Youth around the world are invited to participate in PLURAL +, a video festival focusing on migration, diversity and social inclusion.
Recognizing youth as powerful agents of social change in a world often characterized by intolerance, cultural and religious divisions, PLURAL+ is aimed at involving youth in addressing the key challenges in their communities related to migrant integration, inclusiveness, identity, diversity, human rights and social cohesiveness. MORE INFORMATION:www.unaoc.org/pluralplus
On July 1st, the tortured body of Marcelo Rivera, an organizer against mining in Cabañas, El Salvador, was found. He had been missing for two weeks. Now, three young radio news reporters from the local community radio station are receiving death threats for their coverage of the case.
Below is an account in English by Wendy Wallas of Radio Victoria. Attached are two pieces of information in Spanish, which explain that Radio Victoria and its sponsor NGO ADES have reported the situation to the Human Rights Ombudsman of El Salvador, who has called on the police to investigate the case and provide enhanced protection.
For more information and to consider possible advocacy action, please contact the SHARE Foundation, http://www.share-elsalvador.org
Hi Everyone, i am short on time but want to inform you all that we are having some serious problems in Radio Victoria. We have 3 young community correspondents that have received threats, even death threats, and we have had to pull them out of Cabanas and bring them into the capital.
This comes on the heels of the disappearance and later confirmed death of our friend and activist Marcelo Rivera, who lived in the town of San Isidro, Cabanas, which is between Ilobasco and Sensuntepeque. Marcelo was a community artist, a long time anti-goldmine activist, head of the local casa de cultura, active member of the FMLN and member of his hometown association that connected Salvadorans living in the USA with supporting projects in San Isidro. He took a protagonist role in stopping municipal elections last january due to massive fraud in his town.
Marcelo disappeared and his body appeared 2 weeks later in the bottom of a well. He had been brutally tortured.
Now our community correspondents are getting messages that what happened to Marcelo could happen to them. One of them is also from San Isidro, another is from a nearby town and the other is from a rural community.
Obviously we are upset and worried and we are taking precautions. I am working with a group from the States right now but am in touch with the young folks a few times a day.
i just want you all to know and be ready if we need you to call or write letters or whatever. I will try to keep you posted. The young folks are pretty calm right now and in a very safe place, they are so young and such good reporters and i kind of feel like they are my babies!!! Hold them in your hearts and i will be in touch again soon.
"Elvis" the Radio Victoria sound mixer.
Young producers of Radio Victoria
And this in from Barry Gilbert: Coincidentally, my cousin was in El Salvador, working with Marcelo on behalf of an NGO when he disappeared. She was strongly urged to leave the country when her other Salvadoran counterparts started receiving death threats. Thankfully, she's safe at home in NYC and is working with a coalition of NGO's to bring attention to this situation and to try to raise money to get some of Marcelo's friends out of the country. I also just found out that a local Catholic priest has also recently started receiving death threats.
There is a lot of evidence that this is all related to their work trying to bring attention to recent negotiations between the government of El Salvador and a large Canadian mining company that wants to exploit the country's gold, which would likely result in massive contamination of the country's water supplies. Sound familiar?
Radio 1812/2007 invites you to Tune in on International Migrants Day! It is estimated that some 200 million people live outside of their home countries. And this is not a new phenomenon: Europe, America, and Australia were all built on the influx of millions of people in search of a better life. Since 2000, the international community has designated 18th of December as International Migrants Day, to celebrate the achievements and highlight the struggles of migrants around the world. Last year, December 18, the international advocacy and resource centre on the human rights of migrant workers launched Radio 1812, a global radio event where community stations, commercial radios and national and international broadcasters in over twenty countries stretching from Australia to Peru produced and broadcasted on one day more than 50 programmes in the most various languages, from Chinese and Thai to Spanish and Kazak. December 18 was also honoured to welcome the support of former Irish President and Human Rights defender Mary Robinson, and of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour. Both used the Radio 1812/2006 event to reinforce their message: that human rights for all means human rights for migrants too. This year, supported by UNESCO and ™Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, amongst others, Radio1812 is back hoping to bring together more radios, more migrants and more concerned citizens to take part in the celebrations on 18th December 2007. Rene Plaetevoet, Director of December 18, says: "Last year, Radio 1812 was a successful and exciting new initiative that put the voices of the often-voiceless at the centre of the debate around migration through the power of radio. This year, we call on all radio stations and migrant solidarity groups around the world to come together and join this exciting second edition of Radio 1812 to celebrate International Migrants Day 2007." For a taste of what happened in 2006 you can listen to a short remix of last year's event and browse through all of the content from the past edition on our new multilingual radio portal. In 2007, audio programming on migration will be updated regularly thanks to the generosity of all the radios that wish to share their existing and future programming on this issue. Regular feeds on migration-related news, exciting features and briefings and helpful tips on how to take part in Radio 1812/2007 are some of the new additions to this year's initiative. For more information on how to take part in Radio 1812 or to share any existing audio content you may have on migration, please check the Radio 1812 website at:www.radio1812.net, or contact us at: radio1812@december18.net
The mission of DECEMBER 18 is to promote and protect the rights of migrants worldwide. Our goal is that the human rights of all migrants are recognised and protected effectively, and that an environment is created for migrants to be full participants in any society. We promote an approach to migration policies that is based on existing international and regional human rights instruments and mechanisms.
Waves of Change is a survey of community media around the US and the world. In addition to this web site, there will be a DVD set with segments produced in many countries. We need your help to finish this series! Contributions to Deep Dish, a 501 C3 organization are tax exempt. Please contribute to help us finish the series! All donors will receive a free copy of the DVD set. Go to the Deep Dish web site to donate.
