Dear all,
the international call for participants has been finalized! Thanks
to Judith for language revision, and thanks to Pierre for suggesting
amendments to the extended forum participation form.
You can
start spreading the following text (and eventually the attached
pdf) to your organizations and all mailinglists of social
movements that could have an interest in the ISF. Please also
consider the option of inviting key people that may want to go to
Baghdad (for example Naomi Klein? who can contact her?), even if we
don't have a solidarity fund to cover international flights.
Clarify
in your messages that going to Baghdad implies a risk, but those
who want to try need to register as soon as possible (in any case
within August 5), since getting the visa is not an easy process.
Finally, we need language translations of this call. As soon as
you've done one, please send it to this mailinglist! Thanks a lot!
Martina
PS: Text to be disseminated follows...
****
Another Iraq is Possible!
With Peace, Human Rights and
Social Justice!
Dear Friends
We invite you to attend and seek your
support for the first Iraqi Social Forum [ISF] to be held on September
26-28, 2013 in Baghdad, Iraq .
Active international solidarity
is the need of this hour!
The Iraqi Social Forum is an
extraordinary event that opposes decades of immense violence and
destruction. It proposes a time and a space managed by civil
society and social movements to build another Iraq based on peace,
respect for human rights and social justice, in partnership with
all those who adhere to the principles and charter of the WSF,
adopted in Porto Alegre in 2001.
The loss of the lives of over one
million people, the destruction of infrastructure, fatal and
debilitating effects of depleted uranium and chemical weaponry
used by the occupation forces cannot be forgotten, neither by the
Iraqi people nor by the international movements who have been
mobilizing against the war and the occupation.
The withdrawal of the US and occupation troops has opened the way
to complete the struggle of Iraqi people for democracy and social
justice, but the current Iraqi leadership has been built on
sectarian lines, and does not guarantee the rights and safety of
its citizens. Hundreds of thousands have protested in the streets
of Iraqi cities since 2011 against corruption, for social
services, for freedom of expression, and for an independent
judiciary system. More than 2600 Iraqis have been killed since
April 2013 in terrorist attacks, most of them in Baghdad. Still
Iraqi civil society acts for change.
Now it is the time to all work together to build a way
for hope to emerge, and to contribute to the desires of the
Iraqi people for a civil, democratic society and State, based on
respect for different cultures. The country is
experiencing a political, economic and social crisis: this is the
time to build partnerships, foster dialogue and cooperation, to
find solutions to outstanding problems. Now is the time to end
violence and terrorism for which the people of Iraq have paid, and
continue to pay, a heavy price. These are the challenges of the
Iraqi Social Forum, we believe that these are our shared
challenges!
The WSF process is now well anchored in the region. Since
2008 we have witnessed successful regional social fora in the
Maghreb/Mashreq, a World Education Forum in Palestine and the
World Social Forum in Tunis earlier this year. These collective
experiences provide a fertile ground for the Iraqi civil society
to build the first Iraqi Social Forum as an open space for
exchange of experiences and ideas, and to build a movement against
neo-liberalism, for social change.
Iraqi civil society organizations will raise the
following issues within the ISF: building a civic and
democratic country; challenges faced by minorities; equitable
distribution of wealth and social justice; trade unions, and
peasant associations; rights of women, youth, children; economic,
social, and cultural issues; nonviolence as a way of social,
cultural, and economic change in Iraq; international solidarity
campaigns with the Iraqi civil society. Sports Against Violence
and Artistic activities will be associated to the forum.
The world witnessed huge
demonstrations, unparalleled in the history, against the US
invasion of Iraq. This international solidarity is now once
again being convened in support of the Iraqi Social Forum.
International participation in the Baghad ISF forum event will be
limited in numbers for security reasons, but the ISF preparatory
committee is looking for a venue in Baghdad safe enough for some
internationals to attend. We strongly encourage your remote
participation from your own country, via the “Extended Iraqi
Social Forum”.
Please consider the following ways of
joining us:
1) Be with us in Baghdad. Be
aware that this entails a certain degree of risk,
and that we will confirm international
participation only in early September depending on the situation.
Meanwhile, you need to register before the 5th of August
in order to receive a letter of invitation and apply for the visa
at the Iraqi Embassy in your country.
2) Extended ISF. Organize a
solidarity event in your own country,
before or during the ISF, or a live
exchange via Internet with a group in Baghdad , or a
tele-participation in an activity held in Baghdad . A group of
Iraqi volunteers is being trained to help connect with
counterparts who want to exchange via Internet. Define with the
local organizers which ISF activities will be enlarged for
Internet participation, and build the corresponding connections.
Let us know if you are
willing to participate!
The Iraqi Social Forum
Organizing Committee
The International Solidarity
Committee for the Iraqi Social Forum
****
Member organizations of the Iraqi committee:
|
Organization |
City |
1
|
Women for Peace |
Baghdad |
2
|
Tammuz Organization for
Social Development |
Baghdad |
3
|
Laonf Group |
Basra |
4
|
AL Mesalla Organization for
Human Resources Development |
Erbil |
5
|
Kurdistan Youth
Empowerment Organization |
Erbil |
6
|
Information Center for
research and development |
Baghdad |
7
|
Iraqi council for peace and
solidarity (ICPS) |
Baghdad |
8
|
Al Amal Association |
Baghdad |
9
|
General Federation of Iraqi
Workers |
Baghdad |
10
|
Iraqi Federation of Oil
Unions |
Basra |
11
|
Press Freedom Advocacy
Association In Iraq |
Baghdad |
12
|
Madarik for Studying
Mechanisms of Conceptual Promotion |
Baghdad |
13
|
Yazidi Solidarity and
Fraternity League |
Ninawa |
14
|
Engineering Professions Union |
Baghdad |
15
|
Iraqi Democratic Future
Network |
Baghdad |
16
|
Ofok Organization |
Baghdad |
Members of the international committee:
Name
|
Organization
|
Country
|
Ismaeel Dawood |
Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative |
international |
Martina Pignatti Morano |
Un ponte per… |
Italy |
Judith Hitchman and Sergio Cordeiro |
Support to “Iraqi Social Forum interpreters’
team” |
international |
Sabiha Ben Ammar |
Confédération Générale Tunisienne du Travail
(CGTT) |
Tunisia |
Feroz Mehdi |
Alternatives International |
international |
Mireille Fanon-Mendes |
Frantz Fanon Foundation |
international |
Elena Laurenti and Nicola Visconti |
A.D. Sport Against Violence |
Italy |
Pierre George |
Support to “Extended Iraqi Social Forum
team” |
France |
Mboirick Mohamed |
Gathering of Young Mauritania for
Development |
Mauritania |
Olfa Mohamed |
Tunisian League of Women Voters |
Tunisia |
Ahmad Jaradat |
Alternative Information Center |
Palestine/Israel |
Gershom Kabaso |
Zambia Social Forum |
Zambia |
Terry Kay Rockefeller |
September 11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows |
USA |
Felipe Daza |
NOVACT |
Spain |
Raffaella Bolini |
ARCI |
Italy |
Hamouda Soubhi |
Alternatives Forum in Morocco (FMAS) |
Morocco |
Muhanna Al-Shamary |
Friendship and Peace International
Organization |
Denmark/Iraq |
Alessandra Mecozzi |
Italian Network for the World Social Forum |
Italy |
Gustave Massiah |
Initiatives Pour un Autre Monde (IPAM) |
France |