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Breaking News from America's Progressive Community... Latest Releases
Making news? The press releases posted here have been provided to NewsCenter by the one of the many progressive organizations we have selected to participate . If you would like more information about this press release, you should contact the organization directly.
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| OCTOBER 27, 1998
1:18 PM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: American Friends Service Committee Carl Maugeri 215 241-7060 Director of Media Relations |
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| Latin American Activist Begins US Speaking Tour On Plight Of Displaced Blacks In Ecuador, Columbia | ||||
| PHILADELPHIA -
October 27 - "El Proceso," a growing movement taking hold among the people of African decent in Ecuador and Colombia to preserve their culture and halt the government-sanctioned displacement from their territory along the Pacific coast, will be the subject of a US speaking tour by Ecuadorian activist Juan Garcia. Garcia, whose visit is being sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), will be joined by Luis Zúñiga, a Quaker international affairs representative based in Colombia. Garcia, who will tour the US from November 1 -14 , hopes to raise awareness in the US of the plight of black Ecuadorians and Colombians who have been systematically driven from their territories by political violence or to make way for logging companies and other industries. He hopes to gain support for an officially recognized territory along the Pacific coast (Comarca Afro-Pacifico) that would preserve the culture of the Afro-Pacific communities. "The overriding goal of Juan's work is to unite disparate groups of Blacks in the Pacific coastal areas from Panama to Peru, and to win recognition in their respective countries of the unique characteristics and land rights of the Black communities which inhabit this region," said Barbara Smith, Associate Coordinator for Latin America and Caribbean Programs at AFSC. Focusing primarily on Colombia and Ecuador, Garcia is pursuing this goal through bi-national conferences among community leaders and a variety of innovative educational, legal and economic projects. Smith said that in Ecuador Garcia has been encouraging his fellow Afro-Ecuadorians to learn more about their cultural history and actively participate in the national movement to improve their status in Ecuadorian society and obtain constitutional guarantees of their land rights. Afro-Ecuadorians have inhabited their coastal territories for over 500 years. "Juan believes that their land base and culture are the Afro-Ecuadorian people's greatest asset," Smith said. Afro-Ecuadorians find that mainstream Ecuadorian society negate the value of their culture. Garcia has said that an Afro-Ecuadorian movement could help the dominant Ecuadorian society change its racist practices through a process that builds greater understanding between people of different cultures. Tour Schedule November 1-2 Washington D.C. November 3-4 New York, NY. November 5-7 Philadelphia, PA November 9-11 North Carolina (cities to be determined) November 12-14 Atlanta, GA. The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization which includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace and humanitarian service. Its work is based on the belief in the worth of every person and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice. ### |
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