Mejía, Camilo 1975-

PERSONAL:

Born August, 1975; children: one daughter. Education: Attended Colegio Calasanz, Costa Rica, and the University of Miami.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Miami, FL

CAREER:

Writer. Former soldier. Worked as a volunteer for Food for Life, Miami, FL, and as a volunteer research associate in the department of psychology of the University of Miami. Military service: U.S. Army, Florida National Guard, staff sergeant, 1995—c. 2004; served in Iraq War, 2003.

WRITINGS:

Road from Ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejía (memoir), New Press (New York, NY), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Camilo Mejía, author of a memoir about serving in Iraq and ultimately refusing to fight, joined the Army in the mid-1990s and served without incident until he was sent to Iraq in 2003 after the U.S. invasion. During his six months in combat, Mejía says that he saw detainee abuses and even the killing of civilians. When he came back to the United States, Mejía vowed he would never again participate in the war and went into hiding for five months. The AWOL Mejía eventually turned himself in and applied for conscientious objector status. He was arrested and became the first U.S. soldier to be court-martialed for desertion in relation to combat in Iraq. He was eventually found guilty and sentenced to a year in jail and has appealed the guilty verdict since his release.

"I was a coward not for leaving the war but for being part of it in the first place," Mejía is quoted by Tod Ensign in an article on the Citizen Soldier Web site. "I made the decision to disagree with this war," New York Times contributor Pam Belluck quoted the author as saying. Mejía also said, "I think this war is particularly immoral." In an interview on the Miami New Times Web site, Mejía addresses the issue of being labeled a hero by some and a coward by others. Mejía, quoted by Francisco Alvarado in an article for the Miami New Times stated: "But really I'm neither…. Refusing and resisting this war was my moral duty. Instead I chose to fulfill my duty as a soldier because I was petrified of the consequences. Coming home back in October 2003 gave me the clarity to see the line between military duty and moral obligation."

Mejía tells his story in his book Road from Ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejía. Mejía begins his tale with his childhood in Nicaragua and Costa Rica as the son of parents who were supporters of the Sandinistas, a movement against the Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza. The author goes on to detail his military career, from the time he joined the U.S. Army at the age of nineteen. Jay Freeman, writing in Booklist, noted that Mejía's "descriptions of the trivia, petty jealousies, and boredom in camp life are enlightening."

Mejía was an eight-year veteran when he was assigned to fight in Iraq, an assignment that would change his life forever. Most reviewers had mixed feelings about Mejía's memoir, finding it a little self-serving, but noting that his descriptions of military life are strong. "Most powerful are his firsthand experiences of prisoner abuse … and the constant brutalization of Iraqis by paranoid, trigger-happy GIs," wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor. In a review of Road from Ar Ramadi in the Library Journal, Elizabeth R. Hayford noted that the author's "background of political activism and social engagement enables him to write in … [an] analytical framework."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Mejía, Camilo, Road from Ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejía, New Press (New York, NY), 2007.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 1, 2007, Jay Freeman, review of Road from Ar Ramadi, p. 67.

California Bookwatch, October, 2007, review of Road from Ar Ramadi.

Library Journal, April 1, 2007, Elizabeth R. Hayford, "Key, Joshua as Told to Lawrence Hill. The Deserter's Tale: The Story of an Ordinary Soldier Who Walked Away from the War in Iraq," review of Road from Ar Ramadi, p. 104.

New York Times, March 16, 2004, Pam Belluck, "Absent from Unit in Iraq for Months, Soldier Turns Protester and Surrenders," p. 18; March 17, 2004, "National Briefing South: Florida: Soldier Reports to Unit," p. 22; March 27, 2004, "National Briefing South: Georgia: Desertion Charge for Guardsman," p. 9; April 17, 2004, "National Briefing South: Georgia: Sergeant Denies Guilt in Desertion Case," p. 10; May 19, 2004, "National Briefing South: Georgia: Sergeant Faces Court-Martial," p. 21; May 21, 2004, Bob Herbert, "‘Gooks’ to ‘Hajis,’" p. 23; May 22, 2004, Ariel Hart, "Soldier Who Refused to Return Is Found Guilty of Desertion," p. 10.

Publishers Weekly, April 9, 2007, review of Road from Ar Ramadi, p. 43.

Washington Post, March 15, 2004, Jonathan Finer, "Soldier Surrenders after Abandoning Unit," p. 04.

ONLINE

Citizen Soldier,http://www.citizen-soldier.org/ (January 16, 2008), Tod Ensign, "Camilo Mejía Is Free: Conviction to Be Appealed."

Democracy Now,http://www.democracynow.org/ (March 28, 2005), Amy Goodman, "Jailed War Resister Camilo Mejía on His 9-Month Jail Sentence, Torture in Iraq and Why He Refused to Fight."

Freecamilo.com,http://freecamilo.com (January 16, 2008), biography of author.

Miami New Times,http://www.miaminewtimes.com/ (May 3, 2007), Francisco Alvarado, "Camilo's Retreat; He Left the War behind to Enter a Whole New Controversy."

New Press,http://www.thenewpress.com/ (January 16, 2008), brief profile of author.