Assemble at Cermak Plaza
southeast corner of Cermak and Harlem, Southside of McDonalds in Berwyn
Good Friday Walk for Justice: Rise Up and Roll Away the Stone! This event stems from the Christian tradition of the Stations of the Cross, where Jesus walked to his execution. Who is being crucified today and what “stones” block their pathway to new life? At each station, we will name a particular form of injustice and call for transformation. April 2 marks this event’s 41st year, and, like last year, we will participate in the event online. Register for this event here!
This Good Friday, our collective community remembers that we belong to each other. We believe we have the power to rise up together and lean into the strength of our foundational bonds of justice for all.
We have the power to roll away stones of white supremacy, greed, and state violenc e. As we roll the stones away, we commit to co-create systems in which resources are shared, allowing our imaginations to generate radically new ways of living and thriving in a more just society.
We believe that the stone of injustice will be rolled away in our rejection of the status quo. As Easter people we recommit ourselves to choose actions of trans- formation. Together we pledge our efforts to bring about greater justice for all peoples and Earth itself.
Join us as together we reflect, pray, proclaim and celebrate the many ways that together we are Rolling the Stones Away.
To learn more about the walk go to walkforjusticechicago.com.
To support this year’s Walk, make checks payable to CRLN (memo GFWalk) and mail to CRLN, 5655 S. University Ave, Chicago 60637 or online: http://bit.ly/3rHuesZ
In Honduras, the most dangerous place in the world to be a land defender, the Lenca and Garífuna people are not backing down. They are fighting to uphold their rights and Indigenous and Black cultures in the face of state backed megaprojects and narco-traffickers who seek to assassinate them, destroy their lands, and erase their existence. Register to watch the WORLD PREMIERE of La Lucha Sigue at 2:00 pm CT Saturday March 20 as part of the Building Movements in Defense of Life, a free bilingual film festival featuring true stories of resistance to industrial capitalism. Stay after the film for a panel featuring the protagonists of the film, Bertha Zúniga Cáceres and Miriam Miranda on Saturday at 3:30 PM CT.
On Sunday at 3:30 PM CT Bertha and Miriam will join a panel with all the women featured in the film festival. You will need to register for the Sunday panel separately and select large group discussion. See the whole schedule and register at: https://www.mutualaidmedia.com/schedule
Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) has reintroduced the Berta Caceres Human Rights in Honduras Act (H.R. 1574) into the 2021-2022 session of the House of Representatives. This is the fourth session of Congress in which it has been assigned to a committee. We need your voice to make sure it passes out of committee this time so that the House has the chance to vote on it. A sample script for an email and phone call to your Representative, asking them to co-sponsor H.R.1574, follows the description of the bill below.
The bill calls for the suspension of all U.S. aid to Honduran security forces and for the U.S. to vote no on all loans from multinational development banks to Honduras, until the following conditions are met:
– Pursued all legal avenues to bring to trial and obtain a verdict of all those who ordered and carried out (1) the murder of Berta Cáceres, (2) the killings of over 100 small-farmer activists in the Aguán Valley, (3) the killings of 22 people and forced disappearance of 1 person by state security forces in the context of the 2017 postelectoral crisis, (4) the May 3, 2016 armed attack on Félix Molina, and the November 26, 2018 shooting of Geovany Sierra, (5) the July 18, 2020, forced disappearances of 4 Garifuna community leaders from Triunfo de la Cruz who were taken from their homes by heavily armed men wearing bulletproof vests and police uniforms; and (6) the December 26, 2020, killing of indigenous Lenca leader Felix Vasques in La Paz, and the December 28, 2020, killing of indigenous Tolupan leader Adan Mejia in Yoro;
-Investigated and successfully prosecuted members of military and police forces who are credibly found to have violated human rights, and ensured that the military and police cooperated in such cases, and that such violations have ceased;
-Withdrawn the military from domestic policing, in accordance with the Honduran Constitution, and ensured that all domestic police functions are separated from the command and control of the Armed Forces of Honduras and are instead directly responsible to civilian authority;
-Established the effective protection of the rights of trade unionists, journalists, human rights defenders, the Indigenous, the Afro-Indigenous, small-farmers, and LGBTI activists, critics of the government, and other civil society activists to operate without interference; and
-Taken effective steps to fully establish the rule of law and to guarantee a judicial system that is capable of investigating, prosecuting, and bringing to justice members of the police and military who have committed human rights abuses.
Instructions for your call and email: Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Representative. When you are connected to their office, ask to speak to the foreign policy staffer. Be sure to get the name and email address of the foreign policy staffer so you can follow up with your message in writing. If the foreign policy aide is not available, ask to leave a message on their voice mail. After you leave the message, send an email to the aide with your message.
Sample script: “My name is _____. I am a constituent from Rep. ___________’s district. I am calling (or writing) to ask Representative _____ to co-sponsor the Berta Caceres Human Rights in Honduras Act, H.R. 1574. The bill calls for the suspension of security aid to Honduras until human rights violations by Honduran security forces cease and the perpetrators have been brought to justice. Have you seen the bill? Would you bring it to the attention of Representative _______ ? Can I count on Representative _____________to join as a cosponsor? Please call me this week at (your phone number) to let me know if you have seen the bill, and if Representative _____ will support it. For more information or to co-sponsor the bill, please contact Chelsea Grey (chelsea.grey@mail.house.gov) in Rep. Johnson’s (GA) office.”
Note: Please do not contact Chelsea Grey yourself. Ask your Representative’s staff person to do this.
Please contact Sharon at shunter-smith@crln.org when you send your message and call, especially if you get a response.
Join us for a press conference calling on Senator Duckworth to sign onto the Honduras Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Act of 2021. Senator Durbin is an original co-sponsor of the bill, introduced by Senator Merkley of Oregon.
Can’t join us? Click here to find a description of the bill and a sample script; call your Senators and ask them to sign on.
Our network has been seeking a pathway in the Senate to press for human rights and anti-corruption measures in Honduras ever since the 2009 coup in Honduras. Last week, it finally materialized, as Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon introduced the Honduras Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Act of 2021 (S. 388). Senators Bernie Sanders (VT), Patrick Leahy (VT), Ed Markey (MA), Elizabeth Warren (MA), Dick Durbin (IL), Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) and Chris Van Hollen (MD) joined as initial cosponsors. See full press release here (which includes a link to the full text of the bill). See article in the Guardian here.
The legislation includes the following provisions:
Now we need you to send an email and call your two Senators to either thank them for co-sponsoring this bill or to urge them to do so.
Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Senator (repeat for your second Senator). When you are connected to your Senator’s office, ask to speak to the foreign policy aide. Be sure to get the name and email address of the foreign policy staffer so you can follow up. If the aide has not seen the bill, send a copy of the bill in an email. If the foreign policy aide is not available, ask to leave a message on their voice mail. After you leave the message, send an email to the aide with your message.
Sample script: “My name is _____. I am a constituent from (your town/city) in (your state). I am calling (or writing) to ask Senator _____ to co-sponsor The Honduras Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Act of 2021. The bill number is S. 388. The bill calls for the suspension of ‘United States support for the Government of Honduras until endemic corruption, impunity, and human rights violations cease, and their perpetrators are brought to justice.’ Has Senator _______ seen this bill? Can I count on him/her to join as a cosponsor? Please call me this week at (_____) to let me know if you have seen the bill, and if Senator _____ will support it. For more information or to co-sponsor the bill, please contact Caroline Kuritzkes and Matt Squeri in Senator Merkley’s office.”
Please contact Sharon at shunter-smith@crln.org when you send your message and call, especially if you get a response.
The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President-Elect Office of the President Elect 1401 Constitution Ave., NW Washington, DC 20230
January 15, 2021
Dear President-Elect Biden,
Congratulations on your electoral victory. As you prepare to take office, we wish to share our thoughts and suggestions on an area of foreign policy that you have identified as being a top priority: U.S. policy towards Central America.
We are a broad coalition of groups that work on Central America. Many of us have close partners in the region that defend human rights and the environment, often at great risk to their lives. We care deeply about the people and future of Central America, and the impact of U.S. policy there.
We’ve been heartened to hear that you are committed to working to improve the quality of life of the peoples of Central America and that your administration plans to turn the page on the bullying and demonization of Central Americans that has taken place under President Trump. We support and will hold you to your commitment to reverse the Trump administration’s draconian immigration policies and respect the human rights of migrants.
It is with great interest that we examined the summary of your “Plan to Build Security and Prosperity in Partnership with the People of Central America.” While we and our partners share the goal of improving security and economic conditions in the region, we are concerned that the Plan doubles down on policies that have contributed to poverty, inequality and violence in Central America.
For far too long, the United States has treated Central America as its “backyard,” exerting an inappropriate level of interference in the political and economic affairs of the region. Approaching U.S. relations in the region as a partnership, as you promise to do, is a welcome change. But achieving a real partnership will require a fundamentally different approach to U.S. foreign policy that we hope you will consider.
Prior to the Trump administration, the U.S. government used aid toward Central America as both a carrot and a stick, increasing funding for U.S. programming in the region on the condition that governments there meet human rights standards, promote democratic governance and fight corruption. Unfortunately, this approach has failed to accomplish its stated goals. One has only to look to Honduras, where a repressive, corrupt regime linked to drug-trafficking networks remains deeply entrenched and thousands are now on the brink of starvation.
To promote meaningful progress in Central America, the United States must turn away from this approach and instead respect the self-determination of the peoples of Central America and invest in strengthening multilateral institutions that focus on addressing human needs rather than playing politics. Doing so would also demonstrate a significant turn away from the unilateralism that the Trump Administration espoused, inflicting incalculable damage.
In a spirit of constructive criticism, we would like to underscore what we consider to be problematic aspects of past and current U.S. policy towards the governments and peoples of Central America. Drawing from our own observations and experiences, as well as those of our Central American partners, we also wish to offer our recommendations as to how we believe U.S. policy toward the region can be improved.
Protect the Human Rights of Migrants
The Trump administration’s treatment of Central American migrants can only be described as barbaric. Migrants have been criminalized and detained in inhumane conditions and many, including children, have died in the custody of Customs and Border Control and ICE. Under Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy, thousands of young children were separated from their parents. Through a combination of incentives and threats, the Trump administration has also promoted an assault on migrants’ human rights by Central American and Mexican security forces.
Though the nature of Trump’s attacks on migrants are without precedent in our country’s recent history, some troubling aspects of his policies pre-date his administration. For instance, family separation took place on a large scale under President Obama, with tens of thousands of undocumented migrant parents forcibly separated from their U.S. citizen children and deported. U.S. support for the repression of Central American migration also increased under the previous Democratic administration, through the U.S. government’s support for Plan Frontera Sur, which involved the deployment of Mexican security forces to forcibly prevent Central Americans from traveling to the U.S. border as well as Congress conditioning U.S. assistance on the action of Central American governments to block the movement of their own citizens.
These policies lead to the inhumane and deadly treatment of migrants from across the globe, including with particular impacts to the thousands of African and Black migrants that face anti-Blackness and racism as they transit through the region on their journey to seek refuge and asylum the U.S.
We call on your administration to:
Re-think US Security Policy
For many decades, the U.S. has provided support to Central American military and police forces through training, technical assistance and logistical support. During the period of armed conflict in the region – in the 1980s and early 1990s – U.S.-backed wars and military and paramilitary forces committed widespread human rights atrocities that left hundreds of thousands dead and fueled a first wave of Central American migration to the U.S. Since then, the U.S. has continued to provide assistance to regional security forces, citing the need to combat drug-trafficking and to “enhance citizen security” as reasons for doing so. While U.S. agencies claim to prioritize the promotion of human rights, police and military forces – many of which are infiltrated by organized crime groups – continue to engage in countless abuses, including targeted attacks on activists, violent repression of protests and the forced displacement of communities.
Over the last ten years, hundreds of millions of dollars of U.S. security assistance have been channeled to the region through the Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI). There is little transparency around the end-use of these funds and no conclusive public assessments of the impact of CARSI programs.. In addition, the State Department has systematically certified Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador as having complied with human rights conditions attached to U.S. assistance through an opaque process, despite rampant egregious abuses perpetrated by the security forces of these countries.
We urge you to:
End support for extractive and exploitative development models
Despite the region’s enormous human and economic potential, Central America has among the highest levels of poverty in the region, due in large part to extremely unequal wealth distribution. In most Central American countries, the dominant economic actors are national and international corporations focused on natural resource extraction and worker exploitation. They frequently carry out projects that damage the environment and displace or negatively affect indigenous and small farmer communities, while receiving funding support from multilateral development banks (MDBs) as well as from illicit sources, including drug trafficking organizations. While these projects are generally promoted as ‘economic development,’ in reality they often only benefit local elites while negatively impacting communities, further contributing to inequality and concentration of wealth in the hands of elites and thus further fueling migration. Furthermore, communities and workers that attempt to resist these projects are often subjected to violent attacks, with the complicity or involvement of state actors.
The U.S. government plays a role in perpetuating this predatorial development model by greenlighting multilateral development bank (MDB) funding that ends up in the hands of corporations that fail to meet basic environmental and labor standards and disregard the rights of local communities. Further, the U.S. has supported investment treaties and has promoted private-public partnerships that elevate the interests of corporations above people and the public good. Finally, the U.S. has generally failed to act when governments don’t enforce their own countries labor laws, as required under the Dominican Republic – Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), signed by the U.S.
We call on your administration to:
Adopt a non-ideological approach
Observers have noted that U.S. policy in Latin America, including in Central America, remains influenced by Cold War ideological paradigms that have resulted in inconsistent and counterproductive policies. For instance, while the U.S. has quickly condemned election fraud in countries where it does not agree with the re-election of a president, it blatantly ignored credible allegations of election fraud in Honduras in 2017, quickly recognizing the re-election of Juan Orlando Hernández despite widespread allegations of fraud. The continued backing and protection of corrupt right-wing actors with questionable democratic credentials has contributed to human rights abuses and inequality in the region. The U.S. should put an end to this ideologically biased approach.
Going forward, your administration should:
The widespread devastation caused by hurricanes Eta and Iota has made abundantly clear how precarious life is for so many people in Central America and how urgent it is for the U.S. government to re-work its regional policies and respect the will of the peoples of Central America moving forward. Central America deserves the opportunity to thrive in its own right; not just in order in order to deter Central Americans from migrating.
Under your leadership, the United States has the opportunity to write a new chapter in our hemispheric relations but doing so requires taking a hard look at U.S. policies that have contributed to the current reality in which millions face a daily struggle for survival. The answer is not to continue doing more of the same but to envision a new direction that respects the political and economic self-determination and dignity of our Central American neighbors.
We would welcome the opportunity to work with your Administration to implement our recommendations and to provide insight and feedback from civil society organizations in the region to ensure that the U.S. government’s methods are helping to further the goals of shared prosperity and a dignified life for all.
Sincerely,
ActionAid USA
Alliance for Global Justice
American Friends Service Committee
Americas Program
Cameroon American Council
Center for Economic and Policy Research
Center for Gender & Refugee Studies
Central American Resource Center, Los Angeles (CARECEN-LA)
Central American Isthmus Graduate Association (CAIGA), UCLA
Chicago Religious Leadership Network
CodePINK
Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES)
Denver Justice and Peace Committee – DJPC
Fellowship of Reconciliation – FOR
Franciscan Network on Migration
Friendship Office of the Americas
Global Exchange
Global Health Partners
Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) & United Church of Christ
Guatemala Solidarity Project
Haitian Bridge Alliance
Hispanic Federation
Honduras Solidarity Network
Inter Religious Task Force on Central America and Colombia
International Migrants Alliance – USA
Just Associates (JASS)
Just Foreign Policy
Justice for Muslims Collective
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
National Day Labor Organizing Network (NDLON)
National Immigrant Justice Center
National Network for Immigrant & Refugee Rights
National TPS Alliance
Network in Solidarity with Guatemala (NISGUA)
Partnership for Earth Spirituality
Pax Christi USA
Presbyterian Church USA
Project South
Quixote Center
Sanctuary DMV (Washington, DC, MD, VA)
SHARE Foundation
School Sisters of Notre Dame Cooperative Investment Fund
School of the Americas Watch
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas – Justice Team
Sister Parish, Inc.
St. Louis Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
Win Without War
Witness for Peace Solidarity Collective
Witness at the Border
Religious Organizations
Carmelite Sisters, VEDRUNA
Chicago chapter, Benedictines for Peace
Community Council, Servants of Mary, US/Jamaica Community
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces
Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes
Congregational Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Office – (Incarnate Word Sisters)
Disciples Refugee & Immigration Ministries
Dominican Sisters of Racine, WI – Leadership Team
Dominicans Sisters of Sinsinawa Office of Peace and Justice
Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, USA-JPIC
IHM Sisters Justice, Peace and Sustainability Office
Illinois Women Religious Against Human Trafficking (IWRAHT)
Immaculate Heart Community Immigration Commission
Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Loretto Latin America/Caribbean Committee
Mercy Ecology
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
Office of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (Oldenburg)
Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, Western American Area
Sisters, Home Visitors of Mary
Sisters of Mercy
Sisters of the Most Precious Blood-Committee on Immigration
Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Scranton, PA
Sisters of the Humility of Mary
St. Paul’s Monastery, St. Paul, MN
Strangers No Longer, St. Michael Catholic Community, Michigan
December 9, 2020
Dear CRLN members and friends,
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” Isaiah 43:1-3
The end of another year approaches, and what a year it has been. Many public voices have expressed the view that 2020 will go down as one of the most difficult years in recent human history, certainly in the memory of the majority of us alive today. We have indeed been through the waters and the fire this past year.
In my opening comments at our 30th Anniversary Celebration in 2019, I expressed my view that at the heart of our work and mission was bringing hope amidst a world of suffering and death, oppression and denial of human rights, maintaining light in the darkness. Perhaps for most of us, that light was never as necessary as it was this past year, as we struggled to maintain that hope in the face of a global pandemic and the rise of right-wing authoritarianism globally and right here at home.
Those challenges even affected our Annual Gathering this year, as we had to meet through the medium of our computer screens rather than face to face. But the fact that we refused to let these obstacles prevent us from gathering and celebrating our important work and the significant accomplishments of the last year demonstrates that the light and hope remains bright, unextinguished, even in these most difficult of times.
We refused to let the pandemic or right-wing authoritarian governments here and abroad stop us from pushing forward with our mission, as you can read in the enclosed insert that lists CRLN’s major activities in 2020. Both our sanctuary efforts and our solidarity with communities in Latin America, especially Cuba, grew and expanded this past year. Our legislative activity was likewise robust, with several significant developments. And we took several public actions, including helping to shut down the infamous plans to open an “ICE Citizens’ Academy” in Chicago. See details in:
So much of what we have been through this past year and the things we have accomplished were captured in the words of our guest speaker at this year’s Annual Gathering, Sister María Magdalena Silva Rentería. The founder and Director of CAFEMIN, a shelter for immigrants located in Mexico City, she joined our event from Mexico. We turned the challenge of COVID, which limited our face-to-face interactions, into the advantage of a virtual gathering, making it easier to have our friends from abroad join us. Sr. María Magdalena shared with us her stories of providing shelter and support for immigrants, as well as her analysis of the issues underlying the crisis of migration and action suggestions for how we can respond in this critical moment. Her experiences were very relevant to our sanctuary efforts, our work with migrants’ rights and our solidarity work with communities in Central America and beyond. If you missed our Annual Gathering, you can watch it on YouTube in English at https://bit.ly/2020CRLNEnglish or in Spanish at https://bit.ly/CRLN2020Spanish
The year ended, as we all know, on a hopeful note. The most authoritarian, anti-immigrant and anti-refugee president in our lifetime was defeated. But regardless of the outcome of the presidential or Senate races, the election revealed something we cannot ignore. We must face the fact that there is a deep moral crisis we must address in our nation, when many of our fellow citizens are OK with racism, misogyny, xenophobia, calls to violence, attacks on democracy and flirtations with authoritarianism. I do not mean this to be a condemnation. I must continue to hope that most human beings have the capacity for love and compassion and, when presented with the impact of their choices on their fellow human beings, will act humanely. But whether out of fear, greed, selfishness, or ignorance born out of the misinformation promoted by powerful interests that profit from the ignorance of the many, far too many of our neighbors have embraced a system of beliefs that is contrary to our values and the values of our faith traditions.
This moral crisis in our nation makes our work more important than ever. It is left to us to build links of solidarity at home and abroad. It is up to us to promote the values of peace and justice. It is up to us to continue to lift up the voices of the oppressed and those struggling for liberation. This is our mission, our moral and material revolution, compassion in action, the only way to overcome the waters and fire that surround us. Thank you for being a part of this work. I am filled with great anticipation for working with all of you to build a new world in the coming year.
This work cannot be sustained without your help. CRLN receives no corporate and/or government funding. We rely completely on our organizational, congregational and individual friends and members, along with some small grants from a few foundations. We call on you to demonstrate your support by making a holiday contribution, an end of the year commitment to struggle for justice, peace, and human rights. With your support and solidarity, we will continue to walk through the fire and remain unburnt, as we enter what I believe will be a time of new beginnings and renewed hope.
Sincerely,
Claudia Lucero
Executive Director
P.S. Please make your checks payable to CRLN. You may also make an online donation at www.crln.org/donate. Your contributions are tax-deductible. In addition, please consider remembering CRLN in your will. Our legal title is: Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America.