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Families Hold Candlelight Vigil across from Coastland Mall Before State of Union Address
“Remembering Lives Lost to a Lie”
NAPLES, FL - On January 20, before the State of the Union address, Pax Christi Naples – supported by Military Families Speak Out, Veterans for Peace, other peace groups and faith communities in the Naples area – will mount a powerful, respectful remembrance of 500 American soldiers who have died in Iraq, together with penitential prayer for them and the estimated 10,000 Iraqi civilians who have died in the war and the chaos that followed.
WHO: Pax Christi Naples, Military Families, Veterans, Peace activists and others
WHAT: Candlelight Vigil and remembrance of American and Iraqi lives lost in Iraq war
WHEN: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2004
WHERE: US 41 & Golden Gate Pkwy intersection, across from Coastland Mall
At last year’s State of the Union President Bush deliberately frightened the American people and rushed the nation to war on the basis of these now-famous “16 words” that, at that time they were spoken, were known by the Administration to be false: “The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.” Soldiers were sent to war on the basis of this lie and others told about weapons of mass destruction. American soldiers and Iraqi innocents died because of such lies.
The “official” 500th American soldier has died by hostile fire in Iraq. Credible estimates of Iraqi civilians killed are put between 8,000 and 10,000, both as a direct result of the war and because of the whirlwind of violence and insecurity that followed and continues to this day. Since the last State of the Union, our nation has been diminished by the loss of all these precious lives.
Therefore, beginning at 6:00 PM on January 20, demonstrators will form a field of 500 + candles across from Coastland Mall, each candle representing a soldier who died in Iraq. The candle symbolizes the light of that person's life. A banner with the "16 words" will begin a death march down the line of lights. As it moves, a drum will sound and we will call out the name of each fallen soldier, stating their rank, full name, branch of service and age at death. We will also remember the Iraqi civilians, especially the children. The candle will then be extinguished to symbolize that President Bush's words brought death to this person and cast a pall of darkness over the nation.
Organizations promoting the vigil: Pax Christi Naples, Military Families Speak Out, Veterans for Peace, Collier County Anti-War Coalition, Social Action Committee of Ft. Myers, Environmental Peace and Education Center
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