His son killed in Iraq, dad takes on recruitment of Hispanics

0 Comments | AFP, November, 2007

ESCONDIDO, United States (AFP) — Over his objections, his son joined the army and died in Iraq in 2003. Now Fernando Suarez is spearheading a crusade to stop the recruitment of young, financially vulnerable Hispanics into the US military.

"We have to stop military recruiters from harassing these boys at school, and if any of them want to sign up, they should do so out of their own free will, not because of economic and psychological pressures or even lies," Suarez told AFP.

Hailing from Tijuana, Mexico, 65 kilometers (40 miles) south of here, Suarez got together with school teachers, student unions and veterans groups to create the Aztec Warrior Project to raise awareness among young Hispanic and to take on the Pentagon.

The anti-recruitment activists are...