Boots on Beach commemorate deaths

Eighteen hundred and ninety-five pairs of boots were on display on the Beach as part of the American Friends Service Committee's (AFSC) "Eyes Wide Open" exhibit, which drew visitors from across Maryland Friday through Sunday.

Co-hosted by the Hopkins Anti-War Coalition (HAWC) and JHU for Justice, the traveling exhibit featured a pair of boots in honor of each U.S. military casualty and a labyrinth of shoes to commemorate the civilian causalities in Iraq. Baltimore marks the 64th stop on the exhibit's national tour, which began in Chicago in January 2004.

In conjunction with the exhibit, the weekend-long event included two all-night vigils, a Poets for Peace reading at the Friends Meetinghouse, a debate on the Patriot Act, several readings of the names of all U.S. military casualties and a panel discussion featuring Iraqi veterans.

"I like the fact that it's not an anti-war protest -- it's a memorial. It invites people of different views of the war to stop and think about the human cost," said Phil Fratesi, vigil coordinator and AFSC member.

The national coordinator for the traveling exhibit, Mark Anderson, explained that the event's setup was completed in four and a half hours with the help of 40 volunteers.

"When I started working for the exhibit in May 2004, there were 650 boots. Now there are two things I do when I get out of bed in the morning. I check the weather and I check the casualty count," Mark Anderson said.

Charlie Anderson and Patrick Resta, both Iraqi veterans who have spoken out against the war, conducted a panel discussion after a series of films shown in the Mattin Center.

"When you take the soldier and remove him from the battlefield, the war isn't over for the soldier. He's still fighting it inside of him," Charlie Anderson said.

"As a medic, I was told that we were going to help the Iraqi people. By the third day, they told us we could no longer treat the people," Resta told the crowd.

Resta explained the repercussions that he has faced since vocally opposing the war.

"I got a not-so-friendly letter from a guy in my brigade, and shortly after that the military stopped paying for my school," Resta said.

Volunteers for the event ranged from Hopkins students and professors to parents of soldiers who were killed in Iraq.

Tia Steele, the event coordinator for the exhibit's display in Baltimore, lost her son in the war.

"I felt the need to do something after my son was killed in Fallujah in November," Steele said. "The main goal of the exhibit was to reach out and unite and broaden the peace movement."

Ellen Barfield, director of Baltimore's chapter of Veterans for Peace, said that the event's location worked well with the goal of bringing together people of all ages for a common memorial.

"We were pleased to hold it at JHU, which was a central location with exposure to young people," Barfield said.

Hopkins students and professors who helped coordinate the event said that there were some troubles in arranging to hold the event on the university's campus.

"It was really difficult to get the University's permission," said junior Kristin Plys, member of JHU Justice. "JHU Justice had a written response ready in case the University received bad press for the event," Plys said.

Sociology professor Joel Andres said that he felt that any concerns that JHU had with hosting the event were primarily due to logistical issues. "At first the school was a little reluctant, but they quickly changed their tone," Andres said.

While Andres appreciated that the exhibit did end up on the Hopkins campus, he expressed that student turnout seemed lower than he would have liked.

"People at JHU are a pretty privileged group and don't often know people involved with the war. If you go into a working-class community, everybody knows people in the military," Andres said.

"I'm disappointed that more people aren't interested in what's at the heart of the country right now. There's a minority of people who are really concerned. People at Hopkins need to see this because they don't really have a feel for the cost of war," Andres said.

Freshman Eric Date expressed a similar sentiment.

"Although not a lot of military recruitment happens here, this event still helps with the anti-war message. This is the age group but not the income bracket that the military likes to target," Date said.

Many of the groups and volunteers supporting the event have rallied around a movement to counter the efforts of military recruiters.

Suzy Filbert, coordinator of a film series on American soldiers in Iraq, has been active in the counter-recruitment movement through Iraq Veterans Against the War.

"The counter-recruiters want to have a conversation with people that they never could have had while serving in the military," Filbert said.

HAWC events for the rest of September include a screening of Hidden in Plain Sight on Sept. 22 and participating in the Sept. 24 march on Washington.