Zamil Salhab

Through childhood, youth, and a decade-long military career—including two combat deployments to Iraq—Zamil Salhab continually experienced marginalization:  A woman who some saw as too masculine; black-skinned, but rejected by some African Americans as too “white”; queer, but semi-closeted for much of their life. Like many combat veterans, Salhab struggled with depression and substance abuse for many years. 

Sober and politicized to oppose war and militarism, Salhab joined Veterans For Peace in 2014, eventually serving a stint on VFP’s national board.  Disappointed with feeling marginalized as as a queer non-binary person of color in an organization still dominated by older white men, Salhab pulled back from this leadership position in 2019. 

Zamil Salhab continues doing social justice work in Albuquerque, New Mexico, including participating in a series of online webinars about militarization and racial justice during the 2020 Black Lives Matter uprisings. Speaking publicly as a veteran and as a member of VFP, Salhab contributed a critical understanding of militarization to community discussions of police violence and racial justice.  “I will continue to do that work,” Salhab says, “and I'll continue to work on the boundaries of VFP”