News from around
AFSC
Peace
Eliminating the roots of war
On the 62nd anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, Japan, AFSC’s Peacebuilding and Demilitarization
Program launched the two-part Widening War speaking tour to create
a stronger network of activists striving to eliminate the roots
of war and the machines that keep them running.
Widening War featured speaker Yuko
Nakamura (riht) treaches a participant
how
to
make an origami peace crane.
The first part of the tour, which made stops in Philadelphia and
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Florence, Massachusetts, this past
August, focused on the horrors of nuclear weapons and proliferation.
In September, the second part of the tour traveled through California
and highlighted the role that U.S. military bases play worldwide
in launching and perpetuating war.
“Military bases and nuclear weapons form the basis for the
ideology of military actions and interventions as first options
in addressing conflicts,” notes
Bal Pinguel, director of the Peacebuilding and Demilitarization
Program. “The
sooner the United States and other military powers are divested
of these so-called ‘advantages,’
the more serious they will be about seeking diplomatic and non-military
solutions to conflicts.”
Economic Justice
Dialogue defuses war of nerves in the maquiladoras
Throughout this past summer, the AFSC-supported Comité Fronterizo
de Obrer@s (CFO, or Border Workers Committee) faced accusations
that it was trying to destabilize the economy of the towns where
it operates along the Mexico-U.S. border. At issue was the situation
at the Fujikura plant in Piedras Negras, Mexico, which planned to
lay off all its workers, void their contracts, and rehire them under
new (and most likely less favorable) terms.
The CFO supported the workers as they opted not to fight the mass
layoffs. Instead, they pushed to get their full severance benefits
as provided by Mexican labor law.
In response to the accusations from power brokers in Piedras Negras
and nearby Ciudad Acuña, CFO representatives met with the
mayors of both towns. The mayors understood the legitimacy of the
CFO’s causes and activities, and the meeting helped defuse
tensions and establish common ground. Ultimately, workers agreed
to a compromise with Fujikura.
Throughout the ordeal, AFSC provided technical support, notes
Ricardo Hernández, director of AFSC’s Mexico-U.S. Border
Program. “It’s
hard to explain when so often the work we do isn’t seen,” says
CFO leader Julia Quiñonez. “But we feel part of the
success when the workers can say, ‘We did it by ourselves’. ”
Healing Justice
Speaking out against confinement abuses of prisoners, immigrants
The staff of AFSC’s Newark, New Jersey-based Prison Watch
project, which monitors the conditions of prison confinement, routinely
speak out against human rights abuses. Now, they’re also addressing
the connections between the confinement of prisoners and the detention
of immigrants.
Bonnie Kerness, Prison Watch Coordinator, explains that both forms
of confinement—which can include people held in isolation
for long periods of time—violate international law. In
Newark, Prison Watch is working with staff of AFSC’s immigration
program on media outreach and speaking engagements to shed light
on the inhumane treatment of prisoners and immigrant detainees.
“Other problems that affect U.S. citizens in prisons, such
as lack of medical care and the inability to have translators so
people know what’s happening to them, are now falling on immigrant
detainees,” Bonnie adds.
She also notes that some farm owners are using prisoners to replace
migrant workers as cheap, exploitable labor. “They don’t
have the right to negotiate wages and they are punished for not
complying with their supervisors,” Bonnie says, pointing out
that this is a violation of the 13th Amendment everywhere except
in prisons. “This is forced labor, slave labor.”
Humanitarian assistance
AFSC projects in Africa help build a stable future
Recent projects in Central and Southern Africa not only have helped
communities to survive immediate crises, but also to develop stable
futures.
Working with local partners in Burundi, AFSC helped buy and distribute
anti-malaria medication for 300 people, as well as corn and flour
to some 1,500 people. The food distribution was part of a food-for-work
project that employed local people to help in the reforestation
of an ecologically devastated province.
AFSC also provided funds so three partner organizations in the
Democratic Republic of Congo could distribute seeds, food, and cooking
supplies to war widows. One goal is to begin dialogues there on
peaceful cohabitation, a necessity in a country that has witnessed
long periods of war since 1996.
In Mozambique, AFSC helped communities set up food and seed banks
to guard against future crop failures. The project also encouraged
people to avoid desperate and environmentally destructive measures
to ward off hunger.
More information is available online at www.afsc.org/africa
Youth
Youth summit spurs action on social justice
Creating a mural at the L.A. Peace Summit.
Photo: Mictlan Murals
On June 1, more than 700 high school and college students came
to the Los Angeles Peace and Justice Summit, co-organized by AFSC
and a number of youth and community groups. The day-long conference
featured student-led workshops on countering military recruiters,
the war in Iraq, cultural identity, police and the prison system,
and other social justice issues.
“The students came from some of the poorest communities in
Los Angeles,” says Eisha Mason, associate regional director
of AFSC’s Pacific Southwest region. “People may think
stereotypically that these students don’t care about social
justice. The response from that day is that they do care.”
The summit has served as a catalyst for smaller groups of students
to take on projects for social justice, and follow-up events already
are being planned for nine schools. AFSC staff and other youth organizers
are also sharing information about alternatives to the military
in these heavily-recruited schools.
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