Archive for category Human Rights

Immigrant Women Denied Human Rights Speak Out

by Anna Aschenbach, New Haven County Branch, WILPF

On Wednesday, June 23, 2010, our Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) branch presented “Speak Out! Voices of Immigrant Women, Denied Human Rights in the U.S.” at the Courtland Wilson Library in the Hill, with Anna Aschenbach as M.C. Theresa Zumbo photographed the entire event. Branch manager Melissa Canham-Clyne was a tremendous help.

A placard in front of the podium stated, “We are all immigrants.”

Many women could not speak because their immigration status was not entirely clear.

The first speaker was Samaher Hanania, a Christian from Bethlehem, Palestine. Her husband’s cousin, a sick man who is also from Bethlehem, had been arrested in front of her by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and put in jail with no notice, no warrant, no information on where he was taken, and without his medications.

The second speaker, Guadalupe Montiel, came with her translator who also spoke Mexican Spanish. She told about the march from Fair Haven to downtown for May Day 2010 on the Green, and their demands.

The last speaker, Elvira Cereni, told about escaping from Albania and her troubles with low-income employment in the U.S.

Attendance included three WILPF members, a Turkish man, a former Russian Olympic woman athlete and two representatives of ANSWER.

We handed out postcards in English and Spanish: “10 Myths about Immigration” from Tools for Change, Syracuse Cultural Workers.

Attorney Olia Yelner’s points to be included in a good immigration bill were read aloud. One attendee added: “No profiling.”

Most importantly, the three immigrant women speakers heard each other.

Resist racial profiling from Arizona to Fair Haven

(contributed)

Resist racial profiling from Arizona to Fair Haven. Protest the enactment of SB1070.

There will be a rally at 6 p.m. July 28, in front of the Federal Courthouse at 141 Church St., in New Haven, CT.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer’s racist law, SB1070, has ignited a firestorm of protests around the country at the very time when immigrants, people of color and workers are standing up for justice. In addition to SB1070, which legalizes and enforces racial profiling and is aimed at all people of color in Arizona, the state has pased SB 2281, which bans ethnic studies from public classrooms and punishes critique of the American government and its international policy.

Other states reportedly are considering sililar moves. Many states and municipalities are seizing this opportunity to push through 287g, ‘Secure Communities’ and other ICE programs that destroy communities, tear apart families and intimidate workers.

These attacks come at a time when all people are suffering from the wave of budget cuts and mass unemployment that makes racism and anti-immigrant xenophobia so dangerous.

On July 29, 2010, the bill will be enacted. In solidarity with Arizona, coordinated actions throughout the country are being planned to show support for Arizona and to highlight local struggles of immigrants, people of color and workers.

For more information contact ulaccion@yahoo.com.

Peace Conference For Nuclear Disarmament In NYC Apr. 30-May 2

by Nancy Eberg, GNH Peace Council

During the weekend of April 29-May 2, a series of incredible events transpired in NYC. On Friday and Saturday, nearly 1000 participants from around the world attended a conference on the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons at Riverside Church. Hoping to influence the UN Review Conference on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons held the following week, the workshop tracks were abolition, peace, economic justice/human needs, and environmental sustainability. Experts in all fields participated, including locals from the Greater New Haven Peace Council—Henry Lowendorf and Al Marder. Henry, along with leaders of the World and Canadian Peace Councils, spoke about struggles against global imperialism; Al, with Cora Weiss, president of the Hague Appeal for Peace, and former Ambassador Sylvester Rowe of Sierra Leone discussed the Luarca Declaration that peace is a human right.

Three plenaries were held that included such noted speakers as Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General; Terumi Tanaka, head of the organization of bomb survivors; Mayor Akiba of Hiroshima; Princeton professor Zia Mian; noted author on nukes Joseph Gerson; and president of the World Peace Council, Socorro Gomes. The conference hoped to greatly expand the momentum started by Obama’s Prague speech and the negotiations between him and Medvedov for the new START Treaty. Highlights of the conference were Ban Ki-moon’s affirmation that he has proposed a nuclear weapons convention toward nuclear abolition and supports the Japanese timetable of 2020 for total abolition – commitments that should have an energizing effect on abolition proponents.

The Sunday march from Times Square to the UN was aimed in part to deliver the 7 million signatures collected worldwide to abolish nuclear weapons. Since Japan was the only country to experience the devastating bomb effects on an urban population, it sent nearly 2000 marchers. Estimates of total attendance varied from 10-15,000 (American newspapers) to 25,000 (Japanese newspapers). In spite of the unseasonably hot, humid, 90-degree weather and too-long pre-rally, spirits soared. Jubilant marchers sang and chanted, passing out innumerable origami peace cranes. Hope for a world without nuclear weapons permeated the group. It was an unforgettable experience that hopefully will have positive results.

The plenary sessions were live streamed during the conference, and most are now available for viewing (the closing session with Ban Ki-moon will be available soon).

For more on the speech by Ban Ki-moon, see the United Nations’ release.

See pictures taken by New Haven’s Henry Lowendorf here.

ADAPT News

by Heiwa Salovitz, ADAPT

ADAPT is a national grass-roots community that organizes disability rights activists to engage in nonviolent direct action, including civil disobedience, to assure the civil and human rights of people with disabilities to live in freedom. For information about an ADAPT chapter in New Haven, call (203) 887-0248 or e-mail cpmuslim@gmail.com.

One of ADAPT’s campaigns is the Community Choice Act (CCA). For a tax of six dollars a year, the CCA would help seniors to stay in their own homes instead of nursing facilities. People with disabilities would have funding available to help them live independently.

Community Choice Act: S 683 and HR 1670

Even with the recent passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590), federal law still requires that states provide nursing facility care in their Medicaid programs without a similar requirement for home and community-based services. The Community Choice Act (CCA) levels the playing field and gives Americans a real choice in long term care by reforming Title XIX of the Social Security Act (Medicaid) and ending the institutional bias.

The Community Choice Act allows individuals eligible for services in a Nursing Facility, Intermediate Care Facility for the Mentally Retarded (ICF-MR), or Institutions for

Mental Disease (IMD) the opportunity to choose instead a new alternative, “Community-based Attendant Services and Supports.” Services can be provided at home, in school, at work and in the community. Assistance is available for a broad range for needs, such as bathing, dressing, meal preparation, money management and certain health related tasks.

In addition, by providing an enhanced match and grants for the transition to “Real Choice” when the benefit becomes permanent, the Community Choice Act offers states financial assistance to reform their long term service and support system to provide services in the most integrated setting

What would this program cost?

On average, a middle class taxpayer would only pay an additional $2.29-$6.07 in taxes annually for CCA, depending on CCA cost. If the cost was adjusted for inflation for 2010, the middle class taxpayer would pay an average of $2.40-$6.35 annually.

What would this program cost?  $6.07 a year.

For more information about the CCA and to learn more about ADAPT, call (203) 887-0248, e-mail cpmuslim@gmail.com or visit the website www.adapt.org

May Day Immigrant March

by Chris Garaffa, ANSWER CT

1,400 people took to the streets for the annual May Day march in New Haven. The march proceeded from Quinnipiac Park down Grand Avenue in Fair Haven. Marchers were loud, spirited and energetic, chanting “¡Obama, escucha, estamos en la lucha!” (Obama, listen, we are in the fight!) and “Full rights now!” as people from the neighborhood joined the demonstration.

A number of groups organized for the march, and people came from New Haven and the surrounding area, and as far away as Stamford and Danbury.

As the march ended, it fed into the Federal Plaza downtown for a rally. Speakers denounced the lack of progress on real and meaningful immigration reform in Congress, Arizona’s racist SB 1070 and the terror of ICE across the country. Speakers also condemned racist police tactics in New Haven and neighboring East Haven, where recent community action and an investigation into racial profiling caused Police Chief Leonard Gallo to be placed on administrative leave in April.

This year’s May Day marches were called as a follow-up to the March 21 march in Washington, DC, which drew a crowd of 250,000. Those in New Haven joined hundreds of thousands of others in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Austin, TX, Seattle, WA and across the country.

Oneworld Progressive Institute

by N’Zinga Shäni

OneWorld Progressive Institute produces educational programs and community forums for the benefit of the entire community. In 2010 our focus will be mainly on Education and Civic Engagement. Our program “21st Century Conversations” airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on Comcast, Chan. 26. Visit: www.nhtv.com/Uverse.html to find us on AT&T U-Verse. We are on all major cable systems. Viewers can order DVD copies through our on-line store. We encourage readers to browse our website.

On CTV, Ch. 26: Political Debate with Debra Hauser and Roland Lemar, Thurs., June 3, 8-9 p.m.

Mondays, 8 p.m. during summer months, watch our new Health Care Information Series with Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, President Obama and leading CT health care experts. Our Education Series includes teen forums and workshops with principals, teachers and parents.

We encourage people to watch each broadcast.  Read these New Haven Independent articles about our recent programs.

The Kids Get Their Say by Zak Stone | Apr 28, 2010

Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority

Target: The “Brainwashing Thing”

by Zak Stone | Feb 19, 2010

Samples of comments posted about our April Teen Forum:

Pat on May 5, 2010: This is great! We need more opportunities for teens to show that they are good kids. The bad kids always steal the show. These kids are our hope for the future. Keep up the good work!

Mrs. Robles on May 5, 2010: I think all of these kids did a great job. Students should be asked for their input more frequently—too often, their thoughts and ideas are not taken seriously because many people think they are too young and/or immature to understand or talk intelligently about issues. Unfortunately, people usually gravitate towards the more sensational stories (the hijacked bus). However, if more stories like this are written, maybe this could change some people’s attitudes.

Harold on May 6, 2010: Why wasn’t this on the front page of the New Haven Register? We need to celebrate our good kids more and sessions like this do that. I’m glad I stumbled upon this article.

We encourage a desire for life-long learning; we believe that “21st Century Conversations” offer a unique opportunity to those who watch to learn a great deal about an array of issues. We at OneWorld are encouraging civic engagement and extolling Lighthouses of Knowledge. These can start at the kitchen tables; they can expand to the basement of churches and community centers. We welcome comments and feedback. OneWorld Progressive Institute,P. O. Box 8662, New Haven, CT 06531, (203) 407-0250, oneworldpi@yahoo.com,  www.oneworldpi.org.

Voices Of Immigrant Women Speak Out

by Anna Aschenbach, WILPF

At the May 16, 2010 monthly meeting of the New Haven County branch, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), we adopted the following project:
Our branch will sponsor a public meeting called Voices of Immigrant Women Speak Out. We will ask the speakers to talk of the abuses they have experienced in jobs, housing, from Immigration Control Enforcement (ICE) or from other groups and individuals in the U.S.

Our branch will ask three or four women from various ethnic origins to speak at a late afternoon public meeting in June in a free and accessible New Haven public place. We will offer each speaker an honorarium of $40. As soon as date, time and place have been established, we will send notices to our mailing list and will distribute fliers.

For up-to-date information or to suggest a possible speaker, please call Anna Aschenbach, (203) 468-8289 after 1 p.m. or leave a slow and clear message on the tape.