2021 SOA Watch Virtual Conference

2021 SOA Watch Virtual Conference "Flowers of Resistance"

Saturday

November 6, 2021

The U.S. Army School of the Americas, now known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation has trained thousands of Latin American military personnel, many of whom have perpetrated egregious human rights violations.

This year, SOA Watch, the organization which coordinates efforts to close the school, is offering a virtual conference. Check out the program below and register to participate.

PANEL 1 

11:00 a.m.-  12:00 p.m. Pacific, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Mountain, | 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Central, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Eastern 

Taide Elena will speak of her efforts to seek justice after her 16-year-old grandson was killed by a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Arizona. The agent was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter charges. 

Jenn Budd, a former Senior U.S. Border Patrol agent and a whistleblower, will speak about racism, violence, and corruption in the most unaccountable agency in the federal government.

Representative from Haitian Bridge Alliance, will talk about efforts to develop a self-sufficient community of Haitian immigrants, in California and beyond.

PANEL 2

12:15 -1:15 p.m. Pacific, 1:15 – 2:15 p.m. Mountain, | 2:15 - 3:15 p.m. Central, 3:15 - 4:15 p.m. Eastern 

Yesenia Portillo from CISPES (the Committee In Solidarity with the People of El Salvador), XochitlSanchez of CARECEN-LA (Central American Resource Center-Los Angeles), and Brigitte Gynther of SOA Watch will discuss the Biden Administration's strategy for addressing the 'root causes' of migration from Central America and why it is destined to do the exact opposite: exacerbate displacement, human rights abuses, and migration.

PANEL 3

1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Pacific, 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. Mountain, | 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. Central, 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. Eastern 

A Representative from CONPAZ-COL (Communities Building Peace in the Territories), CONPAZ-COL, a network of more than 140 Black, Indigenous, small-scale farming, and LGBTQI frontline organizations and communities will talk about their work to safeguard and defend their territories and rights from the devastation caused by large-scale economic projects and ongoing armed conflict.

A Representative from OFRANEH (Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras). OFRANEH, a leading voice for the Garifuna people whose lives are under threat from palm oil plantations, tourism and mining operations, energy projects and drug trafficking, will speak about  the oppression  inflicted on the community in recent years and how the people confronting these threats.