Rights Action - July 1, 2010
MID-YEAR 2010 SUMMARY & FUND-RAISING APPEAL
ANOTHER WORLD IS POSSIBLE ... IN CENTRAL AMERICA
CONTINUED RESISTANCE TO REPRESSION & IMPUNITY, EXPLOITATION & POVERTY, & ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
To date, in 2010, we channeled over $300,000 of your grants and individual donations to community-based partner groups in Guatemala and Honduras, as well as in El Salvador and Haiti; and done education and activism work addressing the underlying, local-to-global, causes of exploitation and poverty, environmental destruction and repression.
Rights Action's work would not be possible without your trust, involvement and financial support. Thank-you.
To make a tax-deductible donation, see below.
BELOW, HIGH-LIGHTS OF SOME OF RIGHTS ACTION'S WORK IN 2010.
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EMERGENCY & DISASTER RESPONSE
HAITI EARTHQUAKE, January 2010
In response to the most devastating and deadly "natural" disaster in the history of the Americas - over 300,000 people dead; over 1,000,000 directly harmed -, Rights Action raised over $25,000 that were channeled to a range of community based organizations providing direct relief (food, water, shelter, clothing, medical attention) to some of the surviving victims.
TROPICAL STORM AGATHA, Guatemala, June 2010
In response to the torrential rains of Tropical Storm Agatha, that resulted in mudslides and overflowing rivers - over 100 Guatemalans were killed; thousands lost their homes; hundreds of thousands lost subsistence crops -, Rights Action channeled over $10,000 to community groups that we worked with after Hurricane Stan devastated Guatemala in 2005, providing direct relief (food, water, shelter, clothing, medical attention).
HONDURAS PRO-DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT
Since the June 28, 2009 military-oligarchic coup against the government of President Zelaya in Honduras, we have channeled over $100,000 to the amazing anti-coup, pro-democracy movement in Honduras.
This courageous and visionary struggle against a US- and Canadian-backed, military-oligarchy dominated government and society, continues in 2010 - at great risk of on-going repression (including assassinations, disappearances and torture) in favor of the re-founding of the nation and society. In 2010, we have channeled more than $30,000 to this Program Area.
A major focus going forward - beyond getting continued funding and support for civil society organizations involved in the pro-democracy movement - is getting financial support for an international Truth Commission established to investigate and document all the human rights violations committed during and after the June 28, 2009 military coup and the ensuring military State repression.
REFORESTATION & ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
After the devastation of Hurricane Stan in 2005, we have continued funding reforestation and community environmental conservation projects in Mayan communities in the dry corridor (corredor seco) of central and eastern Guatemala. In 2010, we have channeled more than $25,000 to this Program Area.
MINING & DAM "MEGA-DEVELOPMENT" PROJECTS
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COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, HUMAN RIGHTS & ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
In Honduras and Guatemala, as well as El Salvador, we fund and support campesino and indigenous communities involved in struggles to resist the environmental and health harms and other human rights violations caused by mining companies, as well as hydro-electric dam projects.
These are comprehensive struggles in support of community-controlled development, in defense of human and indigenous rights, and in support of environmental well-being.
These struggles are related to harms and violations caused by: Goldcorp Inc's gold mining in Guatemala and Honduras; HudBay Mineral's nickel mining in Guatemala; Pacific Rim's desire to mine for gold in El Salvador; the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank's "Chixoy Dam" project in Guatemala; and more.
NORTH-SOUTH EDUCATION & ACTIVISM
It is Rights Action's conviction that the injustices our partner groups are working to address - environmental harm, military coups, repression, exploitation and poverty - are local, national and global, north-south issues at the same time. We focus most of our education and activism work on how the global north - governments, inter-government agencies and private companies, investors and banks - often contribute to and benefit from the environmental harm, military coups, repression, exploitation and poverty.
In 2010, Rights Action:
-- led 6 educational seminar-delegations of North Americans to Honduras and Guatemala to learn first hand and be in solidarity with struggles related to harmful mining companies and hydro-electric dams; resistance to the coup in Honduras; efforts to achieve justice for the repression and genocide in Guatemala; etc.
-- brought community leaders to Canada and the USA on 4 speaking tours to educate about the range of issues, including resistance to the harmful operations of North American mining companies; resistance to the military coup in Honduras; etc.
-- has given dozens of education presentations in communities, universities and other public forums across Canada and the USA, about the various issues and struggles we are working on and how North Americans can and ought to get involved in work and struggle for "another world is possible".
JUSTICE FOR STATE REPRESSION & GENOCIDE
Since the early 1990s, courageous Guatemalans have exhumed mass graves, filed cases in the courts and pursued legal justice for: particular massacres and the genocide; disappearances; political assassinations; torture; etc. Rights Action has funded and supported many repression victim groups that have pursed justice: Rio Negro massacre; Plan de Sanchez massacre; Dos Erres massacre; the 2 genocide cases; Chixoy dam reparations campaign; the Efrain Bamaca case; etc.
Since the early 90s, most of these well-documented and evidenced cases have gone almost nowhere because of impunity. However, since late 2009, early 2010, a tiny window has opened in the administration of justice and repression victim groups are again trying to push their cases forward. In this Program Area, in 2010 alone, we have channeled more than $25,000 to community, repression victim groups.
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INFORMATION & ACTIVITIES OF NOTE
In April, in Canada, CTV aired a W5 documentary "Lost Paradise" addressing many of the environmental and health harms and human rights violations being caused by Canadian nickel and gold mining companies in Guatemala (specifically Skye Resources, HudBay Minerals and Goldcorp Inc.). To view: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100415/w5_paradise_lost_100415/20100417
Since 1995, the Mayan-Achi communities harmed and destroyed by the World Bank and IDB-funded Chixoy Nydro-Electric Dam (including the massacres of 440 in the village of Rio Negro) have been seeking compensation and reparations from the Guatemalan government, World Bank and Inter-American Development bank. This has been a long, torturous and courageous struggle. In mid-2010, the government of Guatemala has agreed to almost all points in contention - that it was responsible and that it owes compensation and reparations to the 32 harmed and damaged Mayan communities, but - as of yet - has still not signed the final agreement to then release the compensation and reparation funds and begin work on numerous re-building projects. This extraordinary struggle, on the part of the Chixoy Dam harmed communities, hangs in the balance.
The government of Guatemala has said it will abide by a ruling of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights and order the suspension of Goldcorp Inc. harmful open-pit, cyanide leaching mine in San Miguel Ixtahucan (San Marcos). As of yet, Goldcorp Inc. has refused to suspend its mining operation. This extraordinary struggle, on the part of the mining-harmed communities, hangs in the balance.
Rights Action and the UNBC (University of Northern British Colombia - Prince George) initiated a series of investigations and reports into the forced evictions and gang rapes of Mayan Qeqchi villagers and women and girls, that took place in 2007. These terrible crimes were committed by Guatemalan soldiers, police and security guards hired by then Skye Resources nickel mining company and now the HudBay Minerals nickel mining company. At the same time, Rights Action reported on the September 2009 assassination of Adolfo Ich, a Mayan Qeqchi community leader, by security guards hired by HudBay Minerals. In 2010, our comprehensive support (funding, accompaniment, reporting) for the nickel mining affected communities continues.
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PLEASE MAKE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS for Rights Action's on-going work in support of communities carrying out their own environmental justice, community development and human rights projects. 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
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EDUCATIONAL & INVOLVEMENT
EDUCATIONAL DELEGATIONS TO CENTRAL AMERICA: Form your own group or join one of our educational, activist delegations to learn first hand about community development, human rights and environmental struggles (info@rightsaction.org)
EDUCATION IN YOUR HOME COMMUNITY: Contact us to plan educational presentations in your own community, school, place of worship, home (info@rightsaction.org)
-- JOIN our listserv. Go to: www.rightsaction.org
-- JOIN our newsletter mail list. Send name and address to: info@rightsaction.org
-- 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"; Naomi Klein's "The Shock Doctrine"; Paolo Freire's "Pedagogy of the Oppressed"; Dr Seuss's "Horton Hears A Who"
-- NEW BOOK: "CODE Z59.5: There Is Only One People Here", by Grahame Russell. Code Z59.5 is a series of diary excerpts (comments, facts, quotes, etc.) from the 1990s and 2000s, related to the author's work in Central America, Mexico and North America, in defense of human rights. (To order: info@rightsaction.org)
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WWW.RIGHTSACTION.ORG / INFO@RIGHTSACTION.ORG: Rights Action (with tax-deductible status in Canada and USA) funds and works with indigenous, development, environment and human rights organizations in Guatemala and Honduras, and also in El Salvador and Chiapas; and educates about and is involved in activism related to global development, environmental and indigenous and human rights struggles.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Grahame Russell, co-director, 1-860-352-2448, info@rightsaction.org & Annie Bird, co-director, 1-202-680-3002, annie@rightsaction.org |
