The Young Men With The Guns
by David Krieger, January 2000

for Father Roy Bourgeois

"Let those who have a voice speak for the voiceless."
- Bishop Oscar Romero

None of it could have happened
Not the killings, the rapes, the brutality
Without the young men with the guns.
Bishop Romero saw this clearly.
Lay down your arms, he said
To the young men with the guns.
This, the day before his assassination,
The day before they shot him at the altar.
God, forgive them, they only follow orders.
They know not what they do.
But the politicians and the generals
Know what they do
When they give their orders
To murder at the altar.
None of it could have happened
Not the killings, the rapes, the brutality
Without the politicians and the generals.
The ones who sit in dark rooms
And stuff their mouths with food
Before they give the orders.
And the people are silent.
Their mouths will not open.
They hang their heads and avert their eyes.
Of course, they are afraid
Of the young men with the guns
Who carry out the orders.
None of it could have happened
Without the people remaining silent.
The Bishop staggered, he bled, he died
But he was not silenced.

Krieger's poem, composed in January 2000, is dedicated to Father Roy Bourgeois, who is a founding member of the School of the Americas Watch, an activist group and independent organization that seeks to close the US Army School of the Americas (SOA) through vigils and fasts, demonstrations and nonviolent protest, as well as media and legislative work. The US Army School of Americas, based in Fort Benning, Georgia, trains Latin American soldiers in combat, counter-insurgency, and counter-narcotics. Graduates of the SOA have been responsible for some of the worst human rights abuses in Latin America. Among the SOA's nearly 60,000 graduates are notorious dictators Manuel Noriega and Omar Torrijos of Panama, Leopoldo Galtieri and Roberto Viola of Argentina, Juan Velasco Alvarado of Peru, Guillermo Rodriguez from Ecuador, and Hugo Banzer Suarez of Bolivia. Lower-level SOA graduates have participated in human rights abuses that include the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the El Mozote Massacre of 900 civilians.

What can you do to close the SOA? Call/write/fax/email your elected US Representative asking for support of HR 732, US Represenative Moakley's bill to close the SOA. Call/write/fax/email US Senators from your state asking for co-sponsorship of S873, proposed legislation to close the SOA that was initiated by Senator Durbin. Then tell your friends, family, and everybody you know and meet to do the same. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper and urge others to support closing the SOA.

School of the Americas Watch