Dear Camilo

Camilo Mejía was the first soldier in the U.S. Army to declare himself a conscientious objector to the war in Iraq, and went public with his refusal to return to the front line. On 21 May 2004, amid great public interest, court-martial sentenced the 28-year-old sergeant to one year of imprisonment. Dear Camilo tells his story from his perspective, but also from that of his parents and a former classmate. It is the story of a naive but intelligent young man who grew up in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. His parents advised him against volunteering for the army, but he did so all the same. After experiencing the ravages of the war in Iraq firsthand, he started to have serious misgivings. Upon his return from Iraq, he first went into hiding, but then realised he could not go on like that and openly decided to refuse military service. From prison, Camilo writes that even though he is behind bars, he finally feels free, because he heeded a higher power than his army superiors: his conscience.