myMADRE

Remembering the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

MADRE just received this message from Sunila Abeysekera, a longtime friend of MADRE. She wrote about commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire last Friday, March 25. The 1911 fire took the lives of over 100 women, mostly young, immigrant women. You can read Sunila's message below:

Yesterday I was privileged to be in New York on the day that marked the 100th anniversary of the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in which 146 garment workers, mostly young (from 14 to 40) migrants, were killed. The women were members of the garment workers' union that had the previous year participated in a very widespread strike calling for better working conditions. There is a lot of information on the website, Remember the Fire.

Anyone who has ever heard me speak on Women's Day knows that this incident is one which I refer to, it is a tragedy that led to a great moment in working class and women's history and one which led to a series of laws and policies that improved wages and conditions in factories. 

In the evening, I went to a memorial meeting at the great hall in Cooper Union, where in 1909, the woman garment worker Clara Lemlich initiated the call for the garment workers' strike. It was very interesting because the whole event linked what is happening in the world today to what had happened 100 years ago: in terms of attitudes towards women, towards workers, towards immigrants.

There was a Bangladeshi woman worker who spoke and referred to the women killed in a garment factory fire last year. She called for a campaign against Walmart which apparently is a buyer that pays no attention to work conditions. Among other speakers, there was a Chinese woman who had worked in garment factories in the US when she was young and who now works with factory workers in China, women descended from migrants from Italy and Mexico and Central America, men and women from teachers' unions and someone from the coal miners union where also people had been killed in a fire in West Virginia.

There was music, a slide show, readings from newspaper reports of the time, performances, it was an amazing atmosphere, very moving, bringing home the appalling reality of women being burned to death in a matter of minutes because the bosses had locked the doors, because the fire escape collapsed, because the fire engine ladders didn't reach far enough, because the fire department safety nets broke when the women's bodies landed on them, because actually nobody cared about the safety of these young 'disposable' workers.

And there was an amazing affirmation of hope in working class organizing and solidarity!

It was so old fashioned, ... and yet so timely... and many who were there felt it was symbolic of an emerging interest in labour organizing. In past weeks there has been a flurry of union activity in many states against Republican attempts to make inroads into hard-won union privileges.

The New York City workers' choir sang 'bread and roses' and 'union girl'...

I thought of us all,

Sunila

MADRE Partner Tarcila Rivera Zea Speaks at CSW Session

Tarcila Rivera Zea, president of MADRE's partner organization in Peru, CHIRAPAQ, spoke during the morning session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) on March 3.

Tarcila, a Quechua activist, spoke about the importance of including the voices of Indigenous women at both local and international levels.

Watch the video (in Spanish): 

Combating Racism in Peru

Last November, the Peruvian government issued an apology to Afro-Peruvians for a history of “abuse, exclusion and discrimination” spanning centuries.  This announcement marked an important acknowledgement of past and current racially-motivated discrimination.  But Afro-Peruvian activists and leaders, aware of the need for more concrete political and cultural changes, have pushed for more.

LUNDU, a MADRE partner and an organization of Afro-Peruvian youth combating racism and sexism, has launched a campaign for the addition of Afro-Peruvian identities in the national census.  They have pointed to other policies in neighboring countries like Brazil and Colombia that provide space for the voices and leadership of women of African descent, and they have called for such inclusion in Peruvian policies.

The director of LUNDU, Mónica Carrillo, recently appeared on a web TV show to discuss the changes they are calling for.  The video in Spanish is included below.

Regular readers of this blog may recall that Mónica appeared in one of myMADRE’s very first blog entries!  She talked about the work of LUNDU and performed a spoken word piece.

To read more on LUNDU's blog (in Spanish), click here.

Building an Underground Railroad for Iraqi Women (Video Interview)

In the years since the invasion of Iraq, and as the US lent support to fundamentalist political forces keen on undoing women’s rights, women have been increasingly targeted with violence and death threats.  Together, MADRE and the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) founded the Underground Railroad for Iraqi Women, a network of women’s shelters established to create an escape route for women fleeing violence.

In the video below, MADRE Policy and Communications Director Yifat Susskind and Director of OWFI Yanar Mohammed were interviewed about the Underground Railroad and about the prospects for Iraqi women with the new US Administration.  The interview was featured on GRITtv, hosted by MADRE board member Laura Flanders.

Indigenous Women Speak Out Against Violence in Peru

Yesterday, we blogged about the violence that broke out early Friday, as the Peruvian government confronted groups of Indigenous Peoples organizing to defend their right to land.  While this violence exploded over the past few days, it did not come out of the blue.  The marginalization of Indigenous Peoples in Peru has long meant that their voices are suppressed in public debates and the collective rights of Indigenous Peoples are ignored.  But current developments--including economic policies pushed by the US--can drastically worsen these conditions.

The passage and implementation of the US-Peru Free Trade Agreement this year has triggered a series of developments setting the stage for further violations of collective Indigenous rights.  In keeping with the terms of the agreement, the Peruvian government passed new laws that opened up Indigenous lands in the Amazon region for oil drilling, mining, industrial agriculture and logging by multinational corporations.  Indigenous Peoples in Peru, recognizing this threat, mobilized to demand an end to these laws.

Indigenous Peoples' activism rejects this marginalization and demands that their collective rights be respected.  Nearly a month ago, we received a statement from Tarcila Rivera, a member of the MADRE Network of Experts and the Executive Director of CHIRAPAQ, a Peruvian Indigenous rights organization.  The statement was an open letter from the Continental Network of Indigenous Women, calling on the Peruvian government to respect Indigenous Peoples' rights, and below is an excerpt.

The agricultural, mineral, petroleum, wood and medicinal resources of Indigenous Peoples, along with their traditional knowledge of these resources, contribute to the development of the country and the well-being of its citizens and have been used for centuries without objection of our people. Under this premise, we believe that the Peruvian State has the obligation to protect and defend these resources along with its possessors.

We do not consent to being excluded from decisions regarding the resources situated in our territories, which have been preserved by our ancestors for centuries. It is our right to safeguard the continuity of this natural heritage in order to ensure a future with dignity and full rights for future generations.

The full statement is available here.

Indigenous Protesters Confronted with Violence in Peru

The images that have emerged out of the Amazon region of Bagua in Peru over the past few days have been deeply disturbing.  For months, Indigenous Peoples have spoken out against increasing incursions by government and multinational corporations on their land.  Violence broke out over the past weekend, as police cracked down early Friday morning on Indigenous people protesting and blocking a road.

Eyewitness reports have shown that police opened fire into the crowd and shot at people from helicopters, killing at least 25 Indigenous people and injuring many more.  In the ensuing clashes, up to 22 police officers and at least 40 Indigenous people, including three children, have been killed.

Democracy Now! today provided coverage of this issue, including video of the attacks over the weekend.  The video is embedded below, and please note that the images included in this video are violent and graphic.

Whereas the Wall Street Journal today blandly described the situation as a government attempt to “defuse a protest,” these images speak volumes about the scale of the police brutality. 

In recent weeks, Indigenous Peoples in Peru have mobilized against government plans to exploit their land and resources.  The US-Peru Free Trade Agreement entered into force on February 1, 2009, and since then new laws in Peru have opened up Indigenous lands in the Amazon region to multinational corporations for increased mining, agribusiness, oil drilling and deforestation.  In an attempt to suppress Indigenous protest against these laws, the government has confronted these activists with violence.

MADRE released a statement today, excerpted below:

MADRE decries the police brutality that led to these killings and notes that the human rights crisis in Bagua is ongoing: the government has declared a curfew from 3pm to 6am, protesters have been labeled “terrorists,” and Peruvian troops have occupied towns.

MADRE joins the international Indigenous movement in condemning the Peruvian government’s incursions onto Indigenous territories in the Amazon.  […]

While Peruvian President Alan Garcia has claimed that the protesters are standing in the way of development, MADRE joins Indigenous leaders who have underscored their right to free, prior and informed consent regarding any activities on their lands, as codified in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 

Member of the MADRE Network of Experts and Chairperson of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Victoria Tauli-Corpuz released this statement in the wake of the violence:

"The Chair of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues expresses her shock and deep distress at reports received of atrocities committed starting 5 June against Indigenous Peoples in the Amazon region, resulting in the loss of lives, disappearances and grave injuries. The Chair sends her deepest condolences to the families of the victims. The Chair calls upon the Peruvian Government to:

• Immediately cease all violence against indigenous communities and organizations,
• Ensure immediate and urgent medical attention to the wounded and assist the families of the victims,
• Abide by its national and international obligations regarding the protection of all human rights, including the rights of indigenous peoples and human rights defenders, especially their right to life and security."

*Photo credit: Amazon Watch

International Indigenous Women’s Forum: “A Forum for the Voices of All”

This is a guest blog entry by Mónica Alemán, who was MADRE's Program Director for many years.  She is now the Executive Director of the MADRE sister organization, the International Indigenous Women's Forum,  and a member of the MADRE Network of Experts.  As the Eighth Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues draws to a close, Mónica took some time to reflect on the role of Indigenous women and we asked her to share her thoughts with us.


On May 18th 2009, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples (UNPFII) convened for its 8th Session. The UNPFII is a space for dialogue with United Nations Members States, United Nations Specialized Agencies and, most importantly, with and between Indigenous women and men who year after year travel to New York for an opportunity to transform the way the United Nations system engages with Indigenous peoples.

Annually, at least 1500 representatives from over 120 countries across the globe participate.

The 8th Session in 2009 was a critical year for Indigenous women. In a context where the key focus of discussion operated around “implementation” of the existing international framework for the protection of Indigenous peoples’ rights, Indigenous women presented their country situations and how these situations have not yet been addressed.

Expert members of the UNPFII sought to revise the level of application of previous UNPFII recommendations issued, from 2002 - 2008 with a particular emphasis on those related to women and development.

In the halls of the United Nations, the fervent participation of Indigenous women is palpable. Women are constantly mobilizing amongst each other as well as reaching out to Indigenous men – by raising their voices Indigenous women express their gratitude for the advancements but also their strong disappointment in the work done so far or, better said, the work that has not yet been done.

The International Indigenous Women’s Forum (IIWF/FIMI) is a global initiative of Indigenous women’s organizations and networks from the Americas, Africa, and Asia. In 2009, IIWF/FIMI presented a Shadow Report on the Level of Implementation of the UNPF Recommendations 2002 – 2008. The report gathered responses from over 30 Indigenous peoples organizations and 32 United Nations agencies. The key concerns reflected in the report includes areas such as education, health, the environment, peace and development.

Through an extensive analysis of the areas put forward the IIWF/FIMI proceeded to make specific recommendations to the UNPFII in its final report.

The experience of working both in the context of mobilizing Indigenous women’s organizations at the continental or global level can best be equated with riding a high speed boat that has no stops on a river bank. Indigenous women are usually on the reaction side when it comes to the international agenda. Due to their geographical location and language barriers, Indigenous women face constant difficulties in positioning their priorities on agendas that are set at the global level. Therefore having the space at the UNPFII becomes even more relevant for such marginalized communities and voices.

Women Redefining Democracy

Alda Facio, a member of the MADRE Network of Experts, has written this article for openDemocracy about the role of women in defining democracy.  I've included an excerpt below, but you can read the rest here.

As peace needs to be built from the intimate to the international levels, so too must democracy be built from ourselves outwards as was so well synthesized in the '80s by the Latin American feminist slogan: “we want democracy in our countries and in our homes” (Democracia en el pais y en la casa). This slogan is, in turn, located in the ideology affirmed by millions of women around the globe: there can be no justice without human rights and no human rights without women’s rights.