Implications of attacks discussed at teach-in

By Rachel Makabi
Daily Bruin Reporter

About 70 students and community members heard from a panel of
speakers about the impact of the U.S. attacks on Afghanistan at a
teach-in Wednesday in the Ackerman Grand Ballroom.

Members of the organizing group Student Coalition Against the
War, which was created in response to U.S. policy regarding the
Sept. 11 attacks, said they plan on holding more teach-ins and
information panels as the war continues.

“We want students to realize that this war will affect
their lives,” said SCAW member Behzad Raghian, a fourth-year
political science student. “People should know about what is
happening in order to do something about it.”

Helen Sklar, a speaker from the National Lawyers Guild, said one
of her clients in a different country was interrogated by the FBI
when she was not present. After calling the FBI to confront them,
they didn’t raise the issue anymore, she said.

“It is a fishing game ““ it is not about the person
being investigated,” Sklar said. “People are being
interrogated even where is nothing to name that would produce
concrete information.”

Sonali Kolhatkar, vice president of the Afghan Women’s
Mission, said innocent people, especially in Afghanistan, are
adversely affected by the war.

“There have been a lot of reports about so-called smart
bombs acting really dumb and hitting non-military places,”
Kolhatkar said.

“But a greater threat is the fear of mass starvation,
probably totalling in the thousands, of Afghan civilians who will
not be able to make it through the winter because most humanitarian
aid agencies have left,” she continued.

Kolhatkar said the United States has refused to suspend bombings
““ even to let in food ““ and that food the Afghans
receive from the food drops mainly go to armed men, not to women
and children.

In a discussion following the teach-in, UCLA alumna Azita Zendel
said the war is necessary for removing the Taliban, the ruling
party in Afghanistan, from power.

But third-year political science student Alireza Alivandivafa
said the attacks will not stop terrorism.

“If we want to solve the problem, we need to get to the
root of the problem,” Alivandivafa said. “A war
won’t do that.”