Iraq Veterans Against the War protest in New Orleans

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IVAW members march in New Orleans

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“Marchin’ to New Orleans” tells the story of American veterans who have been radicalized by what they have witnessed while working as tools of our administration, and have returned home to see their country with a fresh perspective. More than just victims of reckless foreign policy, these individuals have chosen to use their use their experiences to raise consciousness about a capitalist system that values economic interests over human life.

This piece chronicles a six-day march along the Gulf Coast that began in Mobile Alabama and ended in a rally at New Orlean’s historic Congo Square Park. Along the way, veterans are joined by residents of the Gulf Coast who share stories of abandonment first by FEMA and then by the American media. Marchers are shocked and outraged to see that eight months after Katrina the repair of the Gulf Coast seems to have barely begun, while the general public has little knowledge of the continuing devastation.

Parallels and connections between the situation at home and abroad emerge as the march approaches New Orleans. Exploitation of immigrant labor recruited to rebuild the city emulates the presence of foreign contractors in Iraq. Many in Iraq and on the Gulf Coast continue the struggle to survive without the basic infrastructure of daily life—electricity and clean water, healthcare and education. Taxpayer’s dollars that are being used to tear down Iraq are concurrently absent in the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast.

The purpose of “Marchin’ to New Orleans” is to mobilize willing civilians and troops to become activists who will curb the profound injustice in current U.S. domestic and foreign policy. To this end, screenings of the film will be held in conjunction with group discussions with IVAW members, other anti-war activists and advocates of a conscientious rebuilding of the Gulf Coast.