Saturday, January 26, 2008

Israeli Apartheid Week - Peterborough Events

Israeli Apartheid Week 2008: http://www.apartheidweek.org/

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INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY: LABOUR AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN PALESTINE

Sunday, February 3rd
11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Traill College Lecture Hall (next to Crawford House) - 310 London Street

This event is free and all are encouraged to attend. The space is wheelchair accessible.

The event will include:

-A presentation on CUPE Resolution 50 by Katherine Nastovski, former Chair of CUPE Ontario International Solidarity Committee, and member of the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA). Delegates to the 2006 CUPE Ontario annual convention voted almost unanimously in favour of Resolution 50, which supports the international campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel until that state recognizes the Palestinian right to self-determination, including the right of return of Palestinian refugees.

-A presentation by Herman Rosenfeld, retired staff person Canadian Auto Workers (CAW), and member of CAIA, on why Canadian workers and unions should support the rights of Palestinians.

-Zatoun Fair Trade Products from Palestine will be available for sale. www.zatoun.com

This educational workshop will include information on the basics of Israeli Apartheid and why there has been a call for boycott, divestment and sanctions from over 170 Palestinian civil society organizations, including the Palestine trade union movement. Issued in July 2005, this call to action is modeled on the movement to end South African Apartheid. Labour-focused, the event will also cover the role of trade unions in a growing global movement in solidarity with Palestine, and against racism, occupation, and discrimination. Social justice is a basic principle of the labour movement and support for the Palestinian struggle is a matter of justice.

Sponsored by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 3908, representing contract faculty and student academic workers at Trent University, the event is organized by the Peterborough Coalition for Palestinian Solidarity (PCPS).

PCPS is a coalition of individuals who share an ethos of social justice, dignity and self-determination for all, and who came together out of a shared interest in building a broad-based collective voice in support of the growing Palestinian solidarity movement. The aim of PCPS is to encourage awareness and informed debate, to create spaces for engagement and dialogue, and to organize collectively against Israeli apartheid. PCPS opposes racism, Islamophobia, and anti-Semitism and hopes to make links with decolonization and Indigenous resistance movements. PCPS also seeks to make links with ongoing International struggles to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine, such as the Wall Must Fall and the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions campaigns. Through organizing regular public events and actions PCPS aims to connect these struggles to broader social justice movements in Peterborough and in Canada.

For more information please contact Sarah at skardash@trentu.ca

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Film Screening of Occupation 101: Voices of the Silenced Majority

Wednesday February 6th at 7:00 p.m.

Sadlier House, 751 George St. N.

This is a wheelchair accessible event. Even the popcorn is free, but donations are happily accepted!

'Occupation 101' (2006) is an award-winning introductory documentary on the nature of Israeli rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. http://www.occupation101.com/

Co-hosted by the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) - Peterborough and the Peterborough Coalition for Palestinian Solidarity (PCPS)

For more information contact OPIRG at (705) 741-1208 or opirg@trentu.ca

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Youtube Video of Palestinian workers held up at a Bethlehem ‘checkpoint’: http://youtube.com/watch?v=d1FaWE1SIZk

CUPE ON Resolution 50: http://cupe.on.ca/doc.php?lang=en&subject_id=51

CUPE BC Publication ‘The Wall Must Fall’: http://www.cupe.bc.ca/1592

U.S. Unions and Boycotting Israel, a reply to US labor leaders, from Canada: http://www.pacbi.org/boycott_news_more.php?id=591_0_1_0_C

Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid: www.caiaweb.org

Palestine BDS Campaign: http://www.bds-palestine.net/

The Wall Must Fall Campaign: http://stopthewall.org/worldwideactivism/896.shtml

Al-Awda, Palestine Right to Return Coalition: http://www.al-awda.org/index.html

Laibar Singh - Stop the Deportation!

Stop the Deportation!

Join the National Days of Action in Support of Laibar Singh: January 25-29

Laibar Singh is a 48-year old paralyzed refugee claimant who is facing deportation to India. On December 10, 2007, over 1500 people peacefully gathered at the Vancouver airport and effectively stopped his deportation. A month later, on January 9, the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) tried to remove Mr. Singh from sanctuary at a Sikh temple in Surrey. B.C. Once again, the deportation was stopped as supporters gathered at the temple, which refused to allow his removal.

The list of organizations and individuals supporting Mr. Singh is long and growing. It includes human rights organizations, anti-poverty groups, unions, disability advocates, academics, faith groups, health care professionals and a petition of 40,000 individuals.

For more information visit:
http://supportlaibar.blogspot.com
http://noii-van.resist.ca/

E-mail Ministers Diane Finlay and Stockwell Day:

Demand that the Canadian Government
* respect sanctuary NOW!
* rescind the deportation order against Singh NOW!
* grant permanent residency to Mr. Singh NOW!

IMMIGRATION MINISTER DIANE FINLAY
EMAIL: minister@cic.gc.ca and Finley.D@parl.gc.ca
MINISTER STOCKWELL DAY (RESPONSIBLE FOR CBSA)
EMAIL: day.s@parl.gc.ca or days1@parl.gc.ca

Please copy your e-mail to Noone Is Illegal – Vancouver:
noii-van@resist.ca


PCAP's Letter of Support:

Minister Finley and Minister Day,

Regarding: Laibar Singh

As one of the many actions underway for the National Days of Action, we are writing regarding the situation of Mr. Laibar Singh, the paralyzed Punjabi refugee claimant who is currently facing deportation.

The Peterborough Coalition Against Poverty (PCAP) joins the vast and growing sector of the Canadian public who have expressed their support for Mr. Singh’s bid to remain in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. Human rights organizations, anti-poverty groups, unions, disability advocates, academics, faith organizations, community groups, health care professionals and individuals from across the country oppose Mr. Singh’s deportation. These groups include the Canadian Labour Congress, BC Coalition of People with Disabilities, B.C Hospital Employees Union, the Multifaith Action Committee, and a long list of South Asian community groups and gurudwaras. Approximately forty thousand people have signed an Official petition to Parliament in support of Mr. Singh remaining in Canada.

PCAP demands that you rescind the deportation order against Mr.Laibar Singh immediately and grant him permanent residency status. We further demand that the Canadian government and CBSA officials respect the sanctity of sanctuary that the Guru Nanak Sikh temple have granted to Mr. Laibar Singh. It would be unconscionable for the Canadian government to attempt to remove Mr. Singh from sanctuary or detain him if he requires urgent medical attention at a medical facility.

Ministers Finley and Day, we put you on notice that we stand 100% behind the South Asian community for bringing Laibar Singh’s case to national attention. And we will continue to mobilize against your racist immigration policies and practices, drawing strength from the growing tens of thousands of individuals and the long list of organizations and communities across the country who have also rejected your course of
action. Be assured, we will not back down from the fight to win Mr. Singh’s freedom, and we will continue to build support across Canada and across borders in the broader struggle against deportations.

Sincerely,
The Peterborough Coalition Against Poverty (PCAP)
Peterborough, Ontario

Friday, January 18, 2008

Two Film Fest Events in Support of Indigenous Resistance

1) Native Youth Movement Speaker and PCAP Sponsored Film - RESIST 2010 OLYMPICS
2) Beats for Justice! - Fundraiser In Solidarity with Indigenous Resistance

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1) Native Youth Movement (NYM) Speaker and PCAP Sponsored Film

NYM Speaker
Friday January 25th
12:00 Noon at Market Hall, 336 George St. N.
Light Lunch Served

NO 2010 OLYMPICS ON STOLEN NATIVE LAND!
http://no2010.com/

Nation Kanahus Pellkey of Secwepemc Nation is a member of the Native Youth Movement, an organization that uses education to revive traditional knowledge, and inspires native youth to defend their land. One of their current campaigns is resistance to the devastating effects the preparation for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics is having on their land and culture. They are currently touring Ontario, looking to make connections across communities, and share important perspectives on colonialism, ecological justice, and community resistance.

PCAP Sponsored Film ‘Garlic and Watermelons’ to follow
1:00 p.m. at Markethall, 336 George St. N.
Pay What You Can

Garlic and Watermelons chronicles the lives of Prokopis Nikolau and his extended family in the year leading up to the Athens Olympic Games in 2004. Their struggle to find a new home, to extract the subsidies that they were promised from the local municipality, and to rebuild their lives represents a humble battle against racism and poverty. But their story is bittersweet. While Prokopis deals with unresponsive bureaucrats, family disputes, and several evictions, his wife has a beautiful new baby girl, his sons learn to read and write, and the entire family savours a traditional Easter feast. A prizewinner at film festivals from Montreal to Macedonia.

For more information on the Travelling World Community Film Festival
visit: http://www.quidnovis.com/filmfest/default.asp

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2) Beats for Justice!

Splice, 379 George St. N.
Saturday January 26th, 9:00 p.m.

A fundraiser In Solidarity with Indigenous Resistance.

Featuring an all-women cast of poets, hip hop artists, filmmakers, and DJs, including filmmaker/musician Sarah DeCarlo, and Lan Anh's Trespassing Poets.

$10 waged/$5 unwaged, or pay-as-much-as-you-can.

Beats for Justice! will be preceded by Peterborough's monthly poetry slam.
Sign-up at 6:45 pm, competition at 7 pm.
www.peterboroughpoetryslam.blogspot.com

For questions, comments, or media, please contact:
Ziysah at ziysah@nccpeterborough.ca or 743-0882, ext. 224.