| UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER |
AFRICA ACTION Africa Policy E-Journal March 31, 2003
(030331)
Africa Action: Money for AIDS, Not for War! (Africa
Action document)
This posting contains a letter being distributed by Africa Action with a request for organizational endorsements of an anti-war statement focusing on "Money for AIDS, Not for War." Other groups and individuals are stressing similar themes, in demonstrations and in statements. For example, an Oakland, California "March for Peace and Justice" is scheduled for Saturday, April 5, including a call for "Healthcare NOT Warfare." AIDS activists will be joining the march with the call "Money for AIDS, Not for War." (See http://www.pnvrc.net for more information on the Oakland demonstration).
Note: Apologies for any duplicate messages. Given the importance of this message, it is being sent out through other lists as well as through the e-journal.
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Dear Friend,
As we watch from across the world, a war that defies precedent in both its scale and consequence is being waged in our name. Many of us have taken to the street to voice our dissent. By raising our voices in concert with the world community we have begun the important task of presenting a critical analysis of U.S. policies to the global public.
Though we call for peace, the breadth of our criticism truly goes to the heart of U.S. global and domestic priorities. It is not enough to present only our rejection of illegal aggression and imperialism, we must also make plain the REAL priorities that we face in the world today and advocate for the urgent changes needed to address these problems. In this spirit, Africa Action joins with friends around the world to make a simple statement: Money for AIDS, Not for War!
Now is the time for an anti-war message that puts HIV/AIDS, the deadliest of all global threats, at the top of the U.S. domestic and international agenda:
Sign the Money for AIDS, Not for War statement!
Africa Action is circulating the statement that is copied below to a worldwide audience. We are seeking endorsements from organizations around the world and will release the statement publicly on or around April 15. Please register your organizational endorsement on our website at http://php.africaaction.org/action/moneyaids.php and please circulate this statement to other organizations and networks. We also encourage individuals and groups to make this important statement visible at demonstrations, teach-ins, and all other anti- war events!
Money for AIDS, Not for War!
As the U.S. spends tens of billions of dollars on a pre-emptive war in the Persian Gulf, we demand that this money be spent on the real global priority - the HIV/AIDS crisis. AIDS is the greatest global threat to human security that exists today. It is more deadly than terrorism or the alleged existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. AIDS has already cost 25 million lives worldwide. In Africa, ground zero of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, whole communities are being wiped out and the future of the entire continent is at risk. Around the world, HIV infection rates continue to rise at alarming rates. In the U.S., the toll from AIDS is mounting, particularly among communities of color.
AIDS is a clear and present danger to all of humanity. That it is not the top priority of the U.S. government highlights just how misguided U.S. priorities are. This year, while the U.S. focuses on potential threats in Iraq and possible terrorist attacks at home, it is certain that AIDS will kill more than 3 million people globally, most of these in Africa.
AIDS is an urgent wake-up call to a deeper crisis in the state of the world. The huge global inequalities that fuel this pandemic are de-stabilizing and they are deadly. Only racism has allowed the loss of so many lives to AIDS. Fighting a war against AIDS is the most important positive step toward building a stable future for everyone.
The U.S. is the most powerful country on earth, and it has a clear choice to make. It can choose to provide leadership for a global effort to defeat the AIDS pandemic and save millions of lives. This would earn it great appreciation and respect from the whole world. Or it can choose to act arrogantly and unilaterally, dictating regime changes and re-drawing maps to serve its own narrowly defined interests. This can only escalate resentment and fuel violent reaction against this country and its people.
A war on AIDS can be won. This must be the real priority. This is why we demand: Money for AIDS, Not for War!
Please register your organizational endorsement on our website at http://php.africaaction.org/action/moneyaids.php and please circulate this statement to other organizations and networks. You can also send your endorsement by e-mail to africaaction@igc.org or by fax to 202-546-1545.
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Message-Id: <200303312030.h2VKUvm09177@marduk.africapolicy.org> From: "Africa Action" <e-journal@africaaction.org> Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 15:30:38 -0500 Subject: Africa Action: Money for AIDS, Not for War!
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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