Documentary claims truth on Iraq War

By Kate Butterworth
STAFF WRITER

Monday, March 24, Students for Peace and Justice hosted an open viewing of the documentary Ground Truth: Human Cost of War also titled “The Ground Truth — After the killing ends.”

The documentary made by filmmaker Patricia Foulkrod premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January of this year. The documentary shows the process that young recruits go through from basic training, to having their head shaved, to their graduation.

Included in the short documentary are interviews from veterans of the Iraq War. In the interviews, they discuss the personal ramifications their tour of duty had on themselves, their family and friends. All the veterans explain different testimonies, but one theme is common among all of them; how society expects them to integrate back into regular life almost as soon as they land in the United States.

Veterans said this is an unrealistic perspective that most of society maintains and sometimes even their families maintain. Many soldiers return from Iraq with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), varying levels of depression, other psychological disorders and lastly physical injuries, many of which are permanent disabilities.

The stress put on returned soldiers and their families is immense. Right now, there is insufficient help and support from the government according to Paul Rieckhoff, a soldier in the U.S. Army Reserves. Rieckhoff left his job on Wall Street for Iraq. He returned nearly a year later to find that the government operated Veterans Affairs hospitals and management were unaccommodating in some cases.

Promptly motivated by this, Rieckhoff created IAVA (Iran and Afghanistan Veterans of America), an organization that works with both deployed soldiers in the Middle East and veterans at home to find better accommodation for specific physical or mental health needs.

“Students for Peace and Justice” state that their mission is to “promote non-violent conflict resolution, as well as local and global social justice through education, action, collaboration and discussion while recognizing diversity.”

To learn further information about Students for Peace and Justice, visit their Facebook group in The College at Brockport network. Meetings are held Fridays at 3:00 p.m. in room 185 of the Union.

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Documentary claims truth on Iraq War