progetto "Anch'io a Bukavu" [Inglese]

[Mariagrazia Bonollo <bonollomg@avs.vi.it>]

Carisismi, vi allego i fila del progetto e dell'appello in inglese.

Marigrazia x la segreteria

Associazione Nazionale
BEATI I COSTRUTTORI DI PACE

Padova - Via A. da Tempo, 2
Email    : beati@libero.it
http://www.peacelink.it/users/bcp
Tel & Fax: 049 80 70 699
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____________________________
... I'm coming to Bukavu, too!
10 December 2000:
52nd Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Non-violent International Peace Action for Africa in Bukavu, Kivu, DR Congo



Appeal
A never-ending tragedy is unfolding in Africa. Just one figure from the
statistics: in 22 months, war in Eastern Congo has caused 1,700,000 deaths,
and the vast majority are civilians. All this is taking place amidst a
general lack of interest, as though it were not really happening.
Despite the dignity of its people, despite its huge economic potential and
great cultural heritage, today Africa is dying. The continent is crying out,
but her cries fall on deaf ears.
The governments of the most powerful countries are more concerned with
protecting their own vested interests in the extraction and trade of
precious minerals and timber than they are with the lives of millions of
desperate people. Entire populations in distress, suffering from
unmentionable violence: these men and women feel defrauded and betrayed by
us "Westerners."
This is the injustice that the prophets endeavoured to right when they
announced the Jubilee, calling for debts to be forgiven, for land and
freedom to be restored. This was the core of Jesus's message, when in
Nazareth he scandalized everyone, focussing on the poor as the  point  of
departure, the novelty and  the strength of his Jubilee.
We have been invited to Bukavu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, by the
"Société civile", and the Catholic and Protestant churches, so that we might
bear witness to the suffering being endured by these people, but also to
their non-violent resistance to war.
We have decided to accept their invitation.
On 10 December 2000, on the 52nd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, we will go to Bukavu, in South Kivu in the Great Lakes Region,
one of the most conflict-ridden areas in the world. We hope that there will
be lots of us - as many as possible - accompanied by distinguished
international personalities. We'll be going to Bukavu, but that city will
symbolize the whole of Africa for us: its tragedy and its resistance; its
suffering and the strength of its non-violence; its pain, but also its
message of hope.

It will be a people-to-people meeting, echoed in Europe and in the rest of
Africa by other initiatives. Our purpose is:
- to witness from within the contradictions of armed conflict;
- to  reaffirm, with our non-violent action, the right of civil society to
play a role in peacemaking, denouncing the decisions taken by the powerful
in disregard for the destiny of common people;
- to re-establish the truth about ourselves and our Western society, an
economic model that condemns the poor of the world to become ever poorer;
- to fight against a form of globalization that is only economic, governed
by the North of the world, and to demand a new  system, the globalization of
human rights starting from the South;
- to say no to the arms trade and to a foreign debt that is strangling the poor;
- to exert pressure on our international institutions in order that they may
take decisions in full respect of the dignity and rights of individuals and
peoples, according to the tenets of international law and not merely in
favour of the vested interests of the powerful;
- to re-affirm our right to accurate and truthful information;
- to implore, in unison with these men and women who despite all their
suffering are keeping hope alive with their non-violent resistance, the gift
of reconciliation and peace.

We are fully aware of the limited scope, the difficulties and the
contradictions of this project. But for us this is an invitation we cannot
turn down. We also believe that our presence may provide support to people
who feel abandoned by the world and it may give us the strength to change
our lifestyles and revive our steps on the road to peace.

Beati i costruttori di pace
Ass. Papa Giovanni XXIII: Operazione Colomba
Chiama l'Africa
Padova, 28 July 2000



____________________________
... I'm coming to Bukavu, too!
10 December 2000:
52nd Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Non-violent International Peace Action for Africa in Bukavu, Kivu, DR Congo



There are many cooperation and aid projects for Africa, but, as
representatives of Western civil society, we are having difficulty in
committing ourselves firsthand for peace, non-violence and reconciliation.
We are constantly being called upon to meet the challenges of new
emergencies, but we never tackle the root causes. This is why we decided to
accept the invitation we received from Bukavu (see below). Ours is a limited
project and it refers merely to one specific situation, but it is our
intention to look beyond Bukavu to Africa as a whole, to recognize and
denounce our responsibilities as Europeans, as Westerners, in the injustices
perpetrated by the global economic system, in the arms trade and in the lack
of accurate information.
To all persons and organizations working for peace in the Great Lakes Region
The Congolese population has been fighting since 1990 for freedom, democracy
and dignity in our beautiful Great Lakes Region. The Société Civile has
played and continues to play an important role in this process. Yet, we are
beginning this new millennium in a climate of widespread war, insecurity and
oppression.
For this reason we are planning on and around 10 December 2000 a series of
events here in Bukavu in favour of peace and human rights that will include
inter-faith prayer meetings, conferences, cultural events of all types on
topics related to the observance of human rights.
We are inviting to these events the representatives of civil society from
Kivu, Congo, Africa, as well as persons and organizations from all over the
world who are active in this field.
We hope that you will be able to help us involve others, too. And if some
international organization, non-governmental or UN-related, active in the
field of human rights, wishes to support us, we would be very glad.
We are looking forward to your reply and sincerely hope that you will join
us in December.
(Invitation from the "Société Civile" in Bukavu sent on 20 April 2000 to
"Beati i costruttori di pace" - Blessed Are the Peacemakers).

Responding to this invitation, three representatives of Beati i costruttori
di pace and Papa Giovanni XXIII travelled to Bukavu to witness firsthand the
suffering of the population and the extraordinary non-violent resistance of
the men and women in that city, which keeps hope alive in their communities.
It is a truly unique example of peaceful struggle, being active and
creative, and it enjoys the widespread participation of the population. It
is all the more significant since it can be taken as a paradigm for the
whole of Africa, the continent that registers the highest number of internal
and international armed conflicts. Just to mention some examples of the work
of the civil society and religious associations: on 8 March, the women of
the city declared a strike - called the strike for "bread and roses" as
opposed to hunger and violence - not attending their market stalls, not
going out of the house, a woman's day without women. In August 1999, every
day at midday the whole city stopped, with people grabbing whatever they
could get their hands on to make noise, and shouting in as many languages as
they knew "we want peace". And when the violence becomes intolerable, the
whole city proclaims "la ville morte", dead city: no one goes out of the
house, no one goes to work ... and like this they express their rejection of
all forms of armed violence, whatever side it comes from. And, in the midst
of all this destruction, this civil society has organized itself to take in
the displaced persons from the countryside, where the insecurity is even
worse: they provide them with food, with solidarity, they welcome the
children into their schools. In all the meetings our little delegation had
in Bukavu, one thing was constantly stressed: the responsibility of the
West, especially of the EU and the USA, in the tragedy of Africa.
How can we shoulder this responsibility? How can we provide support for a
population that is crying out for help, but has not given up its struggle?
How can we defend the inestimable wealth that is a civil society engaged in
non-violent resistance, in a world such as ours which considers as "wealth
of the Congo" only its precious reserves of mineral ore (gold, diamonds and
coltan, a rare mineral used to make warheads)?
For this reason, we are proposing an international non-violent peace action
in December 2000

CONTEXT
In the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo for two years now a
war is being fought: in 22 months it has caused the death of 1,700,000
people, and the world has looked on in silence. The city of Bukavu itself is
surrounded by territory that military and paramilitary groups have turned
into a wasteland. Bukavu is running the very real risk of being attacked.
For the young, disappointed by the behaviour of USA, EU, UN and OAU and
trying to survive in conditions of increasing poverty, there is a strong
temptation to join the armed struggle, both for money and to "liberate" the
country. The dramatic situation is described very accurately in the latest
document of the Congolese Bishops' Conference (15 July 2000). Nine African
countries are involved in the conflict in the DRC. Roberto Garreton, Special
Rapporteur to the Secretary General of the UN, wrote in his latest report
(29 March 2000) that the territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo is
ravaged by several armed conflicts, some of which are internal, and others
of an international character.


OBJECTIVES
- To create an initiative that will bring as many people as possible to
Bukavu on 10 December 2000.
- To set in motion in our countries a series of initiatives that will
guarantee continuity of attention and information on Africa and, as a
consequence, exert political pressure on international institutions.


ULTIMATE GOALS
- To hold a people-to-people meeting that may become a joint prayer for peace;
- To exert pressure on the international institutions, so that they may take
decisions in full respect of the dignity and rights of individuals and
peoples, according to the tenets of international law, and not in the
interests of the powerful;
- To face our responsibilities in the injustice of the dominant economic
system, the arms trade and the lack of accurate information;
- To bear witness to the suffering of the people, but also to show
solidarity with those who are keeping hope alive by their non-violent
resistance;
- To propose a globalization of human rights, starting from the South of the
world, and in one of the most conflict-ridden areas;
- In the spirit of the Jubilee launched by the prophets, to begin a move
towards justice, demanding debt forgiveness and the restoration of freedom
and land;
- To give each other hope so that we might see the truth about ourselves and
our development model and succeed in changing our lifestyles;
- To contribute to shed light on the truth regarding local and international
responsibilities, so that peace and reconciliation can be achieved by
non-violent means.


THE INTERNATIONAL PEACE ACTION
At the time of writing it is not yet possible to provide a detailed
programme: cost, exact times and other elements will depend on the
feasibility of organizing a chartered flight, and this in turn will depend
on the number of participants. We shall leave from Italy on the 6th of
December for Bukavu and will return on the 13th. We hope that the group will
be numerous, and all concerned people, as individuals or as representatives
of associations, institutions and organizations are invited to join. The
programme of events will be drawn up jointly with the Société Civile, the
Catholic and Protestant churches of Bukavu and will include the presence of
distinguished international personalities, especially African, together with
artists, singers and journalists. The focus will be the 10th of December,
52nd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the
intention is to attract international attention to Africa as a whole, with
special reference to the conditions in Bukavu, South Kivu province. The
situation is evolving rapidly: there is a considerable risk that the
military and political conditions may change, and that the project will have
to adapt to a new situation. We are fully aware of our limitations and those
of the project, as well as of the risk of organizing something inadequate
and incomplete; but we are responding to the invitation we received from
Bukavu with the impositions of an emergency action. And it is with urgency
that we hope we shall be able to offer support to those who feel abandoned
and frustrated by the international institutions and to revive our steps on
the road to peace.


MODALITIES
Ours will be a non-violent action, therefore we ask all participants to
abide by the principles of non-violence, in their behaviour and in the
action methodology. Our presence will be discreet; the style of the
initiative will be characterized by simplicity and poverty, in means and
resources. It will be necessary for each one of us to be prepared to face a
difficult situation; we shall listen and learn, with respect, as is fitting
for those who enter a new reality for the first time, without any pretension
of being those who bring a solution. A set of guidelines will be drawn up
and each participant will have to abide by them. There will also be a
training session for all before our departure.


PARTECIPATION
We shall accept individual participation requests, asking each person to pay
for her/his own travel expenses: where possible, groups of several people
should get together and raise the funds to send one representative. We
encourage movements and associations to participate, also as backers of the
initiative, but we ask them to guarantee the presence of at least one
representative or provide the funding for at least one other person (at
present, we are hoping to contain expenses to below 1000 dollars per person,
in the hopes of obtaining funds with which to cover the travel costs of our
invited guests). If we succeed in organizing a charter flight, it will be
necessary to have an exact list of confirmed participants by 10 November. We
ask everyone to confirm their intention to participate as soon as possible
to the Secretariat. If you know of religious, political, social
personalities who are interested in the project, please communicate their
names so that they can be sent an invitation.

We have opened a special bank account to collect funds for this project: c/o
Banca Etica di Padova, Abi code 5018, Cab code 12100, acct. no. 507020,
"Progetto Africa - Bukavu".







PROMOTERS
Ass.ne Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII - Operazione Colomba
Ass.ne nazionale Beati i costruttori di pace
Chiama l'Africa