Let me begin with our April vigil here in Melbourne, Australia. We were honored to have with us, standing in the early autumn light, Israeli Hagit Back of Machsom Watch in Hebron. She asked not to be photographed but you can sense her on the other end of the banner "Women in Black/Stop the Occupation/End the Siege of Gaza." You can hear her voice, full of Israeli history, see her wonderful, thoughtful and determined face and hear the reasons for her commitment to activism in in Israel on this short video clip made by Larry Stillman of the Australian Jewish Democratic Society (AJDS): http:ajds.org.au/node/214 or
Still in Australia: Adelaide Women in Black Vigil: Silent Vigil Against War, Violence and Militarisation, Parliament House Steps, Adelaide
From Cathy:
Each month, on the last Wednesday of the month WILPFers in South Australia along with some other women stand on the steps of Parliament House as Women in black. And each month, we write a leaflet which we pass out to the people passing by. In general, we get a very good reception from them.
Month by month, I alternate with another woman (who is not a WILPF member) to write a draft of the leaflet. The text for this month's leaflet is the result of a collaboration between Ruth and me--and, because it concerns a scheme that will be spreading to two other states this year, I thought you might be particularly interested to read it. As our leaflet's text is based on a letter that the South Australian branch wrote last year to the SA Minister for Education, you may recognise some of it.
Love and peace
"Over the years, many people have worked hard to ensure public schools are protected from vested interests. We expect our public school system to provide children with genuine, unbiased learning that is adequately funded.
Now, in our State, weapons manufacturing corporations, Raytheon, Tenix and Codan, are being allowed to provide funding to some Adelaide high schools--Aberfoyle Park, Valley View and Henley High Schools--where the science and maths curriculums are now set with a focus on weapons technology. Currently around 1,000 high school students are involved, and five more South Australian schools will become involved later this year. According to one Adelaide newspaper: "Similar programs will be rolled out in Newcastle and Perth in 2011."
Under the arrangement, students receive "specialised training" through apprenticeships, cadetships and internships with the weapons manufacturers in the hope that they will seek employment in the expanding "defence" industries. The message given to students is that society supports products that bring death and suffering to millions of people in conflict zones.
Schools have a moral responsibility to align themselves with non-destructive influences, and not with those that benefit financially from violence, war, weaponry and destruction. Women in Black want our educators to act with moral integrity around the education of vulnerable teenagers. Parents' fears about their children's future employment prospects should not be exploited in any way.
South Australia needs more doctors, nurses, medical research and environmental scientists, and designers of sustainable transport and energy systems that benefit society.
We urge you to speak out to stop this insidious wooing of our secondary school students.
From Women in Black, Belgium
Sadness in Women in Black, Belgrade: Well known human rights activist and Lawyer's Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM) President Biljana Kovacevic-Vuco passed away this morning in Belgrade. A "courageous and antifacist and antiwar friend," Biljana was one of the founders of the Yugoslav Action NGO and the independent union Nezavisnost in March 1999. During her long career as a peace movement and human rights activist, Kovacevic-Vuco was the founder of the Human Rights Council of the Center for Antiwar Action in Blegrade and the head of SOS helpline forthe victims of political, ethnic and workplace discrimination and much much more. We extend our hands of comfort to Lepa and all the other women who work tirelessly for peace in Belgrade.
To Return to Palestine/Israel: Jane Tobin, a member of the Hudson Valley Women in Black Community (in New York State) has been working with older Palestinian women to record their stories of occupation and resistance. Her blog--http://hudsontowestbank.blogspot.com
must be read--more of this, but please let her words reach you. They will not let you go.
Finally, I just want to link these Women in Black sites with the blog on my website, Joannestle.com because Palestine/Israel and the courageous voices trying to end the occupation are with me whenever or where ever I sit down to write.
Joan Nestle
