Friday Rally joins with Iraq Affinity Group for Vigil for Peace and Remembrance: "Counting the Costs: Iraq One Year Later"

Event: Friday Rally joins with Iraq Affinity Group for Vigil for Peace and Remembrance: "Counting the Costs: Iraq One Year Later"
Date: Friday, March 19th, 2004
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Place: Pioneer Courthouse Square

At this Friday's 5:00 p.m. rally at Pioneer Courthouse Square, the Portland Peaceful Response Coalition will join the Iraq Affinity Group to mark the one year anniversary of the US full-scale invasion of Iraq. The Iraq Affinity Group's vigil for peace and remembrance will begin an hour earlier than the regular Friday rally, at 4:00 p.m., and will have the theme "Counting the Costs: Iraq One Year Later". The Friday rally will begin as usual at Pioneer Courthouse Square, but will march down to Terry Schrunk Plaza to meet up with the vigil.

According to Peace and Justice Works member Desiree Hellegers: "When we talk about counting the costs, we're talking not only about the 500 plus American servicemen and women who have died, but the thousands of Iraqis, many of them civilians, who have died in this latest conflict. We also remember the hundreds of thousands who died as a result of the 1991 Gulf War and the U.N. sanctions which were only lifted last May after the invasion." The Iraq Affinity Group also counts the costs in terms of the $87 billion allotted for the war and the U.S.' current military budget of over $400 billion taking resources away from basic human needs at home and directing energy away from peaceful negotiations in U.S. foreign policy.

The Iraq Affinity Group event is endorsed by the Portland Peaceful Response Coalition. For more information or to endorse or volunteer for this event, call Peace and Justice Works at 503-236-3065, email [email protected], or visit http://www.pjw.info.

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