We, women of the Montreal-based, March 8th Coordination and Action Committee of Women of Diverse Origins (WDO) express our profound solidarity with the Haudenausaunee women and their communities as they struggle to stop the ongoing annexation and illegal occupation of their un-surrendered lands. We extend our deepest respect to the Haudenausaunee people of Akwesasne who have courageously defied the Harper government's plan to arm the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) border guards at the Kahwehnoke border crossing (Cornwall Island).
We ardently denounce the brutal attack and vicious arrests of members of the Tyendinaga Mohawk community on June 12, 2009, who were standing in solidarity with the community of Akwesasne by blocking access to the local Skyway bridge in Southern Ontario to demand that the Federal Government enter into meaningful discussions with the community of Akwesasne.
The Canadian state has been built on violence against Onkwehonwe women and their families -- sexual violence, genocide and on-going colonial repression. Harassment by border guards against Akwesasne community members is only a recent form of aggression in a long history of colonialism. Hundreds of complaints have been filed against the CBSA for incidents like conducting a cavity search on a teenager, subjecting a pregnant woman to repeated x-rays and interrogating children after forcibly removing them from the care of adult family members. The position of the Federal Government that it refuses any discussion with the community of Akwesasne is ludicrous and will only engender further mistrust and frustration.
We, Women of Diverse Origins, support the call for the Federal Government to enter into meaningful discussions with the community of Akwesasne. Moreover, we, insist that the Canadian government respect the people of Akwesasne’s demand to NOT arm the CBSA border guards at the Kahwehnoke border crossing. We demand that the Canadian government respect Indigenous sovereignty and Indigenous people's right to self-determination.
We demand that the community members of Tyendinaga, who face criminalization for standing in solidarity with their sister community be released immediately and that all charges be dropped.
WDO brings together feminist, migrant justice and women's groups, and individuals as to organise International Women's day events celebrated on March 8th, from an anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist, anti-patriarchal, anti-colonial and anti-racist perspective. We are women who are committed to a peace that brings genuine justice and freedom for all, and a peace that flourishes in a world without interpersonal or state violence. Solidarity is paramount to this commitment. We believe that solidarity transcends borders, and that mutual respect in the struggle for justice brings about a society without violence against women and our communities. As women of diverse origins, many of us, our families and communities have faced the brutality of border guards when attempting to migrate with dignity, after being forced off our lands by governments and corporate interests that cater to the global free-market economies. We acknowledge that the struggle, for our dignity, as (im)migrants, second-generation immigrants and as non-Native women, must be built in solidarity with Indigenous struggles for justice. We believe that these ties make us stronger and reinforce the struggle against the colonisation of your lands. We therefore extend our solidarity and support to the Haudenausaunee women, who have for years, courageously been risking their lives in self-defence of their land and communities. We understand that these decisions are not taken lightly, but that a stand must be taken for your communities and the generations to come.
We stand with Akwesasne, in your struggle against the arming of CBSA border guards and with Tyendinaga in your solidarity with sister communities and your struggle for self-determination. We recognise that a stand made by Indigenous communities against racism and colonial violence is a stand made for humanity.
In solidarity and sisterhood,
The March 8th Coordination and Action Committee, Women of Diverse Origins
Montreal, 14 June 2009
comite8mars@gmail.com
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
March 8 Demonstration :: International Women's Day
=========================================================================
REMINDER -- Don't forget the Day Light Saving Time change on March 8th!
=========================================================================
************ ********* ********* *******
Sunday, March 8th 12pm (noon)
Cabot Square
(coin St-Catherine et Atwater, métro Atwater)
**Child-friendly demonstration
**We encourage men to join us in solidarity!
************ ********* ********* ********
Every year, we march down the streets of Montreal and assert our power to fight for our futures and demand justice for all. We take to the streets to celebrate and stand in solidarity with the daily struggles of all women, here, on occupied Indigenous land and throughout the world.
This year, we encourage people to wear masks to protest the proposed municipal by-law criminalizing those who cover their faces at demonstrations and rallies. We encourage those marching with us to wear masks to show their solidarity with those who are forced to conceal their identity to voice their dissent : the non-status people who are nabbed by border agents when they speak out against deportations and detentions, the women who are afraid of protesting against gender violence for fear of being targeted by their abusive partners, the Indigenous communities defending their lands and livelihoods against military invasion, the youth who wear masks to avoid more police brutality and racial profiling, the racialized communities who are constantly harassed and targeted by the state under the pretence of “national security”, those who face political repression, and with people all around the world who continue to fight for justice.
Pictures from the demo: http://flickr.com/gp/36752386@N08/z36937
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Press release 2009
Montreal--On International Women’s Day -- WOMEN DEMAND A NEW WORLD ORDER: End Imperialism, Exploitation, War, Occupation and Repression
The 8th March Committee of Women of Diverse Origins demands nothing more and nothing less. We are feminists of diverse origins. Immersed in the grassroots, in our communities and in the wider society we oppose patriarchy and misogyny in terms of family relations, societal and political institutions, culture and the media. We are committed to dignity and to basic rights – freedom from fear and intimidation, freedom from sexual discrimination, freedom from fundamentalism. Without basic rights, women and their families are unable to achieve human dignity.
In the current local and global context what is needed is a new world order that clearly identifies the roots of the current problems women and our families face around the world. The multiple oppressions generated by patriarchy and capitalism have brought us to where we are today – a world of on-going and multiple wars, severe economic insecurity, exploitation of the marginalized – class, gender and race. It is simple. It is clear. Nothing less than a completely different order, a new world order can bring about a change for a better world.
We are at a point in world history where we will not be fobbed off with ‘the greater evil’, ‘that change comes slowly’ that the demand for a better world is ‘a utopian dream’. We know what the problems are. We know their causes. Only a total overhaul of the current systems can bring about lasting and meaningful change – justice and equality for all. The rapacious demands of corporations and governments in their pay with their war machines reap havoc, death and destruction on the innocent around the world, while petty despots oppress with impunity, unhindered. The free-flowing movement of capital around the world pushes workers everywhere to the lowest common denominator in terms of job security, wages and exploitatitive conditions. People flee war, political oppression and economic disaster to become even more exploited wherever they land. Minorities are targeted with violence and brutality and few give a damn. The smoke and mirrors that are erected do not distract us – we know the causes, we have answers.
Join us as we gather to elaborate, propose and discuss around the problems; the urgency for a new world order; what that order will be. Women have always been at the forefront of economic and political change. We are the ones who feed our families. We are the ones who have always been on the streets demanding bread and demanding peace. Once more we are out there . We want nothing more and nothing less than a New World Order.
There are two events. An all day event with speakers, workshops, displays, and a march on International Women’s Day. Local and international speakers will tie together the issues – from Afghanistan to Akwesasne, from the field to the factory and the kitchen table, from the local park to the jail cells to the battlefield. We will share ideas and experiences. There will be film screenings and displays.
You are invited. Be there.
Saturday 28th February
10am-5pm; Registration 9am
Childcare on site. Lunch provided
Suggested donation $5 (no-one turned away)
Pavillon Jean-Brillant
Université de Montréal
3200 Jean-Brillant
Auditorium B-2325
Info: 514 342 2111
Sunday March 8th
Demonstration 12 noon
Cabot Square
-30-
The 8th March Committee of Women of Diverse Origins demands nothing more and nothing less. We are feminists of diverse origins. Immersed in the grassroots, in our communities and in the wider society we oppose patriarchy and misogyny in terms of family relations, societal and political institutions, culture and the media. We are committed to dignity and to basic rights – freedom from fear and intimidation, freedom from sexual discrimination, freedom from fundamentalism. Without basic rights, women and their families are unable to achieve human dignity.
In the current local and global context what is needed is a new world order that clearly identifies the roots of the current problems women and our families face around the world. The multiple oppressions generated by patriarchy and capitalism have brought us to where we are today – a world of on-going and multiple wars, severe economic insecurity, exploitation of the marginalized – class, gender and race. It is simple. It is clear. Nothing less than a completely different order, a new world order can bring about a change for a better world.
We are at a point in world history where we will not be fobbed off with ‘the greater evil’, ‘that change comes slowly’ that the demand for a better world is ‘a utopian dream’. We know what the problems are. We know their causes. Only a total overhaul of the current systems can bring about lasting and meaningful change – justice and equality for all. The rapacious demands of corporations and governments in their pay with their war machines reap havoc, death and destruction on the innocent around the world, while petty despots oppress with impunity, unhindered. The free-flowing movement of capital around the world pushes workers everywhere to the lowest common denominator in terms of job security, wages and exploitatitive conditions. People flee war, political oppression and economic disaster to become even more exploited wherever they land. Minorities are targeted with violence and brutality and few give a damn. The smoke and mirrors that are erected do not distract us – we know the causes, we have answers.
Join us as we gather to elaborate, propose and discuss around the problems; the urgency for a new world order; what that order will be. Women have always been at the forefront of economic and political change. We are the ones who feed our families. We are the ones who have always been on the streets demanding bread and demanding peace. Once more we are out there . We want nothing more and nothing less than a New World Order.
There are two events. An all day event with speakers, workshops, displays, and a march on International Women’s Day. Local and international speakers will tie together the issues – from Afghanistan to Akwesasne, from the field to the factory and the kitchen table, from the local park to the jail cells to the battlefield. We will share ideas and experiences. There will be film screenings and displays.
You are invited. Be there.
Saturday 28th February
10am-5pm; Registration 9am
Childcare on site. Lunch provided
Suggested donation $5 (no-one turned away)
Pavillon Jean-Brillant
Université de Montréal
3200 Jean-Brillant
Auditorium B-2325
Info: 514 342 2111
Sunday March 8th
Demonstration 12 noon
Cabot Square
-30-
2009 Activities
JOIN US on February 28th and March 8th 2009 for International Women's Day
The March 8th Action and Coordination Committee of Women of Diverse Origins presents:
WOMEN DEMAND A NEW WORLD ORDER:
End Imperialism, Occupation, War, Exploitation and Repression!
1) CONFERENCE
************ ********* ********* ********* **
Ferbuary 28th 2009
Université de Montréal,
3200 Jean-Brilliant
9am-6pm
2nd floor (metro Côte-des-neiges)
Suggested Contribution: $5(no one turned away)
Men are welcome to attend
************ ********* ********* ********* ***
**Child Care available
**Simultaneous Translation
**Lunch will be provided
*************************************************
SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth (Tshankuesh) Penashue, Innu elder from Nitassinan (Labrador)
Marylynn Poucachiche, Barriere Lake
Nargess Mustapha, Montréal-Nord Républik
Soha Bechara, Urgence Palestine
Zoya,Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA)
...and others!
***************************************************
email: comite8mars@ gmail.com
2) DEMONSTRATION
************ ********* ********* *******
Sunday, March 8th 12pm (noon)
Cabot Square
**Child-friendly demonstration
**We encourage men to join us in solidarity!
************ ********* ********* ********
Every year, we march down the streets of Montreal and assert our power to fight for our futures and demand justice for all. We take to the streets to celebrate and stand in solidarity with the daily struggles of all women, here, on occupied Indigenous land and throughout the world.
This year, we encourage people to wear masks to protest the proposed municipal by-law criminalizing those who cover their faces at demonstrations and rallies. We encourage those marching with us to wear masks to show their solidarity with those who are forced to conceal their identity to voice their dissent : the non-status people who are nabbed by border agents when they speak out against deportations and detentions, the women who are afraid of protesting against gender violence for fear of being targeted by their abusive partners, the Indigenous communities defending their lands and livelihoods against military invasion, the youth who wear masks to avoid more police brutality and racial profiling, the racialized communities who are constantly harassed and targeted by the state under the pretence of “national security”, those who face political repression, and with people all around the world who continue to fight for justice.
Join us!
3) ISRAELI APARTHEID WEEK
The March 8th Coordination and Action Committee of Women of Diverse Origins endorses Israeli Apartheid Week and its events (including those from March 1st – March 8th). We stand in solidarity with Palestinian Women and their communities in their struggle against injustices caused by apartheid policies, occupation and war. In particular, we express our indignation concerning Israel's violent actions and massacre against the people of Gaza. Over a thousand people have been killed, one third of them children, thousands have been injured and over 25,000 people have been internally displaced within Gaza with no where to go. Stephen Harper and the Canadian government should be ashamed of themselves for supporting Israel's actions as well the daily violence of a humanitarian catastrophe caused by a severe reduction of access to energy, food, and medicine in Gaza, the world's largest open air prison. Enough is enough! We will continue to stand in solidarity with Palestinian Women and their communities in their struggle for justice and we will continue to demand an immediate end to Israeli apartheid.
*There will be a "Justice for Palestinian Women and their communities" block at the March 8th march*
Info on IAW events:
www.iawmontreal. org, iaw-mtl@riseup. net,
FOR PICTURES VISIT: http://flickr.com/gp/36752386@N08/z36937
All groups and individuals involved with the March 8th Action and Coordination Committee of Women of Diverse Origins share a vision of mutual aid, dignity and economic, political and social justice for all.
The March 8th Action and Coordination Committee of Women of Diverse Origins is a QPIRG-McGill working group.
The March 8th Action and Coordination Committee of Women of Diverse Origins presents:
WOMEN DEMAND A NEW WORLD ORDER:
End Imperialism, Occupation, War, Exploitation and Repression!
1) CONFERENCE
************ ********* ********* ********* **
Ferbuary 28th 2009
Université de Montréal,
3200 Jean-Brilliant
9am-6pm
2nd floor (metro Côte-des-neiges)
Suggested Contribution: $5(no one turned away)
Men are welcome to attend
************ ********* ********* ********* ***
**Child Care available
**Simultaneous Translation
**Lunch will be provided
*************************************************
SPEAKERS:
Elizabeth (Tshankuesh) Penashue, Innu elder from Nitassinan (Labrador)
Marylynn Poucachiche, Barriere Lake
Nargess Mustapha, Montréal-Nord Républik
Soha Bechara, Urgence Palestine
Zoya,Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA)
...and others!
***************************************************
email: comite8mars@ gmail.com
2) DEMONSTRATION
************ ********* ********* *******
Sunday, March 8th 12pm (noon)
Cabot Square
**Child-friendly demonstration
**We encourage men to join us in solidarity!
************ ********* ********* ********
Every year, we march down the streets of Montreal and assert our power to fight for our futures and demand justice for all. We take to the streets to celebrate and stand in solidarity with the daily struggles of all women, here, on occupied Indigenous land and throughout the world.
This year, we encourage people to wear masks to protest the proposed municipal by-law criminalizing those who cover their faces at demonstrations and rallies. We encourage those marching with us to wear masks to show their solidarity with those who are forced to conceal their identity to voice their dissent : the non-status people who are nabbed by border agents when they speak out against deportations and detentions, the women who are afraid of protesting against gender violence for fear of being targeted by their abusive partners, the Indigenous communities defending their lands and livelihoods against military invasion, the youth who wear masks to avoid more police brutality and racial profiling, the racialized communities who are constantly harassed and targeted by the state under the pretence of “national security”, those who face political repression, and with people all around the world who continue to fight for justice.
Join us!
3) ISRAELI APARTHEID WEEK
The March 8th Coordination and Action Committee of Women of Diverse Origins endorses Israeli Apartheid Week and its events (including those from March 1st – March 8th). We stand in solidarity with Palestinian Women and their communities in their struggle against injustices caused by apartheid policies, occupation and war. In particular, we express our indignation concerning Israel's violent actions and massacre against the people of Gaza. Over a thousand people have been killed, one third of them children, thousands have been injured and over 25,000 people have been internally displaced within Gaza with no where to go. Stephen Harper and the Canadian government should be ashamed of themselves for supporting Israel's actions as well the daily violence of a humanitarian catastrophe caused by a severe reduction of access to energy, food, and medicine in Gaza, the world's largest open air prison. Enough is enough! We will continue to stand in solidarity with Palestinian Women and their communities in their struggle for justice and we will continue to demand an immediate end to Israeli apartheid.
*There will be a "Justice for Palestinian Women and their communities" block at the March 8th march*
Info on IAW events:
www.iawmontreal. org, iaw-mtl@riseup. net,
FOR PICTURES VISIT: http://flickr.com/gp/36752386@N08/z36937
All groups and individuals involved with the March 8th Action and Coordination Committee of Women of Diverse Origins share a vision of mutual aid, dignity and economic, political and social justice for all.
The March 8th Action and Coordination Committee of Women of Diverse Origins is a QPIRG-McGill working group.
Basis of Unity
8 March COORDINATION AND ACTION COMMITTEE OF WOMEN OF DIVERSE ORIGINS
1. We want to be visible. We want to organize March 8 with our issues and our organizations occupying centre stage (not just as a workshop or in an addendum to a mainstream women’s event).
2. We are feminists of diverse origins – born in other countries, mainly in the southern hemisphere, or Canadian-born. We have a continuing strong connection to our countries of origin, and to issues of the Third World.
3. In our communities and in the wider society we oppose patriarchy and misogyny in terms of family relations, societal and political institutions, culture and the media.
4.We are committed to dignity and to basic rights – freedom from fear and intimidation, freedom from sexual discrimination, freedom from fundamentalism.
5. Without basic rights women and their families are unable to achieve human dignity. So we are committed to rights in the areas of housing, education and healthcare, choice in matters of lifestyle and reproductive rights.
6.We support the on-going national liberation struggles in our countries of origin and the Third World in general, and people’s struggles against imperialism and local repressive governments. We want to celebrate and inform on women’s traditions of resistance from our communities and countries of origin.
7. We support the ongoing struggles of the indigenous people, the original inhabitants of Turtle Island, who, as a consequence of settler colonialism, have suffered dispossession of land, destruction of culture and way of life, including more egalitarian gender relations.
8.Locally, we actively oppose racism, and all forms of oppression, particularly the heightened repression against visible minorities since Sept. 11 2001, and against justice-loving people speaking out against war preparations, Canadian and US foreign policy and global economic inequality.
9.We oppose discriminatory immigration and refugee policies which marginalize women and their families, keeping them in poverty and near-slave conditions, and the effects of globalization which are driving down wages and working conditions of women, particularly immigrants and refugees and putting people into increasingly desperate conditions.
10.We are anti-war and anti-imperialist and wish to contribute to building a strong women’s stance against war and aggression, particularly US-led wars of terror.
11.We do not wish to work in opposition to existing feminist organization and practice. We invite the participation and support of women from the mainstream and recognize the importance of joint action in strategic areas.
12.We are a coordination and action committee, because we wish to coordinate the activities of existing groups, which some of us represent, and because we also intend to initiate new activities jointly for which we will mobilize our respective networks.
1. We want to be visible. We want to organize March 8 with our issues and our organizations occupying centre stage (not just as a workshop or in an addendum to a mainstream women’s event).
2. We are feminists of diverse origins – born in other countries, mainly in the southern hemisphere, or Canadian-born. We have a continuing strong connection to our countries of origin, and to issues of the Third World.
3. In our communities and in the wider society we oppose patriarchy and misogyny in terms of family relations, societal and political institutions, culture and the media.
4.We are committed to dignity and to basic rights – freedom from fear and intimidation, freedom from sexual discrimination, freedom from fundamentalism.
5. Without basic rights women and their families are unable to achieve human dignity. So we are committed to rights in the areas of housing, education and healthcare, choice in matters of lifestyle and reproductive rights.
6.We support the on-going national liberation struggles in our countries of origin and the Third World in general, and people’s struggles against imperialism and local repressive governments. We want to celebrate and inform on women’s traditions of resistance from our communities and countries of origin.
7. We support the ongoing struggles of the indigenous people, the original inhabitants of Turtle Island, who, as a consequence of settler colonialism, have suffered dispossession of land, destruction of culture and way of life, including more egalitarian gender relations.
8.Locally, we actively oppose racism, and all forms of oppression, particularly the heightened repression against visible minorities since Sept. 11 2001, and against justice-loving people speaking out against war preparations, Canadian and US foreign policy and global economic inequality.
9.We oppose discriminatory immigration and refugee policies which marginalize women and their families, keeping them in poverty and near-slave conditions, and the effects of globalization which are driving down wages and working conditions of women, particularly immigrants and refugees and putting people into increasingly desperate conditions.
10.We are anti-war and anti-imperialist and wish to contribute to building a strong women’s stance against war and aggression, particularly US-led wars of terror.
11.We do not wish to work in opposition to existing feminist organization and practice. We invite the participation and support of women from the mainstream and recognize the importance of joint action in strategic areas.
12.We are a coordination and action committee, because we wish to coordinate the activities of existing groups, which some of us represent, and because we also intend to initiate new activities jointly for which we will mobilize our respective networks.
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