The North Shore Colombia Solidarity Committee Blog

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(Our old blog on tripod.com is still active, but it is now also appended to the archives of this blog.)

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

 

DETAINED: THE NEW BEDFORD

IMMIGRATION RAID

DETENIDO:

LA REDADA DE NEW BEDFORD

Documental y discusión con

Alexandra Piñeros Shields, Irish Immigration Center

Mariela Alvarez, Centro Presente

Viernes 15 de mayo, 6 pm

Family and Children’s Service of Greater Lynn

111 North Common St.

On March 6, 2007, US Immigration officials raided a New Bedford, MA factory that makes vests and backpacks for US soldiers. Many of the 361 undocumented immigrants who were detained in the raid were women with small children.

Este documental incluye relatos de trabajadores inmigrantes de lo que pasó en la redada del 6 de marzo de 2007 en la fábrica Bianco en New Bedford, Massachussets por funcionarios del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de Estados Unidos (ICE). Muchos de los obreros inmigrantes en esta fábrica —que fabrica chalecos y mochilas para soldados estadounidenses— fueron mujeres con hijos pequeños y la película muestra las ramificaciones de la detención entre las familias y en la comunidad.

Entrada gratuita. Para más información: 978-741-4641


Tuesday, April 21, 2009

 

Witness for Peace delegations

Alt Text

Witness for Peace delegations provide experiential understanding of the effects U.S. policies, corporate practices and global economic trends place on the people of Latin America and the Andean region. Delegates stay with families, share meals and experience daily struggles. Stories are shared and a true north-south community for justice is formed.

• Colombia: The People Behind The Coal

May 28 - June 6, 2009

Colombia's coal comes from two of the largest open-pit coal mines in the world: El Cerrejón, begun by Exxon in the 1980s and now owned by a consortium of European-based companies, and La Loma, owned by the Alabama-based Drummond Company. Both of these mines export large quantities of coal to the United States, and both have been accused of serious human rights violations.

This delegation will follow the trail of the coal that supplies power to New England, meeting with human rights activists, trade unionists, members of Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities, and others affected by coal production in Colombia. We will explore how we as consumers can work in solidarity with communities and organizations in Colombia to hold corporations accountable for human rights.

Contact:


Avi Chomsky

978-542-6389


Steve Striffler

479-283-4795

• Nicaragua: The Children: Casualties of The War Against the Poor

June 27-July 7, 2009

• Explore how U.S. economic policies contribute to poverty in one of the hemisphere's poorest countries
• Meet sweatshop workers, coffee pickers, farmers and children of the informal work sector to hear their personal stories
• Dialogue with a wide range of rural and urban activists & experts working for social justice
• Experience the daily joys and fears with a family during the home stay in a country struggling to survive and compete in the global economy
• Discover what it means to a child to work in the "Informal Sector" (the most unregulated of all employments)
• Brainstorm a plan to end this system of oppression
• Develop grassroots strategies for change

This is an Intergenerational Delegation
Teens Encouraged to Apply

Lynette, Culverhouse

781-641-3076


Witness for Peace New England
P.O. Box 147
Richmond, VT 05477
802.434.2980
wfpne@witnessforpeace.org


Tuesday, March 17, 2009

 

Colombia speaker Friday March 20

Note:  Sen. Robledo has been a strong voice in the Colombian Senate in support of workers' rights and especially for the rights of workers and communities affected by multinational mines.  We are privileged to have him here in Lynn.
Avi

-----------
Discussion with Progressive
Colombian Senator Jorge Robledo

Friday, March 20th, 2009
6:30 . 8:30 pm
112 Exchange St in Lynn, MA


RSVP to the North Shore Labor Council at (781) 595-2538 or northshorelaborcouncil@gmail.com


Light Refreshments will be served. Senator Robledo will deliver remarks in Spanish, with simultaneous English translation provided.


Take advantage of this unique opportunity to speak with Senator Jorge Robledo, a prominent member of the National Senate in Colombia. The AFL-CIO Solidarity Center has been trying to build ties with Colombian trade unionists who are routinely assassinated in Colombia (more than any other country in the world combined) for speaking up for their rights. Senator Robledo has fought shoulder to shoulder with the Unions and the civic groups focusing on the plight of the indigenous peoples and small scale farmers of Colombia. He is a staunch opponent of the Free Trade Agreement  with the United States and with the European Union.

Senator Robledo has recently been cofounder of the .Polo Democratico Alternativo (Democratic Alternative Pole). Before his transition into political life, the Senator was a professor at the National University in Manizales, Colombia and a syndicated columnist for several Colombian newspapers.

Event Sponsored by Colombia Vive, the North Shore Labor Council, AFL-CIO and the North Shore Colombian Solidarity Committee. Labor Donated.
---


Thursday, March 12, 2009

 

Upcoming events: Guatemala, Colombia, and more

from Avi

Upcoming events: Guatemala, Colombia, and more

The next few weeks are packed with exciting Latin-America-related events. Here's information about just a few of them:

Friday, March 13, 6 pm. Family and Children Service of Greater Lynn, Inc.111 North Common St., Lynn
Sipakapa No Se Vende/Sipakapa Is Not for Sale (2005, 55 min.) GUATEMALA
Director: Álvaro Revenga In Spanish and Sipakapense with English subtitles.
The steep environmental and human costs of gold mining lead Maya communities in the Sipakapa municipality of Guatemala to exercise their right to be consulted about the expansion of mining operations into their area. The outcome of their plebiscite is a resounding 'No!" to mining.

Friday, March 20, 6 pm. Local 201, 112 Exchange St., Lynn. Colombian Senator Jorge Robledo, from the progressive Polo Democrático political party, will speak (in Spanish with simultaneous translation). Sen. Robledo has been a passionate voice in the Colombian senate in support of labor, environmental, indigenous, and Afro-Colombian movements, and in particular in solidarity with people in resistance against multinational mines. Sponsored by Colombia Vive and the North Shore Labor Council.

Monday, April 6, 9 am-12 pm. Campus Center Ballroom, UMass Boston. Guatemalan campesina leader, indigenous rights activist and Nobel Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu-Tum will speak.

RSVP to Gissell Abreu-Rodriguez by phone at 617.287.7132 or email at gissell.abreu@umb.edu Sponsored by The Office of the Chancellor and the Latino Studies Program at the University of Massachusetts Boston, and The Organization Maya Kiché of New Bedford.

Avi
---

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

 




Tuesday, February 24, 2009

 

End Chemical Spraying in the Amazon






















End Chemical Spraying in the Amazon Today!


Fumigation is inhumane, ineffective and environmentally destructive.
Click here to stop it now

Dear Supporter,

This morning we will travel from Bogotá to San José del Guaviare, in the Amazon basin, to document the devastating impact of recent anti-drug chemical spraying there. We will prepare a report and a short video to present to the Obama administration and Congress based on this trip. While in San José del Guaviare, we will invite Colombians to sign a petition to President Obama calling for an immediate end to this devastating practice.

Please stand with these Colombians affected by U.S.-backed chemical spraying. Take one minute to add your signature to the petition.

Between 2000 and 2007, the U.S. government spent over half a billion dollars for the chemical spraying of approximately 2.6 million acres of land in Colombia--the world's second most bio-diverse country. Due to U.S. pressure, Colombia is the only country in the world that allows this spraying--known as fumigation--as an anti-drug practice. Yet this practice has been a complete failure in its stated goal. Coca production--the raw material for cocaine and the "target" of fumigation--has actually increased by 36 percent since U.S.-backed fumigation began in earnest.

The chemical mixture being employed in Colombia has never been adequately tested for environmental and human health impacts. Yet people on the ground in affected regions indicate that the spray significantly harms both. At least 10,000 farmers have reported food crops killed by fumigations and the UN Special Rapporteur on Health said there is "credible and trustworthy evidence" that fumigations are harmful to human health.

Now is the time to end U.S. support and funding for this inhumane, ineffective and environmentally destructive practice in the only country that allows it. Add your signature to the petition to President Obama today.

In solidarity,

The Colombia Team
Witness for Peace

Witness for Peace
3628 12th Street NE. 1st Fl.,
Washington, DC 20017
202.547.6112 - 202.536.4708
witness@witnessforpeace.org

Travel with WFP to Colombia to witness the impact of fumigation

Friday, February 20, 2009

 

National Day of Action for Colombia, April 20, 2009


National Day of Action for Colombia
April 20, 2009

Get involved today!

Help us make April 20th a success!

Dear Supporter,

Colombia has just surpassed Sudan as having the worst internal displacement crisis in the world.
Over 4 million Colombians have been violently forced from their
homes. While the war responsible for this crisis has raged for
decades, the pace of displacement has intensified in recent years.
Last year, 1500 Colombians fled their homes every day.

For far too long, the US has been part of the problem, not the
solution. US policy towards Colombia has been dominated by
displacement-exacerbating military aid, fumigations, and now a proposed
NAFTA-style free trade agreement. (See below for more details.)

Now is the moment for bold action. Obama has plenty of
things to think about in his first several months--Colombia should be
one of them. Four million displaced Colombians cannot afford to wait
any longer. In this era of changing the way things are done in
Washington, it's our chance to call on Obama to chart a new path with
Colombia--one that halts the displacement, supports victims of
violence, and opens avenues to peace.

You can be a part of "Change Colombia Can Believe In". Join us for the National Day of Action on April 20:

  • Postcards for Peace--Sign
    a postcard to the Obama administration calling for a new policy. Then
    get 15 friends to do the same. Email jess@witnessforpeace.org to order
    a stack of postcards.
  • Flood Obama's office with messages
    on April 20 to call for a new policy toward Colombia. Let President
    Obama know that the time is now to leave behind tired military policies
    and start fresh. Click here to send your message early.
  • Expose the Crisis--Help
    deliver thousands of paper dolls, representing the millions of
    displaced Colombians, to your governmental representatives on April
    20. These symbolic actions, intended to raise the profile of
    Colombia's crisis, will take place in New York, Washington D.C.,
    Chicago, Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Click here to contact your local organizer.

To make April 20 a success, we need your help now:

Get your Faith Community on Board

The Plan: On the weekend of April 19 faith communities across the US will be incorporating Colombia into the worship service to raise awareness of the spiraling violence and pray for peace. Many will then send postcards calling on Obama to take concrete steps towards change.

What you can do now: This weekend, talk to a leader in your faith community about this opportunity to pray and act for peace. Ask them to set aside April 17-19 to focus on Colombia during the worship service. Colombia-focused elements could include a sermon, prayer, and/or special presentation. Click here to download a packet that presents sample sermons and prayers, bulletin inserts, and background info on the conflict in Colombia. Please email Jess Hunter-Bowman if you are interested in particpating in this event (jess@witnessforpeace.org).

Host a Doll-Making Party

The Plan: On April 20, people in a half-dozen cities across the US will creatively and publicly present 4000 paper cut-out dolls, each one representing 1000 of Colombia's 4 million displaced people, to governmental representatives. These symbolic actions, intended to raise the profile of Colombia's crisis, will take place in Portand, New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. In preparation, we're calling on university groups, community organizations, and congregations to host doll-making parties in February and March. These parties are an opportunity to learn more about Colombia's crisis, send faxes to Obama, and make dolls to be used in the public actions.
What you can do now: Ask your student club, faith community, or community organization to consider hosting a doll-making party within the next two months. Email Jess Hunter-Bowman if you are interested in hosting a party (jess@witnessforpeace.org). Click here to download a packet to help set up the party, including a displacement factsheet, a doll-making guide, and a compelling video on Colombia's crisis.

For nearly a decade, the US has been part of the problem, not the solution:

  • Through Plan Colombia, the US has given over six billion
    taxpayer dollars to Colombia, most of it to arm and train the country's
    military, notorious for killing innocent civilians and then dressing them up to appear to be guerrillas.
  • Aerial fumigations,
    another component of US aid, have displaced thousands of farmers by
    killing their crops (both illicit and licit), while utterly failing to
    curtail coca production.
  • The US-Colombia free trade agreement,
    still pending approval by our Congress, would further exacerbate
    displacement by decimating Colombia's small-scale farmers with an
    influx of heavily-subsidized US grains.

Witness for Peace

3628 12th Street NE. 1st Fl.,

Washington, DC 20017

202.547.6112 - 202.536.4708

witness@witnessforpeace.org


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