[Peace-discuss] Fwd: Returned mail: see transcript for details

Sat Jan 8 11:34:34 CST 2005

> FYI
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>> From: Irfan Ahmad <isahmad at uiuc.edu>
>> Date: January 3, 2005 10:09:06 AM CST
>> To: akagan at uiuc.edu, sgdavis at uiuc.edu
>> Subject: Fwd: CSFH Warns Against Hate Groups Exploiting Tsunami Crisis
>>
>> Date: Sun, 02 Jan 2005 02:28:23 -0600
>>  From: Ra Ravishankar <ravishan at uiuc.edu>
>>  Reply-To: ravishan at uiuc.edu
>>  Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
>>  User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.4) 
>> Gecko/20030624 Netscape/7.1
>>  X-Accept-Language: en-us, en
>>  To: Ra Ravishankar <ravishan at uiuc.edu>
>>  Subject: CSFH Warns Against Hate Groups Exploiting Tsunami Crisis
>>
>>
>>  ------------------------
>>  PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY
>>  ------------------------
>>
>>
>>  GIVE WELL, GIVE WISELY!
>>  CSFH Urges Responsible Giving in the Wake of Tsunami Tragedy
>>
>>  Friends,
>>
>>  It is time to give and give generously. As the death toll climbs past
>>  150,000 and the world comes to grips with the devastation caused by 
>> the
>>  deadly Indian Ocean tsunamis, numerous organizations across Asia are
>>  stepping up to organize relief and rehabilitation. We at the 
>> Campaign to
>>  Stop Funding Hate (CSFH) urge all individuals in the U.S. and 
>> elsewhere
>>  to support them by donating generously.
>>
>>  However, our responsibility does not end with giving. It is also our
>>  combined responsibility to ensure that our funds do not end up in
>>  sectarian hands, and that this tragedy does not turn into another
>>  opportunity for communal groups to gain foothold in our plural 
>> society.
>>
>>  KEEPING ACCOUNTABILITY, SOCIAL JUSTICE ON THE AGENDA
>>
>>  The response to the tsunami tragedy in the US has been heartening, 
>> with
>>  hundreds of dedicated volunteers making enormous effort to raise
>>  resources for relief operations in India and elsewhere. Many of these
>>  groups have a long history of carrying out grass-roots, non-sectarian
>>  development work in India, and have been able to effectively mobilize
>>  their networks at this time to administer relief. They can be counted
>>  upon for working closely with affected communities in a transparent 
>> and
>>  accountable manner. The immense loss of life in Sri Lanka, Indonesia 
>> and
>>  Thailand, makes it incumbent on us to consider giving to our 
>> suffering
>>  Asian neighbors, either through transnational organizations or 
>> through
>>  informal networks of local community-based organizations. (See below
>>  for a partial list of such organizations).
>>
>>  Many of us are also members of a variety of linguistic, regional and
>>  cultural associations. Because of their social and cultural 
>> affinities,
>>  such organizations are well equipped to intervene in on the ground
>>  activities. Precisely because of these reasons, sectarian groups try 
>> to
>>  use them as vehicles to advance their own agendas. We therefore urge 
>> you
>>  all to not only take an active part in the fund raising activities of
>>  these organizations but also be involved in discussions on how and 
>> where
>>  the funds are to be used. Disasters of this kind are occasions when 
>> we
>>  should be on high alert to keep social justice at the top of the 
>> agenda.
>>
>>  STAY CLEAR OF SECTARIAN GROUPS SUCH AS IDRF, HSS, SEVA INTERNATIONAL 
>> AND
>>  VHPA
>>
>>  Please remember the lessons of past natural calamities: Latur 
>> earthquake
>>  in 1993, Orissa cyclone in 1999 and the massive earthquake that shook
>>  Gujarat in 2001. Sectarian groups in the guise of non profits have
>>  swooped in on these areas engulfed in tragedy (funded in large part 
>> by
>>  unsuspecting donors in the US) and established their presence in the
>>  grief-stricken communities on the pretext of providing relief. Not 
>> only
>>  did this lead to unequal disbursement of relief among various
>>  communities, but it also caused further fracturing of these 
>> struggling
>>  communities along lines of caste and religion.
>>
>>  This time too, the India Development and Relief Fund (IDRF), Hindu
>>  Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS), Sewa International and Vishwa Hindu
>>  Parishad-America (VHPA) have all put out appeals for Tsunami relief.
>>  CSFH has done extensive research on these groups and traced their
>>  linkages to the parent organization in India: the violent and
>>  anti-minority Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). (See
>> http://www.stopfundinghate.org for details.) Affiliates of this
>>  organization have been implicated by numerous national and 
>> international
>>  human rights groups as having engineered the anti-Muslim Gujarat 
>> pogroms
>>  in 2002 and the anti-Christian violence in 1998-2000. RSS itself is a
>>  secretive organization, openly sectarian in its operations, and is 
>> not
>>  legally permitted by the Government of India to accept funds from
>>  abroad; consequently, its US affiliates (IDRF, HSS etc.) are raising
>>  funds for organizations like Sewa Bharati, Jana Sankshema Samiti and
>>  Vivekananda Kendra in India, all of which are intrinsic parts of RSS
>>  operations in India and follow its divisive ideology.
>>
>>  We urge everyone to make the responsible choice in favor of 
>> supporting
>>  secular groups with a long-standing commitment to the pluralistic 
>> ethos
>>  and democratic ideals of India. On our part, we are following up on 
>> our
>>  work of the past several years some of which is documented at
>> http://www.stopfundinghate.org . We will be happy to assist you with 
>> any
>>  information and would really appreciate it if you will alert us to 
>> the
>>  debates and discussions that you are involved in by emailing us at
>>  info at stopfundinghate.org
>>
>>  We are building a FAQ to be posted on our site and it will be 
>> helpful to
>>  know the kinds of questions being raised. Meanwhile, please feel 
>> free to
>>  use the list below as a starting point to identify the kind of
>>  organizations that are worthy of support.
>>
>>  Thank you
>>  CSFH (http://www.stopfundinghate.org)
>>
>>  ------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>  A partial list of non-sectarian, grassroots groups involved in relief
>>  operations:
>>
>>  1. AID - Association for India’s Development
>> http://www.aidindia.org/CMS/
>>
>>  2. American India Foundation
>> http://www.aifoundation.org/
>>
>>  3. Asha For Education
>> http://www.ashanet.org/
>>
>>  4. India Literacy Project
>> http://www.ilpnet.org/news/Tsunami/index.html
>>
>>  5. India Relief and Education Fund
>> http://iref.homestead.com/
>>
>>  6. Indians for Collective Action
>> http://www.icaonline.org/
>>
>>  7. Pratham
>> http://www.prathamusa.org/
>>
>>  8. Singh Foundation
>> http://singhfoundation.org
>>
>>  9. Vibha
>> http://www.vibha.org/emergencyrelief/
>>
>>  These groups are partnering with various mass-based organizations and
>>  NGOs in India, such as the Tamil Nadu Science Forum, the National
>>  Fishworkers Forum, Vidyarambam, APVVU (agricultural workers’ union in
>>  AP), People's Watch, Bharathi Trust and Bhoomika Trust.
>>
>>  Among international organizations, Doctors Without Borders is 
>> reputed to
>>  be the most committed and experienced with meeting disasters with
>>  professional expertise. http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org
>>
>>  The International Red Cross has country specific operations which 
>> may be
>>  accessed and supported through the following links:
>>
>>  Sri Lanka: 
>> http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/sri_lanka!Open
>>  Indonesia: 
>> http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/indonesia!Open
>>  Thailand: http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/thailand!Open
>>
>>  Additionally, we urge you to also spread the word about the Red 
>> Cross's
>>  'Family Links' initiative which helps locate separated family members
>>  throughout the affected region. You can find out more about this from
>> http://www.icrc.org/home.nsf/home/webfamilylinks
>>
>>  
> Al Kagan
> African Studies Bibliogrpaher and Professor of Library Administration
> University of Illinois Library
> 1408 W. Gregory Drive
> Urbana, IL 61801
>
> tel. 217-333-6519
> fax 217-333-2214
> akagan at uiuc.edu
>
>
>

Al Kagan
Africana Unit, Room 328
University of Illinois Library
1408 W. Gregory Drive
Urbana, IL 61820
USA

tel. 217-333-6519
fax 217-333-2214
akagan at uiuc.edu
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