MIM speaks at USC teach-in on the war in Afghanistan On October 30th MIM spoke at a teach-in about the attacks of September 11th and the War in Afghanistan at the University of Southern California Health Sciences campus. The Health Science Students for Social Responsibility (HS3R) sponsored the event and included a speaker from the Afghan Womens" Mission. MIM"s speaker focused on anti-Arab and anti- immigrant harrassment, including hate-crimes and the so-called "Patriot Act." S/he pointed out that while George Bush has been paying lip-service to tolerance and diversity, amerika"s imperialist foreign policy and domestic repression of dissent are the opposite of tolerance. Bush said that the attacks of September 11th were attacks on amerikan "freedoms." However -- although people in the united $tates are generally more "free" than those living under the death squad regimes that the united $tates supports abroad -- the "patriot act" has clamped down on political freedoms. It extends the definition of terrorism to include vandalism. It also sanctions the unlimited use of "spyware" and roving-wiretaps to intercept the phone/email/voicemail communication of alleged terrorists. The speaker pointed out that this surveillance is not limited to "terrorist suspects," because it involves listening at public phones, for example. The MIM speaker noted that the patriot act can be used against legal immigrants in the united $tates and communist groups like MIM whose organizing activities are deemed dangerous to the government. There are just too many 1984-ish provisions in the "patriot act" to name here. For a more detailed discussion of MIM"s take on this visit our website.(1) MIM"s speaker also said that the whole hysteria about "security" is misplaced. More surveillance powers won"t be able to prevent "terrorism." For example, the FBI knew of the possibility of using planes as weapons and about "suspicious characters" seeking flying lessons. That didn"t stop anything. Increasing police will increase the brutal reach of the Amerikan repressive apparatus. It"s as Benjamin Franklin said, "Those who would sacrifice liberty for security will have neither." MIM urged the people at the teach-in and the people of amerika in general to get serious about politics and to turn anger against over the events of September 11 into anger against the u.$. government, its increasingly violent foreign policy, and its efforts to squash all free speech protections that citizens have enjoyed. Another speaker, Sonali Kohatkar from the Afghan Women"s Mission, gave a brief overview of recent Afghan history, particularly as it pertains to wimmin. She said that in the 50s and 60s Afghanistan offered many freedoms to wimmin (e.g. wimmin could vote). That started to change when the united $tates backed the Islamic Mujahadeen. So when Colin Powell etc. criticize the Taliban for their oppression of wimmin, we need to remind people that the Taliban are in a position to do so thanks to Uncle Sam. Sonali also pointed out that many wimmin in Afghanistan took up arms against the Soviet invasion. These wimmin saw through the social- imperialists" claims that they were sending troops in order to defend wimmin"s rights.(2) They understood that fighting against colonization was as much part of their struggle as fighting to get education, access to the workplace, etc. Western so-called "feminists" who support the bombing in Afghanistan on the grounds that it helps the wimmin of Afghanistan should think about the lessons of the Soviet invasion. They should also keep in mind that the Northern Alliance, which the united $tates sees as playing a major role in any government it helps set up, has a record similar to the Taliban"s when it comes to wimmin"s rights. The crowd at the teach-in was mainly students preparing for work in the health sciences. HS3R is setting a good example of how to deal critically with the important issues surrounding the events since September 11 by inviting a cutting-edge organization like MIM to speak about anti-arab and anti-immigrant harassment. Organizations like HS3R are an important way for professionals and aspiring professionals to "think outside the box" and put their practice in an internationalist context by struggling with MIM about the contradictions that give rise to terrorism and war. Notes: 1. http://www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/mn/sept112001/te xt.php?mimfile=patriotact.txt 2. An earlier speaker from the USC department of International Relations said that many young Russian soldiers came to Afghanistan thinking they were liberating the people from feudalism, wimmin from the veil etc. They learned that was not the case very quickly and became disillusioned.