by Roxana Hernández
Some 300 Peace Corps alumni and supporters gathered at the Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C, June 14 to encourage Congress and the Obama Administration to expand the program The two-hour rally was part of a campaign organized by MorePeaceCorps.org, a National Peace Corps Association initiative.
Currently, with 7,232 volunteers, the Corps is active in 74 countries, including a dozen in Latin America. During his campaign for the White House, Presidential candidate Barack Obama promised to double the number of volunteers and increase its funding. Volunteers sign for two-year stints.
The Corps was created in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy.
“For 2009 the funding is $340 million’” said spokesperson Erica Burman, “The purpose of the rally was to call on President Obama and Congress to increase funding to $450 million.”
Former Peace Corps volunteer, journalist/ author Ron Arias of Hermosa Beach’ Calif., told Weekly Report, “For young Latinos, joining is a way to reconnect to your roots and understand the variety of Latin America.”
In 1963, at age 21, he served in Sicuani, a Peruvian town several hours south of Cuzco.
“Reading books is one way to get an education, but the foundation comes from helping others. It is an experience you don’t get in a classroom,” said Arias, who is first generation Mexican American.
Persons of color represent 15 percent of the Corps’ volunteer force. Hispanic involvement has increased dramatically in recent years—from 223 in 2005 to 373 last year.
Only Asian Americans, at 380’ outnumber them among persons of color. Read about Arias’ Peace Corps experience on www.HispanicLink.org.
Judge rules Padilla can sue
A California judge June 12 ruled a man convicted OR terrorcharges can sue a former government lawyer for drafting the legal grounding for his alleged torture.
Jose Padilla, 38, is serving a 17-year sentence on terror charges. He claims he was tortured while being held for almost four years as a suspected terrorist.
U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White ruled that Padilla, also known as the “Taliban Boricua,” could prove that former senior Justice Department official John Yoo “set in motion a series of events that resulted in the deprivation of Padilla’s constitutional rights… Like any other government official, government lawyers are responsible for the foreseeable consequences of their conduct.”
Yoo authored memos on interrogation, detention and presidential powers from 2001 to 2003. He is currently a professor at the University of California law school. Recently released Yoo memos stated the military could use “any means necessary” to hold terror suspects in custody. Another said treatment of so-called enemy combatants constituted torture “only if it caused pain equivalent to organ failure or death.”
White rejected the Justice Department’s argument that courts are barred from examining administration decisions during wartime and doing so would harm national security.
Padilla, born in Chicago to Puerto Rican parents, was arrested in 2002 and accused of conspiring with al-Qaida to detonate a radioactive “dirty bomb.” He was held at a military prison in South Carolina for nearly four years and classified as “an enemy combatant. “
His lawsuit claims, in addition to exposure to temperature extremes, painful positions and other tortures, he was threatened with harm to himself and his family.
Yoo personally approved Padilla’s prison time and treatment. Padilla nosotros was charged in an unrelated conspiracy of sending money and suppOes to extremist groups.
He is appealing his 2007 conviction. Hispanic Link.
