Articles by community

Horizons of Friendship is now accepting nominations for the 2010 Founders Award.

Click here to download the nomination form

Nomination forms can also be picked up at Horizons of Friendship office, located in Cobourg at 50 Covert Street.

The purpose of the award is to recognize those individuals in Canada who demonstrate a commitment to volunteerism and leadership in addressing social inequality and injustice. 

Please take the time to recognize a community volunteer or community leader, who in Canada, has been working ‘under the radar’ to help improve the lives of others.  Now is the time to acknowledge their commitment to social justice with the Founders Award.  

Horizons of Friendship invites the general public to nominate a person who they feel meets the award criteria and whose volunteer accomplishments and leadership deserve to be celebrated. We encourage people from across Canada to nominate those outstanding diverse citizens for the Founders Award who, no matter their age or background, are setting a positive example for others by bringing about meaningful contributions through their volunteer activities.

Nomination deadline is Friday April 30th.

Please submit all nomination materials to: 

Horizons of Friendship

P.O. Box 402

Cobourg, Ontario

K9A 4L1

Electronic submissions:

info@horizons.ca

(Subject line: The Founders Award)

Note: You may use additional space as required and may attach additional documents to the nomination form such as photos, newspaper articles, CV, etc.)

The award has been given out since 2004 to commemorate the three founders of Horizons of Friendship (the late David Stewart, Christine Stewart and Father Tim Coughlan) who founded the organization on the spirit of volunteerism over 30 years ago.

The 2010 Founders Award recipient will receive a one-of-a-kind commemorative bronze medal, specially crafted by renowned Northumberland artist Frances Gage, and a certificate of recognition. The recipient will also be recognized at a ceremony during the Horizons of Friendship Annual General Meeting.

Award Criteria:

1. Evidence that the spirit of volunteerism has played a significant role in the individual’s lifetime.

2. Demonstration of leadership in addressing social inequality and injustice in Canada, and elsewhere, consistent with the ideals of Horizons of Friendship.

For more information, please contact:

Linda Robertson

Administrative Assistant

lrobertson@horizons.ca

Phone:    905-372-5483   x10

Fax:  905-372-7095

Central American coalition raises a clarion call to stop violence against women as Canadians remember the Montreal Massacre

This week Horizons of Friendship staff will travel to Costa Rica to join with its partner, the Central American Feminist Network to End Violence towards Women, in the release of a pivotal report on femicide; the systematic killing of women based on their gender. The study and the policy recommendations will be presented directly to The Council of Ministers for Women in Central America (COMMCA), an official body established by the governments of the region.  The study, which has been supported by Horizons of Friendship and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), will focus on six Central American countries:  Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.  Horizons Executive Director Patricia Rebolledo will be present when the report is released, and states, “it is important for Canadians to understand the level of violence towards women and to raise our voices of concern, and to support initiatives to stop this violence”.

Just as the Montreal massacre at the École Polytechnique twenty years ago helped lift the veil of silence that concealed violence against women in Canada, the Central American Feminist Network to End Violence towards Women is likewise raising the alarm bell.  According to the study, while murder rates are on the rise in many parts of Central America, women are being affected disproportionately. For example, between 2000 and 2006, killings of men in El Salvador increased by 40%, while female murders grew by 111%.  In Guatemala, the killing of men doubled from 1990 to 2004, while rates for women tripled. The most extreme case is Honduras (scene of a recent military-backed coup d’état) where from 2003 to 2007, the killing of women grew four times faster than that of men.  Most shocking, an increasing number of these slayings have been accompanied by signs of brutal torture, mutilations and rape.

Undoubtedly, part of the violence can be attributed to the legacy of civil wars in the region and a culture of impunity for abuses committed. However, the study finds that the dramatic increase in femicides is directly related to high levels of poverty and growing inequities that have resulted from an economic model which has exacerbated the social exclusion of women and other marginalized communities. The causes of this crisis are complex but are rooted in a patriarchal culture which is based on unequal power relations between men and women.

“Increasingly, women have become targets of the shady ‘businesses’ that have emerged from this model” according to Ana Carcedo, a professor of women’s’ studies at the Universidad de Costa Rica and the principal researcher of the study. “These include the trafficking of girls and women for labour or sexual exploitation, and criminal networks connected to drug trafficking, arms sales, hired assassins, and gangs operating at the national and international levels.  Gender relations and codes of conduct are being transformed in such a way that women are being viewed as ‘disposable’ and as pawns in territorial disputes”.

Corruption and the entrenchment of these criminal networks encourage the invisibility of femicide. And the failure of the authorities to adequately investigate the murders and prosecute those responsible is reinforcing an already existing climate of impunity.

Though awareness has been raised in Canada following the Montreal massacre, the issue is as pressing here as it is for our neighbours in Central America. Just one year ago, the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women issued an urgent call to the Canadian government to carry out thorough investigations of the cases of missing or murdered aboriginal women in Canada; to examine the reasons for the failure to investigate these cases, and to take necessary steps to remedy the deficiencies in the system.

 HONDURAS - Election Watch

The November 29th elections in Honduras will be taking place under a coup regime.  Send an email to the Canadian government to urge them to support democracy by not recognizing the results of these elections.

Please ‘cut and paste’ this template letter into your E-mail, and send it to Mr. Peter Kent at kentp@parl.gc.ca

You can also ’cut and paste’ the  email addresses and Cc Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, cannon.l@parl.gc.ca , Bob Rae, Foreign Affairs Critic, Liberal Party, raeb@parl.gc.ca and Paul Dewar, Foreign Affairs Critic, NDP, dewar.p@parl.gc.ca

If you would like to send this letter to your own MP, you can find their email address here.  (Click here to find your MP)

 The Honourable Peter Kent

Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas)

House of Commons

kentp@parl.gc.ca

November 2009

 Dear Minister Kent,

 I am writing to urge the Canadian government to join other governments of the Americas in publicly stating that it will not recognize the November 29 Honduran elections, held under the auspices of the de facto coup regime.

 A return to democracy implies the immediate restitution of elected President Manuel Zelaya, an end to the on-going human rights violations perpetrated by the coup regime’s security forces, and a postponement of elections until all Hondurans can enjoy a full three month campaign period during which all candidates are assured safety on the campaign trail. Since the June 28 military coup, opposition candidates and their supporters have been harassed, beaten, jailed and killed, according to reports from Amnesty International, the Inter-American Human Rights Commission and Honduran Human Rights monitors. Conditions for free, fair and open elections do not exist under the current coup regime.

 The coup government mocked the US-brokered Tegucigalpa/San Jose Accords when it failed to cede power to a “government of national unity and reconciliation” by November 5, as the accords stipulated. By law, such a government must be presided over by the democratically elected President. With the demise of these agreements, it is clear that there is no political space for opposition candidates to campaign, nor for the expression of dissident political opinions.

 I urge Canada to immediately suspend political and military ties with the illegal regime of Honduras, demand an end to violence and repression and stand with the nations of Latin America and the European Union in refusing to recognize illegitimate elections on November 29. Moreover, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) should review its current state-to-state bilateral programs with Honduras in terms of their compliance with the ODA Accountability Act, including explicit assurances that continued disbursements are fully consistent with international human rights standards. To avoid indirectly supporting the illegal government, CIDA should find feasible alternative civil society channels to deliver aid to affected populations, while minimizing the impact of suspension of aid on poor people.

 Canadians need to stand with the people of Honduras as they resist brutal repression, and fight for democracy and sovereignty in their country. I look forward to seeing Canada’s determined actions to help restore democracy to Honduras and heal the damage done to the democratic process in our hemisphere.

Sincerely,

YOUR NAME

Cc: Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs cannon.l@parl.gc.ca

Bob Rae, Foreign Affairs Critic, Liberal Party raeb@parl.gc.ca

Paul Dewar, Foreign Affairs Critic, NDP dewar.p@parl.gc.ca

Your MP (Click here to find your MP)

SUPPORT EMERGENCY RELIEF EFFORTS IN EL SALVADOR

 The combined force of Tropical Storm Ida, which struck Nicaragua on Thursday November 5^th, together with a low pressure system off the Pacific Coast, has led to a national emergency in El Salvador. The people most affected are families in situations of poverty and social vulnerability, living in precarious dwellings close to river banks and in zones prone to flooding.

 More than 13,300 people were affected by the force of the natural phenomena in Nicaragua although there were no reported deaths. The situation is more desperate in El Salvador where flooding and mudslides have caused the death of an estimated 130 people, with a further 60 people reported as missing and 7,000 living in shelters. Many communities have lost their crops and their water sources are contaminated. Coming late in the hurricane season, the fury of both natural phenomena took the Civil Protection authorities and the Network of Early Warning in El Salvador by surprise.

The most affected departments In El Salvador are San Salvador, San Vicente, Cuscatlán, La Paz and San Miguel. Entire families have lost all their belongings and, according to information sent to Horizons by our partner, the Salvadoran Association for Health Promotion (ASPS), in the zone of San Marcelino department of La Paz, homes have been destroyed, crops flooded, highways devastated, and cattle drowned.

Several of Horizons of Friendship’s partners are engaged in providing emergency assistance to those affected by the Tropical Storm. Among the most urgent needs are for clean, drinking water, medicine, food, blankets and candles. One Salvadoran partner – the Intercommunity Association of Communities for Economic and Social Development of the Lower Lempa (ACUDESBAL) was spared from this disaster. However as an expression of solidarity with their neighbours in La Paz, ACUDESBAL is making daily trips to La Paz, bring supplies and coordinating with other relief efforts.

Horizons of Friendship has established an emergency fund to support these humanitarian and reconstruction efforts in the upcoming weeks and months. For more information on ACUDESBAL’s efforts, read  the attached letter from Jose Santos Guevara, the organization’s President.

TO CONTRIBUTE TO HORIZONS’ EMERGENCY FUND FOR El SALVADOR:  You may make a contribution on Horizons’ website (www.horizons.ca), by telephone (with a credit card), or by mailing your cheque to the following address, indicating it is for the El Salvador Emergency Fund:

Horizons of Friendship

P.O. Box 402, K9A 4L1   Cobourg, Ontario

SALVADORAN COMMUNITIES SHOW SOLIDARITY WITH THEIR NEIGHBOURS IN LA PAZ DEPARTMENT

 “In these days of mourning, of pain and so much sadness, we are reaching out in solidarity with the families that have been most affected in other parts of our country.  Our organization, ACUDESBAL, has launched an urgent campaign to collect food, clothing, medicine and anything else that our communities can gather.  In spite of the economic constraints that our population has, we know that the little that we can provide means everything to people who have been left without anything.

Fortunately, we can undertake this gesture of solidarity thanks to the fact that the Lempa River did not overflow on this occasion. This doesn’t mean that we don’t have real problems. But the organizational work that we have undertaken in these past five years to establish an Early Warning System has meant that we have been able to design alternative measures to mitigate the impact of these natural disasters.

We have absolutely no doubt, dear friends, that by channeling our efforts towards preventive measures that enable us to respond to the great vulnerability in which we live, we have been able to avoid major tragedy and loss of life in our communities. We say this with great humility and with an enormous desire to share with others the experience that we have had to date in the Lower Lempa region – a region where, despite having been totally abandoned by the national government during the past decade, we have not had to mourn a single loss of life as a result of these phenomena. Now we are in the process of building a strategy of community resilience that will strengthen our actions aimed at improving conditions for our communities in the coming years. Our strategy has four major components:

1) Political advocacy to press for improved public policies;

2) Strengthening  our own institutional capacities and those of our communities;

3) Improving basic living conditions for the population; and

4) Working to improve gender equality in our communities”.

With warm regards,

Jose Santos Guevara,

President of ACUDESBAL

As Canadians watch the worst Latin American political crisis in decades unfold in Honduras-a military coup d’état that overthrew democratically elected President Manuel Zelaya in June- fears and speculation about a potential civil war are increasing in the international media. Under the de facto government of Roberto Micheletti, repression and human rights abuses by the military have been widespread.  In this context, it is more important than ever for Canadians to reflect on the past atrocities committed in El Salvador during the 12-year civil war, and to acknowledge that the same larger issues that gave rise to this armed conflict, are also deeply rooted in Honduras social fabric: the disproportionate concentration of wealth and the lack of access to land and basic services for all citizens.

Twenty years ago today, six Jesuit priests, their cook, and her teenage daughter were murdered, making newspaper headlines around the world. The priests were killed because of their work to promote human rights, democracy and social justice for all Salvadorans. Although these 8 murders represent only a fraction of the 75,000 casualties produced by El Salvador’s civil war, the killing of six prominent priests contributed to bringing the international pressure needed to put an end to the conflict.

2008 Educational Tour delegate Sandra Snider from the Ontario Public Service Employees Union visits the place where the priests were killed 20 years ago.  Rose bushes have been planted in their memory.

Though two decades have passed since the vicious killings, the victims and the impact of the tragedy have not been forgotten. Dr. Miguel Orellana, Director of the Association for Health Promotion in El Salvador and a long-standing partner of Horizons of Friendship, remembers the day of the Jesuit murders as a turning point in the fighting and recalls the importance of the international community in helping to end the conflict: 

“The Salvadoran government immediately reported that it was the guerrilla fighters who had murdered the Jesuits in an act of desperation, but in the following 24 – 48 hours the international press clarified the truth, that it was the National Military.  Many of us said it (the murders) was the final depraved act of an army of the verge of collapse.  The international community responded immediately, condemning the multiple murders and therefore isolating the government further.  This showed the true face of the military dictatorship and strengthened international solidarity with the Salvadoran people”.

Today in El Salvador, President Mauricio Funes will publicly ask for forgiveness from the families of the murdered Jesuits, and for all those who were killed in the civil war, on behalf of the Salvadoran State.  El Salvador’s highest award will be posthumously presented to the Jesuit martyrs who had worked for a peaceful solution to the 12 year armed conflict, and dedicated their lives to the principles of social justice. As Dr. Orellana states, “after twenty years, we are finally seeing a government that is seeking to expose what happened and to ask the questions: Who gave the orders to commit these crimes and for what reasons?  It is only by revealing the past and seeing justice done that we can really begin to move forward as a society”. Horizons of Friendship and its partners in Central America and Mexico will continue to honour the vision to which the Jesuit priests devoted their lives, by addressing the root causes of the conflict. 

In 1992, the civil war ended in El Salvador with the signing of the Peace Accords. The Accords include provisions intended to cement the necessary social and economic systems to address the ongoing human rights abuses and poverty. However, they have not been fully implemented. In 2009, an estimated 40 percent of El Salvador’s 5.7 million people are living in poverty.  Despite the challenges of this small country, Horizons of Friendship and community grassroots organizations are working on socio-economic development projects that provide a viable alternative to poverty and injustice.

Similarly, 36 percent of the Honduran population lives on less than US $2 per day. The struggle for democracy in Honduras today reveals that the issues at the heart of the uprising remain that of economic injustice and the abuse of human rights. International media attention helped to bring about an end to the El Salvadoran civil war and can be an important influence in building pressure to reinstate the democratically elected government of Honduras.  As Canadians we can also pay tribute to all those killed during the civil war, by recognizing the connections between their struggle and the ongoing crisis in Honduras.

The combined force of Tropical Storm Ida, which struck Nicaragua on Thursday November 5^th, together with a low pressure system off the Pacific Coast, has led to a national emergency in El Salvador. The people most affected are families in situations of poverty and social vulnerability, living in precarious dwellings close to river banks and in zones prone to flooding.

 More than 13,300 people were affected by the force of the natural phenomena in Nicaragua although there were no reported deaths. The situation is more desperate in El Salvador where, according to the latest official figures, 111 people have lost their lives, 7,000 people are living in shelters and 60 people are reported missing. Coming late in the hurricane season, the fury of both natural phenomena took the Civil Protection authorities and the Network of Early Warning in El Salvador by surprise.

 The most affected departments In El Salvador are San Salvador, San Vicente, Cuscatlán, La Paz and San Miguel. Entire families have lost all their belongings and, according to information sent to Horizons by our partner, the Salvadoran Association for Health Promotion (ASPS), in the zone of San Marcelino department of La Paz, homes have been destroyed, crops flooded, highways devastated, and cattle drowned.

 Several of Horizons of Friendship’s partners are engaged in providing emergency assistance to those affected by the Tropical Storm. Among the most urgent needs are for clean, drinking water, medicine, food, blankets and candles. Horizons will support the reconstruction efforts by partners in the upcoming weeks and months.

Horizons of Friendship is proud to present the lineup for the 2009 Latin Summer Film Festival! 

Films will be shown every Thursday evening in August from 7-9 pm at the Cobourg Public Library.  Admission is free, although in order to cover expenses, a suggested donation of $5 per film would be much appreciated.

 Let the reel roll!

Every year the festival kicks-off with a film focused on Indigenous issues, in commemoration of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People on August 9th.

August6th~Muffins for Granny

Click below to see the trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6ziYYLL4Dw

This year there is a cross-cutting theme of migration.

August 13th~The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

Click the link to see the trailer here on You Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3k1iBYa5Z4

 August 20th~Which Way Home

Click below to see a short trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhFW48UMUHY&feature=fvsr

 August 27th~Under the Same Moon

View the trailer here.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jCZgUiPixE&feature=fvw

July 22, 2009

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper

Prime Minister of Canada

House of Commons

Ottawa, Ontario

K1A 0A6

 Dear Prime Minister Harper:

We are writing this letter on behalf of the Americas Policy Group (APG), a Working Group of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation, to express our profound concern with regard to the escalating crisis in Honduras. We urge the Canadian government to take immediate steps and use all of the leverage at its disposal to ensure that the democratic order, respect for human rights and rule of law are restored in Honduras. Specifically, Canada must send a much stronger message, backed by concrete actions, to signal its commitment to the restoration of the elected president Manuel Zelaya to complete his mandate until January 2010.

 The members of the APG have long standing partnerships with Honduran civil society organizations including labour, faith based groups, women’s groups, NGOs and community-based organizations. APG members and their partners on the ground are deeply concerned for the safety of Honduran citizens who are being persecuted for defending the constitutional order. Those most targeted are human rights defenders, members of the media, trade unionists and supporters of the country’s democratically-elected President Manuel Zelaya.

As you are no doubt aware, the list of documented violations of human rights, following the coup d’état, is growing.

These have included: the suspension of constitutional rights; the arbitrary arrest and detention of over 1,150 people; the issuing of arrest warrants for social leaders on fabricated charges; censorship of at least 14 local media outlets; violations of the right to life and physical integrity by security forces who fired on protestors resulting in the death of at least one person and the wounding of many more. In addition there have been execution-style killings of individuals opposing the coup, among them; we note the July 11 murders of Roger Bados of the Bloque Popular coalition in San Pedro Sula and of Democratic Unification activist Ramón García in the department of Santa Bárbara.

Given this context, the APG is disturbed by the activities of business lobbies that are trying to dissuade international sanctions, and promote investment to provide liquidity to the defacto regime. These actions not only attempt to shore up an undemocratic regime that has been fully repudiated and isolated by every other government, but also undermine the negotiations which ideally would help the country move forward in a democratic and peaceful way. Allegations have come to our attention that the Canadian company Goldcorp (Entremares) has provided financial and logistical support to enable its workers to attend pro-coup marches in Tegucigalpa; if founded, this is a clear example of a Canadian company working in a way that is undermining Canada’s public position on Honduras.

The current crisis in Honduras represents an important challenge for the Canadian government to stand by the stated values that underpin Canada’s reengagement in the Americas. Canada’s support for the OAS Resolution of July 4th, 2009 – resulting in the suspension of Honduras from the OAS – was an important first step.

While we recognize Canada’s support for the mediation efforts brokered by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, it is clear that this process, in and of itself, is not enough. It is inadequate for Canada to wait on these diplomatic negotiations, while not also applying decisive pressure on the illegal interim government in the form of strong sanctions. The perpetrators of the coup must be held responsible for driving Honduras back to a period characterized by violence, intimidation and authoritarianism. We urge the Government of Canada to:

Review its bilateral relationship with the Republic of Honduras, as called for under section four of the OAS resolution of July 4th, 2009. Recognizing that the coup has led to grave breaches of peace, security and human rights, and has escalated tensions throughout the region, Canada should immediately apply decisive sanctions, to pressure those involved in the coup, and any successors named by illegitimate processes, to step down.

We urge Canada to follow the lead of the US Government, the European Union, the World Bank, the Inter American Development Bank, the Central American Bank of Economic Integration, among others, all of which have “paused” programs, transfers, budgetary support and new loans to Honduras. We also ask that you:

• Immediately enforce a mandatory embargo on all funds and transfers to the Military training assistance program, and suspend any other promised funds to Honduran security forces, military or police;

In light of the pervasive culture of impunity which has allowed such a coup to unfold, we urge Canada to:

• Call on the defacto regime to cease human rights violations and restore human rights protections to all Hondurans. In particular, Canada should demand that the Honduran authorities immediately release any government officials, and political activists who may be currently detained and refrain from further arbitrary detentions; and guarantee the right to freedom of expression so that supporters of the democratically-elected President, human rights defenders, and journalists are able to carry out their legitimate activities without fear of reprisal;

• Support the application of international law and national justice against the coup perpetrators, and call for reparations for the illegal actions and rights violations committed;

• Act urgently in a way which will dissuade or circumvent Canadian investors or business leaders who may be providing support to the coup and countering the OAS resolve to increase the pressure on the regime.

Be assured we will follow the situation very closely and look forward to your response,

Sincerely,

 Gerry Barr                                Jim Hodgson                              Nadia Faucher

President-CEO                         APG Co-Chair                              APG Co-Chair

Canadian Council for

International Co-operation  

 CC:

Hon. Minister Lawrence Cannon, Minister of foreign Affairs and International Trade

Hon. Peter Kent, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas)

Alexandra Bugailiskis, Assistant Deputy Minister Latin America and the Caribbean

Ambassador Neil Reeder, Canadian Ambassador to Honduras

Daniel Arsenault, Counsellor and Head of Cooperation of Canada’s Embassy in Honduras

Alexandre Leveque, Director DFAIT: Caribbean, Central America & Regional Policy

Michael Ignatieff, Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada

Gilles Duceppe, Leader of the Bloc Québécois

Jack Layton, Leader of the New Democratic Party

Members of the Americas Policy Group

 Americas Policy Group

Alberta Council for Global Cooperation

Amnesty International Canada

Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network

Avocats Sans Frontières

British Columbia Council for International Co-operation

Canadian Auto Workers (CAW)

Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace

Canadian Crossroads International

Canadian Labour Congress

Canadian Society for International Health

Canadian Union of Postal Workers

CERLAC, York University

Common Frontiers

Christian Peacemaker Teams

Co Development Canada

Communication, Energy, & Paperworks Union of Canada

Comite pour les Droits Humains en Amerique Latine

CUSO-VSO

Heartlinks

Horizons of Friendship

Inter Pares

KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives

YMCA-Canada/YMCA Montreal

L’Entraide Missionnaire

Lawyers Rights Watch Canada

Match International

Mennonite Central Committee

MiningWatch Canada

Ontario Public Service Employees Union

OXFAM Canada

Presbyterian World Service and Development

Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund

Public Service Alliance of Canada

Rights & Democracy

Salvaide

Save the Children Canada

Social Justice Committee (Montreal)

United Church of Canada

United Steelworkers