Mois : mai 2006

Index May 2006

V. Mohini Giri – India

Linked with our presentation of Guild of Service – India.

Linked also with our presentation of Transforming Approaches to Conflict Resolution.

She says: « The building of peace is a constructive activity. There is nothing passive about either the concept or the state of peace ».

V. Mohini Giri – India

Dr. V. Mohini Giri has served as Chairperson of the Guild of Service since 1979. Guild of Service is a social service organization which, among its projects, helps the displaced widows of India. Dr. Giri has also served as Founder President of the War Widow Association since 1971 and as Founder Trustee of the Women’s Initiative for Peace in South Asia since 2000. A social activist and leader in the women’s movement, specializing in human rights and gender justice, Dr. Giri is renowned both nationally and internationally for her committed work in empowering women politically, socially, legally and economically.

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Jeremy Corbyn – England

Linked with our presentations of Make Poverty History – Treat Humanity properly, and also of Towards a global solidarity. See also Remembering British Unions.

He said about his proudest achievement in parliament since 1997: « The detention of General Pinochet for 503 days in Britain helped to change the political climate in Chile, which means there is now a real prospect of him being put on trial. I am delighted that the government has put so much money into housing repairs, but in a second term they must put money into new council housing in London ».

Jeremy Corbyn – England

In January 2003 he visted the US to conduct and participate to anti-Irak-war demonstrations. See all texts and photos on this page of the Traprock Peace Center.

Excerpt of a debate about War-on-Iraq: … Of the speeches that stick in my memory – obviously Tony Blair’s speech. Not that I agreed with it, in fact I intervened on it. Kenneth Clarke I thought made a very strong case and Chris Smith made I thought a very logical case against the war, and Tam [Dalyell]. It was a day when, while there was a three-line whip on, obviously there was huge pressure being put on, in a sense, with the numbers opposed it would be impossible to completely whip on that. It would have to be done by persuasion. That’s why enormous effort was put into the persuasion of MPs, including alleged threats and dangers, and endless lists of who might vote against, who might abstain. We, at one stage, found we had a list of 200 plus Labour MPs who were possibly going to vote against – and we ended up with a 139, plus Dennis Skinner (who was very ill in hospital and couldn’t be there, but I always include Dennis in the anti vote).

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Yan Christian Warinussy – Indonesia

Linked with our presentation of Statement … The West Papua Case.

And linked with our presentation of Petition Letter the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization.

Indonesia maintains control over West Papua, using military might to deny the indigenous peoples their human rights and silence demands for self-determination. Since its invasion in 1963, an estimated 100,000 Papuans, about 15% of the population, have been killed by Indonesian armed forces and militias. Read more on Canada’s West Papua Action Network.

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Mr. Warinussy’s untiring efforts for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in West Papua have made him a role-model for his community and for future generations. Confronted with summary executions, torture, sexual violence and massive appropriation of indigenous land by Indonesia’s armed forces and multinational companies, Mr. Warrinussy works tirelessly towards ending impunity for those who commit these crimes against humanity and the environment of his homeland. (Read more on this page of Pacific Peoples’ Partnership PPP).

Yan Christian Warinussy – Indonesia

2005 John Humphrey Freedom Award – Rights & Democracy is honored to present Papuan human rights activist Yan Christian Warinussy with the 2005 John Humphrey Freedom Award.

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Bahey El-Din Hassan – Egypt

Linked with our presentations of The prisoner as message, and of Human Rights… The Sacrifice on its Feast Day!.

Linked also with the presentations of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network EMHRN, and of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies CIHRS.

He says (excerpt): « International initiatives are particularly important because Arab governments turn a deaf ear to internal calls for reforms and even suppress reformists, while they pay more attention to external initiatives.Chances of success of initiatives of the International Community initiatives are however enhanced if they meet the principles of the calls for reforms from within the Arab region ». (See fidh.org).

Bahey El-Din Hassan – Egypt

See Arab Reform Bulletin March 2006.

He says also: « With the growth of the human rights movement in the Arab world, there are several tasks that must be accomplished. They can be divided into three groups: First: Policy-Oriented Tasks … , Second: Institutional Tasks … , Third: Intellectual Tasks … « . (Read this all on The Human Rights Databank).

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Veronica Khosa – South Africa

Linked with the presentation of SOS Social Centre Mamelodi – South Africa.

Linked also with our presentation of Successful Social Entrepreneurs … a book review.

Veronica Khosa saw that the health care system in South Africa was unable to manage the AIDS crisis. A nurse by trade, she had visited hundreds of people with AIDS who were suffering alone in their homes, with no one around to provide simple care or pain relief. In response, she founded Tateni Home Care Nursing Services and instituted a community-based model capable of addressing the AIDS pandemic at the enormous scale of the problem. She spent years developing and professionalizing her basic home-care model, instituting an innovative system to provide training to thousands of unemployed youths so they could offer effective care to the people in their communities and families.

Veronica Khosa – South Africa

The government has adopted her model for the largest state in South Africa and it has since spread to more than fifty localities. Through the recognition of the world’s leading health organizations, the idea is spreading beyond South Africa. Khosa is now developing a community-based response to orphan care that she plans to spread nationally. (Read more on how to change the world).

Veronica Khosa is the coordinator and founder of Tateni home-based care organization. She sought out the partnership with SOS in order to address the overwhelming orphan problem she was confronted with when terminally ill patients who were receiving care from her organization passed away. “When SOS agreed to partner I was so happy to know that I was not alone – I had someone else to share burden.” When Veronica established Tateni it was the first home-based care project in South Africa. Formerly employed as a government nurse, Veronica was confronted by the fact that the hospitals had very little to offer PLWHAs in the way of care. She realized that to address the needs of people who were ill, their families had to be taught how to care for them. With regard to children from affected families, Veronica remarks, “How would you discover the situation ofchildren that need care, unless you go into the homes? » Veronica hopes that the partnership between SOS and Tateni will be able to further expand into the community and reach out to even more needy children. (Read more on SOS childrend’s villages).

She is also one of the 1000 women proposed fort the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

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Medha Patkar – India

Linked with our presentation of Narmada Bachao Andolan – India.

Linked also with the presentation of The Narmada Dam Project – India.

She says (excerpt): « The first and the foremost are the development issues, which people are raising wherever they are questioning the development process. The point is that the communities which are based on the natural resources are compelled to sacrifice those resources in the name of development, with the principle of eminent domain that the state resorts to. The state takes away these natural resources from the communities, the fish workers, the farmers, or manual labourers. It certainly stands by the marketized, industrialized, urbanized communities, and that small section of the society then uses these resources or the benefits drawn out of these resources at the cost of all those who loose theirs. This society certainly doesn’t give a real share in the benefits to those who sacrifice their land, water, forests. This is considered as a part and parcel of development and the tradeoff that is necessary ». (Read the rest of this very long interview on India Together, about The face of the Narmada).

Medha Patkar – India

She is also one of the 1000 women proposed fort the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

Among India’s most dynamic activists, Medha tai or Medha didi, as she is called by schoolchildren and police alike, knows the Narmada Valley hamlet by hamlet. Equally fleetfooted on the narrow mountain paths with only a torch and the light of the moon and stars, or on the Indian Railways where all the Ticket Collectors (TCs) are familiar with her travelling karyalaya — documents, banners, pamphlets — Medha Patkar follows the truth to its lair.

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Willy Randin – Switzerland

Linked with our presentation of Nouvelle Planète.

Texts about Willy Randin himself are seldom and they are most in french. What can be found in the internet is about his devoted work for what is called the south, the poors, women, projects in emerging countries. But this work is so important, so I’ll do my best:

Willy Randin – Switzerland

The founder (of the NGO Nouvelle Planète) Willy Randin, who used to direct the hospital, and Maurice Lack, an architect specialized in bioclimatics, proposed a project based on renewable sources of energy. Research was conducted in this direction, but the people in charge of the Albert Schweizer hospital were not interested by the project. Instead of simply abandoning their ideas, Maurice Lack and Willy Randin wanted to develop the appropriate technologies with interested people in other parts of the world. To do this, they founded the « Albert Schweizer Ecological Centre » (CEAS) and the «Sahel Action of Schweizer’s Work » (now « Nouvelle Planète »), in Switzerland.

At the time, Willy Randin was working for a big development agency in Switzerland, and he had been able to see the extent to which citizens had the desire to understand the reality of Southern countries, and to mobilize themselves in view of backing small projects by establishing direct relations with the beneficiaries. (See this page of Nouvelle Planète).

Books and articles in french, by Willy Randin:

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Evaristo Nugkuag Ikanan – Peru

Linked with our presentation of the KARI-OCA DECLARATION.

« …for organising to protect the rights of the indians of the amazon basin. »

He says: « We are now facing a difficult situation in Peru, where there are attempts to cut back the territorial rights of the indigenous peoples, including moves to divide, fragment and privatise our communal organisations. Now more than ever, it is a matter of urgency for us to consolidate our own indigenous alternatives for development. »

Evaristo Nugkuag Ikanan – Peru

1986 he was awarded for upholding the rights of the Amazon Indians.

Since the European invasion of South America in the 16th century, the indigenous peoples, and especially those of the Amazon, were confronted with various ‘civilising’ forces which brought the destruction of their lands, resources, cultures and rights, and even individual or mass killings. On the threshold of the 21st century , this reality still continues in different forms, using violent or subtle methods according to the country concerned. In this context, Evaristo Nugkuag Ikanan became a leader of the Aguaruna people of Peru and has devoted himself to organising the indigenous people of the Amazon Basin in order to uphold their human, civil, economic and political rights. In 1977, he was one of the founders of the Aguaruna and Huambisa Council (CAH) which represented 45,000 inhabitants of 140 communities in the tropical forest region. Developing alternative methods of land protection, human development, health care and education, the Council became one of the most effective indigenous organisations in South America …

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Rita Thapa – Nepal

She is one of the 1000 women proposed fort the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

Through Nagarik Awaz, Rita Thapa provides support to thousands of people whose lives have been turned upside down by the fallout of the Maoist insurgency in Nepal.

Rita Thapa – Nepal

She works for Tewa, and for Nagarik Awaz.

For the past 24 years, Rita Thapa (born 1952) has devoted her personal and professional life to founding and supporting institutions working for women’s empowerment and for the development of philanthropy and peace-building in Nepal. Through Tewa, established in 1996, she has worked for grassroots women throughout Nepal. Nagarik Awaz (Citizen’s Voice), set up in 2001, provides support to thousands of people whose lives have been turned upside down by the Maoist insurgency and the government’s overkill retaliation.As the Maoist insurgency in Nepal gained ground, Rita Thapa knew she could not sit on the sidelines and just watch her fellow countrymen and women kill each other. So, in 2001, this intrepid woman decided to found an organization, Nagarik Awaz (Citizen’s Voice), to help all those affected by the conflict, without taking sides.

As the situation in Nepal is deteriorating by the day, it is hard to talk of ‘results’ and ‘improvements’. But, clearly, the intervention of Thapa and her coworkers has had its impact.: A cadre of committed peace workers has been created, and their numbers are growing. Transit homes and temporary shelters have been set up to help the thousands of people internally displaced, injured and traumatized by the armed forces, whether Maoist or government.

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