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Kairos Times: December 2005 Vol 4, #10
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| This time of year is sacred to many faiths, and should be a time of peace for all peoples. This Christmas, we extend our prayers and thoughts to the many people around our world who live with violence. We pray that the peacemakers be blessed, and give thanks for their struggles for true justice and real peace. Among these are the people of Iraq, Colombia, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Israel-Palestine, as well as members of the Christian Peacemaker Teams. We also invite you to read our Advent-Christmas greetings. |
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Take action!
- KAIROS election kit now available—give your candidates a holiday present!
- Colombian activist Lilia Solano and her family
under threat
Updates
- KAIROS Sunday: new resources for planning a special worship
- Refugees, sanctuary and the appeal process (or lack of it)
- A Sudanese prayer for the holidays
- Child poverty in Canada: 2005 Report Card
- Make affordable housing an election issue!
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KAIROS election kit now available—give your candidates a holiday present! |
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The upcoming federal election has been seen by many as an intrusion on the Christmas season – something that doesn’t – and shouldn’t – be on our minds during this festive, family time. At KAIROS, we think there is another way to look at the relationship between Christmas and public affairs. Perhaps the Christmas season is the best time for an election campaign. Christmas, after all, is a time when we find a renewed sense of deep promise for a troubled world.
KAIROS has put together a resource to assist people in engaging
meaningfully in the debate leading up to the election. With many
Canadians of faith and goodwill we seek a Canada that defends human
rights, promotes economic justice and cares for resources in a sustainable
and equitable way. Our election resource explores a number of key
issues that flow from this vision through analysis of the current
reality and questions for candidates. We hope that it will assist
you as you bring core issues into the debate—whether that
be in call-in shows, all candidates meetings, door-to-door canvassing
or in conversations at the corner grocery store.
The resource is available at http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/action/election/index.asp
Let’s not reject politics at this time steeped in meaning. Instead, let’s bring the season’s spirit of hope and promise and make this a truly meaning-filled election as we deeply engage with the issues that resolved would lead to a better world for all.
For more information, contact Sara Stratton, Network and Campaign Coordinator, at 1 877 403 8933 x241 or sstratton
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Colombian activist Lilia Solano and her family under threat |
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On December 4th, three armed strangers entered the Bogotá apartment of Lilia Solano Ramirez, threatening her son and stealing the family’s computer and important papers. Two men and one woman, posing as police, tied up Lilia’s son, pointed a gun to his head, taped his mouth shut and locked him up in a room, as they ransacked the house.
Lilia is director of the church-based human rights organization, Proyecto Justicia y Vida, an important partner of KAIROS and the Canadian churches. She was the subject of a KAIROS urgent action last year (please see www.kairoscanada.org/e/urgent/uaColombiaLilia040823.asp) and we believe that once again Lilia’s life is in danger.
KAIROS believes that this was a political act directed against Ms. Solano, and not one of common delinquency as claimed by the Colombian authorities. Lilia is running for office in next year’s elections with Alternativa Democrática in opposition to the economic and social policies of the administration of President Uribe.
KAIROS has written a letter to President Uribe: http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/media/letters/ltrUribe051207.asp and has contacted the Canadian Embassy in Bogotá for help. Lilia has stood as a witness on several occasions before Canadian parliamentary committees to report on the human rights situation in her country. She has met with the Embassy officials, but we continue to fear for her safety.
For more information, contact John Lewis, Program Coordinator for International Human Rights, at 416-463-5312 ext. 224 or jlewis or Rachel Warden, Program Coordinator for Latin American Partnerships, at 416-463-5312 ext. 242 or rwarden
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KAIROS Sunday: new resources for planning a special worship |
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Here at KAIROS we think justice and peace are central to Christianity. We are excited to offer you new resources for a KAIROS Sunday worship service, designed to highlight social justice work through faith in your congregation. Whatever your work for social and global justice, here’s your chance to highlight it in your faith community.
We are suggesting February 26, 2006, the Sunday before Lent begins, for your KAIROS Sunday worship and action. You are welcome to plan KAIROS Sunday on any Sunday or other time of worship that suits your calendar. (United Church congregations following the UCC Lenten study on water might prefer to find a Sunday in Lent.)
We’ve prepared a number of resources to help your work. These
can be downloaded
http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/network/sunday/index.asp
(you’ll need Acrobat Reader for this), or go to our order
form to order the kit for $5, postage included. If you plan
to use any of the materials, please let us know about them!
For more information or to share your plans, contact Sara Stratton, Network and Campaign Coordinator, at 1 877 403 8933 x241 or sstratton
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Refugees, sanctuary and the appeal process (or lack of it) |
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On November 1, Minister Volpe enraged refugee advocates across the country by announcing that he would not implement the Refugee Appeal Division. Minister Volpe’s announcement came as a disappointment for the over 24,000 Canadians who signed a KAIROS petition calling for immediate implementation of the appeal, and to the many people who have supported KAIROS and Canadian Council for Refugees actions on this long-standing issue.
This refusal flies in the face of democracy, for the Appeal Division was mandated by Parliament (our elected representatives!) and supported unanimously by the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration. How often do all parties agree with one another?
This decision was also like a slap in the face for Maoua Diamande, a rejected refugee claimant now threatened with deportation to the Ivory Coast, where she was beaten and raped by the military. On Wednesday, November 23, over four hundred people participated in an ecumenical prayer vigil at Sacré Coeur parish in Ottawa, where Maoua Diomande has been in sanctuary since June 2005. After a candlelight procession made its way through the cold streets of the capital city, MPs from all four political parties addressed the crowd gathered on Parliament Hill and supported their demands: Free Maoua Diomande by granting her humanitarian and compassionate leave to stay in Canada; and implement the Refugee Appeal Division.
With Minister Volpe unreceptive to the concerns of the refugee community and its many supporters, MPs are a key focus for continued lobbying for the Refugee Appeal Division. On November 21, KAIROS, Amnesty and the Canadian Council for Refugees sent a joint letter to all MPs asking them to intervene in favour of implementation of the Refugee Appeal Division. See the letter here: http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/media/letters/Letter_Volpe_CCR-RAD_22Nov05.pdf
Write your own letter to your MP or raise a question about the refugee appeal in an all-candidates meeting. Let us know how it went. Contact Tanya Chute Molina, Refugee and Migration Program Coordinator, at 416-463-5312 X252 or tchute
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A Sudanese prayer for the holidays, and new resource on Darfur |
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The ongoing ethnic cleansing of Darfur, western Sudan, has caused the displacement of over two million people from their homes. Entire villages have been forced to flee in the face of Janjaweed militia and military attacks, and people cannot return home because of the general insecurity in the region. Since October, the militias have started attacking humanitarian workers.
Previous conflicts in the country have caused the displacement of millions more from their communities. An estimated four million people fled southern Sudan during the twenty year period prior to this year’s peace agreement signed in January. Many of these people still languish in camps both inside Sudan and throughout the region. (See Birth of a new era for Sudan under our site’s countries of concern/ Sudan section.)
As we gather with family and friends over the holidays in Canada, KAIROS invites you to pray for those who cannot be home with their own families and communities due to war in Africa and throughout the world. We encourage you and your faith community to take a moment during the holidays and remember in particular the millions of displaced people of Sudan.
You can also see a new resource on Darfur at:
http://www.kairoscanada.org/e/programme/sudan/KAIROSUpdate_Sudan.pdf
This two-page piece is designed to briefly update local groups on the situation in Darfur—feel free to distribute it widely. You can also read a (non-KAIROS) commentary through our friends at Rabble.ca or check out a student-led movement raising the issue of Darfur with federal candidates via a survey: http://avotefordarfur.org/
For more information, contact John Lewis, Program Coordinator for International Human Rights, at 416-463-5312 ext. 224 or jlewis
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Child poverty in Canada: 2005 Report Card |
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Sixteen years ago the House of Commons unanimously resolved to "seek to achieve the goal of eliminating poverty among Canadian children by the year 2000." Yet today, more than 1.2 million children - one child out of every six in Canada - still lives in poverty.
On November 24, Campaign 2000 released its 2005 Report Card on child and family poverty. The report, entitled Decision Time for Canada: Let's Make Poverty History http://www.campaign2000.ca/rc/rc05/05NationalReportCard.pdf, indicates that:
- 41% of low-income children rely on food banks
- 48% of all poor children live in families with parents who are employed year round.
- Aboriginal, immigrant, visible minority and disabled children are the most likely to be poor (49% of children in recent immigrant families; 40% of off reserve Aboriginal children; 33% of visible minority children; and 28% of children with disabilities live in poverty)
- The gap has widened: the richest 10% of families with children now earn $13 for every $1 earned by the poorest 10%.
- Government policies matter: British Columbia has the highest incidence of child poverty at 23.9%, whereas Quebec has achieved a steady decline in child poverty since 1996.
- Canada ranked a dismal 19th out of the 26 OECD countries in terms of child poverty rates.
Provincial report cards for British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia are also available on the Campaign 2000 website.
Campaign 2000 urges concerned people to send an e-postcard to elected leaders calling for action on child and family poverty http://www.campaign2000.ca/act/nov04/postcard.html.
For more information, contact Michael Polanyi, Canadian Social Development Program Coordinator, 416 463 5312 x237 or mpolanyi
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Make affordable housing an election issue! |
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For all of you concerned about poverty here in Canada: The National
Coalition on Housing and Homelessness recently released its election
position on affordable housing
(See http://www.chra-achru.ca/english/view.asp?x=654&id=472).
You’re urged to communicate its three key messages to your
candidates:
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Affordable housing matters to all of us—without stable, affordable housing, we can’t have safe, liveable communities.
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Real results matter most—Canada needs a comprehensive national housing strategy backed by predictable, long-term funding.
- The money is there to do the job—surplus funds can preserve and expand Canada’s stock of permanently affordable housing.
For more information, contact Michael Polanyi, Canadian Social Development Program Coordinator, 416 463 5312 x237 or mpolanyi
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