¡°I really wanted to cut that barbed wire!¡±
Anti-War Mother Cindy Sheehan spent her last moments in Korea in Daechuri.
Jung-hwan Suh, Voice of the People.
As her visit to South Korea drew to a close, America¡¯s ¡°anti-war mother¡± Cindy Sheehan¡¯s last footsteps fell in Daechuri.
On November 24, at about 12:00pm, Sheehan made a return trip to Daechuri to hold a closing press conference and present $3,000 in funds raised from the delegation she was traveling with to the villagers, demonstrating once again the impact their struggle had made on her..
While there, Sheehan and her colleagues Deedee Miller, Tiffany Burns and Medea Benjamin hung a banner which read, ¡°Farms no Arms¡± on the barbed wire that encircles the Hwangsaewol fields.
In order to do this they had to cross the deep drench dug to keep people off the fields and wade through waist-deep hay, but Sheehan did not seem to mind.
Soldiers were lined up on the other side of the barbed wire. When Sheehan said to them, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we don¡¯t speak Korean. Is there someone who speaks English?¡± they gave not response. They only turned to the reporters and warned them not to take pictures.
After hanging the banner Sheehan and her colleagues sang a peace song and chanted, ¡°Stop the base expansion!¡±, ¡°Bush and Camp Humphreys, leave this earth!¡± They turned to the Korean soldiers on the other side of the barbed wired and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t the people of Daechuri your citizens?¡± and ¡°Shame! (in Korean)¡±, registering their protest.
At the press conference held in front of the farmers¡¯ meeting house Cindy and her colleagues gave $3,000 collected during their visit (from other delegates) and bags of rice (which symbolize abundance and fertility in the United States) to the villagers as encouragement and support for their struggle.
¡°Seeing the place where Daechuri¡¯s residents have held candle light vigils for over 800 days, I can feel their love for their land and their deep sense of resistance. On the second day of our visit, when we toured the village the beauty of the farmers¡¯ houses and farms struck me,¡± said Media Benjamin of Code Pink, an American women¡¯s anti-war organization. ¡°In the United States I will work to raise public awareness and build solidarity so that the farmers of Pyongtaek can continue to live on their land.¡±
Tae-hwa Jung, President of Daechuri¡¯s Elders Meeting, said to the visitors, ¡°At this time, the morale of the villagers has suffered a lot. Your visit has given us great energy. Please do not forget Daechuri when you return to the United States.
In response Cindy Sheehan replied, ¡°Not only will we not forget Daechuri, when we return we will tour the United States telling many people about the struggle here. The courageous villages will be the victors in this fight to stop the base expansion, and they will be recorded in history.¡±
Following, Sheehan and her group were gifted a name plate bearing the names of their organizations, which they hung on the door of an empty house. This was to signify that their hearts will remain with the residents after they returned to the U.S.
Looking around the house, Sheehan remarked, ¡°This room will be my bed room. Hey, why is it that you are all wearing shoes in my house?¡± will a look of satisfaction on her face.
Having finished the last of their schedule here in Korea, Cindy and her friends were sent off by the residents of Daechuri to return to the Thanksgiving break in the United States.
Returning from a last look at the barbed wire, Cindy Sheehan looked at her colleagues and whispered, ¡°You know, I really wanted to cut that barbed wire.¡±
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