Credit for PICA

We appreciate Clyde MacDonald’s praise for the Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine (BDN letter, June 2-3). However, the successful efforts he lauds are those of the organization PICA (Peace through Interamerican Action). While the Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine and PICA share space and have some members in common, they are two separate organizations.

It is PICA that has called attention to our government’s support for death squads in Nicaragua and El Salvador. It is PICA members who have bravely traveled to El Salvador and created a sister city relationship between Bangor and Carasque. And it is PICA that launched and continues to coordinate the Bangor Clean Clothes Campaign and the Maine Clean clothes Alliance, leading the fight against global sweatshops in our state. PICA also houses Youth Adelantando, a youth-run group of high school youth who have been inspired by Carasque, El Salvador, to initiate a community conversation about shared youth and adult community leadership.

The Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine supports and links organizations and individuals concerned with peace, justice and environmental concerns. The center sponsors the annual HOPE Festival which brings together more than 60 organizations to celebrate Earth Day and our connections to each other. The center also provides meeting space for several groups that do not have a space of their own, sponsors a monthly film series to explore connections, and organizes special events such as the Safe Food Fair and Harvest Supper, Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration, and Women’s Equality Day (in conjunction with NOW).

When there is no group in our region to address issues of common concern such as the impact of military spending on our economy, the bombing of Iraq and Kosovo, or the increasing concentration of corporate power and growing inequality, the center acts as a catalyst bringing together those who share concerns.

We are proud to share space and to work in cooperation with PICA and other groups such as Bangor Area Citizens Organized for Responsible Development (BACORD) and the Maine Global Action Network (MeGAN), but we do not want to take credit for the courageous and effective work done in our community for the past two decades by PICA.

Ilze Petersons

Program Coordinator

Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine

Bangor