[Imc-radio] headline 1

[Sarah Lazare]

hi all, i am going to send these headlines one at a time, due to a few 
problems with my internet connection.  sarah

by Sandra Ahten via ucimc.org:

A group of local citizens is joining together to encourage the Champaign 
County Sheriff and Champaign County Board to make adjustments to the local 
jail system on the heels of three suicides in the county jail in the last 
six months.

According to CU Citizens for Peace and Justice, two specific areas of 
present policy that must change, and may in turn reduce this troubling trend 
in suicide at the jail, are the extortionate rates charged inmates for phone 
calls to their families and the limited visitation oppportunities at the 
jail. Changes are needed in present policy so that those in the jail can 
maintain ties to their emotional support system in the community.

Questions have previously been raised by members of the county board about 
the justice of raising nearly $350,000 over two years for the budget from 
the families of some of the county's poorest residents by means of the 
county's lucrative jail phone contract with Evercom of Irving, Texas. The 
Champaign County Board is due to vote soon on renewing its jail phone 
service contract and can press for an improved visitation policy.
The group, CU Citizens for Peace and Justice, is also insisting that an 
outside agency investigate the possibility of criminal responsibility for 
the deaths. Currently the investigations are being conducted by the 
Sheriff’s Department, with supplemental reports from the Urbana City Police, 
and technical assistance from the Illinois State Police. The Chicago Tribune 
reported in 2002 that there are eight or nine jail suicides per year in 
Illinois. If statistics bear out, Champaign will have been the site of 30% 
of these this year.
Although some of the inmates at the Champaign County Jail have been found 
guilty and are sentenced to time there, most have not been found guilty and 
are awaiting their court date. Due to an urgently clogged court system, 
court dates are routinely six to eight months from the time of arrests. 
Those who have the funds usually have family post bond. Hence it is those 
who cannot afford bond who more often are held in the jail.

CU Citizens for Peace and Justice agrees with Sheriff Walsh who has stated 
that communication between inmates and their families should increase. The 
advocacy group contends that phone practices and visitation policies in 
particular need to change.

Headline 2
by Nicole Lamers via ucimc.org
The destruction from this past week’s Tsunami has been devastating 
throughout
Southeast Asia, but particularly in Sri Lanka. As some of you know, I have 
been
working for the past few years with an international collective of 
small-scale
fishers. I have been in contact with Thomas Kocherry, the leader of India’s 
National Fishworker’s Forum. Though India has been hard hit, Thomas has 
asked that we send donations directly to the National Fisheries Solidarity 
of Sri Lanka to help with immediate needs of food, water and shelter.
The destruction from this past week’s Tsunami has been devastating 
throughout Southeast Asia, but particularly in Sri Lanka. As some of you 
know, I have been working for the past few years with an international 
collective of small-scale
fishers. I have been in contact with Thomas Kocherry, the leader of India’s 
National Fishworker’s Forum. Though India has been hard hit, Thomas has 
asked that we send donations directly to the National Fisheries Solidarity 
of Sri Lanka to help with immediate needs of food, water and shelter.

Below is an email that he sent(if you would like me to send you the 
attachment which includes a more detailed discussion of the situation, 
please email me and I will forward it to you). I am volunteering to collect 
any funds that people here might like to donate. In this way, we can avoid 
multiple transfer fees (usually around $35).

I know that for me, hearing about situations like this can often be 
overwhelming and I am always hesitant about what the best way to help out 
might be. This is not a massive fundraising campaign, but just a chance to 
lend a small hand to those who have been on the ground working for social 
justice for years. I met both Thomas Kocherry and Herman Kumara at the 
Summit for Sustainable Development in 2002, and I can assure you they are 
hard-working, honest and
dedicated individuals who have inspired me greatly. Both have worked 
tirelessly to improve the situation of those in small fishing communities 
who have been marginalized as a result of the pressures of privatization and 
economic neo-
liberalism. Your contribution will not go to waste.

If you would like to donate any amount that you are able, you can send it or 
drop it off at:

Nicole Lamers
503 S. Race #1
Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: (217)766-1360
Email: lamers (at) uiuc.edu

Or if you would like to send a donation on your own, the account information 
is below.

For more information on the World Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP), see: 
http:// www.wffp.org/index.asp. If you have any questions, please feel free 
to contact me. Also, please forward to anyone else looking for a way to help 
out with this
situation.

Sincerely,
Nicole Lamers

XXX
My dear Friends,
Once again I am sending you the some details of what is going on in 
SRILANKA.
Andamans, Nagapattinam, Colachal in India are quite bad. Luna's proposal is
very good. But we cannot wait for a big programme. That needs time. If we 
get a
good response WFFP should work out a
programme. Till that happens let us send small contribution to SRILANKA.

India has sent a small contribution to NAFSO of 50000 Indian Rupees.
Here is the Bank Account of NAFSO.

Bank : COMMERCIAL BANK, NEGOMBO BRANCH.
Name: National Fisheries Solidarity.
Address: 24-26 Fernando Avenue, Negombo, SRILANKA.
Account Number: 1140499701

Thanks
THomas Kocherry

Attachment: tsunami.doc (42k bytes) Open