By Brady Torres
October 5, 2016 a year ago, I invited my cousin Scott Nicholson to dinner at his favorite Mexican restaurant there in Nogales, Mexico in Sonora Mexico on the Mexican side of the border – Don Fito Munroy’s restaurant. Thank you Community for Justice and Peace in the Americas (CAJA) Missoula Montana friends for putting together this way of honoring my dear departed cousin Scott. I still reel in shock from hearing his sister answer my last phone call to his cell phone with the words: “He took his own life a few weeks ago.” And so, even though the grief and shock has weighed me down making my movements slow…. this year – in honor of all who struggle, I will again travel to Arizona and be with the School of the Americas Watch (SOA) Convergence 2017 participants. I will keep trying to call attention to all those there urging justice and peace for the people living along that border. This time I hope to try and set up some kind of an activity: perhaps a scholarship in Scott Nicholson’s name: – for Deferred Action Child Arrival (DACA) students; OR start building the Scott Nicholson Peace and Justice Center somewhere in Latin America….My husband Antonio Salvador Torres Cumbicus and I have a small lot on the Pacific Ocean coast where the whales swim to every year from Alaska. Witnessing for peace in conflict areas of Latin America truly takes a toll. I myself have had to take frequent breaks from news of the violent conflicts there and refresh my soul. Hopefully I will be able to meet some of you there in Ambos Nogales November 10, 11 or 12 at the Hotel Americana in Nogales, Arizona on the U.S. side of the border. I will be carrying the banner which I helped sew for Sacramento Action Latin America (SALA). Like CAJA, we have been having pot-luck meetings monthly since 1978 here in Sacramento, CA. And though the attendance can be sparse (afterall not many would be willing/able to hear about all the killing that goes on in some of those highly conflicted areas without some hope of improvement) – I will keep trying to pay attention to the small signs of hope….the Home of Peace and Hope (HEPAC) the name of the small community center that Scott devoted himself to until his tragic illness overtook him. In Peace and Solidarity….Brady María Condy-Torres 916 451 4366 (our home phone number in Sacramento California)
