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September/October 2006 Living Now
Holding an Empty Plate to Bring Troops Home Fast

by Vicky Thompson

Mahatma Gandhi once said that a small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history. Nearly 5,000 Americans in 35 cities nationwide are determined to leave their plates empty, fasting until the U.S. brings troops home from Iraq.

CodePink, a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement, began the Troops Home Fast on July 4. Led by co-founder Diane Wilson, CodePink supports efforts to end the war in Iraq and redirect U.S. resources into healthcare, education and other life-affirming activities.

“Fasting is transformative, both of the individual and the larger society. Not eating quiets down your bodily functions and lets you go deep into yourself, and find oneness with the world,” says Wilson, a fourth-generation shrimper from Texas and mother of five, known for her struggles to stop chemical companies from dumping devastating toxins in the Gulf Coast.

Wilson’s quest has inspired more than 350 fasters in the Northwest, including Cindi Fisher, a 55-year-old activist and caregiver from Vancouver, Wash.

“I was very moved by the courage of this woman,” says Fisher, who has continued fasting since participating in CodePink’s July 4 national kick-off fast at the White House.

Fisher’s solidarity with CodePink is always visible—from her neck hangs an empty paper plate, symbolizing her hunger strike as well as the increasing problem of poverty among American children. She also carries a placard promoting CodePink’s fasting website at troopshomefast.org.

Since July 29, Fisher and members of the Vancouver for Peace Organization have attended the Saturday Market in Vancouver, encouraging others to join the fast.

Fisher found that when she uses the power of her voice, people notice her cause. Standing at the entrance of the market with an empty plate, Fisher sings the National Fasting Anthem (see sidebar). People who once walked by without a glance now stop and listen, sharing their own desires to bring the troops home safe.

“When I said I was just for peace, people felt like they were talking with the enemy,” she says. “Now people feel solidarity with me and the hunger strike,” opening new doors to dialogue.

Fisher hopes that others will adopt the symbolic empty plate, hanging one on a front door in support of bringing home the troops fast.

Fisher’s goal is to find 100 adults and 25 children to join her in a special one-day fast on Sept. 23. Fasting can be done using water or fruit and vegetable juices, and children may fast from junk food, television or video games.

CodePink is building momentum toward Sept. 21, which is the International Day of Peace when the fasting campaign will step up its efforts to gain greater visibility.

To join Cindi Fisher in a special one-day fast, email Villageofthechange@yahoo.com. To join CodePink’s Troops Home Fast, visit www.troopshomefast.org.

National Fasting Anthem

Ask me why I’m fasting,
Ask me why I care.
Ask yourself why don’t you,
How long till you get here?

You know war is murder,
We know war is wrong.
Come on you’ve got the spirit,
You’ve had it all along.

There’s power in hunger,
And hunger in power.
We’re getting stronger,
Stronger by the hour.

Ask me why I'm starving,
Why I choose to shrink.
With my sisters and my brothers,
In this raging sea of pink.

Get in touch with Gandhi,
Can you imagine peace?
Watch us bring this war machine,
Right down to its knees.

-- Jesse Dyen, an activist with TroopsHomeFast.org