Tsunami: Providing Relief, Promoting Social Justice

ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
http://www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545
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IN THE WAKE OF THE TSUNAMI:
** Demand increased U.S. aid
** Demand immediate debt cancellation
** Donate to grassroots relief efforts (details below)
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The damage wrought by the December 26 tsunami is so epic and heartbreaking in its
scope that words can hardly convey the sense of loss and grief we feel. United for
Peace and Justice joins with people all around the world in mourning the
devastation, and in seeking ways to help the survivors.

We do so with an acute awareness of the role that global inequality and widespread
poverty plays in intensifying “natural” disasters, and of the repressive conditions
that defined ordinary life for many in the region – particularly in the hardest hit
area, the Indonesian province of Aceh -- even before the tsunami hit. We are
recommending several action steps intended not just to respond to this immediate
crisis but to promote lasting social justice in the region.

INCREASE U.S. AID. Contact your Congressional representatives to demand that the
U.S. government dramatically increase its aid to the affected countries. After
considerable pressure, the Bush Administration has upped its pledge of support to
$350 million – but that figure is still insultingly small, less than the amount that
is wasted every two days on the disastrous and unnecessary war in Iraq. Find contact
information for your representatives at http://www.house.gov/ and
http://www.senate.gov/

CANCEL THE DEBT. Like much of the Global South, the countries most affected by the
tsunami have been crippled for years by staggering debt. Indonesia alone pays more
than $7 billion each year in debt service to the International Monetary Fund and
World Bank – a figure that dwarfs the total aid pledged so far to the entire region.
UFPJ strongly supports the call by Jubilee South (http://www.jubileesouth.org) and
groups all around the world in calling for the unconditional cancellation of all the
debt owed by countries hit by the tsunami. Support this demand by joining Jubilee
USA Network in sending a letter to President Bush and Treasury Secretary Snow
calling for immediate debt relief. Click here:
http://www.jubileeusa.org/jubilee.cgi?path=/take_action&page=tsunamiletter.html

SUPPORT GRASSROOTS RELIEF EFFORTS. Private giving is not a substitute for government
aid or debt cancellation. That said, there are many grassroots nongovernmental
organizations in the region that are not only doing key relief work but are also
empowering local communities and providing a crucial counterweight to the often
corrupt and brutal governments of the most affected countries. Below are several
groups that we especially encourage you to support:

East Timor Action Network
http://www.etan.org/action/action2/23alert.htm
The East Timor Action Network is collecting contributions from people in the United
States who want to give direct aid to local grassroots and humanitarian
organizations in Aceh, the remote and war-torn Indonesian province that has been
most devastated by the tsunami. Direct donations to grassroots organizations in Aceh
circumvent the inevitable siphoning off of resources - both monetary and material -
to the Indonesian government and military, which has a long and brutal record of
human rights violations in Aceh. Big international NGOs will be obliged to work
through the Indonesian government, while donations via the ETAN relief fund will go
towards developing local capacity and will help sustain groups that have been doing
important humanitarian and social justice work for years.

Via Campesina
http://www.viacampesina.org/art_english.php3?id_article=500
Via Campesina is global alliance of peasant, family farmer, farm worker, indigenous
and landless peoples organizations, and other rural movements; they have numerous
active member organizations in the region affected by the tsunami. The relief
philosophy of Via Campesina is that local communities – particularly, in this case,
fisherfolk and peasant organizations -- should participate actively and be the key
actors in the reconstruction process. By donating to Via Campesina’s relief fund,
you can help those in need at this time in ways that help build self-sufficiency,
grassroots organization, and people’s power for the future.

American Friends Service Committee
http://www.afsc.org/give/asia-relief.htm
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a member group of United for Peace
and Justice, is mounting an important relief effort in hard-hit Aceh. AFSC has had a
presence and contacts in Indonesia for more than 35 years, through its
peace-building efforts and international conferences and seminars, and is working to
offer pragmatic, immediate help that builds longer-term recovery so that communities
can rebuild long after the media attention and compassionate responses for aid have
diminished. AFSC’s longstanding expertise in relief work, peace-building, and
grassroots empowerment make it especially well-suited to provide effective support
to communities in Aceh.

MADRE
http://www.madre.org/programs/appeal/tsunami.html
The human rights group MADRE, which is a member group of United for Peace and
Justice, has partnered with a Sri Lankan women’s organization, INFORM, to help
establish and equip emergency health centers in areas affected by the tsunami.
Through these centers, survivors will receive the emergency medical attention and
clean drinking water they so desperately require and displaced women and families
will receive crucial trauma counseling, which will help them cope with the deaths of
their children and other loved ones, gradually heal from their trauma, and begin to
rebuild.

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ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
http://www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545
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