Work, Rights, Dignity

• The national contract

• Freedom to strike

• Freedom to join a union

• The right to free expression
  

These are necessary for today and for a more worthwhile future for all women and men.

On January 28th, The F.I.O.M union confederation called a national strike of works in the metal mechanics sector. Many other groups throughout Italy decided to take part - schools and universities, students and other workers and service providers.

The participation in the strike was not in the least ritual. It was not simple solidarity towards "others" but rather a mobilisation to defend the rights of all women and men. We are dealing with questions that affect all, that relate to the lack of prospectives, precariousness, the loss of union and social rights. The relevance of the current conflict was demonstrated when the referendum was heldc in Mirafiori on January 13th and 14th.

The amazing response of the workers (much greater than all predictions!) to the blackmail/referendum was an act of resistance and dignity that tells all of us that the absolute will of the company and the destruction of collective rights can be opposed.

As the women delegates of the F.I.O.M at the FIAT plant in Mirafiori, in Turin, in Naples said:

“in the factory and on the production lines there are many workers who report working conditions that are at the very limit of what can be tolerated. Speeding up working rhythms, moving the lunch break to the end of the shift, cutting break times, imposing 120 hours of overtime, penalising sick leave signifies […] the logic of super-exploitation imposed with blackmail and authoritarianism, [that] breaks bodies and minds, pushes people to desperation and humiliation”

The women of the F.I.O.M rightly claim the right to a life that is not exhausted in the work place, and they maintain that:

“work with rights and the choice of motherhood and family life cannot be counterposed: Work time should not eat up the the rest of life, productivity at all costs is not the banner of modernity.”

We want an economy that is centered on social and environmental justice, cooperation and peace.

Never Again - for Anyone

On the occasion of the Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27th 2011, the Women in Black in Bergamo wish to remember how Nazi and Fascist regimes that carried out the massacres, were born to oppose the rise in consciousness of the working classes.

We recall how the middle classes of the time, in fear of a redistribution of wealth, chose to entrust themselves to authoritarian figures, who - after national-socialist beginnings - invested in weapons and in war as a plan for development and dominion. We express our solidarity with the Palestinian people who suffer injustice and abuse and with those Israeli citizens who struggle beside them to stop the occupation.

In addition, we express our indignation and refusal for the current policies of governments that refinance ill considered and highly expensive military commitments.

• Governments that do not show wisdom and do not invest in health, education and employment opportunities for the new generations.
  
• Governments that ignore the protection of the natural and cultural environment of their countries.
  

We hope that with these actions it will be possible to influence choices for production that are coherent with the needs of Italy and of the environment.

Italian Women in Black, who for years have worked for the peace that comes from justice, express all our solidarity with the demonstrations planned in various Italian cities on 28th January 2011 by trade unions who are fighting for a change in the productive situation in Italy.

We would like to express our respect for FIAT workers and members of the F.I.O.M. union confederation who have taken a clear and dignified position.

For Jawaher - We are here with our hearts in Bil'in

Bil'in, a village in Palestine
Its land divided by the separation barrier built by Israel.

Bil’in - a village that resist that demands the return of its land



The Israeli court has ruled in their favour.

The barrier must be moved.
The sentence was handed down a year ago - the barrier is still there.


Every Friday, the people march, they go towards the "wall".
They go with flags and music.
They go because they are right.
They go because they won't give in.

Every Friday, soldiers fire tear gas from the hill
- sound bombs too - and not only.
Jawaher is dead.
She breathed in too much gas.
Her brother is dead too - -
He too marched against the wall.

The people weep, the people shout, but they don't give in.

While the world celebrated new year, Jawaher Abu Rahmeh, a 36 year old Palestinian woman, resident of Bil’in, was killed by the tear gas massively used by the Israeli occupation forces against peaceful, non-violent people - Palestinians, Israelis and internationals- who were demonstrating to stop the Wall and the occupation.

Jawaher demonstrated every Friday, marching towards the separation barrier that steals the land from Palestinian farms to be used for the construction of new Israeli colonies. Like many other Palestinian women, Jawaher era courageous, proud, and dignified.
Her mother was still mourning the loss of her beloved son, Bassem, killed two years ago by the Israeli army.

Now she must also mourn the loss of a beloved daughter. We must stand by the Abu Rahmeh family in this new, terrible moment of loss and sacrifice.

We cannot forget Jawaher and her struggle for freedom and the right to live in her own land.

Despite the brutality of the Occupation, the Palestinians do not give up their rights or their freedom. Peaceful, non-violent resistance is spreading in the villages and towns to put an end to:

The occupation
Illegal settlements and their expansion
The apartheid wall
The siege of Gaza
The racist politics that are imposed on the Palestinians in every day life.