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OCTOBER 2011 MIHISARA .

Break the Silence in search of Life


Whole society unconsciously lay on lifeless shadows like stone image without thought, no any lamentation when body cry for its feelings covered with blanket of grief, tears dried on checks and murmuring to air that penetrate in to the bones skins and flesh.

When laugh dried on lips?
Who has stolen our future?
How long we bear up the silence?

You and I spend the time of tragedy in our life, every faces have line of pains which illuminate joy of life, dead always embraces us with its crude hands, we have silent for the death of others but now we have to silence for our dead. Our conscience asks touch our skins bones and flesh, when you awaken your life? When you raise your voice breaking the silence, when you step up in search of life?

Woman is not symbol of dead. Woman is symbol of life in history of human evolution. Woman is symbol of love and beauty. World is created by heat of the Sun and mother’s love. (Maxim Gorky) Woman is a spring never dried, bearing all creations not only love beauty and warm. Woman is life and existence, power of the regenerate of human society.

But we are living in a very deferent world, the world is really globalize, a world dominated by the ideology, the principles of neo liberal globalization. It’s identified all creatures and resources as commercialized goods on free market. All myths of free market choice hang on the organs of woman. There is no any existence to capitalists’ trade and advertising without nudity of the woman.

Over 900 million people undernourished and 800 of them live in the third world like the countries in Sri Lanka, its estimated that 600 million people living in the south today will not live to see their 40th birthday. One out of every five children suffer from growth retardation and one out of every three is underweight; 30,000 who could be saved are dying every day, 2 million girls are forced in to prostitution. 130 million children do not have access to primary education and 250 million minors under age bound to work for a living.

Every year 146,000 girls are pregnant in case of sexual harassment 25% of them are dying at the moment of child delivering. 0nother 2 million Muslim girls are forced to FGM reported complains in Bangladesh 90% is rape cases, 32% of them are child girls. Most abductions in Indian soil is reported child girls from 6 to 18 years and national commission for women’s says 30 – 50% of them sole out to brothel house for prostitution.

This is the reality of globalize world, we unable to erase the present conditions of women in Sri Lanka in continues war. Half of her population defends on 200 rupees per day, most of them are poor who throw out from the social structure as human waste and they are chronicle suffer from lack of foods and malnutrition. 32% of children undernourished one out of three in the line of underweight; 45%of pregnant mothers are suffering from anemia, in case of that condition picked up the flowers of future generation. The child girls of rural and slums of suburb areas are made pregnant in deep dark dried up springs of motherhood, Young woman are naked as a prostitute in consumerism to enjoy for male heat.

Clash of civilization?

Woman is a victim of violation fired by the power politics of male domination, she keep at the line of limitation in discrimination of war economic and cultural bound, but she is the main tool of financial production, more than 12 hundred thousand male and female working forces sent to overseas to make foreign exchange as slave by free market machinery in last three decades, 65% of them are female, earn USD 2000 millions per year. 6 hundred thousand work forces in plantation area, half of them are women; they earn USD 1 billion, 280,000 working youths in free trade zone, 75% of them are girls produce two billion US dollars, but this money would not be freed from the slavery and succeeds social life of women.

Few months ago our foreign exchange is 3.4 USD billions, but today 1.2 billion. Who destroy the economic of women’s produced by through blood, tears and swells. Working women of plantation area sat on doorway with her children on starvation, and ask who stolen our future? More than 16,000 working girls throw out in dustbin as unemployment, ask tomorrow for youth? More than 10,000 widows of dead solders of south last three years take unfertile harvest through brutal war. Hundred thousand women who displaced from Tsunami and ethnic conflict are waiting for justice.

Widows of south and north!!
Women of unemployment!!
Mothers are waiting for their children who never come back from war
How long we waiting for ……..
Dear Sister breaks the silence in search of love

Womens Day held on 08. 03. 2009 by the Savisthri Movement

" Break the silence in search of Life"


On 08. 03. 2009 at 0700 hrs. the representatives of the network organization "Womens' Action for Social Justice." (WASJ) met opposite the Fort Railway Station, Sri Lanka to commemorate the International Womens' Day. The members of the WASJ distributed a pamphlet on the theme " Let us break the silence and continue our life." They were able to distribute approximately 1200 pamphlets in 90 minutes.


Sharp at 0845 hrs. a group of about 30 WASJ members boarded the Baticaloa (Eastern Province) bound train and together with the cultural group they visited most of the compartmants of the train singing songs depicting the violence against women and the value of the womens contribution for social, economic activities in the country and the pressure exerted on the poorest women in the farming, fishing and plantations labour sectors and distributed a hand bill to create an awareness amongst the train commuters about the prevalent position.


All the train commuters belonging to the ethnicities Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim were seen reading the hand bill 50 distributed. Hand bills were distributed amongst the people at the railway stations too and they seemed to by attracted to the contents of the hand bill.

Reactions of the community

· The train commuters expressed the view that such awareness was very important and if that awareness was given by a female more attention could have been drawn from the people.

The crowd was from various areas and they had been induced to collect hand-bills for distribution amongst the people in their areas.

- 5000 copies of this pamphlet had been printed in both Sinhala and Tamil.
- This pamphlet was distributed amongst the people at the womens' programme conducted by NAFSO organization in Kalmunnai.

Contents in the document

Particulars pertaining to the way pressures are exerted on women in the garment treade, house-maids who serve in foreign countries, plantation labour, cottage industries, by the globalized economic process.

- War
- escalation of the cost of living
- Getting subjected to anaemia and weak health
- Age – old customary concepts
- Fall in rural livelihoods farming, fishing and small production sectors.
- Indebtedness in rural areas.

Future Process

Plans have been made by the Savisthri Movement to hold discussions at rural level based on the contents of this document.

The participants returned to the Fort Railway Station at 1600 hrs. from Kurunagala after carrying out activities pertaining to the Womens' Day in a fruitful manner.

International Womens Day which falls on 08. 03. 2009 - SAVISTHRI

Plans have been made by the Savisthri Movement together with the network organization "Womens Action for Social Justice" to implement a special programmes on the Womens Day which falls on 08. 03. 2009.

In view of the fact that the Women have been severely pressurized by the existing social, economic and political situation prevailing in the country, the objective of this programme is to draw the attention of those responsible to this issue and give an awareness to the masses to look at this process in an intelligent manner.

We analyse the pressures placed on women due to the following factors:-

Economic Process

· Inability to get a market for their produce.
· Women being relegated to the position of providing cheap labour in the garment, planatation labour sectors and as migrant workers.
· Deprivation of their independence by making them indebted through various banking systems and financial processes.
· Getting unemployed and joining the rank of the poorest of the poor due to the closure of garment factories in the face of the existing financial crisis.
· Inability to return to the village and commence work and stabilize themselves to eke out a living.

Social Process

· Severity of the mental pressures and agonies.
· Inability to get recognition in the society due to the existing social tendencies regarding women.
· Getting widowed in great numbers.
· Being cornered in the society due to lack of economic strength.
· Increase in the incidence of getting subjected to nutrition problems, anaemia and various other diseases.

Political Process

· In the decision taking process, less representation of women in parliament and other local bodies.
· As a consequence, the decisions reached do not favour women.
· Use of violence, harassment and thuggery against women.
· Blocking the avenues available for women to participate in decision making in the womens leadership that is being formed, by the use of wealth and thuggery.
· Policies of political parties not being firm and limitation of such policies only to paper.
· All women belonging to the ethnicities Sinhala, Tamil and Muslims in the country being subjected to mental pressures and physical harassments due to the war situation prevailing in the country.
· Tens of thousands of mothers suffering eternally at the loss of their precious children and children made disabled by the cruel war.

The naked truth is that a majority of women are pressurized in the face of these countless problems. It is also clear that no solution could be found to these problems by refraining from voicing their grievances.

It is only through awareness and getting organized as a body that attention could be drawn to the responsible authorities and seek solutions to these countless issues.

Today the responsibility of working for social justice is vested with the mothers, the women, who constitute 53% of the country's population. The time is ripe for women who count more than half the population in the country to stand together for the establishment of the right for all the people to live peacefully devoid of any differences, disrespect and harassment.

The network organization "Women's Action for Social Justice" (WASJ) has made arrangements to distribute a hand – bill which gives an awareness on the Womens Day ie on 08.03.2009. Hence, you who speak and always think of making better the situation prevailing in the country could participate in this programme.

Date - 08. 03. 2009

Commencement

· At 0700 hrs. opposite the Fort Railway Station.
· At 0845 hrs. to board the train leaving for Vauniya and get off at Kurunegala.
· Distribution of hand-bills in the Kurunegala Town (Family Relief Service Centre is scheduled to take action re. this matter).
· Plans made to have recitals (Virudhu / street dramas to create an awareness amongst the people).

· 1530 hrs - End.