By Khalida Sarwari
Veterans of the Iraq war will speak out Wednesday about the war crimes they have witnessed in a University of California at Berkeley hosted forum titled “Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan.”
The Iraq Veterans Against the War, an organization that was founded in 2004 for those who have served in the military since Sept. 11, 2001, gives veterans a voice to share their personal experiences and political depictions of the war, according to Stephen Funk, president of the Bay Area chapter of the organization and a former marine.
“It’s not going to be easy to hear what we have to say. It’s not going to be easy for us to tell it,” Funk said.” But we believe that the only way this war is going to end is if the American people truly understand what we have done in their name.”
Among the topics the soldiers will address are abuse, hazing, health care and religious discrimination.
The event will take place at 6 p.m. at the Goldman School of Public Policy on the UC Berkeley campus.