|
United States
Pregnant
Anti-War Soldier Sent to Prison
Amy Goodman
 "ULTIMATELY,
the success of the nation depends on the character
of its citizens." So said George W. Bush in his
speech at the dedication of his presidential library
in Texas. The library officially opened to the
public May 1, the 10th anniversary of his famous "Mission
Accomplished" speech aboard the USS Abraham
Lincoln, anchored just off the coast of San
Diego. Bush, in his remarks at the library, along
with President Barack Obama, former Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice and others all failed to
mention the word "Iraq." Violence in Iraq surged
this April. In waves of attacks and counterattacks
that resembled the high point of sectarian violence
there from 2006 to 2008, 460 people were killed, and
1,219 people were injured, mostly civilians. At
least 13 were killed on May 1, portending an equally
violent month.
Amid this ongoing violence, a young, pregnant
soldier has been sent to prison this week for
desertion. She refused to return to the war in Iraq
back in 2007. Pfc. Kimberly Rivera first deployed to
Iraq in 2006. She guarded the gate at Forward
Operating Base Loyalty in eastern Baghdad at a time
when the base was under constant attack. She said of
the experience: "I had a huge awakening seeing the
war as it truly is: People losing their lives for
greed of a nation, and the effects on the soldiers
who come back with new problems such as nightmares,
anxieties, depression, anger, alcohol abuse, missing
limbs and scars from burns. Some don’t come back at
all."
Her attorney, James Branum, who defends soldiers who
resist deployment, told me: "She felt that she
morally could not do what she was asked to do; at
the same time, she realized that she would put other
soldiers in danger if she didn’t pull the trigger
when the time came. She talked to a chaplain about
it. The chaplain largely pushed her aside, did not
give her the counsel that she really needed." The
chaplain should have advised her that she could
apply to be a conscientious objector.
Not knowing what her options were, while on leave in
Texas in January 2007, Kimberly decided she could
not return to war. With her husband, Mario, and
their two young children, she drove to Canada, and
settled in Toronto as she sought refugee status. She
and Mario had two more children there.
Canada has a long tradition as a refuge for war
resisters. During the Vietnam War, tens of thousands
(the exact number is unknown) of young men fled the
U.S. to avoid the draft, refusing to fight. After
the war, most were granted amnesty and returned home.
In 2004, Jeremy Hinzman became the first U.S.
soldier known to flee there in opposition to the
Iraq War. The War Resisters Support Campaign was
formed in Toronto shortly thereafter. At least 11
have been granted permanent residency in Canada,
recognizing their refugee status. Kimberly Rivera
has this group’s support, along with that of members
of the Canadian Parliament, Amnesty International
and South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a Nobel
Peace Prize winner. Despite the precedent and the
outpouring of support, the Canadian government
denied her refugee application. She turned herself
in to U.S. authorities at the border on September
20, 2012.
At her court-martial at Fort Carson in Colorado, the
judge sentenced her to 14 months’ imprisonment,
which was lowered to 10 months based on a plea
agreement. James Branum said of the sentence: "The
prosecutor at trial said that he asked the judge to
give a harsh sentence to send a message to the war
resisters in Canada. Many other resisters receive
little jail time or no jail time. And people that
desert, generally, over 90 percent do no jail time
at all. And so, we feel that Kim was singled out."
Kimberly Rivera refused to shoot at children in Iraq.
She had the courage to dissent, to resist. Now she
sits in prison, pregnant, away from her husband,
Mario, and four young children: Christian, 11;
Rebecca, 8; Katie, 5; and Gabriel, 2. George W. Bush
was right when he said that the success of the
nation depends on the character of its citizens -
citizens, that is, like Kimberly Rivera.
|
