Yesterday I was finally listening to the Instant Karma album. I loved it and really recommend it. When I got to the track "Gimme Some Truth" I was very intrigued about the vocals and music arrangements of this song and thought to myself, "this is so refreshing, I've discovered a new band I like." So I got super excited and rushed to find out the name of this new band I’d just discovered and… well, I looked at the name and it was Jaguares! It was the first time I heard Saul sing in English and he was amazing.

But "Gimme Some Truth" is just not just about great music, the lyrics are powerful and inspiring. Check this out:

I'm sick and tired of hearing things
From uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocritics
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth
I've had enough of reading things
By neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians
All I want is the truth
Just gimme some truth

Thanks to all those who are always asking for the truth…

Listen to the song. (Requires iTunes)

PS: And don't forget to buy the album, proceeds will help fund Amnesty's work to end violence in Darfur, Sudan.

Y no todo esta dicho en el caso de la extradicion del ex presidente peruano Alberto Fujimori. La justicia peruana a apelado a la decision del juez chileno Orlando Alvarez, quien como sabemos fallo en contra de extradicion. Alvarez baso su veredicto en supuestas faltas de pruebas contra Fujimori. 

 A la apelacion ahora se suma la voz del representante de Amnistia Internacional Peru, Ismael Vega quien hoy ha declarado que si Alvarez falla nuevamente contra la extradicion “proyectará la imagen de incumplimiento de los tratados suscritos". Vega basa su argumento en que tanto Chile como Peru han firmado la Convencion contra la Tortura. Recordemos que Fujimori quien ejercio como presidente de Peru entre 1990 y 2000 es acusado de violacion a los derechos humanos y corrupcion. 

Coincido totalmente con Vega, quien enfatiza que un posible fallo contra la extradicion sentara un ejemplo negativo para violadores de derechos humanos, en cuanto se envia el mensaje que la impunidad prevalece en la region. "una nueva negativa hará sentir a todos los jefes de Estado que han violado derechos humanos que pueden protegerse y gozar de una impunidad que les dan los sistemas judiciales, en donde no tienen claro qué es lo que tienen que hacer cuando hay acusaciones tan graves como las de Fujimori."

Una vez mas: NO a la Impunidad en Latinoamerica. 

No Más No-Match

On August 10th, the Department of Homeland Security introduced a new plan to crackdown on "illegal workers."  According to NILC, the plan includes:

• Ramp up militarization of the border.
• Expand detention facilities with no suggestion that widespread rights violations in the current facilities will be reviewed.
• Reduce access to court hearings to contest erroneous deportation orders.
• Convert Social Security Administration (SSA) "no-match" letters into an immigration enforcement tool.
• Increase civil fines against employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers and expand efforts to criminally prosecute employers.
• "Streamline" guest worker programs with no indication that the current abuses of those programs will be addressed.
• Mandate a study of how to deny lawful residents and U.S. citizens' credit for Social Security contributions they made before obtaining legal status.

In short, it just wants to punish immigrant workers from the moment they cross the border to even after obtaining legal status.  Under the plan, employers are required to resolve discrepancies or fire employees within 90 days of receiving no-match letters from the Social Security Administration. But what the plan refuses to acknowledge are the contributions immigrant workers make to the US economy. Migrant workers contribute millions of dollars to Social Security that go unclaimed; however, that fact always seems to escape the news. Instead, immigrant workers are portrayed as a burden to the economy.  Further, they are constantly accused of driving down wages and working conditions, unless of course, they are part of rather exploitative guest worker programs. Forcing people to tolerate deplorable working conditions and depriving them of ways to support their families, it's not a solution. Clearly, the US needs the labor immigrant workers provide. The agricultural, meatpacking and manufacturing industries, just to name a few, could not survive without migrant workers. It's time people realized that immigrants are not aliens as a green card implies, and a green card is not green either! Trust me, I have one.  Stay tune as we develop our new immigrant workers rights page where you will be able join our farmworkers rights campaign.

Bfellow2007

So, my activisim with AI  sprung from hearing the stories of the atrocities happening to Women in Ciudad Juarez for years and years now. I stopped counting a few years ago because 1 Women was too many. It is saddening to know that the majority of these horrible human rights abuses have gone unsolved and even uninvestigated and now the human rights defenders on the front lines in Juarez are also being persecuted, threatened and harmed for giving a damn.

My 3 sisters live in border towns just hours from Juarez and I fear that this plague of injustice will spread to other bordertowns and other Women. Hopefully with our activisim it wont! 

Go here to read the full action and all the background info for this. Print it out. Give copies to your friends a co workers. Send links and info out to your e mail contacts, your myspace friends, facebook, whatever! Talk to your friends and families about this. Just get the word out. With enough letters, conversations, actions we will begin to see a change. 

I urge all Aliados to step up and not stop thinking about Juarez. The 400 Women murdered so far, the families without answers, the activisits like you and me who now fear for their lives. They all depend on our action. 

Please post a comment to this blog with your thoughts, ideas, actions, etc...

Now go! Act! Paz.

Scores of undocumented immigrants cross the US-Mexico border each year, risking their lives by journeying through treacherous conditions. I've often wondered, "Who are these people? What are their experiences like?"

The Border Film Project helped me answer these very questions and more. The Arizona-based collaborative art project distributes disposable cameras to both migrants and minutemen. Their pictures give us an honest, first-hand human perspective on the two sides of immigration, allowing us to experience the dire conditions through their eyes.

Check out the website to view the powerful images HERE.

Hola Aliados! Amigos of Aliados! Or anyone who just happened to come across this blog. I am El, and this is my first blog. I will take this first blog as an opportunity to say a little about me and my thoughts on The Aliados Con Amnesty Network.

My interest in human rights peaked about 4 or 5 years ago when I was still living close to the US/Mexico border. It was and continues to be a rough place to live. An immigrant from Mexico myself, I began to feel so much fear and so much anxiety over the treatment of immigrants in my own community, in my own family. Through friends at school I began to learn about the plight of refugees worldwide and about many many other human rights violations. Since then I have gone on a mission to understand what the world is dealing with and what I can do about it... I can create change.

With Amnesty I have felt my impact on the world from China to Ireland, from Russia to New York and the list goes on. I am lucky enough to be a part of this great organization who with its millions of members worldwide is effective and is creating change.

I have not been a part of the struggle for human rights as long as I wish I had but in these 4 years I have come back to the beginning. I tried to push away what was happening in my own town, in my own country, to my own people but now as I see Latino issues and Latino rights being intertwined with racist arguments, economics and fear...I can't pretend to be busy with something else any longer.

At the very least I hope that our work with Aliados will allow other people like me, activist or not, Latino or not, to be a part of this movement.

I will continue to use this space to share my thoughts on the tides we are turning and the storms it seems we are fighting.

Until then...

It took a long time but apparently NCLR (National Council of La Raza) and LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) are now distancing themselves from Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Check out the following statement from NCLR President Janet Murguia:

"I think we've been disappointed with his record so far."

"I have to say we were in error when we supported him to begin with."

"The League [LULAC] has expressed frustration that Gonzales declined to meet with its board members to discuss the beating of a Mexican American teenager in Houston."

It’s important to see Latinos in high-ranking positions, but I want to see Latinos who are willing to:
- Stand up with the community,
- Advance the rights of Latinos and other minorities,
- Support human rights.

Yes, Gonzales is the first Latino to serve as Attorney General but he will be remembered as the man who requested the memos that fueled the atrocities at Abu Ghraib, helped justify torture and open the doors for human rights abuses.

Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment are violations of human rights, prohibited in all circumstances under international law.

Gonzales’s torture record undermines America’s leadership on human rights and is not something to be proud of.

Hi everyone!

We have two "Aliados con Amnesty" events coming up shortly. They will both be taking place in the Western region, so if you are in the area we urge you to come out and support your fellow Aliados members!

*The first is "Youth Fest 2007" which is being hosted at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, CA on Sunday, August 12^th from 12 pm to 6pm. The event is being presented by Youth Empowerment Services. Click here for more information.

*You can mark your calendars for the "National Latino Congreso" which will take place from October 5^th thru the 9^th in Los Angeles, CA. Find out how you can participate.

Also, in the Northeast, Amnesty will be presenting its 44^th Human Rights Forum set for Thursday, August 16^th in New York City. It will be headlining author Tara McKelvey and her recently-published book, Monstering: Inside America's Policy of Secret Interrogations and Torture in the Terror War. Event details.

Click here if you'd like to find out about an event in your region. If you don't see anything featured, feel free to call your local regional office at 1-866-A-REGION.

 Have a nice weekend!

Hello,

I recently read a great article on blackcommentator.com (read it here)

-text below- 

Fletcher suggests that the increasing anti-immigrant sentiment stems from the "racialization of immigration" and specifically the victimization of Latino immigrants as the dismantlers of American society. Anti-immigration groups claim "legality" as the main issue, but when considering the facts exposed in this article as well as other sources it's just impossible to believe their convoluted jargon.

For example, on Sunday's NY Times Magazine, Alex Kotlowitz writes, ""Moreover, Humpfer and Sigwalt said that constituents had expressed dismay at the number of businesses in which the proprietors spoke only Spanish. "I've gone into the Polish deli and the German deli, and they're so friendly," Sigwalt said. "When I go into the Hispanic grocery store, I feel like an intruder; I feel unwelcome." Humpfer added, "It's gotten to a level where the number of illegals is so big, these stores can cater to only one culture."" At first glance, Mr. Humpfer seems to imply that markets should cater to all people, but should a wine store have to sell beer because you don't drink and/or like wine? Clearly, Mr. Humpfer's problem is not that Latin markets cater to one culture, but rather that the culture they cater to is not his. It's this type of xenophobia that fuels anti-immigrant sentiments. Why should immigrants be expected to check their identity, language, and human rights at the border?

BFellow2007

Another Side to Race and Immigration

by Bill Fletcher; blackcommentator; July 30, 2007

It really hit me in the 1980s while living in Boston. At that time the southern Irish economy was a complete mess. People were the greatest export from Ireland, and a lot of them were coming to the USA. At the same time, immigration from Haiti and the Dominican Republic was increasing, and into Boston these three groups came.

Documented or undocumented all three groups found themselves looking for work and housing. As a struggle for the rights of immigrants and against discrimination emerged, Haitians and Dominicans began to coalesce, but the Irish were a bit stand-offish. Immigrant rights activists were at first perplexed until they uncovered that the Irish were being encouraged by Irish American politicians to keep themselves separate from other immigrant groups because it was likely that a 'special' deal could be cut for them.

To put it another way, the Irish were being trained to become and accept becoming white.

The public face of immigration in the USA is not a rainbow; it is brown. Don't get me wrong. People from Asia, Africa, Europe AND Latin America are migrating to the USA, among other places. Yet in the popular media the portrayal of the immigrant is usually that of a Latino. Periodically one sees the face of an Asian or African. Rarely, unless one is discussing the Russian mafia, does the European face of immigration come to be unveiled.

This deserves exploring. If one goes to New York City, for instance, one will find that East European immigrants have made significant in-roads in the construction industry as both documented and undocumented workers. In fact, much of the work that has been carried out to rid buildings of deadly asbestos has been carried out by East European and Latino immigrants. Yet, East European immigrants seem to be almost invisible.

When anti-immigrant forces mobilize, they focus on creating a 'Berlin Wall' between the USA and Mexico. I have not heard about any walls keeping East Europeans out. I have not heard about stopping the East Europeans at the borders, when they exit planes or ships, or perhaps cross over from Canada.

In order to make sense of this we have to recognize that this racialization of immigration is not new and has very little to do with the numbers. In the 19th century while Asian immigrants were being persecuted, particularly on the West Coast of the USA, immigrants from Europe were coming to North American shores en masse. While it is certainly the case that there was widespread discrimination and prejudice by non- immigrants against southern and Eastern European immigrants, it never compared with the terror faced by Asians.

The problem for much of the USA with immigration is not so much immigration, but that there is so much immigration from South of the border, and specifically from Brown countries. This immigration upsets the racial balance--that is, the domination of a 'white bloc'--that the ruling elites have attempted to hold in place since the founding of the USA (when it was declared that whites could become citizens, whoever the whites happened to be). Although there is a section of the Republican Party that would like to turn a segment of Latinos (and Asians) into honorary whites, this does not go down well with the more extreme Right-wing that would rather that the USA be a more 'pure' white republic.

What is odd is that many African Americans ignore the reality of this racialization. While it is the case that among lower waged workers there is job competition with Latino workers, it is also the case that there is job competition with many other unskilled immigrants. Yet, anti-immigrant forces EVEN within Black America will tend to focus on the Latino or Brown face.

Recognizing the racialization of immigration should help one understand that much of what we are witnessing is a scapegoating of Latinos for much larger forces and factors that are underway in US society. In previous commentaries I have written about this, most especially the restructuring of capitalism that has been underway and that immigrants are the victims rather than the source. I have also addressed immigration to the USA as a major result of US foreign policy that has destroyed the political and economic infrastructure of so many countries, e.g., El Salvador. The scapegoating that we are seeing, including the rise of violent militias and public demonstrations against immigrant day laborers, tends to focus on the Latino as if it is the Latino who is the source of all of our problems.

Were there to be a serious discussion of immigration in the USA, it would have to address why there is a differential in treatment between East European and Latino immigrants in the public mind and in reality. There would need to be a discussion as to who is and who is not threatening the jobs of non-immigrants--if anyone. There would need to be a discussion as to why nearly 200,000,000 people have been in the process of migrating to places outside of their homelands and what that says about contemporary capitalism.

Yet those who scapegoat the Latino want no such discussion. As long as the face of immigration-- documented and undocumented--is an 'evil' Latino we are absorbed in a madness out of which there is no escape and for which there are no answers.

BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board member, Bill Fletcher, Jr. is a labor and international writer and activist, and the immediate past president of TransAfrica Forum.

Here are the upcoming Jaguares concert dates for 2007! Enjoy!

¡Aquí están los últimos datos de los conciertos de Jaguares en el 2007! ¡Disfruten!

07/24/07 New York - Highline Ballroom
POSPUESTO HASTA SEPTIEMBRE 12, 2007
07/25/07 New York - Highline Ballroom Monterrey
POSPUESTO HASTA SEPTIEMBRE 15, 2007
07/27/07 Washington DC - 9:30 Club
POSPUESTO HASTA SEPTIEMBRE 13, 2007
07/28/07 Ciudad Juárez - Plaza de Toros Balderas
POSPUESTO HASTA OCTUBRE 27, 2007
07/28/07 Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo - Explanada
09/12/07 New York - Highline Ballroom
09/13/07 Washington DC - 9:30 Club
09/15/07 New York - Highline Ballroom
09/16/07 Anaheim - House of Blues
09/17/07 Anaheim - House of Blues
09/20/07 Los Angeles - House of Blues
09/21/07 Los Angeles - House of Blues
09/22/07 San Diego - Street Scene
10/05/07 Mexicali - Fiestas del Sol
POSPUESTO HASTA OCTUBRE 7, 2007
10/06/07 Pueblo of Acoma, NM - Sky City Casino
10/07/07 Mexicali - Fiestas del Sol
10/27/07 Ciudad Juárez - Venue TBA
12/07/07 Monterrey - Fundidora Forum Universal de las Culturas Monterrey

A partir del 31 de julio, la secretaria general de Amnistía Internacional, Irene Khan, encabezará una visita de alto nivel a México. La delegación visitará Ciudad de México y los estados de Oaxaca y Guerrero, donde se reunirá con dirigentes gubernamentales, sobrevivientes de violaciones de derechos humanos y miembros de la sociedad civil.

La visita coincide con la presentación de dos informes sobre México y la delegación instará al gobierno a investigar numerosas violaciones de derechos humanos cometidas tanto en el pasado y como en nuestros días.

Rodolfo Montiel Flores, activista medioambiental y ex preso de conciencia © Privado

!Hola, bienvenidos a todos!

Como mi compañera Isabel acaba de proclamar, nosotros tenemos que actuar para proteger los derechos de las mujeres en Ciudad Juárez y el estado de Chihuahua.

Quiero compartir con ustedes dos videos que me parecen muy interesantes sobre este tema.  

El primer video es sobre la Asociación "Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa" que incluye una entrevista con Marisela Ortiz y madres de las victimas.

El Segundo es desde el punto de vista de una artista Chicana, Amalia Ortiz.

La Acción Urgente en Español

Urgent Action in English