Arlington woman supports war protester

By Anna M. Tinsley
Star-Telegram Staff Writer (Texas)

Desiree Fairooz, an Arlington librarian, wants the world to hear Cindy Sheehan's plea for President Bush to immediately bring home U.S. soldiers from Iraq.

Fairooz was among about 30 members of the anti-war group Code Pink who tried to amplify Sheehan's message in Crawford on Thursday by labeling crosses with the names of Texas soldiers killed in combat in Iraq.

Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in Iraq last year, has said she will protest in Crawford all month while Bush is there unless he meets with her. Fairooz, 49, said she has been there since Saturday and doesn't know when she'll be ready to go home.

"It seems that our president does not understand the magnitude of tragedy and devastation that we have caused in Iraq," Fairooz said in a telephone interview Thursday. "We want to demand answers and have him fess up for the crimes against humanity that his administration has caused."

Code Pink describes itself as a grassroots peace and social-justice movement. The group says its name is a play on the Bush administration's color-coded terrorism alert system. Members say the color-coded alerts "are based on fear," while their "Code Pink alert is based on compassion and is a feisty call for women and men to wage peace."

Fairooz and others have done everything from organizing donated food, water and supplies to answering the telephone at their Peace House.

Fairooz said she hopes Metroplex residents will travel to Crawford to support Sheehan.

"Come visit the crosses," she said. "It's for the fallen children of Texas."

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Anna M. Tinsley, (817) 390-7610 at
insley@star-telegram.com

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