Biography of: Roy Bourgeois, M.M.
Founder and Co-Director of the SOA Watch
Author: Stephanie Thompson
Timeline
Leadership Style
Political Philosophy
Timeline
- 1938 Born in Lutcher Louisiana
- Graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana with a degree in Geology
- Naval officer for four years - two years at sea, one year at NATO station in Europe, and one year of shore duty in Vietnam - received the purple heart
- After military service, entered seminary of the Maryknoll Mission Order.
- 1972 Ordained a Catholic priest
- Worked with the poor of Bolivia for five years
- 1977 Was arrested and held by authorities in Bolivia in and later forced out of the country for his outspoken defense of the poor
- 1980 Became involved in El Salvador after four U.S. churchwomen were raped and killed by Salvadorian soldiers- two of the nuns were his friends
- 1983 Produced a documentary film about the nuclear arms race entitled "Gods of Metal" which received an Academy Award nomination
- Has been an outspoken critic of U.S. foreign policy in Central America for the past 15 years.
- Four years have been spent in federal prisons for nonviolent protests against the training of Latin American Soldiers at Fort Benning, Georgia
- 1990 Founded the School of the Americas Watch (SOA Watch) in Georgia and in Washington D.C. It informs congress and the media about the implications of this training on the poor of Latin America.
- 1995 Worked on documentary film about the School of the Americas called "School of the Assassins" which received and Academy Award nomination
- September 1998 Released from prison after serving six-month sentence for protest against SOA.
- December 1998 Testified in Madrid before the Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon seeking the extradition of Chile's ex-dictator General Augusto Pinochet.
Leadership Style
Throughout the development of the SOA Watch, there has been one major leadership style: Democratic. This leadership style is concerned with shared power, the leader is someone the people like and trusts, and this style works as long as there is a consensus in the group about the goals. In the SOA watch everyone in the group is aware of their goal which is to ultimately close down the School of the Americas. To accomplish their goal, they realize that they must get support from congressmen and the media. They have done by proposing a cut in funds to the SOA, proposing two bills (HR732 & S873) to the House and the Senate, which call for the closing of the SOA. They have also gathered co sponsors such as Rep. Obey of Wisconsin, Pelosi of California, Lowery of New York, etc. Father Roy also stages nonviolent demonstrations in November every year to commemorate the massacre of six Jesuit priests and their housekeeper and her daughter in El Salvador by SOA graduates. He also stages an event called Fast 2000 to lobby the House and Senate to pass the bills before them to shut the school down. The followers of the SOA obviously like and trust their leader since he has been in power for over 10 years.
Roy has characteristics of pragmatism and charisma. He is charismatic in the fact that he is very passionate about the SOA watch and their goal. For example he said in an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Early on, we learned that they could send us to prison but they couldn't silence us." Even Rep. Joseph Kennedy (D-Mass) said, "Father Roy is one of the most decent, committed individuals I've ever met. He's a solid individual with a great sense of humor, a great smile, and a sense of perspective about himself. And deep down he's a rock of integrity." An example of his pragmatism is the fact that his tactics such as sit-ins fasts, vigils, demonstrations and nonviolent protests, for being recognized have worked. They now have two bills in front of the House and Senate based on the lobbying they have done around the Capital. A non-efficient leader would not have been able to make such advancements in less than 10 years. Efficiency is another one of his pragmatic characteristics. Through all of these characteristics and leadership style he has launched a full force attack on the School of the Americas.
Political Philosophy
The type of movement the SOA Watch is associated with has a radical background. The SOA Watch is obviously dissatisfied with the existing order (School of the Americas) and their value system, the SOA Watch has initiated the reform necessary to close the school down, and they only participate in non-violent acts. For example, a fast on the steps of the Capital building in April of 2000, or putting handprints on the sign of the School of the Americas with red paint and blood, or playing the message on a boom-box of Archbishop Romero's sermon (a man assassinated by graduates of the SOA) for all of the current cadets to hear. None of these acts to get their point across have resulted in violent behavior only imprisonment. Their patience has also contributed to the radical movement. For the past 10 years they have been protesting and lobbying outside the Fort Benning gates. At first with small numbers, 13 at the first protest in 1989, but now over 12,000. Obviously patience is a virtue that the SOA Watch has.
Most of Father Roy's comments are innovational and insurgent. Roy and his followers know what has gone on in the School of the Americas, but the general public hasn't been informed. Millions and millions of taxpayers dollars go toward the funding of the SOA. "Some of the things they are taught to do and is common practice is to rape and torture women before killing them; to open the wombs of pregnant women; to take defenseless children and beat them to death or throw them alive into mass graves; to sever the limbs of victims before killing them; to disembowel and burn people alive; and to force others to observe such savagery, many being family members and friends." Bourgeois said. Obviously Americans don't know what their tax dollars are going toward, so it has been Roy's mission to inform the general public of this corruption in the government. He also said, "This school brings soldiers from countries struggling for food, housing, medicine, schools. They come down the road to Fort Benning, GA, and they learn how to be commandos, develop combat skills. People are asking ' How is this going to heal the suffering of the poor?'" Roy also said in response to spending 4 years in federal prison, "Rather than calling for their prosecution, they have called for our prosecution. They have come at us asking for the maximum sentence-and that says it all." All of these previous statements prove that there is something wrong with the current system, Roy knows it and so do the lawmakers since the SOA Watch has made it public. Even the people associated with the School of the Americas know it based on that last statement. If they didn't feel the SOA Watch as a threat they really wouldn't care about the protests. Father Roy's tactics of nonviolent activity have gotten the point across and are waiting for the change.
Works Cited
1. Bourgeois, Fr. Roy, Panetta, Linda, "School of Assassins", Yale Latin
American Review, http://www.soaw-ne.org/articles.html.
2. Whit, Richard, "Pariah or protector?", The Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
November 14, 1999.
3. Other information found in a packet from Maryknoll Magazine faxed to
me. They gave me articles but not the magazines they came from.
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