Arlington Northwest
The lawns in the Quad and in front of the Hub were transformed into graveyards November 2, when volunteers placed markers bearing the names of more than 3,800 soldiers killed in Iraq since the beginning of the U.S. occupation in 2003.
The student-lead Washington Huskies Against Military Occupation in Iraq (WHAMO) organized the display with the help of about Seventy volunteers. The markers themselves were loaned to WHAMO by the local chapter of Veterans for Peace who have been maintaining these signs.
Joshua Farris, a WHAMO officer and a veteran of Iraq, said that their club was formed last month by about five people and has since grown to about twelve active members and more than eighty supporters.
“Why is it that there isn’t already an established Iraq occupation group on campus as we are about to enter the fifth year of this conflict?” he asked rhetorically. “As a veteran I was disgusted by the lack of one. “
In addition to the display, WHAMO staffed four information tables with pamphlets about the Iraq war, as well as advertisements for their club and an upcoming documentary.
Farris said that their club is also planning to establish ethics courses and community discussions for ROTC program, provide material aid to returning Iraq veterans & Iraqi refugees in the form of financial assistance for attending or teaching at the UW, and to actively encourage companies and individuals to divest from companies which profit from the Iraq occupation and/or provide materials which injure Iraqi civilians.
For more information about WHAMO email: whamoiraq@gmail.com.
Click here to view WHAMO’s letter to The Daily.
