WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 2011
BY ANDREA ALEXANDER, STAFF WRITER

*click here for a video interview with MFSO Teaneck chapter leader Paula Rogovin*

Parents of children who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan joined veterans and other activists in front of the Teaneck Armory Wednesday to call for an end to the wars.

The group of more than 30 people gathered to mark the sixth anniversary of the weekly Teaneck Peace Vigil. Their message hasn’t changed much since a group of area residents began their regular gathering. Participants in the vigil want the troops brought home and to be taken care of when they return. They also want to see the money spent on military efforts abroad shifted to education, health care and other priorities at home.

“We have to stop these wars and bring our troops home and use the money for useful things, not killing people,’’ said Joe Harris, of Teaneck.

But some things have changed in the last six years. The jeers of passing drivers have stopped. The response to the vigil has become more positive. Drivers either honk in support or, at worst, pass by in silence.

“You can always see the climate of the country by looking at the reaction of people to the vigil,’’ said Paula Rogovin, a Teaneck resident who has been a driving force behind the gathering.

After 30 service members were killed in Afghanistan earlier this month, “there were more people honking in support of the vigil that week,’’ Rogovin said.

Participants Wednesday carried signs that declared “we need jobs and schools, not war” and “wage peace.” A man with a bull horn shouted at passing cars “bring them all home now – alive.’’

Activists handed out fake $1 million bills and asked people in the crowd to write down other ways to spend the money that has supported the war efforts. The group plans to deliver the dollars to the office of U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman, D-Fair Lawn. Participants also put flowers on a tank in front of the armory to honor the soldiers and civilians who died in both wars, as well as the wounded.

For Rogovin and Anna Berlinrut, of Maplewood, the vigil is also about reminding those who pass by about the toll the war has taken on service members and their families. Rogovin’s son served two tours in Iraq. Berlinrut’s son served in Iraq and Kosovo and is currently stationed in Afghanistan.

When her son was in Iraq, Rogovin would turn on the radio first thing in the morning for news about casualties. She would listen for clues to try to figure out if her son was one of them, or if he was safe. She would brace herself when she turned the corner on her way home because she feared seeing a military van parked in front of her house waiting to give her unbearable news.

Berlinrut is frustrated because she doesn’t see the war getting the news coverage she believes it should.

“I would like people to put themselves in the place of military families,’’ Berlinrut said. “Think about their loved ones – their children, their spouses – and how they would feel if they were in harm’s way over and over again. Knowing how dangerous this is, knowing that they could be lost at any point, is this war really worth that?’’

Rogovin hopes that seeing the vigil will spur people to action.

“We want them to speak up in some way,’’ Rogovin said. “Write a letter to a member of Congress or to the president, make a phone call, send an e-mail, join a vigil.

“Even the people who are honking, I consider them part of this effort,’’ Rogovin said. “If they are with someone they will have a conversation, so even honking or giving a peace sign to support this vigil is important.’’

E-mail: alexandera@northjersey.com

The second volume of “Do You Love a Veteran?” is in the works!

For the second volume, I am compiling a set of essays, poems, drawings, etc. about people’s experiences, joys, and struggles with supporting veterans and how these struggles have transformed them.

Submissions can be anonymous or credited depending on the author’s preference. We will distribute the zines amongst our communities and also leave these zines in places like VFWs or American Legions where other vets might pick them up and share them with their loved ones. They will also be distributed at VA Facilities. Submissions may also be published on this site, as the author wishes.

Submission Guidelines:
1. story, article, essay, poem, song, art work (children’s or adults’) by, for, and about loving a veteran or a GI and all the complexities that come with that.
2. Maximum length- 2 typed pages single spaced
3. Please include whatever identification information you would like included in the zine ( First Name, Last Name, Town, City, State, relationship to veteran…any or none of the above. This can be as credited or anonymous as you choose)
3. Deadline September 30th, 2011
4. E-mail all written submissions to  nbaltrushes@gmail.com . Art can be scanned and e-mailed or you may send it to:
Nicole Baltrushes
3324 W Palmer #1E
Chicago IL 60647

Getting Started:

If you’re having trouble getting started, here are some prompts that might help. You can just try free-writing and see what comes out. Often that can be the most honest and meaningful work.

When you (he/she) came home….

Since you’ve (she’s/he’s) been back…

How has war, and your loved one’s service, changed you?

I’m angry that…

I’m thankful that …

Art is a way to break through communication barriers, to express things we couldn’t otherwise.  It can be a way to heal, or a way to protest. “Art” can be anything, any way you want to express what 10 years of war has meant to you, how it has affected your family, or how it has changed the world we live in – poetry, music, photography, writing, visual art, or videos.

General submissions will be featured on our website (credited to the artist, of course), and can be emailed to samantha@mfso.org.  You can also submit art or writing for a few specific projects, listed below.

We also encourage you to organize an education or arts-based event during the month leading up to the anniversary, September 7 through October 7th. Click here to learn more.

Do You Love a Veteran? Call for Submissions

Do You Love a Veteran is a zine made up of contributions from families, friends, and partners of veterans.

For more info on the zine, how to submit, and some inspiration, click here.

He Sapa: Heart of the People – Call for Submissions

Over Memorial Day Weekend 2011, a group of military families and veterans gathered in the Black Hills of South Dakota for a healing retreat. The presenters included spiritual elders, veterans, medical doctors, social workers, and healers from different Native traditions.  The participants created art and writing which will provide the basis for this zine.  We invite veterans, military families, and Gold Star families to submit art and writing about their own experiences with healing.  Questions and submissions can be sent to samantha@mfso.org

On September 11th, 2001, a tragedy changed our nation forever.  10 years later, we are living with the consequences of our nation’s response to that tragedy.  In the last decade, thousands of military families have dealt with their own tragedies of losing a loved one in combat or by suicide. Thousands more continue to suffer from the wounds of war. Many of these wounds are visible. Some are not.  And still thousands more will lose sleep, cry, and worry, as their loved ones will be deployed over the next three years.  As military families, we know the true costs of war.

From September 7th to October 7th, MFSO is partnering with Iraq Veterans Against the War, War Resisters League, United for Peace & Justice, and 10 Years and Counting for a month of arts and education to commemorate 10 years of war and begin building bridges of understanding between communities directly affected by the war and the war economy.  We aim to link the challenges faced by Afghans, Iraqis, active duty service members, veterans and military families as those who most directly feel the horrors of war with teachers, students, the homeless, former homeowners, labor and others who feel the domestic crisis brought on by the waste of military spending and greed.

What you can do:

Send us your poetry, music, photographs, and visual art.  We invite you to create something marking the 10 year anniversary of our nation at war. We can use this unfortunate, yet historic moment as inspiration and maximize the power of creativity to illustrate the costs of war, or how 10 years of warfare have affected you personally.  Throughout the month we will be showcasing art from military families, veterans, and service members on our website, as well as on the 10 Years and Counting website.  Email your submission(s) to samantha@mfso.org.  Click here for more information.

We also encourage you to organize an arts or education event between September 7th and October 7th.  We will be sending out popular education curriculum on the war economy, voices from Afghanistan, and the costs of war to veterans and military families for you to use, as well as resources to connect with artists in your community and advice on organizing a cultural event. For help organizing an event, contact samantha@mfso.org.  We’ll be sending out more information soon.