CPTnet
24 January 2005

CHICAGO: CPT trainees "Shine the Light" on Iraqi detainee abuses, Senator
Richard Durbin's voting record

by Heidi Schramm and Lisa Hughes

During the lunch hour on 17 January 2006, CPTers staged a silent vigil
outside the Federal building in downtown Chicago. The witness was part of
the "Shine the Light" campaign, CPT's effort to bring the abuse of Iraqi
detainees to the forefront of North American consciousness. Three CPTers,
dressed in black cloaks and hoods stood on crates in the middle of the
plaza, serving as the focal point for the vigil. Participants circled the
three barefoot figures, holding candles in a silent processional that
supporters and passersby joined throughout the hour. Behind the flagpole,
two CPTers held a banner with the quotation from Dr. Martin Luther King
regarding the Vietnam war, "This madness must cease."

CPTers also held a 4'x6' postcard, addressed to Senator Richard Durbin
(D-IL) calling on him to vote against funding the war that had led to
torture of detainees. CPTers encouraged passing constituents to sign and
leave messages on the cards. Other vigil participants handed out leaflets to
passersby, containing information about Senator Durbin's voting record on
the war in Iraq, and the relationship between war and torture.

After forty-five minutes, a delegation of four CPTers headed up to Illinois
Senators Durbin's and Obama's office, taking the postcard, a handful of
candles, a poster with the faces of the four CPTers held hostage in Iraq
since 26 November, and a written litany for peacemakers. Police officers
stopped the delegates at the security checkpoint and called the offices of
the senators to get permission to bring the delegates upstairs.

The delegates waited for five minutes, passed through the metal detectors
without incident, and proceeded to Senator Durbin's office with a police
escort. The CPTers presented the aide with the postcard and literature
detailing the connection between war and torture. After a brief discussion,
the group invited the aide and receptionist to join them in the litany, and
read through it in the office lobby. They then visited Senator Barak
Obama's office, where they repeated the exchange. At both offices, they
left candles with stickers saying, "Pray with us: end the occupation, end
abuse of detainees, free the peacemakers."

The Shine the Light Campaign will continue through the month of January,
with a presence in Washington, D.C., and public witnesses in major cities
throughout the United States and Canada. For more information, see
http://www.cpt.org/iraq/shinethelight.php

Current trainees in Chicago include Julian Gutierrez (Risaralda, Columbia),
Lisa Hughes (Portland, OR), Gary Novak (Port Townsend, WA), Rod Orr
(Palmyra, MO), Heidi Schramm (Lindenhurst, IL), Sarah Scruggs (Washington,
DC), Andrea Siemens (Toronto, ON), Sue Wilkinson (Chicago, IL), Marge
Zacharias (Detroit, MI), Cathy Breen (New York, NY) and Kathy Kelly
(Chicago, IL.)