| AWMR - Association of Women of the Mediterranean Region |
|
| May 2003 | Editor: Val Moghadam | vmmogha@ilstu.edu |
|
Note from the Editor. This newsletter comes to you in the wake of an unjustified and aggressive war against Iraq, in which defenseless children, women, and men were killed, the country’s infrastructure was destroyed, and its cultural assets were looted. All of us are saddened and angered by this unconscionable war. Many of us in AWMR have long been involved in peace and anti-war movements and campaigns, and we should continue to demonstrate our opposition and resistance to all forms of violence and terrorism, whether carried out by states or by non-state groups. We should also join forces with other peace, anti-war, and anti-militarist groups that seek non-violent and just resolutions to conflict. We must help to change the nature of the world order and international relations by building movements and institutions that are founded on principles of justice, equality, and peace.
Message from the President The need to oppose violence has never been so pressing. The daily violence of grinding poverty and unjust exploitation, the hourly violence of physical, sexual, and verbal abuse degradation, discrimination and double standards, and the violence of invasions, the murder of innocent people, and the destruction of homes and economies – these cannot go on. At the AWMR Conference on “Women’s Strategies for Peace in the Mediterranean” this July 2003, we look forward to hearing about your experiences, your successes, and your challenges in the pursuit of justice, equality, and peace. How hard is it to find courageous leaders who plainly see that two wrongs do not make a right, that the cycles of violence must be interrupted, that all life is sacred, and all people have an inalienable right to dignity and self-determination. Peace work has been easy to marginalize by aggressive countries with massive armies and dominated by men with vested interests in arms, drugs, and oil. But now, for perhaps the first time in history, most people are clear in favor of peaceful solutions to conflicts. Our determination, intelligence, and creativity are essential. Our unity in action is the key News about the AWMR and from Members The 10th Annual AWMR Conference took place in Marrakesh, Morocco, in July 2002. The theme was “Reinventing Globalization.” The venue was superb, the social events great fun, and the papers presented – including those by the Moroccan panelists – were of high quality. Unfortunately, the conference was not well-attended. One problem was the high cost of travel and especially of the accommodations. Another problem was that politics intervened to prevent participation by our Palestinian and Israeli sisters. A full report on the conference is available on the AWMR website. It is also available in PDF format: http://digilander.libero.it/awmr/int/conf_10f.htm http://digilander.libero.it/awmr/int/conf_10s.pdf The 11th Annual AWMR Conference will take place in Bologna, Italy, on 10-13 July 2003. Details and the requisite forms are available on pp. 4-7, and on the website. Roni Ben-Efrat forwarded a news item about a women’s peace initiative in Israel. The Platform against the War in Iraq, is an avant-garde project by political activists and artists. It was initiated by the Organization for Democratic Action (ODA) on February 15, 2003. See details on page 2. Marina Visciòla has news about a UNICEF-AWMR pedagogical initiative on cross-cultural understanding in the Mediterranean region, involving children and their teachers. See details on pp. 2-3.
News from Israel: Women Take the Platform against the War By Orit Sudri On March 8, the Platform against the War hosted women artists, poets, and activists to mark International Women's Day. Ya'arah Shehori, poet and member of the ODA, moderated the evening before an audience of seventy. Singer Sharon Ben Ezer, newly returned from the demonstration of the million in London, opened with an anti-war song by Joni Mitchell. She closed the event as well, this time with a new song of her own, "A Hymn to the Good Ones," that included the following words: those who know that in the end we will payPoets Efrat Mishori and Sharron Hass read from their work. Ranin B'sharat of Nazareth performed a poem by the Turkish socialist poet Nazim Hikmat. Thespians Ruti Ben Efrat and Yishai Golan acted passages from Aristophanes' Lysistrata, in which the women of Athens go on strike, denying sexual favors to their husbands until the latter put an end to the Peloponnesian War. Lysistrata has had a remarkable revival in recent days, with more than a thousand productions worldwide. Asma Agbarieh spoke for ODA women: "The war that is now underway has a single purpose: to perpetuate the existing order, including the most reactionary, backward regimes, above all Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar. In these Arab kingdoms, the condition of the Arab and Muslim woman is among the worst in the world. Here the woman still lacks the right to vote. She has no identity card, because she is forbidden to show her face. By way of contrast, the Iraqi woman has the right to work, to study, to vote and to be elected. Ah, but this is not a good example in the eyes of the American regime. Bush wants us behind the veil. So does Israel. In the wake of the Oslo Accords, the movement for the liberation of Palestine was annihilated, and in its place we got unemployment, despair and poverty. The liberation of women also came to a stop. The Palestinian woman returned to her home, becoming again a baby-production plant, which in Gaza is the only kind of factory allowed. In this war, the Iraqi woman will pay the main price. Again we shall learn the bitter lesson we already know: the liberation of woman will not take place, if it isn't part of a wider movement. We, the peoples of the world, must liberate ourselves from the capitalist regimes that drag us into war." Roni Ben Efrat, a member of the ODA secretariat, also addressed the group: "Something strange has happened. We – I mean world public opinion – have fueled Bush's motivation for this war. Why? Because we refuse to recognize America's privileged status, whereas the re-establishment of this status is precisely his motive in going to war. Thus, the more we demonstrate, the more we motivate Bush to fight. We are his enemy. He must defeat us. America's power of deterrence is at issue, and he is struggling to maintain it. It's either him or us." In concluding her remarks, Ben Efrat posed the question: "Can a protest movement stop wars? Unfortunately, the answer is No. We can only stop wars if we seize the reins of power. We shall have to get control of budgets, changing them to budgets of peace. We shall have to change the system from one that functions for the sake of profit to one that functions for the common good. We shall have to translate the protest movement into political parties that are willing and able to challenge the regime itself. The way will be long. It leads through and beyond the coming war. International Women's Day is a good day to begin."
A Meeting between Mediterranean Cultures: A Unicef - AWMR Initiative By Marina Visciòla Unicef and AWMR are organizing "A Meeting between the Mediterranean Cultures" through the free graphic expression (painting, drawing, collage, writing, etc.) of children and adolescents attending the schools of the Province of Lecce and of other Mediterranean countries. The idea is to create a bridge between the girls and boys of the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. The works will be used for an itinerant exhibition, which will be exhibit in Lecce and the other participating Mediterranean cities. Intolerance towards foreigners is often caused by poor awareness in dealing with people who are different from us. Respect for alterity and acceptance of “the other” needs the acknowledgement of differences and recognition that the pursuit of uniformity is undesirable. It is important that this process of growth start from childhood, so that girls and boys can acquire not only the consciousness of their own subjectivity, but also the value of others' subjectivity and the possibility that reciprocal relationships can enrich personalities. In Italy, Unicef has for years carried out projects on multicultural and intercultural relationships, both with didactic itineraries in schools and with training courses for teachers. AWMR is an international NGO of women from 18 countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Through a solidarity network the women work for peace and peaceful relationships between the peoples, to foster the health and well-being of the most vulnerable and to end all forms of discrimination, poverty and violence against women and children, to achieve their welfare and rights, irrespective of racial, social, cultural, and familial background. The aim of A Meeting between Mediterranean Cultures is to increase the knowledge and understanding of other cultures, through communication and comparison. Specifically, the initiative intends to solicit the artistic expression of participants’ cross-cultural knowledge and understanding. The Meeting between Mediterranean Cultures day is scheduled for the last week of May, to coincide with the Italian "Week of the Children", organised in the context of the UN special session on children, which will be held in September 2003 in the USA. Other participating countries may schedule another date. In Italy, the initiative will be carried out by Unicef and AWMR, together with the teachers of the schools involved. The participating schools of Salento are those already implementing actions for students from other Mediterranean countries. The international co-ordination is carried out by AWMR, with the involvement of the women of the member countries, including Morocco, Egypt, Palestine and Yugoslavia. Each country will establish their own methods of joining the initiative, in accordance with their specific needs. Outputs and products may include books or collections that include all the works of each group, in any innovative manner. Materials and techniques are to be decided by teachers and children. The size of the "books" should be 35x50 or 30x40 cm. The cover will be reproduced on a 70x100 cm paperboard, to make a poster of the book itself, containing its central message. The initiative can have several outcomes, depending on availability of funds from the Ministry of Education and local institutions:
The 11th Annual AWMR Conference: Women’s Strategies for Peace in the Mediterranean Bologna, Italy, 10-13 July 2003 The purpose of the conference is to examine peaceful and non-violent solutions to conflict in general and in the Mediterranean region specifically, and to consider women’s peace strategies in the globalized Mediterranean. War as an instrument of international politics follows from the logic of neoliberal capitalist globalization. The competition and “race to the bottom” inherent in current model of capitalism creates inequalities across countries and within societies, while the end of the bipolar international system has widened the military and political disparities across the world. With the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the hegemonic power of the United States is a source of conflict as well as an obstacle to multilateralism and the strengthening of institutions of global governance such as the UN. The growing inequalities of the era of globalization and the hegemonic power of the United States engender destructive dynamics. These include hardening identities that are often reactionary and dangerous to women, and terrorist actions by non-state actors. In this context, war threatens more and more to become an "operating plan" of the powerful states with justifications of “self-defence”, "prevention", or “pre-emption” against other countries or non-state actors that seek to undermine hegemonic power. By contrast, we seek non-violent solutions, negotiated settlements of conflicts, and peaceful cooperation, for the sake of future generations and to emancipate humanity from violence and poverty, exploitation and discrimination. To construct peaceful relations among peoples and the states is possible: this is the task of the women who have chosen to dedicate their forces to overcoming cultural, sexual, ethnic, national, political, economic barriers and to establishing peaceful cooperation all over the Mediterranean Region. We believe that women are especially qualified to reflect on and help formulate alternatives to war and non-violent ways of overcoming conflicts. However, we may pose some questions. Once we have analyzed the dynamics that drive states to wage war, how might resistance be effectively organized? What are possibilities exist for local groups and women’s networks to construct alternatives to the logic of war? Can women oppose the "hegemonic peace" which is set up through armed interventions? Can they find other solutions? Which strategies for peace can women propose in the Mediterranean? The conference will address these and related questions. Aims of the conference. The aim of the conference is to provide a forum for women living across the Mediterranean to meet, network, discuss, and identify a common ground to formulate strategies for peace and promote women's projects for a politics of peace at local, national and international levels. Organization. The conference will be organized by the AWMR in conjunction with Rete di donne dell’ Emilia Romagna per la pace nel Mediterraneo e nei Balcani, and Associazione Orlando, Bologna. Place/times of the conference. The conference will be held in Bologna and Monte Sole on 10-13 July 2003. We expect to attract approximately 100 women from Italy and other Mediterranean countries. The conference will be open to the public and will encourage broad participation by local citizens. Participants:AWMR and Rete di donne members and other women from the Mediterranean countries. Languageswill be Italian, French and English. Agenda. Over a period of three days there will be plenary sessionsand workshops that will address the following topics:
HOTEL BOOKING FORM Please complete this Form and return it with the Registration Form to the AWMR Secretariat, P.O.Box 50320, 3603 Limassol, Cyprus, or fax it to either +357 25 34 44 74 or + 357 25 368 457 or e-mail it to: n.pourou@cytanet.com.cy by May 30th , 2003 NAME:__________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS:_______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ ZIP____________CITY__________________________COUNTRY __________________ TELEPHONE (with area code) ____________________________________________ FAX (with area code) __________________________________________________ E-mail (if available) _________________________________________________Please reserve for the following [maximum two (2) names per Form]: _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Arrival by plane: Date _____________ Time and flight no._______________ Departure by plane: Date _____________ Time & flight no._______________ Arrival by train: Date _______________Time and origin _________________ Departure by train: Date ___________ Time and destination _____________Accommodation is secured at the Monte-Sole School of Peace free of charge for all foreign participants. Rooming will be up to the organisers. Should you wish to pay for your room at a hotel, please state so by ticking the box, and we’ll book a nearby hotel for you. There are two options: a Motel and a ***star hotel, with prices ranging from 41 to 52 EURO per person per night. Special Requirements: _________________________________________________ Date ............... Signature .......................................
FUND REQUEST FORM Name___________________________________________________________________ Organization___________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Full Address___________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Tel:_________________________________Fax:______________________________ E-mail:________________________________________________________________ Amount requested for Travel (in EURO please):__________________________Please give information on financial situation and reasons for funding necessity on the basis of which AWMR will decide to offer sponsorship: _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Signature:____________________________________ Date:___________________To be returned to the Secretariat, P.O.Box 50320, 3603 Limassol, Cyprus, Fax: +357 25 368 457, e-mail: n.pourou@cytanet.com.cy with the Registration Form, by May 30th, 2003. An answer will be given after June 15th, 2003.
|
|
|