Nonviolence News: Tents & Encampments, Swiss Bullying Solution, Spray Painted Yachts
Tents & Encampments, Swiss Bullying Solution, Spray Painted Yachts
Editor's Note From Rivera Sun
All campaigns go through tidal surges of participation and ebb flows where all seems lost. Even as the US student encampments protesting about Gaza faced a rise and fall of crackdowns - and occasional wins - encampments have sprung up in other countries. And, they've been gaining the support of other civil society groups like the Canadian unions who spoke out against the repression of students, or university workers at UCLA and UC Davis who went on strike over the treatment of student protesters. Could this be the baton pass of this months-long campaign for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza? Like the tens of thousands who demonstrated in Paris against the attack on tents in Rafah or the Philadelphia healthcare workers who held a die-in, there are many sectors of society who are horrified by what's going on. Who will take the lead in the next leg of the effort?
In more Nonviolence News, Swiss schools have found a powerful solution to bullying. Tunisians rallied against a social media crackdown. Climate activists spray painted the yachts of the super-wealthy (with washable paint) to call attention to the urgent need for climate action. In Sierra Leone, a group of midwives is training to 'save a generation'. Protesting Argentines raised the simple message that Milei is Hunger, critiquing the economic policies of the president. In the US, disabled voters are organizing to make sure polling places - and systems - are safe and accessible. Pacific Islanders unveiled a landmark plan to get off fossil fuels.
Find these stories and more in Nonviolence News>>
One worrisome trend ... even after the contentious, deadly protest against Atlanta's Cop City, several similar cop training systems are being planned for other communities across the United States. Fitchburg, MA, Chicago, IL, and Dallas, TX, and more. Those organizing to stop them need to be strategic and careful - new reports revealed that Atlanta police have been surveilling their opposition groups and using that information to thwart the campaign.
One article I encourage you all to read comes from Mel Duncan, the cofounder of Nonviolent Peaceforce, who explains why now is the time to send unarmed peacekeepers into Gaza and the rest of Palestine. It's worth thinking carefully about ... and supporting.
In solidarity,
Rivera Sun