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Saturday, December 15, 2007
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PLEASE CREDIT ALL PHOTOS BY MATTHEW WEINSTEIN ***
Photograph by Matt Weinstein
A diverse group of Brooklyn residents crowded into the historic Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church on December 15, 2007 for a film screening and panel discussion. They came to watch a powerful new documentary, When I Came Home, by film maker and director, Dan Lohaus, which dramatically exposes a national scandal that is unknown to many Americans: the tragedy of homeless veterans of America’s wars. Read more.
The problem of homelessness is on the increase as soldiers, returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan, find themselves struggling to reintegrate into society, fighting in vain for promised veteran's benefits and, unable to get a job or affordable housing, find themselves cast onto on the streets of America’s towns and cities.
The meeting was jointly sponsored by Black Veterans for Social Justice, Fort Greene Peace and Brooklyn For Peace (formerly Brooklyn Parents For Peace) and was a memorial tribute to Mr. Ricky Singh, Vice-President of Black Veterans for Social Justice, who passed away recently at an early age. Mr. Singh was a dedicated champion of veterans’ rights who worked closely with returning Brooklyn soldiers. He is shown in the film which follows the tribulations of returned Iraqi soldier, Herrold Noel, a homeless vet living out of his car, child in tow, suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Noel battles uncaring politicians and a bureaucratic and underfunded veterans’ system that has failed to deliver promised benefits to America’s returning soldiers.
After the film there was a lively discussion. A panel of veterans and peace activists took questions from the audience which included many veterans as well. The panel included Wendy McClinton and Cedric Smith, both veterans and leaders of Black Veterans for Social Justice, who shared the challenges they confronted on returning home from service.
Dan Lohaus, the film’s director, described the difficulties and rewards in making the film and his memories of veterans’ defender, Ricky Singh.
David Tykulsker, Vice Chair of Brooklyn For Peace talked about the targeting, by the military, of poor and working-class youth, particularly in communities of color, for the purpose of recruiting them for war. "The same government that sends them to battle", he said, "then cuts their benefits when they return after they’ve used them abroad to fight their immoral wars." He concluded "that it’s not an accident that veterans have to fight for benefits that they’re entitled to. It’s part of the same disease of the increasing militarization of our society. We see the Bush administration plundering our national treasure to the tune of a half-trillion dollars for the war in Iraq while, at the same time, this President is vetoing health care for children." He urged those in attendance to step up the pressure on Congress and the Senate, in particular. "We must demand that they resist Bush’s latest demands for even more money for his endless wars."
For more information: NORA GORDON, Brooklyn For Peace, bfp@brooklynpeace.org 718–624–5921
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