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The Ignatian Family Teach-In is an annual gathering of students from Jesuit institutions in a big white tent along the Chattahoochee River in Columbus, GA. The event serves to educate participants in the issues of U.S. foreign policy in Latin America and to honor the Jesuit martyrs of El Salvador and the 100,000's of other martyrs of the region whose deaths are attributed to the actions of military and paramilitary forces who received training from a U.S. military facility known as the School of the Americas, or the SOA.
The Teach-In takes place on the 3rd weekend of November and coincides with a larger gathering, sponsored by the SOA Watch, at the gates of Ft. Benning, GA, where the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (The new name for the SOA) calls home.
The Ignatian Family Teach-In is a powerful experience, especially for students, who connect with their faith through education, liturgy, and nonviolent protest. The Ignatian Family Teach-In began in 1998 under the guidance of Bob Holstein and the Jesuit Companions. Now under the direction of the Ignation Solidarity Network, the teach-in has grown in each year since its inception, attracting over 1,500 people from nearly all 28 Jesuit Colleges and Universities.
The School of the Americas (SOA) began in 1947 at the onset of the "Cold War" with the purpose of promoting democracy in Latin America. Since its beginning, the SOA has trained over 60,000 soldiers from Latin American in military courses including weapons training, intelligence gathering, and combat.
The SOA's graduates number among the most notorious dictators and human right abusers. More than 100,000 murders and incidents or torture, rape and abuse have been linked to officers who had their training at the school, including Archbishop Oscar Romeo and the Jesuit martyrs of the University of Central America.
Under mounting pressure, the army closed the SOA in 1999. One month later the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation opened in the same location with essentially the same curriculum. A careful look at the WHINSEC reveals that the name change is primarily an effort to escape the poor human rights record of the SOA. This training facility continues to be sponsored by our government and paid for by our taxes.
For more information click on these LINKS:
IGNATIAN SOLIDARITY NETWORK
WESTERN HEMISPHERE INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY COOPERATION (WHINSEC)
SOA WATCH
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