BY MALIK MIAH
SAN FRANCISCO — Some 400 people packed a local church on the evening of September 20 to establish a city-wide anti-war coalition to respond to President George Bush's war against "world terrorism".
The "Town Hall Meeting to Stop Hate and War" included citizens and immigrants from Bay Area colleges, high schools and the general public who are ready to stand up and actively organise against the war drive, government attacks on civil liberties and the media-driven hate campaign against Arabs and Muslims.
Representatives of most of the left and progressive forces in the city and Bay Area spoke out at the meeting. The speak-out was chaired by a leader of the International Socialist Organization (ISO) and speakers included a leader of the human rights group, Global Exchange, the Green Party, representatives of immigration rights organisations as well as labour union activists.
The inspiring meeting (so soon after the September 11 terrorist attacks and calls for war) began only minutes after Bush laid out his plan of terror before a joint meeting of Congress. In that speech Bush said: "Every nation in every region now has a decision to make. Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile nation."
Peace not war
At the September 20 meeting, an Arab-American female student from the University of California-Berkeley replied to Bush in her remarks. "All terrorism is wrong", she said, "not just those targeted by Bush. Terrorism is, by definition, the killing of civilians for political purposes. We must condemn all terrorism including the state terrorism practised by Israel against Palestinians, and the on-going terror bombing of Iraq by US and British warplanes."
Other speakers said that Bush's decision to go after all countries and groups that oppose his war against terrorism is a violation of international law and civil liberties. "It used to be called fighting communism", said a young woman, "now it's called fighting terrorism." No proof or evidence is required, another person said. It is superpower bully politics.
The participants voted to organise a teach-in on October 7 and a regional protest on October 20, and decided that whenever bombs begin to fall on Afghanistan that an emergency protest will be held downtown.
The new coalition decided to reach out to other coalitions being organised to fight the war campaign of the government, and be inclusive of those opposed to the Bush doctrine on war. Other valid issues and campaigns would be supported but not be the basis of a united-front effort.
There were three themes of unity agreed upon to win and mobilise public support: stop the war, no to violence against Arabs and Muslims and to racist scapegoating, and defend civil liberties.
Nationwide student protests
September 20 was a national day of protests. Some 5000 students and community activists rallied at the University of California in Berkeley. Signs and banners proclaimed: "Stop the war", "Stop hatred", "No to racism" and "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind".
"The media has stirred the country into a froth of hatred and revenge", said one student protester. "All this so-called support for military action has been completely manufactured. I don't know anyone who thinks it would a good idea."
A few pro-war students waved US flags, chanted "USA! USA!" and declared their readiness to go to war. There were no confrontations.
The counter-protests indicate that many students across the country are openly expressing pro-war and anti-Muslim sentiments. Since most news polls show up to 90% of Americans favouring military retaliation against the "terrorists", what's surprising is the high number of students willing to protest and go against the current stream of public opinion. It shows how shallow the pro-war sentiment probably is.
The National Day of Action Against Scapegoating Arab Americans and to Stop the War took place on 150 college campuses in 36 states. It was mainly organised over the internet at the initiative of a small anti-war group at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut The Concerned Students for Justice Without War were amazed themselves at the rapid response to their call to action. (For more information visit the web site: <www.peacefuljustice.cjp.com>)
Some 800 students rallied at Wesleyan. Several hundred demonstrated in Austin, Texas, in Atlanta, Georgia and on numerous small and large colleges. At Hunter College in New York, which is near "ground zero" in lower Manhattan, the site of the collapsed World Trade Center, protesters included New Yorkers involved in the rescue efforts who oppose revenge and war.
Civil liberties under fire
Bush told Congress he was appointing an extreme right-wing former governor of the Pennsylvania, Tom Ridge, to head the new "Office of Homeland Security". Ridge will be in the cabinet and report directly to Bush. His job will be to oversee the efforts of all government agencies to fight domestic terrorism. New laws are being drafted to weaken democratic rights of citizens and give more police powers to the state.
The FBI and local police bodies have rounded up close to 200 people (mainly Arabs) for detention as suspected "terrorists" or collaborators. None of these people's constitutional rights have been respected. The public isn't told why these individuals have been arrested except to insinuate that they may have ties to "terrorist suspect" Osama bin Laden and his worldwide network.
American workers are suffering from the domestic war drive too, with massive job reductions. In the airline industry, some 80,000 workers have been laid off. Several airlines face imminent bankruptcy. Tens of thousands of hotel, travel and related industry workers have also lost their jobs.
On September 21 Congress approved a US$15 billion bailout of the airlines. This is on top of a US$40 billion emergency fund for the war drive and relief efforts. The overall economy is in steady decline with an impending national recession.
The campaign to restrict civil liberties while mainly targeting Arabs and Muslims and other immigrants is also hitting airline and airport workers. Some government officials and media pundits are blaming poor airport security on the workers who screen passengers, clean, load and maintain the aircraft. How else, they surmised, could the hijackers so easily get weapons on the planes.
At United Airlines in San Francisco, for example, where I work, new security regulations are now in place where workers face daily security checks. According to a management memo: "Random searches of items carried onto the property will be conducted. This includes searching such items as backpacks, briefcases, totes or shopping bags, lunch boxes, purses and laptop computers." Further, "any knife with a blade length of more than three inches is prohibited in the maintenance bases". The rules are mandated for all airlines by the government's new Airport Security Program.
Hate attacks grow
Violence against Arabs, Muslims and those looking like they may be Middle Eastern (Sikhs from India for example) has increased since September 11. A Sikh was murdered because he wore a turban. He looked like Osama bin Laden, the killer said. Immigrants from Afghanistan and Afghan Americans have faced special harassment.
The Daily Californian, a student newspaper at Berkeley, ran a racist cartoon depicting two men with long beards and robes standing bemused in a huge hand with talons amid the flames of hell, and a flight manual by their side.
"It's because of people like you that these attacks [in New York] have occurred", another bigot told a person he thought was a Muslim.
While stating opposition to anti-Muslim violence and defending the rights of Arabs in the US (partly to shore up the US alliance with conservative Arab regimes), Bush has called the anti-terrorist campaign a "crusade" (later withdrawn) and named the impending assault as "Operation Infinite Injustice". The use of "infinite" is seen as an insult not only to religious Muslims but fundamentalist Christians who say only God can carry out "ultimate" vengeance!
In spite of the racist climate, many Arab Americans, Afghan Americans and other Middle Eastern immigrants and Muslims in the US are joining vigils, protests and speaking out to demand protection and their rights.
The polls indicate massive support for military retaliation for the September 11 terror bombings. But the rapid response in vigils and protests by students and others across the country show the potential to build a new anti-war movement.
A September 22 action in the predominantly Latino Mission District around the demand, "This is not our war: communities united against war and racism", is a sign of the anger against war and racial scapegoating among other people of colour.
A national coalition, International ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism), is organising protests for September 29 in Washington, Los Angeles and San Francisco and around the world. The slogans: "We mourn the victims", "Defend the civil rights of Arab, Muslim and Indian communities", "Don't let the government take away our civil liberties", and "War and racism are not the answer" have been endorsed by hundreds of groups and individuals.
A powerful movement for justice and peace is rising.