Rights Action
May 29, 2019
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“Let Them Have Water” (9 minute film)
Aid Worker Faces 20 Years in Prison for Providing Water and Shelter to Immigrants
By The Intercept, www.TheIntercept.com, May 4, 2019
View:
Thousands of migrants have died crossing the desert in Arizona. Along the U.S. border with Mexico, humanitarian aid workers leave water in the desert for immigrants trying to cross, and search for the remains of those who don't make it. The U.S. government is now prosecuting activists who try to save lives and recover bodies. Activist Scott Warren of No More Deaths was charged with three felony counts of harboring and conspiracy for providing food, water, and a place to sleep to two undocumented men over three days. He could serve up to 20 years in prison. Warren's arrest was the most aggressive in a series of escalating actions taken by federal law enforcement against border-based aid providers since Donald Trump’s election. In addition to his felony case, Warren was one of nine No More Deaths volunteers hit with federal littering charges for leaving water on the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge. As volunteers recovered a record number of human remains on the refuge in 2017, officials issued new guidelines explicitly criminalizing activity that could prevent future deaths.
“BODIES IN THE BORDERLANDS: Scott Warren Worked to Prevent Migrant Deaths in the Arizona Desert. The Government Wants Him in Prison.”
Read the full story: https://interc.pt/2DP9B7D
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Why are close to 250,000 Hondurans & Guatemalans fleeing this year alone?
The U.S., Canada and “international community” are keeping in place the very conditions that force Hondurans and Guatemalans to flee their countries, every year. There is no end in sight to this refugee-producing machinery.
U.S. & Canadian problems
The U.S. and Canadian governments, the World Bank and global businesses and investors (privatized hydro-electric dams, mining extraction, African palm, sugar cane and fruit production, garment “sweatshop” factors, tourism complexes, etc.) maintain profitable relations with anti-democratic, corrupt, repressive governments in Honduras and Guatemala, turning a blind eye to and benefitting from exploitation and repression, environmental devastation and human rights violations, corruption and impunity.
“Venezuela factor”
After a flurry of mainstream media coverage in 2018, the reporting has died off. A majority of the refugees are fleeing Honduras and Guatemala whose corrupt, repressive, exploitative governments maintain full relations with the U.S. and Canadian governments and are considered “democratic allies” in the U.S. and Canadian-led efforts to illegally overthrow the Venezuela government. The hypocrisy is over-whelming.
Keep sending copies of this information, and your own letters, to families, friends and networks, to politicians and media, to pension and investment funds, asking: Why our governments, companies and investment firms benefit from and turn a blind eye to poverty, repression and violence, environmental and health harms that are directly causing the forced migrancy/refugee crisis in Guatemala and Honduras.
Rights Action (U.S. & Canada)
Since 1995, Rights Action has been directly funding community-based human rights, environment and territory defenders in Guatemala and Honduras. We provide relief funds to victims of repression and human rights violations, health harms and natural disasters. We work to hold accountable the U.S. and Canadian governments, companies and investors, international actors (World Bank, etc.) that cause, contribute to and profit from repression and human rights violations, environmental harms and forced evictions, corruption and impunity.
Tax-Deductible Donations (Canada & U.S.)
To support our partner community groups in Honduras and Guatemala, make check to "Rights Action" and mail to:
- U.S.: Box 50887, Washington DC, 20091-0887
- Canada: (Box 552) 351 Queen St. E, Toronto ON, M5A-1T8
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