Tsunami: Providing Relief, Promoting Social Justice

["UFPJ Action Alerts" <listmaster at unitedforpeace.org>]

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ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
http://www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545
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IN THE WAKE OF THE TSUNAMI:
** Demand increased U.S. aid
** Demand immediate debt cancellation
** Donate to grassroots relief efforts (details below)
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The damage wrought by the December 26 tsunami is so epic and heartbreaking
in its scope that words can hardly convey the sense of loss and grief we
feel. United for Peace and Justice joins with people all around the world
in mourning the devastation, and in seeking ways to help the survivors.

We do so with an acute awareness of the role that global inequality and
widespread poverty plays in intensifying “natural” disasters, and of the
repressive conditions that defined ordinary life for many in the region –
particularly in the hardest hit area, the Indonesian province of Aceh --
even before the tsunami hit. We are recommending several action steps
intended not just to respond to this immediate crisis but to promote
lasting social justice in the region.

INCREASE U.S. AID. Contact your Congressional representatives to demand
that the U.S. government dramatically increase its aid to the affected
countries. After considerable pressure, the Bush Administration has upped
its pledge of support to $350 million – but that figure is still
insultingly small, less than the amount that is wasted every two days on
the disastrous and unnecessary war in Iraq. Find contact information for
your representatives at http://www.house.gov/ and http://www.senate.gov/

CANCEL THE DEBT. Like much of the Global South, the countries most affected
by the tsunami have been crippled for years by staggering debt. Indonesia
alone pays more than $7 billion each year in debt service to the
International Monetary Fund and World Bank – a figure that dwarfs the total
aid pledged so far to the entire region. UFPJ strongly supports the call by
Jubilee South (http://www.jubileesouth.org) and groups all around the world
in calling for the unconditional cancellation of all the debt owed by
countries hit by the tsunami. Support this demand by joining Jubilee USA
Network in sending a letter to President Bush and Treasury Secretary Snow
calling for immediate debt relief. Click here:
http://www.jubileeusa.org/jubilee.cgi?path=/take_action&page=tsunamiletter.html

SUPPORT GRASSROOTS RELIEF EFFORTS. Private giving is not a substitute for
government aid or debt cancellation. That said, there are many grassroots
nongovernmental organizations in the region that are not only doing key
relief work but are also empowering local communities and providing a
crucial counterweight to the often corrupt and brutal governments of the
most affected countries. Below are several groups that we especially
encourage you to support:

East Timor Action Network
http://www.etan.org/action/action2/23alert.htm
The East Timor Action Network is collecting contributions from people in
the United States who want to give direct aid to local grassroots and
humanitarian organizations in Aceh, the remote and war-torn Indonesian
province that has been most devastated by the tsunami. Direct donations to
grassroots organizations in Aceh circumvent the inevitable siphoning off of
resources - both monetary and material -  to the Indonesian government and
military, which has a long and brutal record of human rights violations in
Aceh. Big international NGOs will be obliged to work through the Indonesian
government, while donations via the ETAN relief fund will go towards
developing local capacity and will help sustain groups that have been doing
important humanitarian and social justice work for years.

Via Campesina
http://www.viacampesina.org/art_english.php3?id_article=500
Via Campesina is global alliance of peasant, family farmer, farm worker,
indigenous and landless peoples organizations, and other rural movements;
they have numerous active member organizations in the region affected by
the tsunami. The relief philosophy of Via Campesina is that local
communities – particularly, in this case, fisherfolk and peasant
organizations -- should participate actively and be the key actors in the
reconstruction process. By donating to Via Campesina’s relief fund, you can
help those in need at this time in ways that help build self-sufficiency,
grassroots organization, and people’s power for the future.

American Friends Service Committee
http://www.afsc.org/give/asia-relief.htm
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a member group of United for
Peace and Justice, is mounting an important relief effort in hard-hit Aceh.
AFSC has had a presence and contacts in Indonesia for more than 35 years,
through its peace-building efforts and international conferences and
seminars, and is working to offer pragmatic, immediate help that builds
longer-term recovery so that communities can rebuild long after the media
attention and compassionate responses for aid have diminished. AFSC’s
longstanding expertise in relief work, peace-building, and grassroots
empowerment make it especially well-suited to provide effective support to
communities in Aceh.

MADRE
http://www.madre.org/programs/appeal/tsunami.html
The human rights group MADRE, which is a member group of United for Peace
and Justice, has partnered with a Sri Lankan women’s organization, INFORM,
to help establish and equip emergency health centers in areas affected by
the tsunami. Through these centers, survivors will receive the emergency
medical attention and clean drinking water they so desperately require and
displaced women and families will receive crucial trauma counseling, which
will help them cope with the deaths of their children and other loved ones,
gradually heal from their trauma, and begin to rebuild.

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ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
http://www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545
To subscribe, visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org/email
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