On 21 November 2006, SPARK hosted a workshop for members of the international KAWAN delegation, and conducted an asked Imani Henry, of the International Action Center (New York) about his impressions of the delegation's trip.

We just received an e-mail with his answers.

What organization(s) / institution(s) / group(s) do you work with?

Imani Henry, Staff Organizer, The International Action Center

Since 1993, I have been a Staff Organizer at the International Action Center (IAC), where I worked on the national organizing of communities of color and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement toward broader social justice and anti-war campaigns.

My anti-war activism has ranged from opposing US-backed military inventions in Afghanistan, Colombia, The DPRK, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Somalia, Venezuela and Yugoslavia to fighting to end the economic blockade of Cuba.   Over the last 3 years, I have worked on the logistical support of NYC and national campaigns and demonstrations, in solidarity with the Korean anti-imperialist movements. I have worked nationally within the anti-police brutality and anti-death penalty movements as well as fighting the freedom of all political prisoners incarcerated by the US government. I also have been involved in the coordination of campaigns in support the Million Workers March; immigrant rights demonstrations and demanding justice for the survivors of the hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

What is (are) its (their) main area(s) of activity?

We are a national anti-war and social justice grassroots organization. www.iacenter.org

What was the origin of your participation in the trip?

Nodutdol for Korean Community Development   (NDD) invited us on the delegation. NDD is part of KAWAN (Koreans Against War and Neoliberalism) organized the solidarity mission.

How did you come to hear about it and participate ?

We worked for many years in solidarity with the peoples of Korean Peninsula.

The International Action Center is committed to doing that all is possible to demonstrate our solidarity with the anti-war and anti-FTA movements of South Korea.   We were very happy to asked to participate on the delegation.

What did you know about the situation in South Korea before the trip?

The IAC has worked on several campaigns in solidarity with the Korea Truth Commission over the years.  I first learned about the situation with the Korean farmers of Pyongtaek in 2004 & became active around the Kor-US FTA during the Washington DC mobilizations.

What in particular did you want / expect to learn about / accomplish during the trip?

 I was very excited about the opportunity to travel to Pyongtaek and meet with the framers, see the incredible art work and learn more about what life is like there in the face of the police repression.  It was also an honor to send a solidarity message to the former political prisoner and leader of Pyongtaek, Kim Ji-tae.  I also have always wanted to participate in a mass demonstration in South Korea.  The marches and rallies on November 22nd were incredibly inspiring.

What groups / activities in particular did you find interesting / useful during the trip?

I enjoyed the meetings with various groups, including KoA, SPARK, The Pyongtaek Committee, KFTU, PSSP as well as meetings with farmers, labor, students, and anti-FTA activists who we came in contact during the 5 days on the delegation.  Both formal meetings as well as the social gatherings after meeting was invaluable to me in learning about not only the struggle ongoing in Korea but how I as an activist in the US could show more solidarity.

 What were your main impressions from the trip?

The trip demonstrated to me the need for more international solidarity in support to the resistance at Pyongtaek and to do all that is possible to stop the pending threat of displacement of the families that are left.  I had seen footage of  the brutality of May 6th and after meeting the actual people involved in that struggle, it has reinforced my commitment of solidarity.  

I also got to see first hand the level of organization, militancy and resolved of the trade union movement in South Korea.  I was again inspired by their courage in the face of such police repression.  

Since I have been back in the US I have also written on the 5th round talks of the KOR-US FTA and mobilization at Big Sky, Montana to fight it.  We at the IAC are gearing up for 2007 even more determined to show our solidarity in every way possible to defeat this potentially devastating economic threat being imposed by the US government on the masses of South Korea.

 What messages / information / knowledge did you bring to the activists in South Korea?

In the face continued police brutality, raids against immigrant communities, and growing unemployment in the US, we as anti-war activists in the US are fighting the US government every single day.  And that standing in solidarity with peoples of Korean Peninsula is part and parcel of our struggle.  US Troops OUT of KOREA!

(the back low - left)