Eyes Wide Open exhibit illustrates loss of life for Iraqis and Oregonians through display of boots and shoes. Also included is an interactive display on war’s economic cost to the state.

By Dave Mazza

Portland peace activists unveiled a new exhibit Aug. 4 symbolizing loss of life and wealth inflicted on Oregonians and Iraqis by the war. Fifty-five boots, several blue hard hats and 100 shoes were arranged on the grounds of the new Peace Memorial Park to represent soldiers and contract workers from Oregon and more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians killed since hostilities started in March, 2003. Each boot, hardhat and shoe was tagged with the name of a specific casualty of the war.

The exhibit was organized by a Portland chapter of the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization founded in 1917 and composed of people of different faiths who are committed to social justice and peace. The Portland group drew inspiration from their counterparts in Chicago, who organized a national tour in March 2004. The Oregon version of Eyes Wide Open was started nearly 18 months later and will tour the state through November 2006.

As AFSC organizer Kelly Campbell points out, Eyes Wide Open has a different goal than most war memorials. The point here is not to honor duty or heroism but rather bring home the terrible cost to all participants in this war. The array of civilian shoes, including infant-sized tennis shoes, sends a clear message to all involved that there is nothing noble in the death of young children.

While the boots, shoes and hats did not actually belong to war casualties, these symbols are brought home more strongly by the participation of people who have lost daughters and sons or spouses, or are just waiting for their children or wives and husbands to survive the war. These are people who have not had the support of Governor Ted Kulongoski, the most visible elected official involved in honoring the war dead. These parents and spouses hope Eyes Wide Open will shake people out of their indifference.

“People need to speak up,” states Steve DeFord, a Gold Star Family member [denoting having lost a family member to the war]. “They may have all died heroes but they all died for the wrong reasons. I start each day remembering my son, how I’ll never see him again, never hear his laugh...”

American Friends Service Committee enlisted several other groups to help with the exhibit. Partners include Military Families Speak Out - Oregon, Veterans for Peace Chapter 72 and Rural Organizing Project. Each brings an important contribution to the effort. Military Families Speak Out brings to the project individuals who already paid the ultimate price for U.S. involvement in Iraq and could speak in very concrete terms about what the loss of a daughter or son meant. Veterans for Peace provide an important link with the last time the U.S. chose to engage in a major imperialist war overseas. Rural Organizing Project contributes its expertise at generating public discussions in rural communities.

The latter is especially important to the exhibit in light of its ability to identify and mobilize largely unknown progressive elements in Oregon’s rural communities, an ability that helped defeat Oregon Citizens Alliance in the 1990s.

“Who are we?” asks Trish Leighton, of the Rural Organizing Project and Wasco County Citizens for Human Dignity. “We are small town Oregonians. We are the passionate activists you see every Friday holding signs outside the post office as homebound commuters pass by.”

These sorts of networks will prove vital to the exhibit considering the media’s hesitancy to cover anti-war messages very often. At the opening of the exhibit, the Oregonian was the only mainstream press present. One television station reportedly showed up later for the vigil.

While the organizers would enjoy the exhibit receiving strong media attention, they recognize that at its heart, Eyes Wide Open is something that needs to be experienced first hand rather than filtered through the television screen. They may reach fewer people that way; however, each person who views the rows of empty boots and shoes will be more strongly touched than learning about it from news at six.

For more information see the web site: www.eyes.afsc.org.