WASHINGTON – Diane Wilson, on her 28th day of a hunger strike, lugs three bags slowly through the center of Lafayette Park across the street from the White House.
“Any type of walking just gets your heart beating fast, and your breathing is more like panting. Your mouth just gets really dry, and any type of exertion, especially in the sun, will just drain you,” Wilson, 58, said Monday as she sat under the shade of a large oak tree.
The city was under a heat advisory, with afternoon temperatures in the mid-90s.Wilson, of Seadrift, Texas, is an environmental activist and co-founder of CodePink, a women’s anti-war group.
The group arranged the Troops Home Fast, which began July 4. The fasters are calling for the Bush administration to pull troops out of Iraq. Every day, a group of CodePink fasters meets in the park. Some participants have done one-day fasts, others fast for as long as they can last.
While some drink juice, Wilson subsists on water. She said she’s lost about 20 pounds from her 5- foot-7 frame, but maintains she is not hungry.
“I don’t experience hunger. People seem to think it’s very painful, maybe in its last stages, but I feel all right,” Wilson said. “It’s just the weakness.”
Wilson originally planned to fast as long as her body allowed. She even has a will ready. Others planned to fast until Sept. 21, International Peace Day. Now, Wilson, and a few fellow CodePink fasters, plan to break their fast this week when they meet with Iraqi parliament members in Amman, Jordan. They leave Wednesday.
They plan to meet with five Iraqi parliament members, religious leaders and political analysts.Wilson, former U.S. diplomat Ann Wright and CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin will be among those visiting Jordan to discuss a 24-point Iraqi reconciliation plan, unveiled July 23 by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
“This is a good goal the fast accomplished, to be recognized by people all over the world and by members of the Iraqi parliament,” Wright said. “I am humbled.”
Wright, 60, is a retired U.S. Army colonel and former U.S. diplomat. She is also on her 28th day without food. She is not adhering to a water-only fast – she drinks carrot and apple juice in addition to water.
After 29 years of military service, Wright served as a U.S. diplomat for 16 years in many countries, ending in Mongolia. In 2003, she was one of three U.S. diplomats who resigned to protest the Bush administration’s invasion of Iraq. Now, she is a full-time activist and member of CodePink.
She said she is not worried about her safety when she travels to Jordan. Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon have been fighting since July 12.
Since the fast began outside the White House, several CodePink members have been arrested.
On Friday, five anti-war protesters, four of whom were involved with the CodePink fast, were arrested for demonstrating without a permit. CodePink spokeswoman Meredith Dearborn said the group lost its permit to demonstrate when CodePink members blocked an entrance to the White House during British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s visit. Park police asked them to move, and when they refused their permit was revoked. They were arrested and received citations.The group was granted new permits Monday to demonstrate on the sidewalk in front of the White House and to gather in Lafayette Park.Wilson said her arrest was worth it.
“I don’t know how or when it’s going to happen, but we’re going to be a catalyst for something, we’re going to bring the troops home,” she said.
Earlier in the week, Medea Benjamin was arrested by U.S. Capitol police for disrupting Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s speech to Congress. She was cited for disrupting Congress.
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