Dear friends,
Peter Camejo has lymphoma cancer for a second time. He successfully fought it back once and he is aggressively pursuing available medical treatments, chemo and even stem cells. These treatments could give him one or more extra years. His attitude is to go forward with his life as if the treatments will be successful. While he is undergoing treatment he is continuing with his work at his brokerage firm, which is undergoing an expansion. He is also working very hard on his memoirs to share his experiences, both personal and activist related.
Several of us would like to organize an event where we would honor Peter for his lifelong activism and learn about his upcoming book. He has been an inspiration to so many people.
I hope you can help us get the contact information of friends and comrades, whose lives Peter has touched over his years of activism, and who are now spread far and wide. We have set up a blog where people can read updates and write in
http://petercamejoupdates.blogspot.com/
Peter is upbeat and wants everyone to know that he appreciated all those who contacted him during his first battle with cancer and knows people care. Because Peter doesn't have the energy to respond to everyone, Alex and I have taken on the role of coordinating. He wants to focus on getting his book done because of the uncertainty of his conquering the cancer this second time, so he would prefer people not contact him directly, using instead the blog to post comments, or contacting us.
Claudette
Claudette Bégin
Alex Chis
P.O. Box 2944
Fremont, CA 94536
510-489-8554
achis@igc.org
Peter Camejo
Running for Governor of California in 2006
Pakistan American Democratic Forum Award
Subscribe To Peter Camejo Updates
Posts
Comments
53 comments:
I am so sorry to hear this. I worked for Peter at Progressive Asset Management and later for a non-profit organization that Peter helped found (Council for Responsible Public Investment). Peter has always been supportive of my own activism and social change projects.
Peter is so full of life, ideas and energy that it's hard to believe that anything could slow him down.
I wish you the best, Peter.
- Kurt Biddle, SF Bay Area
Dear Friends,
Peter is a fighter and if anyone can beat this thing again, it's him. While I've only known Peter since 2003, I consider him one of my closest comrades, in the best sense of the word. We've spent hours and hours talking about history and organization and revolution and, while we don't always agree, his unique ability to combine theory and practice, and bring it to life with a healthy does of optimism, is a quality the American left is sorely lacking. Speaking for the ISO, I think it's safe to say that our members who have had the chance to hear him speak or work alongside him, not only appreciate his political skills, but have developed a genuine affection for him. We would be honored to help host an event appreciating the contributions Peter has made to the fight for social justice and looking forward to his future contributions.
Warmest comradely wishes,
Todd Chretien
Best wishes, Peter. Your energy speaking at the 2006 Socialism conference in Chicago was comparable to what it was in the 1976 presidential campaign.
David Keil
So sad to hear this. I was acquainted with Camejo during his previous lifetime as a leader of the anti-war movement and of the Socialist Workers Party back in the 60s and 70s.
Like many of us from those days, he has undergone a political evolution that broke out of the constraints of dogmatic sectarian in-groupism and sought to keep the legacy of the 60s radical movement politically viable in mainstream society beyond the level of nostalgia. I think his role as a mass leader in Berkeley in 68 and more generally throughout that period acted as a brake and an antidote to any tendency to drift wholly into sectarian quicksand during a period of relative quiescence.
Thus, Camejo in recent years has played an excellent role as a mass leader and advocate for the working class and the oppressed through his work with the Green Party of which he has become its most notable public figure after Ralph Nader. I'm really hoping he recovers as many of us were expecting him to play a role once again on the national stage in the 2008 election.
Peter, from all of us up here in Mendocino County and the North Coast, we wish you a very quick recovery.
-Tom Quinn, Fort Bragg, CA
Dear Peter,
Greetings from comrades in the Philippines.
We wish you all the best in this struggle to beat cancer.
We are very glad to hear that you are working on your book and look forward to reading it (complementary copies we hope).
Tuloy ng Laban!
The Struggle Continues!
Reihana Mohideen and Sonny Melencio
Laban ng Masa (Philippines)
Dear Peter
Your friends and comrades in the DSP in Australia are barracking for you in this struggle. A couple of months ago, we discussed on the phone the possibilities for publishing some of your political writings (which we already have) and to discuss the possibility of you visiting to Australia in 2009. Well, we are still looking forward to that visit. All strength to you in this latest struggle.
Peter Boyle
Sydney, Australia
I was an activist in the 1960s protests when Peter was already a leader; one who inspired thousands to embrace the noble socialist vision he so eloquently and passionatley described.
I know I am not alone in so fondly recalling exciting occasions when he implored us all to believe in big ideas that could change the world.
My Very Best to Peter & Family,
Carl Finamore
San Francisco, CA
On behalf of Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal (http://links.org.au) and its contributors, as well the many socialists in Australia whose involvement in revolutionary politics was sparked by reading one of your books, pamphlets or articles, or attended one of your talks, we wish you well in your struggle.
Terry Townsend,
Manageing editor,
Links.
I was sorry to hear your latest challenge, Peter. I know you have a fighting spirit and wish you a speedy recovery.
Robert Caldwell
New Orleans
May the force be with you,Peter. Socialist Alliance comrades are thinking of you and wishing you all the very best.
In solidarity
Dick Nichols
Peter Camejo is one of the most brilliant political analysts of these troubled times. He provides the wisdom and historical basis to advance the movement outside the corrupt two-party corporate owned political system. He continues to inspire my activist work and his presence will be felt in the Nader/Gonzalez 2008 campaign. My best wishes to him always! I am available for him in any capacity.
with love,
Lynda Hernandez
Peter I'm so sorry to hear of this further onslaught and know you will fight it with all the perseverance that you have displayed in your long and valued political experiences.
I heard that there was a chance of you visiting Australia in the future and hope this will be an option of benefit to us all.
Fond memories of inspiring talks at Hawkesbury and long political debates and discussions.
Comradely greetings
Pat Brewer
DSP Australia
Peter
Since I've had my illness I know what a bugger ill health can be as it stuffs up your hopes and plans.
So you do your best just as you plan to do. And we know you can do it because you are Peter Camejo and for us here in far off Australia that means a lot in way of creative political effort and surety.
So hang in there. We still have a
world to win.
Dave & Helen Riley
Brisbane Australia
Dear Peter:
I hope you don't have to go to Canada or France or England or Thailand or Cuba or any other number of countries that have better health care than the U.S.A. to get the treatment you need!
You have always been an inspiration to me as a Green, with your honesty, great grasp of the facts and ability to stir up a crowd and debate the issues with passion combined with reason.
Please send me a copy of your next book for review.
In solidarity,
John Earl
Editor
Orange Coast Voice
Huntington Beach, CA
Peter - I know you'll keep fighting this the same way you've fought all your life for socialism and social change. It was so good to see you again after many years at an ISO conference a couple of years ago, where you spoke so optimistically (but with realism) on Venezuela. Probably the most memorable experience of my life was traveling with you on the back of a banana truck from the Costa Rican border to Managua about a week after the fall of Somoza in 1979, arriving at the central market in the dead of night after curfew, and talking politics until near dawn with young Sandinistas at the confiscated mansion of Luis Somoza.
I admire your eloquence, imagination, and perseverance.
Warmest regards,
Fred Murphy, NYC
I knew Peter during the sixties and seventies. As a teenager, I was in awe of this vibrant young person, still a student at MIT, whose speeches and personality were truly electrifying. There was no one on the scene in the American radical left, no one, who could get up on a "soap box" and in a language that everyone could understand, whether he was speaking to 10, 100, 1000, or 100,000 people, and tell the truth about the inequities under capitalism and imperialism, why, and project hope that it can be changed. Not too long ago, I heard Peter speak at a California Green Party meeting in Santa Cruz. I closed my eyes and listened to his words, and laughed as he engaged this group as he did 40 some years ago. Stay with us Peter for as long as you can.
-Carol Lipman Reed, Santa Cruz, CA
I am sorry to hear of this reverse, but will be optimistic.
I have listened to and observed many politicians over the years but have seldom been as instinctively captivated as I have been by Mr. Camejo's words and actions which are the most thoroughly noble in an increasingly ignoble and tinsel world.
Make no mistake, Mr. Camejo has obliged us all with his superior intellect and heart-- of a quality that is rare and becoming rarer.
I have a simple webpage where I have links to various places that interest me-- where I uploaded a recording I made of Camejo talking about Ralph Nader on the occasion of a showing of the movie, An Unreasonable Man. What strikes me most as I listen to it periodically is that so many of the compliments Camejo pays Nader are as much or even more applicable to himself.
http://tinyurl.com/mbzst
What a great man!
Please get well soon!
Peter is a lucid and profound in his work and life. He is powerful force and inspiration to many. He has been a great influence on me over the many years and I wish to see him on the platform again soon
Best of wishes Peter!
George McKinlay
Peter is the very best the U.S. left has produced. A riveting speaker, so clear and well constructed were his arguments for a socialist future, for class independence, that he convinced untold numbers of listeners and did enormous good. I remember your speeches from Oberlein, to Cal State L.A. in the 70s-80s, and as a member of the YSA and then the SWP, felt both pride and astonishment as he rat-a-tat-tatted in his rapid delivery the history of humankind, giving us a perspective that overcame frustration that we weren't there yet. As a Greens he helped do battle for independence from the Democratic Party, So Peter, as the fighter you are: I know you'll fight this god-damned thing.
My love and best wishes--Andrea Houtman, Los Angeles
Dear Peter,
Our sincerest best wishes for a speedy recovery.
Warmest regards,
Mark and Jolee Zola
Peter Camejo is the kind of activist that I have always aspired to be. I met him first when he defended me against the administration at UC Berkeley which was threatening punishment against activists who had peacefully protested against the war in Iraq. I have watched him fight tirelessly against corporate rule in California, unfair electoral laws in the US, globalization, racist immigration policies, and imperialism. He was a mentor to me when I was organizing inside the Green Party, and his advice and thoughts are still inspirations. I hope for his speediest return to health.
Snehal Shingavi
Hi Peter,
Many of us are thinking of you often. Our hearts are with you.
Your contributions to the multi-faceted cause of liberation -- once as an outstanding member of the Socialist Workers Party, later as an outstanding member of the Green Party -- have been a wonderful gift to so many of us. And they help provide a basis on which rising layers of younger activists will be able to build.
I am really, really looking forward to reading your book and sharing it with others. That too will be a wonderful gift.
Comradely regards,
Paul Le Blanc
Pittsburgh
Dear Peter,
We have long-lasting memories of your inspiring talks at conferences and events in Australia, particularly Brisbane where you stayed in our house. You must be very inspired by your country of birth, Venezuela. They seem to have a genius for producing heroes of the revolution, including yourself. I have just comeback from there and the Venezuelan events continues to give us hope. I'm sure you will get better and look forward to seeing you in Brisbane again.
Best wishes Coral Wynter and Jim McIlroy
I first fell under Peter's spell in Boston, when I heard him speak at the October 1969 Moratorium on Boston Commons. He followed George McGovern and brought the crowd of over 100,000 roaring to its feet.
A few months later I joined the Boston Young Socialist Alliance and then the SWP, whose branch organizer was Peter.
Needless to say, the branch boomed while Peter was there.
Last year I was happy to help Peter with his book by sending him a few photos from that period and more importantly a mp3 file of his 1976 campaign interview with Tom Snyder I made up from a cassette tape. As it happened, I took the photo of Peter that was used for his campaign poster in 1976, alas I have no copy of this.
I just uploaded the Snyder Tomorrow Show interview to this url:
http://tinyurl.com/6oo266
Peter's indomitable spirit will serve him well in the fight for his health.
Best Wishes and Get Well Peter,
Jon Flanders
Thank you, Peter, for your integrity and for being a candidate we could vote for in the elections you've been in. Please avail yourself of the best quality complementary healthcare in your healing.
Peace, Ayumi Kie Weissbuch
Dear peter
thank you for your selfless activism it has awakened many to the issues that count. In your battle with cancer I suggest you google "essiac" (a tea that eliminates cancer) and go to an accupuncturist. There is a video called "crazy sexy cancer" I found at hollywood video that chronicles one young womans fight to get her cancer in remission. All our love to you and yours.
Smoking endless cigarettes, drinking cheep wine, and arguing permanent revolution.
Memories of sitting in a circle in what we called our “DeKalb Trot House”, listening to an almost unintelligibly poor cassette recording of “how to make a revolution” from a ’68 Chicago SWP forum talk by Peter ... to the ’76 presidential campaign... to hearing a interview a few years back on NPR when he ran on the green ticket. You were then and are now an inspiration to all .
Green tea replaces the cigarettes, the wine now has real corks but the passionate and eloquent activist is still all Peter.
Get well Peter, we still need you! I can’t wait for your book!
Comradely,
Tex Xelowski
San Diego
Peter, we got to be buddies when you stayed with my husband and me in San Antonio at the time of the Immigration Policy Conference in 1977. We had some great conversations and you played our old Texas swing records over and over.
Lots and lots of water under the bridge since then, but I think you're great and I wish you the best.
Margaret Scott
Hi Peter,
I see several treatments you are undertaking to combat this challenge and I hope that you are including nutrition. Eating a diet exclusively of whole plant foods has been demonstrated over and over again as being an effective way of both stopping cancer and maintaining health and accelerating recovery during cancer treatment. I highly recommend the book "The China Study" by retired professor of nutrition at Cornell University, T. Colin Campbell, which documents his career as a cancer and nutrition researcher. Every bit helps. And every bite counts.
Thank you so much for the all the great work you do.
All the best to you.
Peter,
My one time roomate and foever comrade, and as one cancer survivor to the other, I wish you the best. I have found that the best way to fight cancer is to make cancer your enemy.
Continue on like you did when we both went up to Chico State in 1968 for you speak against the War and Vietnam and the 1968 SWP presidential campaign. When we arrived, after our five hour journey, we were greeted with a chicken nailed to a tree by an arrow.
As the racists said that Blacks were a poor aim, in a response to your speech from a 'McCarthy for President' supporter, one of the few Black students at the rally at the site of the 'treed chicken', got up and told that racist to "give him a gun and then run and he would not miss".
Nail the cancer like that chicken to a tree!
Roland
Dear Peter,
This is not the way I imagined getting back in touch with you. Hay tanto que quisiera discutir contigo, pero no en publico.
I don't know what book you're writing, but there are many more that need to be written by you.
Wishing you many years of happiness and know that you will always be an important part of all whose lives you touched.
With affection,
Terry Hillman
Dear Peter,
I'm sorry to hear of the return of your illness. It's amazing to see the comments here from people all over the country and the world. I feel so lucky to have met you and heard you speak on several occasions in El Dorado County, CA. You are not only eloquent and knowledgeable, but very, very funny.
Sending you good, healing thoughts...
C. Hensley
Shingle Springs, CA
I wish Peter the best and hope he will continue in his never-ending fight for peace & justice for all.
He is such a fighter and so creative that he can achieve a lot still.
Peter,
Our family sends healing thoughts to you and your family. Larry knew of you first when he was a student at Berkeley. I was lucky to meet you later when I moved to California.
We have worked together politically and also professionally. Thank you for bringing your politics to the financial world and creating social investment for those of us who wanted to find a way to do good despite the forces of
of capitalism that seemed so overwhelming.
Your energy and spirit passed on through your writing and tapes of your speeches will continue to inspire future generations.
Now please, beat this cancer and get back to work. We need your leadership now more than ever.
Hasta la victoria siempre,
Carol and Larry Miller
New Mexico
Hi Peter,
It's Jeanne Lafferty. You got me into socialist politics. You made it okay to be a leftie and keep your imagination and humor.After you left Boston the branch began to wage war against humor, joy and high spirits. This coincided with other political issues, but we sure did miss you. I've been following your doings all these years.
I would do anything I could to help you. For now, I am actively supporting Ralph's run in 2008.I know I also speak for David Maybury who died in 2005. He and I talked a lot about you and Ralph and the amazing onslaught of hate from many of the 'peace-loving' liberals.
Namaste, Peter. We all love you.
Good luck Peter. If you need some fresh air we will bring a pedi-cab down from Chico and ride you around like we did the last time you were here.
Mark Stemen, Green Party of Butte County
Many thanks to Claudette and Alex for setting this website up and giving us all a chance to share thoughts with Peter!
I first heard you speak in 1976, Peter. Although you spoke to a crowd, it was as if you were speaking to me personally. So clearly did you then, as you do now, understand the experience of working people.
You're an amazing person, Peter. You give leadership new meaning.
As you have touched so many with YOUR words, may our words on this website give back to you some of the "magic" that you have given us and may it help you rise stronger than ever.
Looking foward to future conversations and gatherings...
en solidaridad,
Gayle McLaughlin, Richmond, CA
Peter,
Our thoughts are with you. We are certain you will attack this struggle with all the intensity you have brought to your other struggles.
We look forward to continuing to work with you to confront global capitalism and the oppressive forces in the U.S.
With comradely love and respect,
Steve Willett,
on behalf of the Coordinating Committee of the Northern California Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism.
Peter,
I couldn't regret more deeply this reversal. If I know anyone else who can beat this dreaded disease again, it's you.
You've contributed so much to the movement and to all of us individuals privileged to have fought alongside you within it. We will all treasure every day more we can do this.
All our best wishes!
Mark Lause, Cincinnati
Dear Peter,
It's Jeanne Lafferty again. My memories of your time in Boston are very dear to me. Are you well enough to follow the Nader campaign. I think we're doing rather well. Maybe we'll get it right in The United States one of these days. Otherwise, someone else will get it right for us. Getting Ralph into the debates would be as much as I could ask for now. We don't always do the right thing simply to 'win'. We do it because it's the right thing. This is the way we choose to live our lives. You are living your life that way. You always have done. Your illness is another part of that life. All things are ongoing, all things are impermanent.
I'd like to send you a video that David Maybury made about his experience with cancer. He called it his 'dance with Shiva. David became a tai chi master late in his life so the idea of creating a ballet using the tai chi forms came suddenly to him after a bout of intensive chemotherapy. He choreographed it and had his tai chi masters dance this amazing testiment to the idea that outcomes are not what's important. It's how we choose to live every day. David narrated and danced in the ballet. The message was simple. Things are what they are and it's our business here to be where things are happening as much as we can. Healing is more important than "curing". More than 400 people followed David's 'dance with Shiva' and he made us less afraid of 'what is". I'll send a copy of the ballet to Claudette and she will be able to judge if this is something you would like to see.
Best hopes that you can work on your book. this will be something we can pass on to our children and grandchildren. I'm sure that the book be an embodiment of your spirit, lively imagination, your out-of-this-world humor and your abiliy to tell us things in a way we will never forget.
love,
Jeanne Lafferty
Hey, Peter. Hope your latest battle is going as well as those you led us through so many times (my first thoughts, for some reason, go to the crazy "Stop the Draft Week" stuff; even though I was on the other coast at the time, I still have mental pictures of you waving an invisible banner as you led the charge through the streets . . .)
I think of you so often, as I do the little bits I'm doing to try to pull together the memories of our contemporaries so we can pass them on to people like my own two teenage daughters who are picking up what they can from us -- the BIG "us" that you have been so much a part of in so many ways.
WE NEED YOUR BOOK!! so thank you so very much for putting your priorities there. Here's a comradely salute and a warm hug to you, old buddy. Memories start to flood me now; looking forward to sitting and talking with you. (Will be in the Bay Area late December; let me know if you're around and would want a visit.)
Venceremos. (I still believe . . .)
Kipp
(kippmdawson@yahoo.com)
Peter was the most inspiring, engaging, and exciting speaker that I have had a chance to hear. It always a grand treat to listen to him.
I noted Roland's advice on fighting cancer. I agree with him and could suggest something as well. Shortly after the end of my cancer treatment, a coworker asked me how I was doing. I told him, somewhat apologetically, that noticed I was doing a lot of complaining and whining. To which he replied, "Well, if you don't have the right to complain now, when do you?"
So that's another approach.
All the very best Peter
Vinnie Longo
Tucson
Peter, besides my best wishes that you beat cancer a second time, I want to send you my thanks for the work you have done for over forty years. You were always the best explainer of mass action, the primacy of the labor movement, and the need for socialism. We need those clear and straight-shooting explanations now more than ever. I still use your explanations today in discussions about strategy and tactics with my fellow antiwar activists.
Keep kickin' it, comrade!
Tom Bias, Sparta, New Jersey
(In late July, 110 former members of the Socialist Workers Party and members of International Socialist Organization, Socialist Action, Labor Standard, Solidarity, Freedom Socialist Party, Workers International League, and others gathered at the Leon Trotsky Legacy Conference in New York. In addition to mostly comradely evaluations of past successes and failures of revolutionary socialist groups and "party-building" efforts in the US and elsewhere, were discussions on independent electoral strategies, problems of the anti-war movement, feminism, LGBT rights, labor and anti-racist struggles. At the conclusion of the conference the following (and only) resolution was unanimously passed: Peter, Because your valuable work over half a century has been an inspiration to us, we at the Leon Trotsky Legacy Conference send our warm solidarity greetings to you. You too are a valuable part of our legacy of resistance. July 27 2008
If you'd like to read about Peter during Ralph Nader's 2004 campaign, you can order my book WHAT WAS RALPH NADER THINKING? at http://thewomandirector.com We're having a sale.
Keep up the good fight, Peter!
Jurgen Rommel Vsych
Nader/Camejo 2004 Photographer
Hey Peter, it's JT from way back in the old New York days. This latest news is a kick in the butt, but I'm sure you are kicking back just as hard. You have given so much inspiration to so many - thank you. I send warmest thoughts to you and your family. Fight on, compa - the world still needs you more than ever. I'm looking forward greatly to your new book.Un abrazo solidario...
Peter,
There is no one I would want to make a revolution with more than you. You've inspired me my whole adult life. I am still an activist: Against the war, against the death penalty, against torture,for a sane and humane world. I remember, mostly with gratitude, my SWP past. While some spokespeople for our movement disappointed and embarassed me, you were always a person I thought proudly represented the better world and better people we wanted to be. Thank you for so much. I can't pray for you, because I am still a full atheist. But I do send you my warmest solidarity and gratitude for the better world you fought to create and the better person you helped make me.
solidarity and love, ginny hildebrand...Pittsburgh
Peter, as an inexperienced socialist in Boston, you opened up my eyes to what could be possible and "how to make a revolution in the United States". You welcomed every new expression of the radicalization and found the revolutionary potential of each component. Living down the street form you in Cambridge, Mass., was so much fun and so educational. You inspired and taught us every day, but you always made it fun.
Keep on fighting. Your leadership is needed and your words and example are with me always.
With love and admiration,
Chris Hildebrand
Vauxhall, New Jersey.
Here are two videos of excellent performance by Peter in the 2003 recall debates
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTktNX0EbCA
(02:58)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6aO4MiH3H8
(20:06)
Peter, you've been such an inspiration to so many, I'm humbled at your dogged determination all these years. Your politics and activism have always been an inspiration, and now your battle with cancer is the same. At the memorial for Caroline Lund, you said "We did good things!" in the past. And we (and YOU) continue to do so.
I remain (as you do, I imagine) unrepentant and unapologetic.
Be well.
Rich Lesnik, San Francisco
I first heard Peter speak in 1968 when I was a student at Antioch College. His topic was the demonstration that he and the Young Socialist Alliance had organized in June on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley to support the French student revolt. I knew right away where I wanted to move next--to Berkeley, to be active alongside and learn from Peter. He seemed to bring Marxist ideas to life, and his actions showed why revolutionary socialism remains an inspiring perspective.
I last heard Peter speak here in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in October 2004 on behalf of Ralph Nader and the Green Party presidential campaign. He was as upbeat, witty, and articulate as ever.
Best wishes in this latest struggle
Alan Wald
Ann Arbor, Michogan
I wish Peter strength and endurance in his struggle for health.
Peter has inspired so many of us over the years. His incisive mind, speaking talent, leadership, and his energy, optimism, and sharp wit set him apart from most of us. Peter always models courage in speaking the truth as he knows it and being as radical as reality.
I met Peter in 1984 through the North Star Network, which Peter co-founded and led. While that organization didn't last, the struggle for democratic socialism with social and environmental justice continues, and Peter continues to play a leading role.
Peter is what the late Professor Harvey Goldberg would call a "revolutionary in the tripe." That is something he can draw upon in his current struggle.
Hang in there Peter! You've inspired so many and given so much. We're pulling for you.
In solidarity,
Jonathan Nack
Oakland, CA
Dear Peter,
We are sorry to hear about your relapse. You have been an inspiration to us down through the years and we want you wish you a speedy recovery.
Best Regards,
Jack & Marilyn Lieberman
Miami, Florida
Post a Comment