A Time for People Power
Iraq and Darfur are the hot-button issues bringing regular people onto the streets and into the headlines this week while a renewed effort to "Make Poverty History" is gearing up to demand governments attack the root causes of strife and deprivation around the world. Some attribute the rise of citizen action to the organizing potential of the Internet. Others may point to the energizing effect of a polarized economic and geopolitical landscape, with gaps growing ever wider between the haves and the have nots and between the war and diplomacy camps. Perhaps there's simply a growing discord between the wishes of regular people and the actions of their elected leaders. Whatever the reason, the world has certainly seen an upsurge of citizen action in recent years, and the demonstrations of the past week show that since the mid-year holidays have now passed, regular people are coming back out in force to demand their governments respect and act on the values they hold dear. Anti-Iraq-war activists are protesting President Bush's speech at the United Nations on Tuesday as a prelude to a week of U.S. actions to support a ''Declaration of Peace.'' Demonstrators are ratcheting up the heat on their leaders in Congress to set a timetable for the end of the U.S. occupation in Iraq, hoping to raise the political stakes ahead of upcoming elections. The weekend saw hundreds of thousands of people in cities and towns all over the world demand international action to stop what many believe is an unfolding genocide in Sudan. Semantics aside--genocide or not--hundreds of thousands have died in the region and millions have been forced to live in refugee camps. Activists took to the streets this Sunday to tell their governments it's time to get behind the United Nations and African Union peacekeeping forces to help return stability and normalcy to millions of innocent Darfuris. And amid all the higher-profile posturing about conflict and peace, a global month-long campaign of hope launched Saturday as well. The ''Stand Up Against Poverty'' campaign is being coordinated by the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP). "During the Month of Mobilization millions of people across the world will Stand Up Against Poverty with GCAP to send a strong message to world leaders, decision makers, and the general public that we are still committed to ending poverty," the group sais. The efforts will crescendo on October 17, the International Day for the Elimination of Poverty, with coordinated actions in nearly every country of the world. ---------------------------------------------- To find out what's happening in your country during the month-long "Stand Up" campaign, check the GCAP Web site, while the Millennium Campaign has info on the related effort to break the Guinness World Record for the largest-ever coordinated campaign to stand up against poverty (October 15-16). For background on citizen-driven anti-poverty efforts, check out the Perspectives edition entitled "Are We Making Poverty History?" To stay informed about U.S. efforts to stop the genocide in Darfur, check in from time to time with the Washington, DC-based campaigning group Africa Action. And for OneWorld's continuing coverage on Iraq, bookmark or RSS our Latest Coverage page. |
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