On Wedneday July 12, Grassroots International joined a group of demonstrators in front of the Israeli Consulate at Park Place Plaza to protest the Israeli government's collective punishment of the
As Israeli bombs continue to rain down on the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian population is struggling to survive without power or water infrastructure. Said Abdelwahed, a Professor of English Literature at Al Azhar University-Gazawho and a colleague of our partner, the Palestinan Agricultural Relief Committee (PARC), shares his late-night thoughts:
Not a day goes by when I don't think about Palestine and the desperate situation there. Both the Israeli and Palestinian populations live in fear of attacks but the Palestinians are suffering a humanitarian crisis of horrid proportions.
I can't just sit by and watch the suffering continue so on August 4th I'm walking--in 36 hours straight, from Boston to Provincetown (123 miles). I've never done anything like this before but if a long walk, stopping to talk to people and reporters helps raise awareness of and money for Palestine, then it will be worth it.
I tracked my food labels for 4 days. I had originally planned on doing five days, but it was a very time consuming process. Fortunately, for me it was somewhat easy because I repeated many dishes and ate the same thing for breakfast all week. But it took me a good two hours on the internet doing research on the foods that I ate.
A few years ago I was driving around lost on the Olympic Peninsula. I was in a hurry, trying to make my way to Hurricane Ridge overlook in the Olympic Mountains in time to see the sunset. When I figured out where I'd gone wrong, I made a u-turn and I almost didn't stop at the little farm stand that caught my eyes both times I drove by it, but I decided that maybe the forces of serendipity had sent me on that detour just so that I could try the local fruit.
I bought a few peaches--individually nestled in extra-large egg carton type material--and a pint of cherries, and chatted with the folks on the other side of the table for a few moments, about the growing season (it seemed late for peaches to me), about the other crops they grow, what a lovely day it was, that kind of thing.
Day One–Total Spent: $6.26
Breakfast
Bag of generic oats--$1.99
I am used to cooking the instant oats that come in a package. My plan was to buy a big bag of oats and eat oatmeal for breakfast and dinner. I was very inept at making oatmeal on the stovetop. In addition, I was already at the $2.00 mark so I decided not to buy sugar or butter to add to the oatmeal. This was disgusting and I was unable to eat my oatmeal for breakfast let alone dinner. My plan was to eat oatmeal for breakfast all week. I quickly gave up on this plan completely.
Our curriculum "Land and Hunger: Making the Rights Connection" is complete and up on our website. All of the exercises have been tested at least once. One of the exercises that we're most excited about is called "What You Can Do." This is the exercise that lets us know whether or not the workshop compels participants to act. This movement from education to action is a crucial element in our effort to raise consciousness and build social movements.
At Grassroots International we believe that building a movement for social justice involves several ingredients: financial resources and globally connected advocacy, education and communication capacities. As we continue to broaden and deepen our work on Resource Rights, we are directing our funds to strategic organizations in the movement for democratizing land, water and food rights. This spring we increased our support of North American movement-based organizations that organize around local resource issues and link to global movements.
As if it weren't enough that state and local police in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco have used violence and spurious prosecutions to intimidate social movements and resource rights activists, they have recently unleashed a new weapon: billboards and leaflets.
Since returning from Haiti, I've had a number of conversations with people wanting to know more about "the situation in Haiti." Many say that they are not convinced that there is any hope, that things are going from bad to worse, that nothing can be done.
One of the best things about working at Grassroots International is the incredible circle of people we are able to connect with.
Photographs by Jennifer Lemire for Grassroots International
The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, of which GRI is a member, has learned that the House of Representatives will vote on Tuesday, May 9 on HR4681, the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006. This bill imposes draconian economic and diplomatic sanctions against the Palestinian people for exercising their democratic rights.
Migrante eschucha!
El FAT esta en su lucha!
(Migrants, hear us!
The FAT is with you in your struggle!)
Reading the international press, it's easy to conclude that Haiti is a hopelessly violent place. The crushing poverty and claims of a "culture of violence" steer Haiti into a spiral from which it cannot escape. Certainly the poverty is a horrible, unfair burden. Is it "crushing"? Crushing implies inaction, certainly not the case in Haiti.
Today, immigrants and their allies will be participating in a national "Day Without Immigrants" to bring attention to the millions of immigrants in the U.S. that support the national economy. They will rally, spend no money and wear white to demonstrate their support of immigrants' rights and discontent with proposed U.S. immigrant legislation.
Even corporate agribusiness is taking notice: Perdue, Gallo Wines, Tyson Foods and Cargill are closing production facilities so that workers can participate in the days' activities.
Why would agribusiness be so supportive? The statistics speak for themselves: Eight-one percent of all U.S. agricultural workers are foreign-born; 77 percent come from Mexico.
Editor's Note: Daniel Moss sent this post from Jacmel, a city south of Port au Prince on the Caribbean coast. They visited the small town of La Fond on 21st, the day of the national parliamentary elections.
Please join me in a jeep bumping over river stones with Vigot, an agronomist from KROS, the Regional Coordination of Southeast Organizations. As part of its Resource Rights Initiative, Grassroots International staff visited this remote area to observe up close the work of Haiti's regional peasant associations.
Haiti, as one person told me, is a country of contrasts. This person also told me to be careful that I present all of Haiti with all of its contrasts.
For example, as we drove up mountain after mountain visiting the Haitian countryside, there were farmers moving around doing the business of daily life. They were tilling fields on the side of a mountain with hoes. Their backs and arms were bent at angles that made them seem more like acrobats and dancers than farmers. There were women and children smiling as they fetched water and carried it in buckets on top of their heads.
Editor's note: Grassroots' staff members Daniel Moss and Azalia Mitchell have traveled to Haiti to visit with our partners and allies and to assess the situation on the ground after this winter's Presidential elections and this week's parliamentary run-offs. Azalia has sent along her first impressions of Haiti (below) and we hope we will hear more from them in the coming days.
In Port au Prince there are obvious signs letting a visitor know that presidential elections were recently held. Hanging from buildings, telephone wires and poles are huge banderoles reading: "Rene Preval: President" and "Everyone in Agreement: Magnigat for President." The Preval banners, as it turns out, proclaim the results of the election, while the Magnigat are reminders of his supporters' disappointment.
