"Ten years of inspections by UN officials have caused no harm to Saddam Hussein. Women and children are hit hardest. Cancer is virtually incurable because of denied access to medical supplies. . . . Depleted uranium contamination by U.S. troops have also caused cancer rates to go up."

By JIMMY VALDES

A million people are dead from the result of the U.S. imposed sanctions in Iraq, and they are

It is estimated that nearly five thousand people die a month from hunger and lack of supplies that are "on hold." So, why are these sanctions still in effect? Consider that the initial purpose was to "deter" Saddam Hussein from both building weapons of mass destruction and to prevent further violence from Saddam’s regime.

Scott Ridder, former head of the Concealment Investigations Unit for the United Nation Special Commission Unit (UNSCOM) has said, "By 1998, Iraq’s biological and missile plants were destroyed. In terms of the intent of the UN Security Counsel resolutions, Iraq had been disarmed."

Ten years of inspections by UN officials have caused no harm to Saddam Hussein. Women and children are hit hardest. Cancer is virtually incurable because of denied access to medical supplies. There is a 125 percent increase in Iraqi children seeking medical attention. Depleted uranium contamination by U.S. troops have also caused cancer rates to go up. If the U.S. wants to prevent Saddam Hussein from obtaining weapons of mass destruction, why did they sell biological warfare equipment to him in the past? This is why the "Remembering Omran" bus is touring throughout California.

On October 23, the bus visited the east campus of Modesto Junior College. Speakers Mike Miles and Jesuit priest, Simon Harak, spoke to students about the current devastation in Iraq. Both have seen the impact of the sanctions first-hand and recalled stories of deplorable conditions.

Father Simon Harak, a university ethics professor, spoke of Omran, the boy after whom they named their bus tour. Omran was a thirteen-year-old shepherd who was killed in a bombing raid. This is not surprising since half of all deaths resulting from the daily bombing of allied planes are innocent civilians. "Is that the kind of future you want to create?" Father Simon asks the students standing outside the Student Center. "This killing of children, is un-Christian, un-Buddhist, un-Presbyterian…and I hope, I hope, its un-American." He urged the need for their involvement, to realize and understand the destruction and death of a nation.

With the help of the Modesto Peace/Life Center, MJC Student Activist Club, and the Voices in the Wilderness organization, students heard from those who have seen the devastation. A vigil was held across from Brenden Theaters the Saturday before to increase awareness throughout the community.

"This is about denied access to the most basic necessities," said Student Activist club member Chevonne Savrae’Jae during the vigil. "How can you deny the right to food and clothing to children, with an intent to ‘protect’ the people?"

By MYRTLE OSNER

I feel myself very lucky to be alive and to have more than enough money to keep body and soul together. Many people in our society are not so lucky. Statistics vary, but the facts are that the poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer, in the richest country of the world. Something is wrong with the economics here.

I don’t know how to change that fact. I can, however, give some of it away. I have made a list of some worthy organizations. While my list may not be your list, I encourage you to think about doing gift giving in this way this year.

As you may have guessed, my list leans heavily toward helping children, for I believe they are the future of the world. Often in order to help children we have to make life better for their parents. Our county has a high population of parents who live on minimum wage and have no health care, even though they are fully employed.

It's important to support local work. After all, you can check up on what is happening when it is right in your home town. And not only that, you can give your time as well as your money.

All these groups will accept your donation in the name of someone you wish to honor as a gift.

• Interfaith Ministries, 120 Kerr Ave., Modesto, 95354, 572-3117. Money, time, and materials are all needed for the year-round food bank and clothes closet. The "Adopt-a-Family" program is going on until Christmas. Information is provided as to the special needs of "your" family: food, clothing, possibly toys, and household items. It is suggested that you deliver your gifts directly to the family if possible. If you can’t do this, give money. Supported by many religious groups though no affiliation necessary to help out.
• Habitat for Humanity, 2301 Woodland Ave., Modesto, 95351, 575-4585 The Stanislaus County affiliate of the international organization builds houses for low-income people. Recipients are screened and must put in "sweat equity" in the building of their own house. All kinds of construction help needed, as well as money to buy materials.
• Heifer Project International, Western Regional Center, 3906 E. Don Pedro Rd., Ceres, 95307, 537-8996. Give a "living gift" to a struggling family anywhere in the world, including pockets in the US such as Appalachia. Participants form a community organization before they can receive an animal, and they must be trained to care for it. The first born offspring is given to someone else in the community. Local educational programs on hunger and lots of volunteer work opportunities are available.
• Children’s Crisis Center:, P.O. Box 1062, Modesto, 95353, 577-0138.A local group saw a need to provide a safe place for children who need temporary shelter. Children who have been abused, neglected or are otherwise at-risk children are cared for in a nurturing environment. Crisis counseling is provided to parents. Last year the Center provided shelter to 3
• Haven Women’s Center, 576-0659. The women's and children's shelter, counseling and other help are provided for those escaping domestic violence.
• Parents United 610 14th St., 524-4858. This is the local affiliate of a national organization combats child abuse to break the habit of abuse in whatever form through support groups and counseling.

International organizations that I have personally had contact with are always short of enough money to do their jobs. Some of them:

• Amnesty International, P.O. Box 96756, Washington, D.C. 20077, monitors and lobbies to stop human rights abuses all over the world.
• Oxfam America, P.O. Box 1745, Boston, MA 02106, works around the world to end poverty and hunger. Many of their projects are in the "self-help" category.
• Bread for the World, 50 F St. NW, Suite 500, Washington, D.C., 20001, lobbies to change nation’s policies to achieve long term solutions to hunger
• American Friends Service Committee, 65 9th St., San Francisco, CA 94103.(regional office), is perhaps the oldest and most well-known of groups working toward peace with justice around the world as well as in the US.
• Witness for Peace, 1229 15th St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20005, has specifically been working in Central America. Teams of Americans escort local activists there who face some of the most violent regimes in the Americas regimes funded by US dollars.( Sort of nonviolent body-guards) They are currently working for a peaceful US policy toward Colombia.
• Last month Connections featured El Porvenir, an organization which works in Nicaragua to build water and sanitary systems with the people.
• If you want gifts to give away, first step ought to be the SERVV store. Beautiful gifts, made all over the world are available there. (See Calendar for hours, etc.) Best of all, the money goes to the people who did the making, not to some faceless conglomerate.

Jubilee 2000 applauds bipartisan efforts to fund debt relief

Washington, DC - Jubilee 2000/USA rejoices and congratulates the U.S. Congress for passing $435 million towards debt relief for some of the world’s most impoverished countries where most people live on less than $1 a day.

In addition, Congress authorized the reevaluation of International Monetary Fund gold reserves to be used solely for the purposes of debt relief. To strengthen the bill, Congress also called on international financial institutions to discontinue user fees in health and education in heavily indebted poor countries.

"We are heartened by the show of bipartisan support in the Congress," said Dan Driscoll-Shaw, national coordinator for Jubilee 2000/USA. "We also congratulate all the members and supporters of Jubilee 2000/USA, as well as so many others in this country who have worked so hard to free up these funds for debt relief. We believe this demonstrates that the people of the United States are serious about our commitment to walk with our sisters and brothers of Africa, Latin America and Asia."

Jubilee 2000/USA, realizes that there is much more work to be done to achieve its goals of canceling the crushing foreign debt of the world’s most impoverished countries. This crushing debt prevents these countries from financing the basic needs of it population, such as clean water, nutrition, health care and education. A healthy, educated population is the basis of economic growth in any country. Debt burden statistics are alarming. In Tanzania, the government spends nine times more on foreign debt payments than on health care. In Mozambique, one in four children dies before age five due to infectious disease, yet the government spends four times more on debt servicing than on health care.

The United Nations figures reports that 19,000 children die each day of malnutrition and preventable disease in the world’s most impoverished countries due to the burden of unjust foreign debt.

Debt cancellation has the potential to:

• Save 21 million children from disease and hunger in Africa
• Preserve the environment. Debt induced poverty leads to greater exploitation of natural resources, contributing to global warming and general environmental degradation
• Increase global security. Debt creates social unrest and war.

Debt cancellation can make an immediate difference in the lives of those living in the world’s poorest countries. In Uganda, resources freed as a result of debt cancellation combined with other sources have led primary school enrollment to double in just three years.

"Now that Congress has acted, it is up to the countries to make sure that the money freed as a result of debt cancellation is spent in a transparent way for the betterment of their people," Driscoll-Shaw said. "Jubilee 2000/USA will do all in its power to support our colleagues in civil society in the countries that receive debt relief to see that these funds go to the poorest sectors of the population. In that way we both overcome this economic injustice and build up democracy from the grass roots."

The Jubilee 2000 campaign is inspired by the scriptural idea of the Jubilee year: periodically, ever 7x7 or 50 years, debts are forgiven and slaves are set free. Jubilee is a time to apply self-righting mechanisms for restoring balance to society.

ACTION: For more information and full campaign news visit www.j2000usa.org.

By JIMMY MEMBREŅO

What is Learning in Community? During the last several years, the term "globalization" has been over-used to talk about the knitting-together of our world’s economy and communication systems. However, the process of globalization also has a human side. It’s not just about numbers, but about faces and hearts.

Learning in Community was conceived out of the need for closer relationships between communities of North and South (America), and the desire to provide tools to these communities to build a globalization of just conditions rather than numbers. We at Learning in Community believe that the people of the North and South are part of one household, members of a single family, and children of the same God.

Learning in Community is a social- and eco-tourism program created and made up by a team of Nicaraguans that work together with different national and international nongovernmental organizations and church related associations. All of the team members have many years of experience providing encounters between communities from the North and South. Our mission is to contribute to the transformation of individuals and communities who struggle to understand injustice, and who together wish to create alternative ways of living based on Christian faith and human solidarity. The methods that Learning in Community uses to facilitate transformational experiences are participatory, educational and aimed at raising the awareness of all participants.

What does Learning in Community offer?

In response to the often-faceless process of globalization, we offer programs focused on building human relationships and deepening our understanding of the natural beauty, varied cultures, historical context, and current-day reality of Nicaragua. Through our social tourism and eco-tourism programs we provide

• A learning process full of lively and joyous lived experiences;
• Opportunities for reflection between communities of the North and those of the South;
• Home-stays with families;
• The chance for participants from the North and the South to work together on community work-projects;
• Opportunities for our northern brothers and sisters to learn about the culture and history of Nicaragua, visiting key sites and remote places where the traditional tourist normally does not go;
• Visits to Nicaragua’s outstanding and off-the-trail sites of natural beauty — placid lakes, rivers, imposing volcanoes, tropical nature reserves and relaxing, warm-water beaches;
• The opportunity for our Southern brothers and sisters to develop skills and knowledge in Educational Eco-tourism, in order to offer an alternative answer to fulfill the basic needs and survival of their communities.
• A guided process of understanding the macro- and micro- political and socio-economic situation of Nicaragua.

Each program is custom-designed according to the objectives and interests of community participants from both North and South. As your guides and facilitators, we not only coordinate program and logistics but also provide translation and continuous accompaniment throughout your group’s stay. Furthermore, we enable communication between participating communities after the northern group’s visit to Nicaragua ends.

We also facilitate North-South encounters between communities to create closer relationships, with the purpose of nourishing partnerships that last longer than a single visit. Through group visits, consistent channeling of communication, and community reflections we strengthen and accompany these partnerships. We share this task with national and international friends, and with institutions and churches that have taken up the commitment to walk with the most unprotected peoples of our country.

Our program is open to:

• Both clerical and lay groups
• Groups interested in Latin American affairs or socio-cultural studies (college students, NGO’s)
• Environment related groups
• Senior citizens groups
• People interested in working with communities side by side in different projects (health, education, construction, family gardening, reforestation, harvesting)

Each program is designed according to specific requirements related to age groups, and physical and health conditions. Our prices vary according to number of participants, type of group (e.g. students) and specific group needs and include most in-country expenses. Contact Jimmy Membreņo and/or Catalina Ruiz at learningic@hotmail.com. Mail address: Apartado postal C-124 Managua, Nicaragua; telefax: (505) 2-68-08-01

-Submitted by Shelly Scribner