about the war, why don’t you go out there and stand out with them,` said Quaif.
She said she was nervous the first week she joined the group.
`People are much more likely to be hostile when there is only one or two of you,` Quaif said.
The group has expanded to 750 members and most now believe the support to send the troops home continues to grow every week.
`Over the years, public opinion has changed, even in Delmar,` said protestor Gus Cadieux.“