Category: Justice

Lawful and Just are not necessarily the same thing

TAKE ACTION for Bangladesh worker safety

Eleanor Grant writes:

Hello Friends –

Please take a moment to sign the appeal below from IndustriALL global union.

It calls on Bangladesh to guarantee freedom of association (including the right to unionize), and improve building and fire safety and the minimum wage for the more than 3 million garment workers in Bangladesh. (According to Global Labour and Human Rights, the starting wage in these awful garment factories is 14 cents an hour, and many women work more than 12-hour days. Read more at http://www.globallabourrights.org/ )

And meanwhile, consider joining in the annual Labour Day of Mourning to commemorate workers who’ve been killed or injured or made ill on the job. SUNDAY APRIL 28, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. in Victoria Park at the workers’ monument – between the pavilion and the river. Hosted by Waterloo Regional Labour Council. All are welcome.

Eleanor Grant

Visit the IndustriALL Web Site or the IndustriALL Facebook page.

Eleanor Grant writes a semi-regular e-mail newsletter on social justice issues. You can contact Eleanor at eleanor7000@gmail.com

(En)Gendering Resistance: Exploring the Possibilities of Gender, Resistance and Militancy

Re-blogged from WPIRG

(En)Gendering Resistance: Exploring the Possibilities of Gender, Resistance and Militancy

WPIRG’s 2013 School of Public Interest Conference

April 19th-21st

engenderingresistance.noblogs.org

Examining the social, political and economic realities of gender, as well as the liberatory possibilities of militant resistance to gender based oppression, WPIRG’s 2013 School of Public Interest will focus on the theme of (en)gendering resistance. A purposeful play on words, the conference theme is intended to encompass reflections on the lived experience of gender, the gendering of activism, and strategies for fostering vibrant resistance movements.

Taking place April 19th-21st at the University of Waterloo, the weekend long conference will bring together community organizers, activists and students, to critically discuss issues related to gender and resistance/resisting gender. Shaping, while simultaneously being shaped by the ways in which we live, love, fuck and resist, the intricacies and potentialities of gender will be explored.

Our vision is to provide an inclusive space to engage in dialogue that challenges the narratives of the mainstream feminist movement, expanding its critique and radicalizing its practice. We dream of a feminism that does not seek the inclusion of marginalized identities within the dominant order, but rather, strives to unapologetically challenge the dominant order itself. How can we develop a movement for gender justice that is necessarily anti-capitalist, anti-colonial and critical of state institutions? How can we foster resistance practices that are firmly rooted in anti-racism and an intersectional analysis of gender?

Patriarchy and gendered oppressions are everyday perpetuated within our communities and movements. Sexism, queer and transphobia permeate social justice groups and organizations. Gender violence and sexual assault occur with tragic frequently within our ‘safe’ spaces. How can we challenge the reproduction of gender oppression within broader social and environmental justice movements? How can we develop non-state responses to issues of sexual violence? What potential exists for the construction of holistic and nurturing communities of resistance? How can we strengthen our ongoing work, and build our collective capacity to resist?

In the spirit of engendering resistance, WPIRG invites community-based activists, those struggling everyday against gender oppression, supporters, and anyone who sees value in gathering to resist and share strategies, to participate!

Rally for Gaza CANCELLED – but let’s keep in touch

Friends,

I just heard that the Palestinian students have cancelled the rally against
the war in Gaza, scheduled for Sunday.

But as we all know, the war on Gaza is not over. With the ongoing blockade they can’t even get what they need to start rebuilding – again.

In brainstorming with a friend tonight, I wondered if those of us who are interested could start some ongoing action in KW, to raise awareness of the daily violence that Palestinians face.

Did you all see the 2 excellent letters in Friday’s Record, confronting the unjust way the Palestinians are portrayed by gov’t and media? One was by Rev Desmond Jagger-Parsons of Trinity United Church – who is one of the people on this list. Desmond you were really on a tear! Good for you.

What are some things we might do? Share articles among ourselves? Start a moderated discussion list? Start a blog? Hold a regular public vigil – for Palestinians killed, or imprisoned, or land lost, or homes demolished and trees uprooted …. it’s endless.

Please let’s keep talking and sharing ideas. We’ve abandoned the field to the pro-Israel spin doctors for too long!

Shalom,

Eleanor Grant

Rally For Gaza, Sunday 25 November

Please forward to your friends and networks:

Message from Students for Palestinian Rights:

Please join our peaceful demonstration condemning the attacks by the Israeli Military Forces on:

When: Sunday November 25, 2012

Time: 2:00 p.m.

Location: Kitchener City Hall

Bring any flags, signs, and kuffiyahs or anything else you may have.

Oct 19 Vigil to mourn Ashley Smith

Announcement from Shannon Balla:

Remembering Ashley Smith
Community gathering & vigil

October 19th, 7-8pm
Speakers Corner (King and Benton), Kitchener

On the 5th anniversary of Ashley’s death in a segregation cell in Kitchener’s Grand Valley Institution for Women

Come and share a time of collective mourning and a renewed commitment to change as we remember Ashley and others who struggle against the isolation and oppression of the prison system

Hosted by:  We Remember Ashley Smith Campaign

For more information: 226-789-6786; shannon.balla@gmail.com

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/events/198140513653901/

 

Background: 
Ashley Smith (January 29, 1988 – October 19, 2007) died at age 19 in a segregation cell at the Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener.  Having been denied a transfer to a psychiatric facility and on suicide watch, Ashley tied a ligature around her neck and, while staff watched (having been ordered not to intervene), asphyxiated to death. The over four years of Ashley’s institutionalization were marked by isolation, violence, forced injections, and frequent transfers. In the 11 months before her death, while in federal custody, she was moved 17 times between 8 facilities in 4 provinces, largely for ‘administrative reasons’. She was denied access to her family, to advocates and to legal counsel. 

 

Reports of the Federal Correctional Investigator and New Brunswick Ombudsman attribute Ashley’s death to failures of individual staff and to much deeper failures within the correctional and mental health systems themselves.  A provincial coroner’s inquest was launched in Ontario but was halted in September 2011 due to legal challenges and logistical obstacles.  A new inquest is set to begin in January 2013.

 

Ashley’s death in Grand Valley five years ago exposes the inherent violence of the ‘corrections’ system and demands a response from those of us who live in the community where she died.  Remembering Ashley, and all those who have died or been damaged by these institutions, is an act of collective resistance against a deeply unjust ‘justice system’.  Strengthening our shared commitment to building communities of love, equity, and true justice is at the heart of this event. 

URGENT: Support to keep Kimberly Rivera in Canada is growing! ACTIONS FOR THIS WEEK

From: “War Resisters Support Campaign” <wrsctoronto@gmail.com>
Date: Sep 16, 2012 10:49 PM
Subject: URGENT: Support to keep Kimberly Rivera in Canada is growing!
ACTIONS FOR THIS WEEK

TAKE ACTION TO SHOW SUPPORT FOR U.S. IRAQ WAR RESISTER KIMBERLY RIVERA!

Dear friends,

There has been a tremendous response from Canadians to the news that the Harper government plans to deport U.S. Iraq War resister Kimberly Rivera and her family on September 20. Tens of thousands of people have contacted Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Jason Kenney in the past ten days, calling on him to allow Kim and her family to stay. Actions have taken place from Vancouver to Halifax and more are planned for this week.

The fight is not over. We urge you to continue to act on behalf of the Rivera family. Here are the planned activities for the days ahead:

Monday

– If you haven’t already done so, please sign the online letter to Jason Kenney at change.org and make sure you forward it to your lists: http://www.change.org/LetKimStay. More than 18,000 people have signed so far. Let’s push that over the 20,000 mark!

– If you’re in Toronto, please attend the Federal Court hearing at 3:30 p.m. at 180 Queen St. West, when Kim’s lawyer will be arguing her case.

Tuesday

– Call Jason Kenney’s office, and urge him to stop the deportation of the Rivera family: 613.954.1064.

Wednesday

– Join a rally in support of the Rivera family. Bring your banners, flags, and signs in support of Kim and all of the Iraq War resisters.

In Toronto the rally will be held at the Federal Court, 180 Queen Street West, from 4:30 – 6:00 p.m.

In Kitchener-Waterloo the rally is WED SEPT 19 at 4:30 pm at Peter Braid MP’s office

For a list of rallies in other cities, go to http://resisters.ca/support-the-rivera-family.

In solidarity,

War Resisters Support Campaign

——

Join the War Resisters Support Campaign:
http://www.resisters.ca/
http://www.twitter.com/WarResisters
http://www.facebook.com/WarResisters
http://www.youtube.com/WarResistersCanada

Stop Deportation of Iraq War Resister Kim Rivera

RALLY WED SEPT 19 at 4:30 pm at Peter Braid MP’s office to Stop the Deportation of Kim Rivera, War Resister.

Sign petition at: http://resisters.ca/support-the-rivera-family/letter-to-jason-kenney/

This urgent message was forwarded to me by Luke Stewart, of Historians Against the War:

Subject: Stop Deportation of Iraq War Resister Kim Rivera

Greetings friends,

This is a personal and urgent appeal on behalf of a friend, Kim Rivera, who faces deportation on September 20th from Canada to the United States for refusing to re-deploy to the war on Iraq. Kim is a combat veteran who served in Iraq from October 2006 – January 2007 at which time she, through her own experiences while guarding the gate of a forward operating base in Baghdad, refused to carry her rifle and after being caught refused to carry ammunition. Before leaving for Iraq, the unit commander called Kim and the other women in her unit into a room to announce that “10% of you will be raped” while in Iraq. The military is an occupational hazard for women who enlist and while in Iraq Kim faced continued harassment for constantly talking on the phone to her kids and husband. Kim once told me that no women should join the military. Upon returning home to Texas for her so-called R&R (rest and relaxation), she and her family decided to flee to Canada to seek refugee status instead of return to the illegal, immoral, and unjust war on Iraq.

If Kim loses her stay of removal, she will be deported and she will most definitely face jail time (up to five years in military prison) and a felony conviction which will follow her everywhere her entire life when she wants a government loan, housing, and other social services as well as she will not be able to vote or enjoy many civil and political rights.

We have a precious few days to make as much noise about this as possible. I have personally read internal government documents released through the Access to Information Act that demonstrate that both the Liberal and now Conservative governments HAVE TAKEN NOTICE when the public mobilizes around Iraq war resisters (for those skeptical that such actions do anything) and this is a big reason why NO ONE HAS BEEN DEPORTED SINCE 2008.

The war on Iraq killed an estimated 650,000 people that can be credibly documented since 2003 – with that number closer to over one million. The United States has used the most appalling weapons against the civilian population of Iraq including depleted uranium, white phosphorus and cluster bombs. It has bombed supposedly abandoned urban areas (whole blocks) in order to simply get rid of excess payloads from its jets and bombers (as planes cannot return with bombs in their payload).

This was a war for oil and control of resources, and it was a war of aggression – the supreme international crime as defined at the Nuremberg Tribunal (former U.N. Secretary Kofi Annan reluctantly stated in late-2004). This is why we need to support Kim Rivera and all other Iraq war resisters seeking refuge in Canada.

It takes a tremendous amount of courage and responsibility to resist the largest military machine ever unleashed upon the world and Kim needs our support and our voices. Soldiers have an important responsibility to resist illegal orders and have the ability, like during the Vietnam War, to bring the war machine to a halt. Sadly, the antiwar movement has not been as active and effective as during the Vietnam War and this has contributed to the situation Kim now faces.

I have personally worked with Iraq war resisters since 2009 and I have been extremely humbled and honoured to learn from their moral courage. Even Archbishop Desmond Tutu made a statement on behalf of Kim Rivera at the emergency meeting in the Parkdale neighbourhood of Toronto where Kim lives. This is now national and international news.

Rally on Wed Sept 19 at 4:30pm at MP Peter Braid’s office, 22 King St. South (Erb and King )

For more information:
http://www.resisters.ca
http:// couragetoresist.org/ kimberly-rivera.html
http://www.thestar.com/ news/gta/article/ 1249039–iraq-war-resister-kimberly-rivera-to-find-ou t-if-she-ll-be-deported-to -u-s

More on what you can do:

  1. Write, email, phone or fax Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney and ask him to let Iraq War resister Kimberly Rivera and her family stay in Canada. You can use our online letter, or send your own message to:

    325 East Block, House of Commons, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
    Phone: 613-954-1064 Fax: 613-957.2688
    Email: jason.kenney@parl.gc.ca, minister@cic.gc.ca

  2. To mail us a donation, please make a cheque payable to the War Resisters Support Campaign and mail it to:

    War Resisters Support Campaign
    Box 13, 427 Bloor Street West
    Toronto, ON M5S 1X7
    CANADA