Igniting an international peace movement just isn’t enough for some not as long as there is still a war going on, that is.
Some founding members of Grandmothers Against the War were in the Capital District on April 27 and 28 talking about effective strategies to bring tragedies to light and help spread the word on their anti-war movement.
Joan Wile, an award-winning singer/ASCAP songwriter, and Barbara Walker, who has 50 years in international settings, including the Institute of International Education and the United Nations, both made the trek from the their downstate homes to give guest lectures and media interviews in the area.
The women’s visit was organized locally by Grannies for Peace, a project of Women Against War, and Delmar resident Maud Easter, who is a part of the local group, said she was thrilled to hear their stories.
We were very excited to have them,` she said. `Their stories are so wonderful and they were the inspiration for our own Grannies for Peace here.`
They spoke at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany as well as in classes at Siena College and the School of Social Welfare at the University at Albany during their trip.
Wile describes how her desperation in 2003 about ending the war in Iraq led to the inspiration that a grandmothers’ action might attract attention.
`I said to myself, ‘I’ve got to do something,` Wile told The Spotlight about standing on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan with anti-war buttons and protest signs. `I thought someone was going to punch us at first but we sat there, two old ladies and the next week there were three of us, then four, then five.`
By the month’s end, there were 18 members standing, she said, members who also came to found the `Granny Peace Brigade,` an organization that is still highly activate in protesting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Walker said she got involved after seeing a woman wearing some anti-war buttons.
`One day I got on a bus on Fifth Avenue and a woman with a button got on that said, ‘Where’s the outrage?’` Walker said. `And I said, ‘Yes, where is the outrage?’`
The woman happened to be Wile.
The group garnered national attention after 18 grannies were arrested in 2005 protesting at a Times Square recruiting station. It quickly caught the eye of the international press.
Wile and Walker said they were handcuffed and escorted to the police station but were later acquitted of obstructing the entryway of the recruiting station after a six-day trial. News footage taken of the event clearly showed that the group was not obstructing entry to the building.
Wile’s musical talents have lent itself to her anti-war endeavors.
She has an extensive background in recording studios and cabarets and has written seven musicals, five of which were produced off and `off-off` Broadway. She also wrote a song for Barack Obama presidential campaign.
Wile is author of `Grandmothers Against the War: Getting Off Our Fannies and Standing Up for Peace,` which was published in May 2008 by Citadel Press.
The group’s efforts are now focusing on Obama’s planned troop increase in Afghanistan as he withdraws troops from Iraq.
`I loved Obama, I gave my limited income to his campaign and still love him, but I am disappointed,` Wile said. `Although we love him, we have to tell him how we feel.`
Walker said military pressure might have influenced the president’s decision for Afghanistan.
`I wonder how much of this had to do with pressure from the military,` she said. `The have this budget and I think they want to continue it.`
Easter said here locally, her group works with school districts like Bethlehem’s to inform parents they can `opt out` of having a military recruiter talk with their son or daughter. For more information, residents can visit www.womenagainstwar.org. Wile’s and Walker’s visit was also co-sponsored by Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace, the Saratoga Peace Alliance, Upper Hudson Peace Action and several other local groups.
Wile ended her interview with some simple advice: `Listen to your granny.`
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