The School of the Americas is a combat training school for Latin American soldiers in Fort Benning, Georgia. Many graduates of the SOA return to their home countries and commit crimes against their own people, such as murder and rape. Also in Georgia is the Stewart Detention Center, the largest immigration detention center in the United States. Due to the private prison’s location, detainees are isolated and subjected to horrible conditions, such as abuse and a lack of many basic sanitation services.

One weekend in November, a group of Nerinx students traveled to Georgia to protest and stand in solidarity with victims of these systems. They joined people from all over the world of many different ages and backgrounds, raising their voices to shut down Stewart and close the SOA. Among them was Ari Alvarez.

Alvarez has had experience visiting detention centers. However, she said, “the biggest thing I learned was how little we actually know.” She spoke of the intentional placements of detention centers in outlying areas, where they are purposely difficult  to get to, as it isolates those detained. She also mentioned the critical step of moving the protest to the border next year, so protesters will be able to see the militarization of border patrol agents on both sides. She said, “Processing that, the only word I have to describe, and all that goes on within the SOA and detention centers across the country, is disgusting. It disgusts me that as fellow human beings we treat each other this way, intentionally hurt each other, intentionally divide each other, and, through all that, lose our sense of unity and harmony. I just still cannot believe we’ve gone this far.”

When asked what stuck with her most from the weekend, she eloquently replied, “What has stayed with me the most from the weekend has been the diversity of protesters, as well as the balance between mourning and celebration. I loved the fact that there were babies being pushed in strollers, older people in walkers, families with little children, college students, high school students, and everything in between. I think that speaks a lot to what a beautiful protest it is–it’s a protest of harmony, collaboration, empathy, education, and dreaming.”

She concluded by saying, “It’s essential to stay informed and connected … I think the actions lie in continuing to ask questions, reaching out to the stranger next to you, and never forgetting that the life you’re living at this very moment is not the life that everyone else has.” Following this advice is vital for everyone at Nerinx and throughout the world in order to “live that world that we’ve envisioned.” This world is a world without the School of the Americas and Stewart Detention Center.