RIGHTS ACTION – August 2011
Mid-Summer Emergency Response Funding Appeal
Dear friends,
As you know, on an on-going basis Rights Action channels your donations and grants to community organizations in Guatemala and Honduras (and in El Salvador and Chiapas, to a lesser extent) that are designing and carrying out their own community development, environmental defense, human rights and justice projects and struggles.
In 2011, to date, we have channeled $300,000 to our partner groups in Guatemala and Honduras, and also in El Salvador and Chiapas.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE WORK
We also provide small amounts of funds – on short notice – to people and organizations who have been victims of repression and/or disasters. There is no way to predict when acts of repression or “natural” disasters will occur, but history and logic teach us that they will occur.
Below, a summary people, families and organizations we have provided emergency funding to in 2011.
Thank-you for your trust and support; please send us your questions and comments.
Grahame Russell, info@rightsaction.org
(& Annie Bird and Karen Spring)
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2011
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- June 23, El Salvador: $560 for family members of another victim of a targeted killing in the Cabanas region – repression against people opposing Pacific Rim’s gold mining interests
- July 25, El Salvador: $312 for exhumation of bodies of war crime victims, covered by a mudslide in Morazan department
- July 25, Guatemala: $1030 for family of Melecio Chen, a Mayan Achi man and survivor of the Rio Negro massacres related to the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank funded Chixoy dam - killed by gangs, possibly related to organized crime
- March 15, Guatemala: $2060 for emergency food, shelter and medical supplies for hundreds of Mayan Qeqchi families illegally evicted from their communities and homes (burned to the ground) in the Polochic Valley, to make way for production of sugar cane and African palm, for production of diesel bio-fuels
- April 07, Guatemala: $655 for emergency political and humanitarian response work to illegal evictions of Mayan Qeqchi communities and homes (burned to the ground) in the Polochic Valley, to make way for production of sugar cane and African palm
- May 25, Guatemala: $760 for family of Oscar Reyes, a Mayan Qeqchi man shot dead during illegal evictions of communities and homes (burned to the ground) in the Polochic Valley, to make way for production of sugar cane and African palm
- June 06, Guatemala: $780 for family of Maria Margarita, a Mayan Qeqchi woman shot dead during illegal evictions of communities and homes (burned to the ground) in the Polochic Valley, to make way for production of sugar cane and African palm for diesel bio-fuels
- July 01, Guatemala: $450 for health attention for Mayan Qeqchi woman who suffered miscarriages due to being victim of a gang-raping in 2007 by soldiers, police and private security guards hired by HudBay Minerals nickel company
- February 01, Guatemala: $200 for family of Diodora, Mayan Mam woman shot due to her refusal to sell her plot of land to the Goldcorp Inc mining operation
- April 07, Guatemala: $715 for health needs of a Mayan Mam woman and leader in communities opposed to the harms and violations caused by Goldcorp Inc’s gold mining operation
- July 22, Guatemala: $130 for family of Diodora, Mayan Mam woman shot due to her refusal to sell her plot of land to the Goldcorp Inc mining operation
- July 22, Guatemala: $270 for family of German, Mayan Qeqchi man left paralysed after being shot by private security guards hired by HudBay Minerals
- January 28, Honduras: $80 to MCA campesino organization, for emergency health needs of Selia, wounded during violent, illegal evictions
- January 28, Honduras: $186 to MUCA campesino organization, for emergency protection needs of Juan, victim of an illegal detention and torture
- February 04, Honduras: $1030 to OFRANEH (leading Garifuna indigenous organization), for legal defense needs of Alfredo – facing trumped up criminal charges due to his work in opposition to international tourism business-investor illegal incursions into Garifuna communities
- March 08, Honduras: $492 to MCA campesino organization, for emergency house re-building work in community of Guadalupe Carney – burned by wealthy landowner to make way for production of sugar cane and African palm for diesel bio-fuels
- March 07, Honduras: $245 to MUCA campesino organization, for emergency protection needs of Juan, victim of an illegal detention and torture
- April 20, Honduras: $160 to MCA campesino organization for food and health needs of illegally jailed Isabal
- April 27, Honduras: $2050 to Siria Valley Environmental Defense Committee for emergency health needs of community members harmed by Goldcorp Inc’s cyanide leaching, open-pit gold mine
- May 28, Honduras: $85 to MCA campesino organization for food and health needs of illegally jailed Isabal
- June 01, Honduras: $50 to family of Abel for health harms caused by Goldcorp Inc’s cyanide leaching, open-pit gold mine
- June 01, Honduras: $50 to family of Eder for health harms caused by Goldcorp Inc’s cyanide leaching, open-pit gold mine
- July 29, Honduras: $540 to Siria Valley Environmental Committee for community and legal defense for 31 people facing trumped-up criminal charges for their community and environmental defense work related to Goldcorp Inc’s cyanide leaching, open-pit gold mine and illegal logging
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TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS
To support our Emergency Response work and to support indigenous and campesino organizations working for community-controlled development, environmental justice, human rights & justice in Guatemala & Honduras, Chiapas & El Salvador, make check payable to "Rights Action" and mail to:
UNITED STATES: Box 50887, Washington DC, 20091-0887
CANADA: 552 - 351 Queen St. E, Toronto ON, M5A-1T8
CREDIT-CARD DONATIONS: http://rightsaction.org/contributions.htm
DONATIONS OF STOCK: info@rightsaction.org
EDUCATION & ACTIVISM
- SPEAKERS: Contact us to plan educational-activist presentations in your community, school, place of worship, home
- DELEGATIONS TO CENTRAL AMERICA: Form your own group and/ or join one of our educational seminars to Guatemala and Honduras to learn first hand about community development, human rights and environmental struggles
- CREATE YOUR OWN email and mail lists and re-distribute our information
- RECOMMENDED DAILY NEWS: www.democracynow.org / www.upsidedownworld.org / www.dominionpaper.ca
- RECOMMENDED BOOKS: Eduardo Galeano's "Open Veins of Latin America"; Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States"; James Loewen’s “Lies My Teacher Told Me”; Naomi Klein's "The Shock Doctrine"; Paolo Freire's "Pedagogy of the Oppressed"; Dr Seuss's "Horton Hears A Who"
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- Please re-post this information
- To get on-off Rights Action’s listserv: www.rightsaction.org
- Follow Rights Action on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RightsAction.org
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FOR MORE INFORMATION
Grahame Russell, info@rightsaction.org
(& Annie Bird and Karen Spring)
Thank-you / Gracias a la vida