Day 10 of Israeli War On Gaza

Reposted from: gazatoday.blogspot.com

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By Sameh A. Habeeb, A Photojournalist, Humanitarian & Peace Activist in Gaza Strip.

Gaza Strip,5, January, 2oo9- Israeli War on Gaza still rise up in various points through the occupied Gaza Strip. More civilians killed in opposition of Israeli announced aim of hitting the Hamas militants. Monday morning a massacre happened in Al Zaytoun Quarter as Israeli army gathered around 30 persons in one house and then bombed them. Medical sources said that 14 killed and 60 injured. Around 10 of them children some are women and some other youth old people. The heaviest ongoing bombing of Air forces and artillery shells pushed thousands of civilians to internally I migrate to the western areas of the Strip. Ironically, the western areas are not safer to be taken a shelter by those new refugees as Israeli naval gunboats await for them. Many bombs were fired from these vessels killing family in Al Shati' camp and injured sveral other in Al Nusairat Refugee Camp. In the north of Gaza, thousands of Bait Hanon residents of and eastern Jabalia are leaving their homes into the western areas.

Humanitarian conditions severely exacerbated. Civilians don't have drinking water nor any kind of water for daily use. Add to that, basics of food like bread, cocking oil, rice, beans and sugar are no longer available in the markets.

Meanwhile, medical sector is totally paralyzed due to lack of human resources from cadre and doctors and a severe shortage in medicines and medical tools. The amount of victims is obviously huger than the abilities of the already arduous hospitals which suffer a siege of 18 months.

Deadly Outcomes of Israeli Ground Military Operation:

1- Israeli air force bombarded many houses at Al shati' Refugee Camp. Medical sources said that 35 Palestinians wounded.

2-Israeli Air strike from Apache helicopters targeted a 3-floor-house for Al Ghandour family in Al Daraj area. An Atmosphere of fear and panic through put residents of the area.

3-Air strike on Omar Bin Abd Al ziz mosque and many people injured in the area.

4-Two Palestinians wounded as Israeli air raid targeted a house in Al Zaytoun area. Another air raid hit a workshop in Al daraj area and many people injured.

5-A number of casualties and wounded as Israeli air force targeted a house near a mosque in Al Zaytoun quarter.

6-Many houses burned and destroyed in a heavy bombing in Al Zaytoun Area.

7-Israeli airforce retargeted Al Uma College in Al Nasir Quarter west north of Gaza Strip.

8-One Palestinian killed and 5 wounded in an air raid on civilian car in Al Shati' Refugee Camp.

9-A rocket destroyed to rubble "Light society" which is a charity working in support of orphans and needy Palestinians. The society includes a physical therapy section for the poorest. The society is linked to Al Jihad Islamist movement.

10-Three Palestinians killed, 9 wounded in an Israeli air raid due to a bomb turned a house to rubbles in Al Nusairat Refugee Camp.

11-A house for the Popular Front key leader, Jameel Mizhar, partially destroyed in Al Nusairat Refugee Camp.

12-A group of civilians bombed in Al Nusairat Refugee Camp. Many injured but mostly with light wounds.

13-Israeli soldiers occupied most of civilians houses in Juhr El Dik.

12-Three Palestinians died due to their injuries in Egypt. They were lately wounded in Gaza and referred to Egypt.

13-Two civilians wounded due to an air raid targeted a house for Al Samoni family in Al Zaytoun Quarter.

14- A Massacre: Samuni family says: Israeli soldiers gather 30 persons from Al Samoni family in one house. Ten families were in the house from the same clan. Many civilians were killed as artillery shells bombed the house. The number of victims around 14, most of them are children and women. Some are in critical conditions!

15-Two wounded due to a rocket hit the house of Othman Ghaleb in Al Nusairat Refugee Camp.

16-A house of Sayed Baroud in the Al Nusairat Refugee Camp hit. The house was damaged and many neighboring houses too. The houses based in a densely populated Refugee camp.

17-Three Palestinians killed from Abd Al Dayim family due to a bombing in Bait Hanon town north of Gaza Strip.

18- Airstrike from drones near AL huda mosque in Yibna in Rafah town.

19-Israeli tanks and after launching new bases; its soldiers open fire and artillery shells on buildings of Al Zahra' City. Many buildings partially damaged and burnt.

20-A body of a woman killed three days ago still unreachable due to Israeli heavy fire on Bait lahia town. The killed woman from Abu Samaha family.<...

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Posted on January 5, 2009 by jesus | Post a Comment

Celebrating 15 years of Zapatista Struggle

15 years ago, on new years day the EZLN declared war on the Mexico, taking over the town of San Cristobal de las Casa in Chiapas in an attempt to start a revolution in Mexico. In the face of the North American Free Trade Agreement the Zapatistas took up arms against the Mexican government with the aim of taking President Carlos Salinas de Gortari and the PRI out of power to restore legitimacy and stability to Mexico. The Zapatista offensive lasted 13 days, after which the EZLN agreed to begins negotiations with the Mexican government. The negotiations eventually fell apart when it became apparent that the government had no intent for real change. In January of 2006 the EZLN began La Otra Campana, a campaign to form a united opposition to neoliberal capitalism which plagues Mexico as well as the rest of the world.

Below is the text of the EZLN's declaration of war from 1994.

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First Declaration from the Lacandon Jungle
EZLN's Declaration of War
"Today we say 'enough is enough!'

TO THE PEOPLE OF MEXICO:
MEXICAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS:

We are a product of 500 years of struggle: first against slavery, then during the War of Independence against Spain led by insurgents, then to avoid being absorbed by North American imperialism, then to promulgate our constitution and expel the French empire from our soil, and later the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz denied us the just application of the Reform laws and the people rebelled and leaders like Villa and Zapata emerged, poor men just like us. We have been denied the most elemental preparation so they can use us as cannon fodder and pillage the wealth of our country. They don't care that we have nothing, absolutely nothing, not even a roof over our heads, no land, no work, no health care, no food nor education. Nor are we able to freely and democratically elect our political representatives, nor is there independence from foreigners, nor is there peace nor justice for ourselves and our children.

But today, we say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

We are the inheritors of the true builders of our nation. The dispossessed, we are millions and we thereby call upon our brothers and sisters to join this struggle as the only path, so that we will not die of hunger due to the insatiable ambition of a 70 year dictatorship led by a clique of traitors that represent the most conservative and sell-out groups. They are the same ones that opposed Hidalgo and Morelos, the same ones that betrayed Vicente Guerrero, the same ones that sold half our country to the foreign invader, the same ones that imported a European prince to rule our country, the same ones that formed the "scientific" Porfirsta dictatorship, the same ones that opposed the Petroleum Expropriation, the same ones that massacred the railroad workers in 1958 and the students in 1968, the same ones the today take everything from us, absolutely everything.

To prevent the continuation of the above and as our last hope, after having tried to utilize all legal means based on our Constitution, we go to our Constitution, to apply Article 39 which says:

    "National Sovereignty essentially and originally resides in the people. All political power emanates from the people and its purpose is to help the people. The people have, at all times, the inalienable right to alter or modify their form of government."

Therefore, according to our constitution, we declare the following to the Mexican federal army, the pillar of the Mexican dictatorship that we suffer from, monopolized by a one-party system and led by Carlos Salinas de Gortari, the maximum and illegitimate federal executive that today holds power.

According to this Declaration of War, we ask that other powers of the nation advocate to restore the legitimacy and the stability of the nation by overthrowing the dictator.

We also ask that international organizations and the International Red Cross watch over and regulate our battles, so that our efforts are carried out while still protecting our civilian population. We declare now and always that we are subject to the Geneva Accord, forming the EZLN as our fighting arm of our liberation struggle. We have the Mexican people on our side, we have the beloved tri-colored flag highly respected by our insurgent fighters. We use black and red in our uniform as our symbol of our working people on strike. Our flag carries the following letters, "EZLN," Zapatista National Liberation Army, and we always carry our flag into combat.

Beforehand, we refuse any effort to disgrace our just cause by accusing us of being drug traffickers, drug guerrillas, thieves, or other names that might by used by our enemies. Our struggle follows the constitution which is held h...

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Posted on January 1, 2009 by jesus | Post a Comment

End Israeli Apartheid - Que Viva Palestina Libre!

In Solidarity with the National Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People I started working on this poster, I am linking two files that can be downloaded and printed on both 8.5x11 (download here) and 11x17 (download here) so people can put them up in their offices or windows.

I have been been a strong supporter of the Palestinian struggle for sovereignty and land rights. Native people have been struggling for the same thing as Palestinians across the Americas for hundreds of years, people continue fighting to regain control of their ancestral lands and the right decide their future.

¡Que viva Palestina Libre!
¡Que vivan Los Zapatistas!
¡Que viva Evo Morales!

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Posted on December 31, 2008 by jesus | Post a Comment

Tumis Winter Portfolio

It's the end of the year, and at Tumis that means we produce our annual Winter portfolio. This has been a collaboration with the Taller Tupac Amaru, the prints have been designed by Tumis artist and printed by myslef, the Master Printer of the Taller. In past years each artist chose a song to inspire their print, this year Tony Carranza, the Tumis Artistic Director, decided to use the theme of Hope as our inspiration. You can read more about the artists inspiration below.

We also produced a calendar that accompanied the winter portfolio, these were sent to various Tumis clients to thank them for supporting our business.


INFORMATION ON THE PRINTS:

Tony Caranza’s Juntos, is centered around the following idea: “This year we witnessed an event many of us never thought would ever happen in the U.S. This has inspired and energized our vision for the future. With the hope that the tide will change for this country, the world will look on as we enter this new era. It will be up to not only our leader, but also the people to create this shift. Now is the time, we can do this together…Juntos.”

Henry Liu’s “PLU ‘09” was created with the following message in mind: PEACE = world, LOVE = ourselves, UNITY = power

Jesus Barraza’s “Keep Struggling” is a portrait of a young Martin Luther King Jr., his image is used as a reminder of the Freedom Movement of the 1960s and is a call to all organizers to keep struggling and working to bring change to the world we live in.

Favianna Rodriguez’s “Invisible Sun” deals with transition and reflection. The composition incorporates symbols of indigenous Inca culture, as well as a reference to the large metropolitan areas we live in today. In key moments of history, artists, cultural workers, dancers, and musicians - have all played a key role in the transformation of societies. This piece celebrates women artists in particular.

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Posted on December 20, 2008 by jesus | Post a Comment

EastSide Arts Art Sale

LAST MINUTE HOLIDAY SHOPPERS.... we will be participating in:

EastSide's Art Sale

Friday, December 19th from 5pm to 7pm

We will have prints such as "Indigenous Women Defending Land and Life" by Melanie Cervantes available in a 12 X 17 giclee print for $20.

Also availble is "Stop the Raids" by Jesus Barraza, a two color, hand pulled screen print, 20 x 26 for $30.

We will have these prints and many more availble at the art sale. Support community artists by shopping at EastSides's Art Sale! There will also be a free raffle for everyone who signs up for the EastSide mailing list. 

Following the art sale will be a screenining of March Point a film by Longhouse Media and Native Lens.

"Meet Cody, Nick and Travis—three teenagers from the Swinomish Tribe. After hard times on the rez lead to rehab and drug court, they are offered an alternative: to make a documentary about the impact of two oil refineries on their community. A collaborative coming of age story, MARCH POINT follows the ambivalent and once-troubled teens as they come to understand themselves and the threat their people face."

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Posted on December 19, 2008 by melanie | Post a Comment

Winter Open Studios

Jesus and I want to thank everyone who came to our Open Studios to hear about our trip to Ecatepec, Mexico at the Festival de Nuevos Vientos, to see the work we have been producing and to celebrate the Taller Tupac Amaru's five year anniversary.

We had three raffles a day to celebrate our anniversary and ate tamales and champurrado building community as we went.

We really want to appreciate those people who supported Jesus and I (melanie) as community artists who use the resources we generate from the sales to sustain the art work that we do. Without support from the community we wouldn't be able to produce the editions of posters for grassroots community oganizations. Thank you! 

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Posted on December 14, 2008 by melanie | Post a Comment

Indigenous Holiday Market and Concert

The Intertribal Friendship House along with the Indigenous Permaculture Project and SNAG Magazine hosted an Indigenous Holiday Market and Concert on December 5th. Jesus and I were asked to table by our very good friend and organizer extrordinate Nikol Trujillo. We were so incredibly inspired by all of the elders, youth, community and artists who participated. Some of the people who made the night so memorable included Sista Hailstorm “southern native warrior”,Leslie Lopez and Visual Element of EastSide Arts Alliance, Carla Perez, the Robinson Pomo dancers, Sage Romero’s hoop dancing, Brwn Bflo and the Jeremy Goodfeather. Overall, what was most powerful was having a space for Bay Area Indian and Indigenous people to come together and share our creativity and our culture in order to sustain ourselves.

Above is a short video that was produced by another good friend and fierce filmmaker Barni Qaasim.

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Posted on December 14, 2008 by melanie | Post a Comment

Angela Davis in San Leandro

This week I got to meet Angela Davis at San Leandro High. She was invited by the Social Justice Academy of the high school to come and speak to the students about her experiences as a social justice movement activist. I have been an admirer of Davis since I first read about the activist work she did in the 60s and 70s. It was great to hear her speak to the youth in my community  about activism and her the reality of what it was like to grow up in the South in the 1950s. Ari Dolid, who teaches in the Social Justice Academy, invited me to come and meet Davis. I was given the opportunity to give her one of the "Angela" prints I first created in 2001. I have been wanting to give one her ever since I made it.

It was good to hear what Davis had to say to the youth, sharing stories about her first hand experience of growing up in segregated Alabama. She told the young people about the street that she lived on as s a kid, where Whites lived on one side of the street and Blacks were only allowed to live and walk on the other side of the street. The exception to this rules was if the Blacks  worked for in the homes of Whites on the opposite side of the street. Davis mentioned a game she would play, where the Black kids would run from their side to the White side, and the winner was the kid brave enough to run up the steps and ring the doorbell of a White household without getting caught. This is one of those stories I feel had a big impact on these youth who only read about  type of racial segregation in books or has seen something about  it on television.

Davis next spoke about her move to New York to attend high school, and joining the picketing of Woolworths to protest their support of segregated lunch counters in the South. Davis the spoke about the Civil Rights Movement, which she said was less about Civil Rights and more about a Freedom Movement of Black people which was seen as a continuation of the anti-slavery movement. Davis spoke about the movement and explained that its success arose through the dedication of the countless many who worked and organized to make sure that flyers were made to advertise actions and that people came out to walk  the pickets lines. She connected this Freedom Movement work to the work that has to be done by the many people to get Obama elected.She emphasized how it is up to the people, the masses,  to continue to organize to make sure that Obama keeps his campaign promises as well as adding issues that have not been part of his platform.

I think  Davis' most important point was that the success of the social justice movements are not due to great leaders but because of the many people who have worked to make sure that the work on the ground, at the grassroots, kept happing. This is one approach I have tried to work into my art, although I have created many portraits of "heroes" there are many pieces I have made that focus on the people who are not recognized but are people who have contributed to the struggle for a better world. This is a view that has been inspired by the Zapatistas. The Zapatistas believe  that leadership comes from below and that it is the people that will make change not just the recognized leaders.

Coming up in February Melanie and I will be teaching a class on poster making to the students of the Social Justice Academy. We are really looking forward to the class and sharing our skills with the youth in our community. The class will focus on helping the youth create posters that deal with issues that they have been studying in their classes or that they feel are personally important and will culminate with an exhibition in the community.

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Posted on December 12, 2008 by jesus | Post a Comment

Liberation Ink Winter Line

For their 2008 Winter line, Liberation Ink decided to team up with Reproduce and Revolt and use 6 of the over 600 images that are available for use by activist and organizers. One of the images they picked was the Lolita Lebron image I created and is in the book. Other artists in the winter line are Josh MacPhee and Favianna Rodriguez, co-editors of the book as well as Beth Gutelius and Josh Sanchez. To find out more about Reproduce and Revolt click here. Click here to purchase shirts.

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Posted on December 10, 2008 by jesus | Post a Comment

Thanksgiving Sunrise Ceremony

This year marked the 40th annivarsary of AIM (the American Indian Movement) and to commemorate this event I put together a poster to share with the community at the Alcatraz Sunrise Ceremony. AIM has been a important part of our history and in 1972 were part of a occupation of the Alcatraz that lasted 18 months. This poster was just a little something to mark this year in history and all the movement history of 1968.

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Posted on November 27, 2008 by melanie | Post a Comment