Protesters Hold Evening Vigils Across NYC For Five-Year Iraq War

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Protesters Hold Evening Vigils Across NYC For Five-Year Iraq War
03/20/2008 02:36 AM
By: NY1 News

All over New York City, anti-war protesters held marches and vigils Wednesday afternoon and evening. NY1’s Lily Jamali filed the following report.

In Brooklyn alone, about 200 people came out to protest five years of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, marching from Grand Army Plaza to a military recruitment center on Flatbush Avenue.

There, they capped the night with a candlelight vigil where they read testimonials from veterans and their parents.

“My daughter experienced things that no child should have to endure and I experienced a fear no mother should have to endure,” read one protester. “Not knowing if your child is alive or dead until the next phone call.”

Having a child in Iraq was Vicki McFayden's reality until January, when her son returned safely from his second Iraqi tour in Ramadi.

“It's very scary. He always lies,” said McFayden. “He always says, ÎI’ll never be leaving the base, I’m not allowed to leave the base,’ which is also what he said the first time. And then he told me the truth when he returned.”

Protestor Anna Westley brought her 16-month-old son, Eamon.

“I came out today because my son was born in a time of war,” said Westley, who worries that one day her son might be drafted to fight in Iraq.

Several sites of anti-war protest erupted around the city Wednesday afternoon and evening, including gatherings in Madison Square Park and Harlem.

“I just think its really important that even in the rain people were out here, voicing their opinions and really being true Americans,” said a protester.

- Lily Jamali