[newsfromthenetwork] April Fast Update, Lobby Days, SOA Watch to be Awarded at NACLA Benefit Gala

North and South, the People Say, Close the SOA! Donate

Thousands Now Fasting Around the World by SOA Watch On Wednesday, April 23 SOA Watch activists around the world launched this years' April Fast. Thousands are hungry for justice and are gathering together in community and in individual reflection to call for the closure of the School of the Americas/Western Hemispheric Institute for Security Cooperation. Vigils, marches and street theater, film fests and group or individual fasts are being held in places like Ghana; Oaxaca, Mexico; Susquehanna, PA, and cities all over the United States. Together we are weaving a fabric of resistance to US imperialism in Latin America enforced by SOA/WHINSEC-violence. Join us! Click here to find folks organizing fasts and events in your area, and please let us know how your experiences and events are going by sending an e-mail with photos and reports of your events to info(at)soaw(dot)org or calling us at 202-234-3440. SOAW Strategy Meeting & Lobby Days by SOA Watch On Sunday, May 4 and Monday, May 5, representatives from local groups and partner organizations all across the country will be gathering in Washington, DC. Together, we will evaluate how far our grassroots movement has come, and plan new directions for the future. Join us for dinner on Saturday, May 3 at the SOA Watch national office, participate in the Strategy Meeting on Sunday, and bring your message to the halls of Congress on Monday. Help us stand in solidarity with the peoples of Latin America, close the SOA/WHINSEC, and change oppressive US policy in Latin America. To RSVP or for more information, contact Vera at vleone(at)soaw(dot)org or call us at (202) 234-3440 SOA Watch Wins the ¡La Luche Sigue! Award for Activism in the Americas by SOA Watch We are honored to announce that thanks to the committed work of SOA Watch activists around the world, the North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA) will honor the School of the Americas Watch (SOA Watch) and Chilean human rights activist, writer and distinguished academic Ariel Dorfman, respectively, with awards celebrating new generations of grassroots organizing for peace and justice in the Americas. "Grassroots mobilization here in the U.S. has been key to bringing injustice in the Americas to light over the last forty years, from the coup in Chile to the U.S.-backed wars in Central America. NACLA strongly believes that today's activist struggles are as important as those of the past, and SOA Watch is exemplary in this regard: its young organizers have successfully mobilized tens of thousands of U.S. citizens to their cause," commented NACLA's Executive Director, Christy Thornton. Awards will be presented to Chilean human rights activists, writer and academic, Ariel Dorfman and the School of the Americas Watch at NACLA's Benefit Gala to be held in New York City on Thursday, May 15th from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. The event will celebrate NACLA's 40 years of fighting for justice in the Americas and will be hosted by the organization's founders and supporters including Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn, Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. Tickets to the event are extremely limited, but more information can be found at NACLA's website. June 12-23, 2008 - Witness for Peace Delegation to Colombia by SOA Watch This year, the Bush administration is taking delegation after delegation of congressional representatives to Colombia to see how good a free trade agreement with Colombia would be. Come to Colombia to see what your reps are missing. Since 2000, the U.S. has spent more than $5 billion in a failed effort to eliminate Colombia's coca production. Now the U.S.'s big push is for passage of the Colombia free trade agreement. Meanwhile, Colombian civil society has resolutely condemned the pact, saying that it will decimate small farmers, endanger indigenous lands, and allow the murder of unionists to go unchecked. Ironically, many predict that if the pact passes, the Colombian farmers displaced by it will likely resort to producing...you guessed it, more coca. Sound ludicrous? See just how ludicrous it gets. Come to Colombia. Cost: The price of the 12-day delegation is $1200. The delegation fee covers all set-up,meals, lodging, interpretation, transportation, reading materials, and other costs within Colombia. The fee also includes registration for the national grassroots conference and celebration in DC on June 21 and 22. Scholarships may be available. Delegates are responsible for covering their own international airfare to and from Colombia. For more information contact: Beth Poteet - 503-287-7847 Ben Beachy - 202-403-1752 Click here for More information... August 9-19, 2008 - Join MITF on a Delegation to Venezuela by SOA Watch Join the Marin Interfaith Task Force (MITF) on for a 10-day delegation to Venezuela where you will be able to witness firsthand the energy, hope and creativity of the Bolivarian Revolution. The delegation will be led by Lisa Sullivan-Rodriguez, who has lived in Venezuela for 20 years and is the Latin America Coordinator for School of the Americas Watch. Cost: The cost for the ten-day trip is $1350, which includes hotels, all meals, in-country transportation, translation, reading materials, and honoraria for host communities, speakers and organizations. It does not include airfare to and from Venezuela. For more information, please contact: Dale Sorensen or call: 415/924-3227 Co-sponsors: Task Force on the Americas, SOA Watch, Venezuela Solidarity Network Click here for more information...

Take Action Urge your Representative to Co-Sponsor HR 1707, the Bill to Investigate the SOA/ WHINSEC Email/Fax your Representative Now! Sign the Petition to End Slavery & Sweatshops in the Fields Now! Our sisters and brothers of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) are at the forefront of putting an end to unfair practices and treatment of farm workers throughout the United States. Add your name and voice to those of countless consumers calling upon Burger King and other food industry leaders to immediately join with the CIW in efforts to end exploitation in the fields and modern-day slavery in the 21st century. Be prepared to stop patronizing Burger King now, and other food industry leaders in the future, should they fail to do so. Sign the petition now! New DVD: On The Line On the Line is an inside look at the people behind one of the largest nonviolent movements in America today: the movement to close the School of the Americas/WHINSEC. In a world where politics, passion, and Constitutional rights collide, protesters discuss their activism, the dark side of U.S. foreign policy, and the challenges of protesting since 9/11. (55 min.) - Click here to order it now for only $20 incl. shipping and handling

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