INTERVIEW WITH EMILY SHEARS

Emily lives in Eureka, California and is a single parent of three children. Bob is her eldest child. I telephoned Emily just as she was returning from her weekly participation in Women in Black,"an international women" group that silently vigils in public spaces such as county courthouses or town square.

Emily: My son, �ob,�is a Sergeant in the Army currently deployed to Afghanistan. He� 21 years old and his four-year tour is almost up. He�l come home in May 2004 �originally supposed to be February 2004 �and he�l be married in July before going to med school.

Bob was a capable student but after high school he said he didn� feel ready for college. He wasn� interested in a mediocre part-time job and he lacked direction. Yet he wanted something challenging and also wanted to travel. So he joined the military. 

He has lost friends in this war and he� seen explosions kill people but he doesn� talk about that with me. The situation is still too close, he� still in it but eventually he�l process his experiences in his own way.

My number one concern �besides his physical well being -- is his mental, emotional, and spiritual health. What I�e heard about the treatment of Afghani and Iraqi prisoners, the heavy boot on the neck when arrests are made, just horrifies me. I'm afraid that he's had to put some of his humanity aside. 

I know Bob has been troubled by what he� seen of the plight of children. I supported my family as a single mother by running a day care center and Bob grew up around little children and in an environment that was caring and supportive of children. He cares deeply about kids and will train to be a pediatrician. So I am sure it has been hard for him to see children killed or injured.

Another thing that should concern all of us, all Americans, all people, is the issue of Depleted Uranium (DU). What Agent Orange was to Vietnam, DU is to this war. What will happen to the next generation of children? What about our children� children?

I had a child in my daycare whose father in Gulf War I and his little girl had so many health and developmental problems. It was a tragedy then and another tragedy is unfolding now.

If you want to know more about DU, go online and read what Doug Rokke tells of his experiences working for the Pentagon on their DU project (http://www.ratical.org/radiation/DUuse+hazard.html). Doug was in the first Gulf War and he has many health problems deriving from that time.

I have two younger children, both girls, and they�e fearful for Bob. One daughter stands in silence with me at Women in Black vigils.

We�e very lucky to live in this activist area of Humboldt Country where so many people are well informed and educated about this war. Some of the population tends to be folks like me who moved here in the 60s and 70s as well as folks with strong individualistic tendencies. We voted out big business when it tried a hostile takeover of our local district attorney. We also sent Calpine packing when they proposed a Liquid Natural Gas Terminal on our bay. We have well attended peace marches as well as teach-ins about corporate-owned media and corporate personhood. People come from all over to attend.

My activism is a constraint on my conversations with Bob and that is difficult. In the past we�e talked about everything, now we have superficial conversations. He can� tell me everything that is going on, of course, and I can� speak freely about my work to end this illegal war. Bob needs to concentrate on his job over there and not worry about what I� doing or thinking over here. He talks more frequently to his fiance although he doesn� tell her much more about operations that he tells me.

Before his deployment to Afghanistan Bob was with a multinational force in the Sinai and he was there on 9/11. 

In Afghanistan he meets and talks to Afghanis. From the pictures he� sent back it looks as if the soldiers have good interactions with Afghanis. 

Few of us are asking how those thugs we�e now fighting in the region got started. In fact, we, the US, set them up to do our bidding against the Russians. We armed them, we supported them, and when the Russians pulled out of Afghanistan, we left our handpicked thugs there to support themselves.

More one thing I want to add is about the upcoming draft bill that should appear fully fledged in the spring of 2005. Its goal is to register all kids between the ages of 18 and 26 for selective service. Right now it describes certain skills they�l be looking for but you can bet it won't be long before they'll start taking any young folks for conscripted military service. Another thing people should know is that the "No Child Left Behind" program that President Bush touts all the time, has a clause in it that declares schools have to give information (names, addresses, and phone numbers) to military recruiting officers or lose state funding. Parents can tell the schools they don't want that information shared with the military. It needs to be in writing and few parents are aware of it. 

Don't fall for it. Learn as much as you can and let's do something about it now while we still can, before it becomes law.