A rally for peace demonstrates American character and ideals

Many newspapers wrongfully chose to ignore an event held on Saturday, April 20th, that should have graced their covers. Over 50,000 (possibly as many as 70,000) protesters representing causes from Palestinian rights to anti-globalization showed up at the Washington Monument, at the Sylban Theatre, and at the National Mall to join together in what can only be described as a beautiful day of solidarity and mutual support for peace and justice throughout the world.

Three busses of Princeton residents, University graduate students and a handful of undergraduates arrived on the scene around noon to express their support for the people suffering under Israeli occupation in Palestine and reclaim our civil liberties taken away by the Patriot Act.

The mainstream media, right wingers, Zionists, big business, and other critics may say what they will about the new peace movement in America, but I was there, participating, and I can say with absolute faith that we are not an anti-semitic group and we are certainly not small in number.

Groups ranged from the "Asians for a Free Palestine" — a group of teenagers skillfully playing in a drum circle as demonstrators danced around the circle and young Arab-Americans danced gleefully within — to the "Rockin' Grannies" — a group of elderly women supporting global peace. The Socialist and Green parties were there in full form, eagerly distributing information as a group of Latino youth performed a puppet show condemning the School of the Americas. Of course, hundreds of mosques and Arab organizations sent protesters, as did universities and communities from across the entire country. Perhaps one of the most inspiring groups was an assembly of Hasidic Jews who joined us in demanding a more just Israeli state that respects the rights of a free Palestine.

Princeton students mainly stayed together, marching from an anti-war rally held at the Washington monument and converging with the ANSWER and other marches through D.C. as a light rain fell on our shoulders. Princeton students were the proud initiators of a majority of the chants in our area of the crowd, including "CNN and ABC, I don't believe what you tell me. You serve the rich elite, I want news that is complete," and "The people, united, can never be defeated. El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido!"

Together, all of these groups marched in unity, peacefully, demanding a new kind of foreign policy in which America does not financially support tyrants like Ariel Sharon, in which we stop bombing peasant farmers in Colombia, in which we do not round up and arrest immigrants and refuse them fair trials, in which we do not murder innocent civilians of Middle Eastern and South Asian countries because they produced some extremists, and most importanty, in which peace, human rights, and global justice take precedence over the the rich and powerful.

Saturday's rally proved that people of all races can embrace each other as fellow human beings and work together. We showed the world that Americans are not blind to the plights of people suffering in other nations and that we want to do whatever we possibly can to help. Most importantly, though, we showed our politicians that the people of America are willing to rise up and express dissent — that we are not dumb masses willing to submit to a corrupt government. To quote liberal icon Ralph Nader, '55, "This is what democracy looks like." Natalya Efros is from Plano, Tex. She can be reached at eefros@princeton.edu.