I am an educator in the Los Angeles Unified School District. When the Iraq war was declared, I was deeply troubled by the relentless and aggressive military recruitment on our high school campuses. As a teacher in the East and Central area of Los Angeles, I knew that it would be our students in overcrowded schools in poor working communities who would be marketed as soldiers for war. So along with many others- students, teachers, community, veterans and parents we formed Coalition Against the Militarism in our Schools. We have organized throughout the city, at over 50 schools in the Los Angeles area to demilitarize schools and present alternatives. We also work with organizations nationally and internationally.
Iraq for Sale is an important educational tool for high school students to make the connections between what they hear regarding Halliburton and privatization, and the military recruiting pitch of money for college, career opportunities, patriotism, etc. It powerfully shows how expendable human life is to those in power who profit from war. It also pierces through the lies told to our high school students by military recruiters and exposes abuses that they are not likely to hear about. I want every student to hear the words from the film about how private contractors earn ten times more than government soldiers, and that if soldiers knew, they would not enlist. The film shows the exploitation of our young in the military, and therefore is a powerful Counter Recruitment tool. Iraq for Sale brings the issue of war profiteering out in the open, and allows us to hear the victims story. We offer it for sale on our web site, and are encouraging showings throughout the city, especially October 11th on youth day.
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