Sona Bari, Communications Coordinator, Grassroots International
tel 617-524-1400, fax 617-524-5525

Grassroots International invites you to subscribe to its electronic
newsletter, GrassrootsOnline. GOL will bring you news directly from our
partners in Brazil, East Timor, Eritrea, Haiti, Mexico, and Palestine. Read
the human stories and the everyday struggles against injustice that are the
foundation of a global movement for justice and democracy. Hear the unedited
voice of partners in the Global South and how they feel about corporate
globalization, land rights, peace and autonomy.

Please share this message with your friends and colleagues. GOL is a
low-volume newsletter, and will not flood your e-mailbox. To subscribe, send
a message to .

Here are some snippets from our first issue.

** Like others in Palestinian society, Palestinian women have directly
suffered the pains of Israeli military violence, compounding the suffering
they already endure as women living in a patriarchal and conservative
society. The Womens Centre for Legal Aid and Counseling, a GRI partner,
recently painted a vivid picture of women living through the intifada.

** To celebrate his first 100 days in office, Mexican President Vicente Fox
unveiled the much-touted "megaproject", the Plan Puebla Panama (PPP) for the
development of the South of Mexico. The PPP calls for multiple-lane
highways, rail connections, maquilas, and agro-business. All this through an
area that is inhabited by indigenous peoples and rich with rainforest and
other vital natural resources. Only six weeks later, Mexico's legislature
voted to water down the COCOPA law , a proposed constitutional amendment to
protect indigenous political and cultural and land rights. Is there a
connection? Our partners in Oaxaca think so.

** You've heard of the war crimes tribunals. Now Brazil has its tribunal for
crimes against landless workers. The Landless Workers Movement (MST), a GRI
partner, is Latin America's largest popular movement. Using a clause from
the Brazilian constitution, the MST occupy underused land and advocate for
land rights in a country where a tiny elite control land resources. They
have come under frequent and violent attack from landowners and their
paramilitaries. This tribunal promises some chance for justice.

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Grassroots International is a human rights and development agency that
provides financial support and emergency assistance to local organizations
in Brazil, East Timor, Eritrea, Haiti, Mexico and Palestine. We also do
advocacy and public education in the United States.
Need more information about Grassroots?
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