Saturday is the 16th anniversary of the start of the war in Afghanistan.
One group in Carbondale plans to hold a vigil in protest of violence.
16 years ago, the United States went to war with Afghanistan following the September 11th attacks, and in those years, it has become the longest running war in the country's history.
"We conduct foreign policy by bombings, use of drones, training military, providing all kinds of military hardware, and not helping that country rebuild, just kind of feeding into the serious corruption that's going on there."
That's Georgeann Hartzog with the Peace Coalition of Southern Illinois, an organization that will hold a vigil protesting the war on its 16th birthday. She says she opposes the violence of the war and believes she needs to remind people of that violence.
"Now, we're so accustomed to continuous war that we don't pay attention. It doesn't affect us. Most people's lives are not affected by the war in Afghanistan."
Hartzog says the groups goes out the first Saturday of every month to hold a vigil to bring a light to issues they see as important. This Saturday, they'll be at their usual spot in Carbondale at the corner of Illinois and Main.
