February 15, 2004
Mike Zmolek, Endthewar.org Feature
On February 15th, 2004, thousands of people on different
continents came out in public spaces to hold candles, sing
songs, observe periods of silence and reflect upon the past
year. They came out to commemorate the dead from the war
that began last march, and the first anniversary of the
protests that sought to prevent the war in which tens of
thousands have died.
Over 130 cities and towns across the United States, six cities
in the United Kingdom, several cities in Canada and cities in
Bangladesh, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland and Sweden
reported holding events as part of the "Global Vigil
for Peace" called for by the National Grassroots Peace Network
in the United States (GPN), (formerly the National Network to
End the War Against Iraq).
In Anchorage, Alaska, vigilers formed a human peace sign with
candles and aerial photographs were taken. In Takoma
Park, Maryland, vigilers watched and discussed a film about
the war in Iraq before the vigil, and were treated to a live
musical performance and hot cocoa. For vigilers in
Laramie, Wyoming, as in many other towns, the vigil was a
continuation of ongoing vigils for peace since before the US
invasion of Iraq. In Halifax, Nova Scotia, vigilers
commemorated the largest peace march in Halifax's history,
when over 3,000 braved bitter cold temperatures on February
15, 2003 to call for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in
Iraq.
"We only know about the vigils and events that registered as
participants through our website," said GPN Coordinating
Committee Member Timothy Baer, a grassroots organizer with the
Bloomington Peace Action Coalition in Indiana, "but we have
heard of many more events happening more towns in the US and
in Europe. For example, we only just heard about a large
protest in Madrid, Spain." In London, England, a "Peace
Not War" music festival was independently organized.
While several large cities in the United States took part in
the vigil, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, St
Louis and Baton Rouge, most of the vigils were held in small
to medium-sized communities in the United States. The
event thus appeared to resonate with community-based activists
in small town America, often considered the bedrock of
conservative public opinion. The Global Vigil for Peace
was held in anticipation of an upcoming global peace protest
on March 20th, and gave local organizers a chance to build
some momentum for the March event. The Grassroots Peace
Network is currently planning another action of a different
type, tentatively set for April 15th.
Vigils were being planned in many other countries, such as
China, India and Mozambique in East Africa, but either they
did not materialize or the details were never passed on to the
Network.
