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Seattle Community Network |
Wednesday
June 28, 2000 |
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June 28
"Ustawi: Fostering sustainable economic and environmental alternatives in Africa. ... "Hanna [Petros] had been working in Seattle with refugees from the horn of Africa and had established a foundation to help the flood of people moving to the Puget Sound area to escape civil wars, drought, and famine. "Hanna, along with a handful of people who were also concerned about the lack of knowledge and understanding about the countries of Africa in this country, founded a small organization and began to reach out to schools and the public at large." ... "Many countries of Africa are chained to huge payments to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and their economies have no hope of developing. "Jubilee 2000 is an international movement in over 40 countries advocating a debt-free start to the Millennium for a billion people. "Over 50 countries in the world have debts that will never be paid back but continue to be paid daily with people's lives. ... The United Nations Development Programme in 1997 stated that 21 million children's lives could be saved if the money used for debt service was put into health and education." From the Gauteng Declaration of Southern African countries, March 1999: "In Southern Africa tens of millions of people are hungry, homeless, jobless, formally uneducated and die from preventable diseases. Yet, Southern Africa is not intrinsically poor. Indeed, it is a region rich in natural and human resources. "Debt slavery... is a central part of this nightmare. Southern Africa is shackled by debt owed to the same forces which initiated... slavery and colonialism. ... This outflow of resources in debt repayments along with profit remittances have led to the most wretched of human conditions."
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June 25 - July 1
Seattle Site of the Week:  
Harvey Muggy Stonewall Democrats of Washington State
"We believe involvement in the political process is the path to freedom and justice for all people." ... "Harvey Muggy (1944-1991) was a grassroots political organizer with a vision. ... Like many gay activists, Harvey was triggered by the national anti-gay crusade of 1978. He registered voters, filled PCO positions with supporters, knew the issues and the candidates, and monitored elections precinct by precinct on maps like a general on a battlefield. He donated generously to political campaigns and made sure candidates knew it was 'gay money' that was supporting them. ... "Harvey saw that even good friends could not stand up to the hateful rhetoric in the legislature as well as 'one of our own,' so he ran for 43rd District Representative in 1986. ... In 1988 he delivered the PCO votes that appointed Cal Anderson to the state legislature as the first openly gay representative in Washington. "A child of Clallum-Irish parents, Harvey supported social justice for all as his motto stated: 'It is not enough to work for one group's civil liberties unless you work for all.' ... "Harvey wasn't flashy - he just worked hard and had a lot of common sense and feeling for humanity. ... "Become a PCO: leave a messsage for us at (206) 903-9613 or write to 1122 E. Pike St. #1196, Seattle, WA 98122-3918 and let us know what District and Precinct you live in. We can see if you have a vacanct office in your precinct to fill, or challenge an incumbent..." |
