Last Friday marked the seven-year anniversary of the United States’ invasion of Iraq, but the landmark day seemed to be largely overlooked by many Boston residents and Boston University students alike.
In Washington D.C., thousands of demonstrators marched on the White House in protest of U.S. military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many lay down on the sidewalk in front of the White House, prompting the police to arrest eight individuals, according to reports.
And where a similarly raucous protest took place seven years ago at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Systems Center, this year a small group of 20 protestors gathered for a quieter demonstration.
The anniversary also passed fairly quietly on campus.
Reserve Officers Training Corps Enrollment and Scholarship Officer Major Will Laase said BU’s Army ROTC did not commemorate the occasion.
“Most of us have been there [in Iraq]. We don’t need to celebrate openly,” he said. “We do things for memorial days, but we didn’t do anything for this.”
The BU ROTC Tri-Service Military Ball took place Saturday at the Park Plaza hotel. While the annual formal commemorates prisoners of war and those killed or missing in action, it did not specifically recognize the anniversary this year.
Many students said they were not even aware that Friday marked the seventh anniversary of the invasion and had no comment on the matter.
College of Arts and Sciences sophomore John White said the war has taken a back seat in people’s minds after its lengthy duration.
“We’re not ignorant,” he said. “It’s just that [the war] has been going on for so long that it’s become a normal thing.”
Nate Thomson, a College of Arts and Sciences sophomore, also said the war has become a part of daily life.
“I have friends who are doing their third tour,” he said. “We’ve all just adjusted to it.”
The U.S. Central Command, which oversees “security interests” overseas, has confirmed 5,387 casualties in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, the government’s official names for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Of these, 16 in Iraq and 79 in Afghanistan have occurred in 2010.
Some BU students reflected on this more tragic reality of the invasion’s anniversary.
College of Communication senior Nick Campos and CAS sophomore Borah Coburn said they did not commemorate the anniversary as they were busy rehearsing a production of Titus Andronicus.
However, they said the Shakespearean play’s focus on war fit well with the occasion.
“We’re in a play about warfare, and it’s momentous that it coincides with the seven-year anniversary. The play is a real reminder of the capacity we have to commit atrocities,” Campos said. “But obviously, it pales in comparison to what happens in real life.”
“War is war, and that is unfortunate,” Coburn added.
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