From Panama to Ferguson: Countering the devaluation of black lives
The 25th anniversary of the US invasion of Panama is a reminder that US state violence is not confined to its borders.
26 Dec 2014 10:04 GMT
Janvieve Williams Comrie
Janvieve Williams Comrie is the executive director of the Latin American and Caribbean Community Centre.
"I was 11 years old when the invasion happened. It did not matter that there were Christmas lights blinking all over the country, or that in many houses the sun-kissed clothing lines filled the air with the fragrant aroma of lavender. What mattered is that for many, something horrible was going to come, despite not being sure what that would be. It could be sensed in the conversations, the empty sidewalks void of young people hanging out, or the lack of Christmas chaos in a tropical country. But no one would know the intensity of the sounds. Sounds many described as the end of the world. Sounds of the explosions, machine guns, hummer tanks, and loud blood curdling screams that would begin and then stop. And after a short, yet long silence, destruction continued. That's when I realised that the devil that we feared all those years, would have done less damage to my soul, my country and my land." Marta L Sanchez, Afropanamanian artist.
Twenty five years ago on December 20, 1989, El Chorrillo, an Afro-Panamanian neighbourhood in the centre of Panama city was the scene of a criminal assault by the military forces of the United States government.
A vigorous assault from the most powerful military body on the planet was unleashed by President George H W Bush to execute an arrest warrant issued by a US court on General Manuel Antonio Noriega, the de facto head of the sovereign state of Panama, and up until that time an obedient servant of US interests in the region.
Significant elements of the outgunned Panamanian defence forces had barracks in the El Chorrillo community and as a consequence it was turned into a free fire zone by the invading forces, despite the fact that the invaders knew that thousands of civilians also lived in the densely populated community.
More:
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/12/from-panama-ferguson-counteri-20141223105256345587.html
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