Bring the Troops Home Now!!!

RAW Points of Unity

RAW is a grassroots group committed to addressing and opposing war, the root causes of war, violence, and oppression through action and education.

RAW has these goals:
• Immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces in Iraq and Afghanistan including Private Military Contractors;
  
  
• Reparations for the destruction and corporate pillaging of Iraq and Afghanistan so that Iraqi and Afghani people can control their own lives and future;
  
  
• Full benefits, adequate healthcare (including mental health), and other supports for all active duty and returning servicemen and women.
  
  
• Restoration of war-torn Bill of Rights, civil liberties, international law, and the rights of prisoners, and an end to the racist scapegoating of Arabs and Muslims.
  
  

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RAW Statements:

• Joint Press Release: Reaction to the Election of Democrat Barak Obama
• RAW Statement on Afghanistan

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The why and how of RAW

Rochester Against War was formed out of the first ever "Rochester Antiwar Conference" in February 2005 and a subsequent city-wide march on March 19th, 2005. Over 50 people came to Java's Coffee House on Gibbs St. the day after the city-wide demo (of around 250+ people). From this meeting, everyone wanted to continue organizing and after a couple meetings, Rochester Against War (RAW) was born.

We feel, our logo, the "Peace Fist", embodies our strategy for ending this war.
On one hand, peace. On the other hand, resistance.

We want the fighting to stop, the violence to end, and ultimately, an end to war and conquest. We are not specifically pacifists, although we welcome pacifists to participate and many times, we use non-violent direct action to achieve certain goals. We stand against the attacking of innocent civilians, but we do not do so in a moral vacuum. We see many different avenues and tactics as useful in ending this war and when confronted with the overwhelming violence of the US government, we feel, resistance that aims to end occupation, domination and oppression is completely justified.

From the very beginning, Rochester Against War has been a loosely defined organization of activists, various social justice groups, and concerned individuals. Simply show up to a RAW meeting and you are a member. We feel, this has allowed us to be as inclusive as possible and allowed people who want to focus on many issues, to come to a RAW meeting and organize specifically against the war.

We put special effort to help organize among racial and ethnic minorities,students, Iraq Vets and Military Families. RAW has taken a huge step forward thanks to the Antiwar Storefront (see link in nav bar), giving us a "home" to have regular saturday meetings and a place to meet and engage a whole new layer of people who want to make some change!

A more detailed history is on the way, as well as information on our leadership structure, and past successes. If you want anymore information, don't hesitate to contact us: contact@rochesterAgainstWar.org