Our featured image shows our beloved Miriam (1947-2012), a great friend and human rights defender
HE WHO PERMITS OPPRESSION PERMITS CRIMES.-Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536)
Desiderius Erasmus in 1523 as depicted by Hans Holbein the Younger. The Greek and Latin words on the book translate to “The Herculean Labors of Erasmus of Rotterdam”.
CHARITY CORNER
the This week we turn our attention to the Helen Keller International. The mission is to prevent blindness where possible. Our mission is to save and improve the sight and lives of the world’s vulnerable. They have high ratings from Charity Watch and Give Well.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
Indigenous tribes do not simply die out. They are killed by the actions of so-called civilized nations. Survival International provides a long list of cases in which a letter from you can and will make a difference. Please open this link and write at least one letter. This link will be a permanent feature on our blog and we would be grateful if you gave it a bit of attention each week. We suggest going down the list in the order given. The letters are pre-written for you. All you need to do is send them. It would be nice also if a donation to Survival International could be forthcoming. They are the best conservationists--help that fact go viral.
A major calamity for indigenous people is racism.
THE STRUGGLE AGAINST SLAVERY
We have added this section to the blog in order to join the struggle against slavery worldwide. This week we refer you to the the ILO’s Protocol on Forced Labor which is all about modern slavery. We call your attention to the anti slavery campaign. There you can sign up for action updates.The importance of checking your sellers’ supply chains cannot be overemphasized.
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Find a campaign to work for. Light must be made to shine in the darkest of places. We invite you to join Freedom United and ask who picked my tea?
URGENT ACTION CASES
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Urgent Action: Three Jehovah’s Witnesses At Risk of Torture
On 15 February Russian law enforcement officials carried out raids on homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the city of Surgut and arrested at least 40 people. There are credible allegations of torture and other ill-treatment in custody. Sergei Loginov, Artur Severinchik and Yevgeniy Fedin remain remanded in custody and are at serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment. They are prisoners of conscience, detained solely in connection with their religious beliefs, and must be released immediately and unconditionally.
TAJIKISTAN
Urgent Action: Opposition Activist at Risk in Tajikistan
Sharofiddin Gadoev is believed to be held by the Tajik authorities following his arbitrary arrest in Moscow on 14 February and forcible return to Tajikistan. He is a member of Tajikistan’s opposition National Alliance coalition and Group 24, an opposition political movement banned in Tajikistan. Sharofiddin Gadoev is at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
MEXICO
Urgent Action: Environmental Rights Defender Killed
Samir Flores Soberanes, environmental, land and territory human rights defender, was shot dead on 20 February, after receiving several death threats for his work defending the territory of his community. Samir was a member of a grassroots collective for environmental and the territorial protection called Front of Peoples in Defense of the Earth and Agua in the states of Morelos, Puebla and Tlaxcala (southeast Mexico). He was also vocal against the geothermic project called “Proyecto Integral Morelos” and had received written death threats and was beaten by an unknown group in October 2018.
Myanmar hotel workers are fighting for their rights!
In 2015, after a majority of workers at the Hotel Tharabar Gate in the heart of the country’s famous Bagan Archeological Zone formed their union, management attempted to dismiss elected union chairman Ko Nay Myo Win. Hotel staff including non-union members protested, and management relented. The union then joined together with other local hotel unions (including the union at the Bagan Hotel River View) to form the area-wide union organization HLOB, which elected him chairman. Please click and support their struggle.
