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Vince Emanuele is a former US Marine who served two tours of duty in Iraq but who refused to do a third.
He is now the organiser for the Michigan chapter of Veterans for Peace, serves on the national Board of Directors of Iraq Veterans against the War and broadcasts the Veterans Unplugged program from Radio WIMS, Michigan.
Vince will be undertaking a four city (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Rockhampton) public speaking tour of Australia, 2-18 July. He will be speaking out about the real and ongoing human cost of war and militarism and will be in Rockhampton when the biennial US-led Talisman Sabre military exercises begin at Shoalwater Bay on 15 July.
Vince Emanuele connects the plight of returning veterans to imperialism and the wealth gouging of the corporate complex of militaries, security agencies and munition makers.
He will highlight the long tradition of returned soldiers resisting wars.
Vince is one of the protagonists in the powerful Olivier Morel documentary film, On the Bridge, which reflects on PTSD as an enduring cost of war.
Like so many other veterans of war, Vince suffers Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. But he doesn't suffer alone; rather he is active in organising support and advocacy for fellow suffering veterans and their carers.
"Prevention is always better than cure," Mr Emanuele says. "But there is no cure for PTSD; only symptom management and prevention ... as in no more wars."
His tour is being hosted and co-ordinated by Stand Fast,Ê the Australian group of anti war veterans, with the assistance of WikiLeaks Australian Citizens Alliance, Sydney Stop the War Coalition, the Marrickville Peace Group, Just Peace Queensland, the Independent and Peaceful Australia Network and the Rockhampton Peace Convergence 2013.
His visit will be of interest to Australian war veterans, PTSD sufferers and their carers and anyone wanting to discuss the real impact of war and consider whether it is good for anything except the profits of the 1%.
Vince's story has special relevance in Australia at this time when the major political parties are both supporting further deepening the Australia-US military alliance; the Gillard Labor government, without any debate in the Parliament or consultation with the people of Australia, having invited the US to station more and more US Marines in Darwin.
In Melbourne, Vince will be addressing a public meeting at the Melbourne Trades Hall from 6 pm 4 July.
In Sydney, he will addressing public meeting Gumbramorra Hall at the Addison Rd Community Centre 142 Addison Road from 6.30 pm Wednesday 10 July
In Brisbane he will be speaking on the theme Preparing for Peace: Australian lessons from the Iraq War with Alison Broinowski of the Iraq War Inquiry Group, at a public meeting chaired by Ron Monagahn, the General Secretary of the queensland Council of Unions, at the Queensland Trades Hall, 6.30 pm 12 July.
He will also be available for Q&A at a screening of On the Bridge at the Windsor Bowling Club, 69 Blackmore St, Windsor, from 2.30 pm Saturday 13 July
In Rockhampton Vince will be appearing:
Further information
Vince as a veteran advocate
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