Two thousand homeless families in Guarulhos, Brazil are facing the risk of eviction on Monday morning. Your international solidarity may be decisive.

Their story begins on mid July 2002 when a group of a few hundred families squatted an abandoned urban area in Osasco, near Sao Paulo, Brazil. The 50 hectares area in a fancy neighborhood used as a clandestine garbage field was soon occupied by ten thousand poor people living in simple tents. The city government and the rich neighbors immediately started a campaign accusing them of stealing land and bringing thiefs and drug dealers to the neighborhood. After a 5 months campaign, they were evicted. The owner of the area and the city government brought bulldozers protected by riot police who violently destroyed people's houses. One could see workers, women with children and the elderly crying over their destroyed houses filled with poor furniture and their personal possesions.

The homeless managed to get a deal with the state government and were transferred to a state unused area in Guarulhos - still near Sao Paulo but over 20 miles away from their former houses and jobs. But once the buses transferring them arrived, they had again to face the police. The city government of Guarulhos (controlled by the PT, the "Worker's" Party) had called the city police to prevent them from getting into the area. City government argued that the city has no structure to host the families and that their transferring violated urban legislation. After long negotiations they managed to get in.

But the city government went to the courts and a judge just decided for a new dramatic eviction, due to next Monday, January the 6th. The homeless have no option but to resist. Riot police will arrive early in the morning and people fear a massacre as families can't leave because they simply have nowhere to go. Local activists are mobilizing to join the homeless. International activists are called to put pressure on authorities.

What you can do:
You can send emails to the following authorities:
Sao Paulo State Governor
Mr. Geraldo Alckmin Email: saopaulo@sp.gov.br

Sao Paulo State Secretary for Justice and Citizenship
Mr. Alexandre Morais
Email: justica@justica.sp.gov.br

City Mayor of Guarulhos
Mr. Eloi Pieta
Email: prefeito.guarulhos@sp.gov.br

Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT)
The Worker's Party
Email: presnacional@pt.org.br

[ Brasil Indymedia | La Marca ]

There are reports [ 1 | 2 ] that on January 1 all detainees at Woomera were indiscriminately teargassed and handcuffed, and subsequently herded to basketball courts where they were held all day under the desert sun without water. There is also a report that Baxter detainees were prevented from evacuating burning compounds, and teargassed.

Read: Melbourne IMC feature |Sydney IMC feature

[ Melbourne IMC | Sydney IMC | Project Safecom ]

Read: entire feature | en espanol | CMI Brasil feature | Chiapas journal

[ CMI Chiapas | Communique de EZLN (espanol) ]

Read: entire feature | Aug 4, 2002 feature

[ etc group (former RAFI) | Norfolk Genetic Information Network | Friends of the Earth UK ]

For information on the specific rules under review, visit the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers.

[ NYC IMC's Indypendent: The Media Issue | Media Alliance: What You Can Do to Get Media Active | Reclaim the Media ]

The petition was brought by Lt. David Zoneshine (reserve), as part of the Courage to Refuse movement. Usually, Israeli conscientious objectors are simply jailed (and often harassed) without deferment to the Supreme Court. In this case Lt. Zoneshine specifically requested a court-martial so as to present legal defence and argue against imprisonment. Such an action carries a much harsher punishment within the military judicial system and following the failure of the petition, he has now been returned to jail, along with many others already there.

Founded in January 2002, Courage to Refuse has grown to 511 members who have all vowed to resist the Occupation, declaring their unwillingness to fight "beyond the 1967 borders in order to dominate, expel, starve and humiliate an entire people."

[ Israel IMC | Coverage in Hebrew | Courage to Refuse ]

What motivated the chemical giant is a website by The Yes Men, which documents and parodies the sick economic mechanisms behind neo-liberalism. The group dedicated part of their site to the multinational Dow Chemical, which had recently acquired Union Carbide, infamous due its culpability in the 1984 disaster in Bhopal, India.

Read: entire feature | Italy IMC feature

[ The Thing | The Yes Men | Dow Chemical parody website ]

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