March for Peace, Equality, Jobs and Justice

Hear Congressman John Conyers at the
August 25, 2007
March and rally for Peace, Equality, Jobs, and Justice
Lincoln Park in Newark, NJ. 12 noon
Meet other military families and veterans near the
podium so we can stand and then march together.

Buses will be leaving from Teaneck, Englewood, Ridgewood, and Ft. Lee. Tickets
are available for $10.Purchase tickets at the Wednesday vigil or click here to
reserve tickets from Bergen Peace and Justice Coalition.
For more information about the sponsoring organizations and the march,
click here.
.

Click here to listen to a call to march from organzer Larry Hamm.

Hear Paula Rogovin, from MFSO Bergen County, in a call for military families and
veterans to join the Aug. 25 march. click here

These are 2nd Lieutenant Seth Dvorkin's actual boots. His mother, Sue
Neiderer, is a member of Gold Star Families Speak Out and MFSO.

These boots represent PFS David J. Bentz III.
His mother, Kimberly Geonnotti, is a member of
MFSO - NJ.

These boots represent Sgt. Matthew J. Fenton. His father, John
Fenton, is a member of MFSO Bergen County.

These boots are part of the Eyes Wide Open exhibit at the August 25, 2007 March for Peace, Equality, Jobs, and Justice.

MFSO Bergen County member, Paula Rogovin, addressing the march. Congressman
John Conyers (in back) is the next speaker. To hear Paula's speach, click here.

Statement by Paula Rogovin,

Military Families Speak Out, Bergen County, NJ
August 25 March for Peace, Equality, Jobs, and Justice
Newark, NJ

These are the names of the 286 U.S. troops who died since Congress,
including Senators Menendez and Lautenberg from NJ, voted for the
Supplemental Allocation of $93 billion to continue the war in Iraq.

5 of these troops were from New Jersey. Private First Class David J.
Bentz III was one of them. His mother, Kimberly Geonnotti, is a member
of MFSO. David’s grandfather had cancer. When David died on June 20,
his grandfather wept, stopped eating, and died. He was buried a week
later next to his grandson at the Glouster County Veterans Cemetery.

I’m speaking on behalf of Military Families Speak Out – a national
organization with over 3500 members with loved ones in the military. My
youngest son is currently serving in Iraq.

People see numbers of troops killed, we see that more than 655,000
Iraqi people have died, but many people have no idea of the depth of the
suffering of the families.

MFSO member John Fenton’s son, Matthew, lay for one week at Bethesda
Naval Hospital before he died. His skull was sunken in from the IED.
John said that the whole floor was filled with troops with skulls sunken
from brain injuries. He said other floors had troops with 1, 2, and 3
amputations.

Troops returning are suffering from PTSD, traumatic brain injury,
depleted uranium poisoning, and more.

When Hurricane Katrina struck, many of us wondered why the National
Guard wasn’t there en masse to rescue people. I ask you, “Where was our
National Guard and their equipment during Hurricane Katrina? ____
People died needlessly. And their families and loved ones have suffered.

More than one half trillion dollars has been spent on this illegal and
moral war, a war based on lies and greed. Those billions of dollars should
have been spent here in the communities for housing, health care,
education, recreation, jobs, and social services.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said on April 4, 1967
“…I knew that America would never invest the necessary funds or
energies in rehabilitation of its poor so long as adventures like Vietnam
continue to draw men and skills and money like some demonic suction
tube. So I was increasingly compelled to see the war as an enemy of the
poor and to attack it as such.” The same applies today to the occupation
of Iraq.

Funding the war means killing our troops and harming our communities.
Military Families Speak Out calls on Congress to vote in September
against the Supplemental Allocation for Iraq. We do not want timetables.
We want Congress to vote to de-fund the war, to bring all of the troops
home now, to take care of them when they get here, to redirect the
monies for our communities.

When do you want the troops home? _____
Where do we want the money?