November 2007 e-newsletter
Inter Pares' E-Newsletter
Reclaiming the romance of social change
In this e-newsletter:
- Letter of Introduction
- Excerpts from:
- Reclaiming the romance of social change
- The Rohingyas: No Longer Forgotten
- Fueling a Movement
- Rebecca's Journey
- Martin Khor: An Audacious Man
- Job opening
- Recent media coverage
Links
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Dear friends,
I am sure that you, along with most Canadians, watched with dismay and horror at the events unfolding in Burma over the past few months. That an illegal military regime can so violently repress the aspirations of the Burmese people for democracy and peace has generated outrage around the world.
For many years, Inter Pares has worked with the people of Burma and supported their efforts to restore peace and democracy to their country. In addition to the activities described in this Bulletin, our counterparts based in Burma and in the border regions of Thailand, India, China and Bangladesh are providing humanitarian assistance to refugees, organizing border-based health programs for refugees and displaced people, and assisting civil society organizations involved in human rights documentation, women's rights and social support programs. Despite the ongoing repression in Burma, these activities continue.
The Burmese junta's attempts to block international news coverage of their violent crack-down against the monks and the nuns failed. Much of the information that emerged from the country during the crisis was due to the work of independent media groups operating underground at considerable risk to themselves. Inter Pares and our counterparts have played a key role in the development of many of these media groups and we are very inspired by the work they are doing.
The attached Bulletin quotes Indian writer Arundhati Roy who suggests that we need to reclaim the "romance" of believing in justice and freedom and the courage to dream. Despite the tyranny in Burma, the jailed monks continue their non-violent struggle for justice, refusing to accept food from the hands of their jailors. In these acts of resistance reside profound courage, and the belief that a future of freedom and dignity is possible. This courage deserves our solidarity, and our commitment to help sustain this dream.
Your continued financial support is invaluable in helping Inter Pares to undertake this important work. We are also inviting our supporters to write to the Canadian government to express concern over these violent events in Burma and ask that Canada take a strong stand internationally against the illegal military junta. The Action Alert on our Web site (www.interpares.ca) provides more information and details of how we believe Canada should respond.
If you feel so inspired, we invite you to share your thoughts or comments and let us know how, in your own life, you are finding inspiration and hope.
Sincerely,
Peter Gillespie
P.S. Please send in your gift today, so that together we can continue to nurture international collaboration in the pursuit of social justice.
Reclaiming the romance of social change
There was a buzz in the Inter Pares office the morning in June that Martin Khor came to visit. Martin is famous for travelling without respite, meeting with leaders and experts from the North and South. He is a renowned activist and scholar as well as a storyteller, and his tales were funny, articulate and inspiring. We spoke about many things, including the possibilities and challenges of international collaboration and solidarity. ...
Click here to read the rest of this article
The Rohingyas: No Longer Forgotten
Within the already oppressive context of Burma's military dictatorship, the Rohingyas, a Muslim minority in western Burma, are systematically discriminated against and oppressed. They are deprived of their citizenship, their movements are severely restricted, and they are subject to forced labour, religious persecution and extortion. At the international level, the plight of the Rohingyas remains largely unknown and ignored. Chris Lewa is the coordinator of The Arakan Project, a human rights organization that has worked for the past seven years to bring their situation to light.
Chris Lewa shares with Inter Pares staff member Rebecca Wolsak part of her story as an activist in the movement for democracy and human rights in Burma. ...
Click here to read the rest of this article
Fueling a Movement
In 1997 in western Burma, on his twentieth birthday, Kim went to the local military jail to bring food to his uncle, something he'd done every day since his uncle and eighteen others were arrested for holding a Christian ceremony. The day Kim arrived with a special birthday meal, his uncle and the others had vanished. As he searched for them, he came across nineteen freshly dug graves in the nearby jungle. ...
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Rebecca's Journey
For decades, refugees have been making the trek from Burma to Thailand, in hopes of finding relative safety. Rebecca Wolsak recalls her first trip to Mae Sot, a Thai border town. "More than once I was stopped in the streets by someone from Burma who wanted me to know what was going on in their country." These stories had a profound influence on Rebecca's own story. She became determined to show solidarity with the Burmese struggle for democracy and human rights. ...
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Martin Khor: An Audacious Man
"I always knew there were problems with trade and the World Bank and the World Trade Organization, but I've never heard anyone explain it all so clearly before." It was a comment shared by many after hearing Martin Khor's keynote speech at a conference on human rights and trade in Ottawa. It was a passionate and at times funny speech from the Director of Third World Network (TWN), a long-term Inter Pares counterpart and a respected voice in international fora on the global economic system and human rights. After the event, Inter Pares staff member David Bruer had a chance to ask Martin a few questions about TWN's work. ...
Click here to read the rest of this article
Job opening
Inter Pares is hiring for the position of fundraiser. Please click here to view the job description.
Recent media coverage
"Two Activists Take Their Own Hard Line on Improving Women's Rights in Sudan"
In this article, which was published in Embassy magazine (www.embassymag.ca), Inter Pares counterparts Asha El-Karib and Fahima Hashim outline Sudanese women's struggles for equality. Click here to read the article.
Inter Pares staff interviewed on CBC Newsworld
During the peaceful Burmese demonstrations in the fall of 2007 that were brutally crushed by the regime, many Canadian organizations working in solidarity with Burmese social movements were contacted by media. Inter Pares answered many of these calls from newspaper, radio and television reporters. Program manager Rebecca Wolsak was interviewed on CBC Newsworld; click here to watch this television interview which was broadcast live on September 27th, 2007.
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Inter Pares
221 Laurier Avenue East, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6P1
Phone (1-613) 563-4801 or (1-866) 563-4801 (toll free) Fax (1-613) 594-4704
With the support of thousands of Canadians, Inter Pares works in Canada and around the world with social change organizations who share the analysis that poverty and injustice are caused by inequities within and among nations, and who are working to promote peace, and social and economic justice in their communities and societies. Charitable registration number (BN) 11897 1100 RR000 1.
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