Candlelight vigil turns Hayden Lawn into graveyard : AZ IMC

Although Tempe was practically buzzing with pre-debate excitement Tuesday night, one corner of campus was quiet and solemn. More than a thousand white crosses, five hundred stuffed animals and thousands of glass beads next to a pile of children’s clothes and toys covered Hayden Lawn to commemorate the many thousands who have died during the United States’ invasion of Iraq.

After Tuesday night’s panel discussion, “Out of Iraq,” people were encouraged to attend a candlelight vigil at the memorial. The Arizona Alliance for Peaceful Justice and Tempe Friends Meeting sponsored the event, creating and placing the 1,120 crosses in the courtyard.

Everything there was symbolic. The crosses all had a small inter-faith insignia to represent the world’s major religions. Among the crosses were 500 stuffed animals, each representing an American child who had lost a mother or father in the war. At one end, a red cloth was laid out with thousands of glass beads, each representing an Iraqi civilian death, which is estimated to be 15,149 (although some counts estimate many more). The clothes and toys represented the Iraqi children who lost their lives or lives of their parents.

A pile of several white binders contained the names, pictures and info of nearly all the American soldiers who had died so far, while other binders attempted to document the names and stories of the thousands of Iraqis who have died. And next to that was a large poster with small photos of all the dead American soldiers called “The Roster of the Dead.”

People walked around the display in near silence, taking in the visual impact of the field of crosses and row of beads. Some walked out into the grass, picking up a stuffed tiger or bear and kissing it, then placing it back at the foot of a cross. A girl ran her hands through the glass beads then sat back with a look of disbelief.

Some people looked though the notebooks, perhaps the “J” section, to find a friend or relative.

Although the crosses were bright white and the glass beads sparkled in the candlelight, one could barely push out the images of the blown up bodies and blood-soaked streets that these mere trinkets represented. It reminded me of an exhibit I saw a couple winters ago in a Chicago art museum where the artist made a huge rolodex with steel plates and inscribed something like two million Vietnamese names onto them to document the slaughter during that atrocious war.

Only a few hundred yards away was Gammage Auditorium where, in less than 24 hours, two white men would be tripping over each other to show off their desire to keep this war going. The one who started it, who’s Defense Secretary repeatedly says that the body counts of Iraqis are insignificant and not important, will continue to defend his decision and push for continued occupation. His opponent, our “hope” for this election, will say nearly the same, backing his decision to authorize the war without question.

The next day, before the debates, a thousand people would be gathered in the same place yelling and chanting and arguing and accusing. But when that’s over, and Bush posters are torn up and Kerry supporters run out of buttons, room will need to be made for a few more crosses, a couple more teddy bears and at least a handful of glass beads.

A teddy bear sits in front of a cross on Hayden Lawn.

A woman lights and hands out candles

These signs were all over ASU's campus and several near the beads and clothes

Binders containing names of both Iraqis and Americans who have died since the U.S.'s March, 2003 invasion.

1,120 crosses were placed in Hayden Lawn - each symbolizing an American casualty. The 500 stuffed animals represented an American child who has lost a parent in Iraq.

Each bead represents an Iraqi civilian who had died. Dolls and photos were mixed in to remind us of the many children who've been needlessly killed.