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[colombia] Jose Julio Perez
1 message

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Avi Chomsky <achomsky@salemstate.edu>	Sat, Mar 4, 2006 at 9:56 PM
Reply-To: Avi Chomsky <achomsky@salemstate.edu> To: North Shore Colombia Solidarity Committee <colombia@listserv.salemstate.edu>
Hello, list members, I wanted to update you all on the tour we are planning for Jose Julio Perez, a representative from the community of Tabaco, an Afro-Colombian village violently displaced in 2001 by the mine that supplies coal to the Salem Harbor Power Station. Some of you may remember the visits by Armando Perez and Remedios Fajardo, back in 2002, Francisco Ruiz, in 2003, and Francisco Ramirez, in 2002 and 2004, and how powerful it has been to hear the voices of those affected by the production of the coal that we consume. Jose Julio's tour will begin on March 19, and he'll be visiting Nova Scotia (where Garry Leech, who many of you will also remember, now teaches; Nova Scotia is another major importer of Colombian coal. See www.colombiajournal.org and www.arsn.ca for more information about Colombia in general, and Canadian solidarity, respectively.); Arkansas, Los Angeles, and Washington DC, before coming to New England for 10 days from April 9-19. His schedule right now looks like this: Sun. April 9 7:00 First Church in Salem, present a showing of "The Destruction of Tabaco" Mon. April 10 7:00 Salem State College Earth Day celebration. Jose Julio will be presented with an Environmental Justice Award. Tues. April 11 Dartmouth College Wed. April 12 University of Southern Maine Thurs. April 13 Meetings with local officials in Salem Fri. April 14 Presentation of _The Profits of Extermination_ at The Bookstore, Gloucester Tues. April 18 Brown University Because the foreign-owned mine operates with virtual impunity in Colombia, Jose Julio and the other villagers who have been displaced believe that the only way to challenge the mine on its violations of human and environmental rights is through international public pressure. They are asking us, as consumers of the coal, to demand that the mine negotiate a collective relocation agreement with the villagers who have been displaced. Our campaign will continue this summer with a delegation to the coal-producing region of Colombia from August 1-11, coinciding with an international conference that Garry is organizing there. I'm eager to hear ANY ideas you might have for events, and other ways of drawing public attention to Jose Julio's message, while he is here in April. Avi ---------------------------------------- North Shore Colombia Solidarity Committee: http://home.comcast.net/~nscolombia/

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Posted by nscolombia at 12:28 AM EST

Updated: 11 March 2006 7:45 PM EST

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