[A-IMC radio] Tadamon! Delegation to LEBANON 2006. Voices for Justice: from Montreal to Beirut.

[Stefan Christoff]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 31 May 2006 14:23:08 -0700 (PDT)
From: Tadamon! <tadamon at resist.ca>


Tadamon! MONTREAL - Lebanon Delegation Summer 2006
Voices for Justice: from Montreal to Beirut....!

In July of 2006, Tadamon! [Solidarity! in Arabic], a Montreal-based collective 
of social justice organizers & media activists, will be sending a delegation to 
Lebanon. In the context of historic political change taking place in Lebanon & 
throughout the Middle East region, this delegation will develop connections 
between grassroots political organizing for social & economic justice and 
independent media networks in Beirut and Montreal.


----> Tadamon! Delegation Activities in Lebanon:

In Beirut, members of Tadamon! will be producing independent media reports 
concerning the current political, social and economic situation in Lebanon, for 
dissemination through alternative media networks in the Middle East, North 
America and internationally.

Tadamon!'s reports will be published, broadcast and distributed through CKUT 
Radio Montreal, the Electronic Intifada, the National Campus Community Radio 
Association of Canada [NCRA], Free Speech Radio News of Pacifica Radio, 
CitizenShift of the National Film Board of Canada, the Rabble Podcast Network, 
the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters [AMARC] and the 
Independent Media Center of Beirut....

The Tadamon! delegation ALSO aims to meet and network with groups & 
organizations in Lebanon involved in struggles for social and economic justice, 
with the goal of establishing joint projects and campaigns between Montreal & 
Beirut.


----> Tadamon!'s Political Orientation & Experience:

Tadamon!, through its organizing work both in Montreal & Beirut, aligns itself 
with social justice movements in Lebanon, Canada and globally which are 
anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian in orientation.

Participants of Tadamon!'s 2006 delegation to Lebanon are committed social 
justice organizers & media activists based in Montreal. Collectively, the 
Tadamon! delegation represents years of experience organizing in support of 
immigrant & refugee quests for dignity in Canada, support work for indigenous 
struggles for self-determination, the development of diverse initiatives in 
solidarity with anti-colonial & anti-imperialist struggles in other regions of 
the world, and work in support of queer & feminist movements....

Tadamon!'s delegation members also have diverse & wide-ranging experience in 
creating radio productions and writing for independent & major media 
institutions both in Canada, North America & internationally.

[Previous reports produced by Tadamon! on Lebanon listed below.]


----> Tadamon! Delegation Political Focus:

The delegation takes place in the context of a re-colonization of the Middle 
East region under the pretext of a 'War on Terror', driven largely by an 
allegiance of North American state forces, in cooperation with some economic & 
political leaders in the Middle East region. Militarily-imposed political 
liberalism - 'democratization' - and ongoing neo-liberal economic reforms - 
'development' - are not only undermining human rights & denying the 
self-determination of people in Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan & 
throughout the region, but are also undermining people's ability to survive....

Tadamon!'s delegation will focus on three areas of struggle, each of which 
presents opportunities to strengthen relations of solidarity between people 
fighting for self-determination in Montreal & in Beirut:

* Economic Justice in Lebanon:

Tadamon!'s independent reporting in Lebanon will highlight grassroots struggles 
for economic justice. The delegation will seek out groups and individuals 
working for alternatives to the neo-liberal economic model imposed on Lebanon 
throughout the post-civil war period.

The U.N. recently estimated that upwards of 40% of the Lebanese population 
lives in poverty. Wealth disparity, poverty and economic exploitation are 
increasing in Lebanon. Economic realities, which are a direct result of 
neo-liberal economic policies pursued by current and past governments, 
strikingly similar to the IMF / World Bank structural adjustment policies which 
have gutted local and national economies throughout the global south.

* Lebanon & Migration:

Today, countless Lebanese are choosing to flee the increasingly difficult 
economic & political situation, seeking opportunities in North America or 
Western Europe. However, Lebanese & other migrants from the region are faced by 
racism & increasingly oppressive immigration laws, which seek to confine 
immigrants & refugees to a highly-exploited underclass of society.... From the 
streets of Beirut to Montreal, Tadamon!'s delegation will attempt to document 
elements of this reality.

The reality of forced migration is mirrored within the region, as people flee 
war & poverty in search of survival, some arriving in Lebanon. There, often 
divided by nationalisms & living in a precarious underground, migrants compete 
with the existing underclass for jobs - as house workers, street cleaners, or 
construction workers - in which basic human dignity can seldom be salvaged. 
Tadamon!'s delegation will attempt to connect with groups working in solidarity 
with migrant labour in Lebanon....

* Lebanon: Social Solidarity.

Even as the sectarian nature of Lebanon's political system is challenged by 
voices calling for social solidarity across religious lines, dominant political 
forces within the country continue to manipulate sectarian divisions for 
political gain....

Tadamon! will network with activists within the country who articulate ideals 
of social justice rooted in broad-based social solidarity and who are promoting 
the full rights of all people, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, 
national or regional identity, legal status or religious affiliation.


----> Tadamon! Delegation: Call for Solidarity.

Tadamon! is calling for your political & financial support for the delegation 
to Lebanon. ALSO, we are requesting ideas, comments and suggestions for the 
delegation, so please get in touch....!

in Solidarity,
Tadamon! Montreal
tadamon[at]resist.ca
tel. 00 514 690 8499


----> Details on financial support for the Tadamon! Montreal delegation:

Your financial support for the delegation is greatly appreciated! Please write 
checks payable to 'Voices of Conscience' & write Tadamon! in the memo line & 
mail them to the following address:

Tadamon! Montreal
C/O CKUT Radio Montreal
3647 University Street
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 2B3, Canada


----> Accessing Tadamon!'s Independent Media Reports from Lebanon:

* Radio Reports: Reports, documentaries & feature produced by members of the 
Tadamon! delegation will be regularly broadcast on CKUT Radio in Montreal, at 
90.3fm. These reports will also air on Radio TADAMON!, a monthly radio program 
which airs the first Tuesday of the month between 5pm & 6pm. - 
http://www.ckut.ca

ALSO members of Tadamon! will be producing regular reports for Pacifica Radio's 
Free Speech Radio News [FSRN], which is a daily news program broadcast on over 
90 public & community radio stations throughout North America. - 
http://www.fsrn.org

* Electronic Intifada: Throughout the delegation members of Tadamon! will be 
posting various written, audio & photographic reports online at the Electronic 
Intifada website. - http://www.electronicintifada.net

* Podcasting: Tadamon! will be uploading audio reports as Podcasts to 
Citizenshift, an online project of the National Film Board of Canada online at: 
http://www.citizen.nfb.ca & the Rabble Podcast Network online at: 
http://www.rabble.ca/rpn

* Announcement List: Tadamon! Montreal maintains an announcement email list on 
which ALL reports, articles & radio reports prepared by the group will be sent 
out. You can subscribe to the email list at:

https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tadamon-l


----> Previous Media Reports from Lebanon by Tadamon! Members....

Radio Documentary: Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4119.shtml

Lebanon / Syria: Border Lock Down....
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4045.shtml

Growing Grassroots in Beirut
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4058.shtml