For some who visit Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, the major attraction is not really the magnificent building called the White House, but a frail five-foot, 60-year-old camping across the street for the past 26 years.

Concepcion Picciotto, a homeless-looking woman, has been “living” on the sidewalk of Pennsylvania Avenue, in Lafayyette Park in front of the White House since August 1,1981 to protest the foreign policies of six presidents who have occupied that house since.

Her round the clock anti-nuclear vigil is her “life mission”, she tells Gulf News on a sunny Friday. “I will not give up my work until the stupid policies of this man [President George Bush] change,” she said.

Surrounded by colourful posters denouncing Bush as a “terrorist” and “child killer”, the Spanish-born Concepcion, or Conchita to her few friends, has become a feature of the US capital’s most visited part. She started her “mission” shortly after her divorce. She came to Washington to seek the help of her Congressman in her child custody case but decided to “stick around” and join the many activists who were sitting-in outside the White House to protest the US nuclear weapons policy. It was the height of the Cold War then.

Where there is a will

Since then, she has given up her job – she used to work for the Spanish mission – her life and has been camping outside the White House. She is occasionally joined by other activists or tourists who sympathise with her cause. They come to her, sometimes to donate a few dollars and often just for a brief chat.

The Friday I met her, the Spring weather was nice and warm. But Conchita’s real trouble starts as winter comes in. And it is tough to be in Washington in winter, let alone living in a small plastic make-shift tent.

She only gets three or four hours of sleep, mostly at daytime. During the frosty nights, she tries to jog to keep warm.

She lives on donations, small donations that buy her the little food she lives on. But often friends bring her sandwiches and drinks. For the bathroom, she uses a nearby restaurant’s facility. They are used to her there, she said.

Despite the impossible conditions, she is staying put. “I strongly believe in what I do,” she said, adding that she has seen worse days.

At the beginning of her “campaign”, the police tried to kick her out a number of times. But little Conchita kept coming back until they got used to her, including the resident of the house across the street.

“I will be here even when he leaves the White House,” she said. Asked if she would change her mind if Democratic Senator Barack Obama wins the presidency and becomes her new neighbour.

“No, they are all the same. Maybe I will quit when we have a new Dwight Eisenhower,” she added, referring to the former president who once said that nations should not attempt to use “arms alone” to “satisfy the craving for … the illusory goal [of] absolute security”.

On occasions, Conchita adds pro-Palestinian demands to her cause. “The world cannot just sit there and watch the Israelis butcher children,” she said, as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived at the White House to meet with Bush.

“Look at him, he thinks he will get something out [of the meeting]. He is wrong. The Arabs should stop begging and start standing up for their right,” she said.

Does she really hate Bush? “No, absolutely not. I don’t hate Bush. I don’t hate Israel. I just hate what they do.”