Anthropologists for Justice and Peace (AJP) fully supports and reaffirms the open letter by 16 conscientious critics at the University of Regina, against the "Project Hero" scholarships:
AJP supports professors who have taken a principled stance against the "Project Hero" scholarship program and the valorization of the deeply flawed "War on Terror" that it represents, and in particular Canada's intervention in Afghanistan which has been consistently rejected by the majority of the population. "Project Hero" does nothing to address the fact that post-secondary education has become evermore inaccessible to those of low or moderate incomes - precisely the people who are recruited into the armed forces as a path to economic security and career success. Furthermore, as universities are increasingly enlisted as research and development and policy arms of war profiteers, "Project Hero" further advances this colonization of what ought to be open, critical, and non-militarized public spaces. Rather than glorifying war and providing consolation prizes to the children of Canadians killed in the unjustifiable war in Afghanistan, AJP maintains that education is a public good that ought to be accessible to all and directed toward addressing the social injustice that is so often both the cause and outcome of violent conflict.
We invite all those who read this statement to go to our ACTIONS page and send emails to the appropriate authorities.
