WE ARE FIGHTING BACK! is a compilation of inspirational stories of
courageous people around the world who are fighting back to reclaim
peoples’ rights to lead a dignified human existence.Date: 5 Aug 2002 22:00:37 -0000
We want to
share with you and encourage you to share with others these inspiring
stories:
1. Landless Families Occupy Land in Osaco
2. Korean Garlic Farmers Challenge Trade Agreement
3. Biotech (Bt) Cotton Cremated in India
4. Fisherwoman Won’t Let DOW Off the Hook
5. Historic Ruling in South Africa Orders Right to Healthcare
6. African Countries Reject US Aid for GM Maize
7. Wal-Mart Workers in Germany Strike for Collective Agreement
1. Landless Families Occupy Land in Osaco
Sao Paolo, Brazil, July 27 – Before dawn, over 400 peasant families from
the Sao Paulo region packed their few belongings to occupy 123 acres of
land in the Osaco region, a symbol of the grave income inequality in
Brazil. A wealthy community with luxury condominiums and a golf course,
Osaco is also home to over 600 impoverished families.
The occupants are collectively organizing the space with help from the
MTST (Movement of Workers Without Living Spaces), MLP (Movement for a
Popular Struggle), and Resistencia Popular. Police tried to stop the
families from inhabiting the area, a former dumpsite for garbage and
used automobile parts, but were obstructed by blockades. The new
community joins the 71,472 families already in encampments throughout
Brazil waiting for government to recognize their land rights.
Source: “Hundreds of Families Occupy Land in Osaco,” Independent Media
Center at http://www.indymedia.org
More information on MST (Landless Worker’s Movement):
http://www.mstbrazil.org
2. Korean Garlic Farmers Challenge Trade Agreement
Seoul, South Korea, July 22 – Nearly 4,000 farmers flooded Sajik Park to
voice their opposition to a trade agreement that will allow the Korean
market to be flooded by cheap garlic produced in China. When the
restrictions on garlic imports are lifted in 2003, Korean farmers will
be put out of business. Farmers were met by 5,000 police officers.
Farmers accuse the Korean government of not informing them of the import
bans, and therefore demand that the trade accord be eliminated and
reprimand those responsible for negotiating such a deal. In response to
growing public pressure, Korean President Kim Dae-Jung fired his top
economic aide who had negotiated the deal, although it remains unclear
whether this change will be accompanied by an extension of import
restrictions.
Sources: “South Korean Leader Sacks Top Aide Over Garlic Accord,” Agence
France Presse, July 19, 2002, and “South Korean Farmers Scuffle with
Police Over Chinese Garlic Accord,” Agence France Presse, July 22, 2002.
3. Biotech (Bt) Cotton Cremated in India
Davangere, India, June 18 – In a protest that went unnoticed by the
world media, members of the Karnataka State Farmers Association sacked a
store selling Bt cotton seeds and set fire to the seeds. This action
came after farmers gave ample warning to the Indian government that the
seeds would be destroyed if they were sold.
The increasing use of Bt seeds is a threat to farmers everywhere,
particularly to farmers in India where economic hardship has forced many
farmers to give up their traditional farming practices. Previously,
farmers practiced diversity in agriculture and farming methods, but
government policies that favor genetically engineered monocrops, has
forced farmers to abandon their knowledge. More information on
biotechnology and its ecological, social and political impact on
communities, can be found at www.foodfirst.org
Source: “Bt Cotton Seeds Set Afire in Davangere,”
http://www.krrsbtcottonsetafire.8m.com
4. Fisherwoman Won’t Let DOW Off the Hook
Seadrift, Texas, July 22 – Amid the sweltering desert heat, Diane
Wilson, a fisherwoman from San Antonio, Texas went on a hunger strike to
protest the illegal practices of the Dow Chemical Company. For years,
Dow has dumped ten million gallons of wastewater into the barge canal
that opens into San Antonio Bay, endangering the safety and livelihood
of the Seadrift fishing community.
Inspired by Diane’s work, housewives and concerned citizens nationwide
have come out to support her courageous stand. Urging other “ordinary”
women to get involved, Diane says, “If a fisherwoman with a high school
education that doesn’t even like chemistry can get compliance from a
petrochemical plant, then anyone can.”
Union Carbide, now owned by Dow, is the company responsible for the 1984
Bhopal disaster that killed 2,500 people and injured hundreds of
thousands when their pesticide manufacturing plant released a highly
toxic gas cloud over Bhopal, India. Activists in India have been on a
hunger strike against Dow since June 28, 2002 to protest the Indian
government’s unjust handling of Dow’s actions towards compensating the
victims and their families. Dow has not accepted responsibility for
Union Carbide’s liabilities, refusing to take responsibility for a
factory that they did not operate at that time.
Sources: CorpWatch India, http://www.corpwatchindia.org, “Carbide Boss:
Bhopal Survivors Stage Protest Over Lessened Accusation,” The Washington
Post, July 8, 2002. More information about Diane:
http://www.bioneers.org
5. Historic Ruling in South Africa Orders Right to Healthcare
July 5, 2002, South Africa – Handing down a huge human rights victory
for H.I.V. positive mothers and their children, South Africa’s
Constitutional Court issued an historic judgment on the right to
healthcare. This ruling orders the government to provide at public
hospitals and clinics an anti-AIDS drug, Nevirapine, to help prevent
mother-to-child transmission of the virus, which may save up to 30,000
lives.
Members of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), which led the
constitutional challenge, cheered and applauded the ruling in court.
The ruling is significant not only because of the important systemic
remedy granted “without delay” but also in establishing a firm basis for
the enforcement of economic, social and cultural human rights by courts,
even where these rights rely on significant allocation of resources.
A summary and text of the decision is currently available on the
www.escr-net.org website under “Treatment Action Campaign & Ors v.
Minister of Health & Ors.”
6. African Countries Reject US Aid for GM Maize
July 30, 2002, Africa – A handful of African nations have rejected a
proposal by the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) that the nations use $50 million in aid to purchase genetically
modified maize. Zimbabwe has rejected the maize, and Mozambique has
even refused to allow it to be transported through that country.
Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia face
widespread food shortages after two years of drought and floods. The
U.N. World Food Program says the region needs 1 million metric tons of
food aid in the next few months.
In response to African nations’ refusal of GM maize for food aid,
biotech advocates say that President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe cares
more about his political independence than the lives of his citizens.
In an address to Zimbabwe’s parliament, Mugabe said, “We fight the
present drought with our eyes clearly set on the future of the
agricultural sector, which is the mainstay of our economy. We dare not
endanger its future through misplaced decisions based on acts of either
desperation or expediency.”
But scientists and economists say Zimbabwe has good reason to reject the
engineered kernels. If some of the corn seeds are sown instead of
eaten, the resulting plants will produce gene-altered pollen that could
spread and contaminate surrounding fields. Zimbabwe is also concerned
about intellectual property trade rules, which backed by the U.S., could
preclude farmers from saving the patented seeds from biotech harvests
for replanting in following years. Saving seeds is a practice vital to
many subsistence farmers who cannot afford to buy new seeds every year.
The U.S. could save lives and avert a potential ecological crisis by
having the corn kernels milled before they enter Zimbabwe. But relief
officials said U.S. food agencies typically don’t cover milling
expenses, which are estimated at $25 per metric ton — a significant
expense for a nation so poor. Neil E. Harl, an economics professor at
Iowa State University recommends that the U.S. pay for milling costs.
In Zambia, bio-safety regulations have not yet been passed by
parliament, which is necessary prior to any importation of GMOs. The
Vice President of Zambia tried to rush the biosafety bill, particularly
under pressure from cotton companies (Dunavant) and by advocates who
argue that GMOs are needed to move small-scale farmers forward, but was
booed by fellow parliamentarians.
Source: Patrick Killeen, “Organic Farmer in Zambia,”
http://www.cropchoice.com;
And Rick Weiss, “Starved for Food, Zimbabwe Rejects U.S. Biotech Corn,”
The Washington Post, July 31, 2002,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23728-2002Jul30.html
7. Wal-Mart Workers in Germany Strike for Collective Agreement
On July 26, more than 1,000 Wal-Mart workers in Germany went on strike
to press for a collective agreement with the large multinational
corporation. The U.S. retail giant has refused to sign an agreement
with the UNI Commerce affiliate or to concede to workers’ demands that
they join an employers’ association. Wal-Mart has not had a successful
business venture in Germany. It has lost hundreds of millions of dollars
every year, and is now closing 6 out of its 95 German hyper-markets. In
the U.S., the Arkansas-based retailer is aggressively anti-union,
building its profitability on low wages and poor benefits for its one
million workers. Source:
http://www.union-network.org/unisite/sectors/commerce/Multinationals/Wal-Mart_Germany_workers_on_strike.htm
This 7th edition of We Are Fighting Back! is compiled and written by
Food First Interns Gillian Ream and Stephanie Yan, and edited by
Christine Ahn, New Voices Fellow of the Economic and Social Human Rights
Program at Food First.
Tags: Hunger
