There once was an Island

Environmental refugees in the Pacific:

One of the first films to record a community evacuating their home because of climate change

KUPUNA PEPPERD SPRAYED Laie Kuleana Occupation

Laie Kuleana Occupation



Kanaka Maoli Standing Up For Their Rights, Claiming what was always Theirs!

Today mark your calendars I will enter the Battle of this Century between an Indigenous Hawaiian Woman and the entity of the Mormon Church, Hawaii Reserves Incorporated. Adverse Possession is the filthy word among Indigenous Hawaiians, homeless, strangers in their land. It should not be but AMERICAN THIEVES attempted to usurper our land from under us by DISGUISE AND THEIR PERVERTED LAW. While I prepare for the BATTLE OF MAHUNALII AND KAUAIOMANO I have DEEDS, MAPS, SURVEYS etc. I am doing this because the BONES OF MY ANCESTORS are buried there. The SPIRITS OF MY ANCESTORS COMPEL me to do what is right protect, preserve, perpetuate their history, culture and way of life. May the BONES of all our indigenous ancestors rise up from this day forward and
compel their descendants to do the same. Mahalo...


Dawn K. Wasson, Kupuna o Laiewai

Unprovoked police charges and mass arrests of activists during dec12 demo cop15 Copenhagen

Pacific reflections of the Copenhagen Summit

Short interview I did whilst in transit in Hong Kong, on the way home from Copsinhagen

Karanga e Kaipara

thanks to mauriora78

Haere Atu No Co2lonialism in the Pacific-Te Ata Tino Toa on the Social & Climate Justice Caravan

Indigenous peoples in the Pacific have found the great ocean of Kiwa, a spiritual &cultural home for thousands upon thousands of years. We lived in harmony with our environment and each other; we were self-sufficient and had 100% of our lands, Culture, custom and language. White supremacist, Capitalist Imperialism & genocide shattered that world for many Indigenous peoples in the Pacific last century.

We live with the repercussions of that history of genocide & dispossession every day. Colonisation in the Pacific continues in the models of development that are being sold through a masquerade of trade," governance & security, & market based ‘solutions’ to climate change.

Te Ata Tino Toa, (a collective of Maori activists) are looking forward to forging a strong collective understanding & response to the dual threats of neo liberalism & climate change in the Pacific on the Climate Caravan .

The Social & Climate Justice Caravan 2009 wants to link the protests against the WTO with the protests against the climate summit. Between 3rd and 9th December, 60 representatives from global movements from the South will drive two routes from Geneva to Copenhagen. The Western route goes through Paris and Brussels, the Eastern one through Freiburg, Frankfurt and Cologne, including a delegation to Berlin. The activists will meet p in Hamburg in order to drive together over the Danish border to Copenhagen. With public meetings, discussions and actions planned, the caravan wants to draw attention to the consequences of trade liberalisation and climate change on people in the global South. Through meetings and workshops, participants seek to establish networks with local activists and hope to mobilize as many people as possible to Copenhagen.

Te Ata Tino Toa are representative of the long tradition of struggle and resistance by Maori against colonisation and the Crown sponsored theft of Maori land and resources. Maori continue to resist the pressures of colonisation and cultural and economic genocide. Such a concept embraces the spiritual link Maori have with 'Papatuanuku' (Earthmother) and is a part of the international drive by indigenous peoples for self determination."

The Pacific, is facing huge stress & huge regional pressures. Climate change is a clear and present danger to the Pacific peoples, land, lives; culture & peoples are at risk. Climate change is no distant threat it is happening now. Rising sea levels are eating up the land of the islands, salination means more & more arable lands for cultivation become untenable. The human face of climate change in the Pacific, is heart breaking, land is the cornerstone of the heart of all Indigenous peoples.

…….From Genvea

For much of the past decade the Pacific Islands Countries have faced immense pressure from NZ & Australia, and aid donors to move towards trade liberalisation through new free trade agreements (FTAs).

Free trade agreements involving the region include the Pacific Islands Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA), the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union, and the extension of the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) with Australia and New Zealand to include deeper “economic integration”.

The move towards free trade is driven largely by the interests of business (exporters, service suppliers and potential new investors) based in the Pacific’s developed-country ‘partners’. Clothed in benevolent, paternal words, greed & racism lie at the heart of Pacer-Plus, pushing the western, neoliberal way of doing things on the Pacific.




To Copenhagen

Te Ata Tino Toa stand with all Indigenous peoples of the Pacific. Together we can ensure those most responsible for climate change are held responsible and those most affected by are supported. In the defence of land rights, & our collective responsibility to care for lands, forests, our oceans & peoples. Pacific peoples standing together for mother earth & for lives of dignity, and self determination.


“Indigenous peoples of the Pacific are deeply alarmed by the accelerating climate devastation brought about by unsustainable development, and we are experiencing profound and disproportionate adverse impacts on our Pacific cultures, human and environmental health, human rights, well-being, traditional livelihoods, food systems and food sovereignty, local infrastructure, economic viability and our very survival as Indigenous peoples.


Consumer nations must adequately address the issue of ecological debt to the global south and not shift liability for their own unsustainable production and consumption to those nations not responsible for the high level of climate emissions.

We demand that forests not be included in carbon trading schemes, and call on all governments to halt deforestation and keep fossil fuels in the ground; not trade one for the other. “ (Nukualofa Declaration)

Against all the odds, and the threats we face to our lands, our cultures, and our ways of life in the pacific, we have survived and we continue to resist. Evolutionary processes have taken their course in the Pacific and the time has come for us to reach out across the vast ocean that binds us to support each other’s struggles and to halt the annihilation that we as peoples are facing.

I will be live tweeting 27th Nov onwards http://twitter.com/uriohau #climatejustice #Pacific

Bob Marley-Concrete Jungle

Maori Job Loss Outstripping Rest of Society

Source

New figures show Maori are suffering the brunt of job losses caused by the recession.

The Household Labour Force survey shows in the past year Maori unemployment has rocketed from 9.6 percent to 14.2 percent.

That’s an increase of almost 10 thousand out of work.

Pakeha unemployment has only gone from 3.1 to 4.5 percent.

Council of Trade Unions secretary Peter Conway says the recession has hit hard in the construction and manufacturing sectors, which employed large numbers of Maori.

“Maori are also a younger population on average and youth unemployment is now above 25 percent so part of it is that and there also may be still some discrimination in the labour market. I’m not saying it’s there but others say it’s there and hitting Maori hard,” Mr Conway says.

The CTU says the government needs to take specific action to fight Maori unemployment or the social consequences will be around for generation.

see also: Household Labour force Survey

Defending Melanesian Land

Host:	AID/WATCH
Network:	Global

Date:	Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Time:	6:30pm - 8:00pm
Location:	Amnesty International Action Centre, 79 Myrtle St, Chippendale

An evening of film, photos and discussions about the importance of customary land in Melanesia. 'Defending Melanesian Land' is a short
video in which Melanesian activists explain why indigenous land is important to people in the Pacific, and why they have formed a regional alliance (the Melanesian Indigenous Land Defence
Alliance - MILDA) to defend indigenous Melanesian land.


The film was produced by Tim Anderson for Aid/Watch and MILDA,
with support from The Christensen Fund

Resist 2010: Oppose the 2010 Winter Olympics

Part 1

Part 2


See Also: http://no2010.com/

Nuku Alofa declaration*

Nuku Alofa declaration*

From 29 to 31 July 2009, over 15 participants from 8 different countries in the Pacific/Oceania region, from Indigenous peoples, civil society and governments, gathered in Tonga to discuss global issues that severely impact our region on a daily basis: climate change, forest protection, and the role of Indigenous peoples and local communities.

Preamble

We [Indigenous peoples of the Pacific] are deeply alarmed by the accelerating climate devastation brought about by unsustainable development, and we are experiencing profound and disproportionate adverse impacts on our Pacific cultures, human and environmental health, human rights, wellbeing, traditional livelihoods, food systems and food sovereignty, local infrastructure, economic viability and our very survival as Indigenous peoples.

Consumer nations must adequately address the issue of ecological debt to the global south and not shift liability for their own unsustainable production and consumption to those nations not responsible for the high level of climate emissions.

We remind the parties that Indigenous peoples are on the front line of climate change, whether they are from “developed” nations or not, and do not automatically have access to the benefits of a developed economy.

Call for Action

We are concerned that in its current form REDD is misleading and is a false solution to climate change, erodes Indigenous land rights and fails to account for the long term and ongoing conservation and land management of forested areas by Indigenous peoples and forest dependent communities.

We call for all nations in the Pacific to sign on to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

We call for any agreement on forests to fully and explicitly uphold the rights under UNDRIP, the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD), and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

All rights under UNDRIP must be included in the CBD and UNFCCC, and the customary and territorial land rights of Indigenous Peoples and forest-dependent communities must be recognised and enforced by any international agreement on forest policy.

We call for the suspension of all REDD initiatives in Indigenous lands and territories until such a time as Indigenous peoples’ rights are fully recognised and promoted, and community consent has been obtained.

The linkage of REDD to markets risks allows Annex-1 countries to avoid responsibility for reducing emissions in their own countries and could even increase net carbon emissions. Carbon offsetting and the inclusion of REDD credits in carbon markets will do nothing to address the underlying causes of climate change, nor will carbon offsetting and market mechanisms provide the predictable and reliable funding required for addressing deforestation.

We demand that forests not be included in carbon trading schemes, and call on all governments to halt deforestation and keep fossil fuels in the ground; not trade one for the other. Forests need to be protected, but they must be protected by strengthening and enforcing forest legislation, not using market mechanisms.

We support the call for binding emissions reductions targets for Annex 1 countries of at least 45% below 1990 levels by 2020, and at least 95% by 2050. Annex 1 countries must therefore deliver on their commitments to making real and effective emission reductions.

We call for real and genuine solutions to climate change, not false solutions like ocean fertilisation, REDD, biofuels and monocultures for plantations that erode and violate the rights of Indigenous peoples and forest-dependant communities, and destroy biodiversity.

Any definition of forests must strongly differentiate between plantations and natural forests to incorporate fundamental Indigenous understandings of forests and account for the vast differences in carbon storage capacity.

We call for accurate carbon accounting on forests, and for ANY funding for the reduction of emissions from deforestation and degradation, and appropriate technology transfer to be prioritised for community-based forest management schemes, managed through strengthened mechanisms within the UNFCCC. Donor nations should not fund international financial institutions like the World Bank to implement projects that support flawed solutions to climate change.

---

* This is an edited version of the Declaration

See Also:

Pacific Comments on REDD

Special guest article from Fiu Mata’ese Elisara/Executive Director of OLSSI, Samoa

MAORI MADE EARLY CONTRIBUTION TO WORKERS’ RIGHTS

A trade union educator says Maori should use Labour Day to celebrate their contributions to workers' rights.

Helen Te Hira of Unite says the day marks the world-leading efforts of workers in this country for the eight hour working day, starting with carpenter Samuel Parnell's protest in Petone in 1840.

She says the momentum grew through the 19th century, and Maori were attracted to the collective nature of unions.

The first recorded wages dispute happened in the Bay of Islands in October 1821, when Maori sawyers went on strike for the right to be paid in money or gunpowder.

Petition for Sri Lankan Asylum Seekers

**Please Circulate Widely**

Hello everyone,

Sign up the petition for Sri Lankan asylum seekers in Indonesia.

As you notice the Australian government has neglected the recent Sri Lankan boat arrivals and trying to send them back to their Sri Lanka. RISE (riserefugee.org) has written a petition to bring the asylum seekers back to the Australian.

Circle this email around with attached document and get people to sign up
the petition. Ask everyone to join together to bring the war victim to
Australia.

Follow the link and sign up

http://riserefugee.org/the-urgent-situation-of-255-sri-lankan-asylum-seekers-in-indonesia/

Also, please print out the document and get your friends, families and
neighbors and workmates to sign up the petition.

Post the petition to

House Of Representatives
P.O.Box 6021
Parliament House
Canberra
ACT 2600

For more information go to: http://riserefugee.org

George Jackson

Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George Jackson

Remembering the Real Dragon- An Interview with George Jackson May 16 and June 29, 1971

HOMMAGE KANAKY...