What To Do? Some suggestions from the July 2003 AFSC newsletter. Some suggestions may therefore be dated, but most are not.

Now more than ever we must continue our common work for justice and peace. President Bush’s lies continue to unravel as the people of this country struggle to hold on to our civil rights and to hold back the seemingly inevitable collapse of our domestic economy; as the people of Iraq try to salvage their lives after a dozen years of US-led economic sanctions bracketed by two wars; and as billions of children, women and men around the globe groan under the increasing weight of oppressive corporate policies.

There are as many ways to resist injustice as there are people on this earth. The following is a modest list which spans the continuum from individual action to international campaign. Feel free to contact us at 413.584.8975 with your suggestions. (Note: AFSC in Florence at 140 Pine Street has a free video/book/tape lending library, loads of informative literature, phone lines and computers with internet access, should you want to explore any of the following.)

As an individual you can…

Get involved in a 2004-bound political campaign to support a candidate other than George Bush, of course.

Start counting the number of US corporations which are receiving government (taxpayer-funded) contracts to “re-build” Iraq. You can start with Halliburton (oil), Bechtel (water) and MCI (phone).

Buy local and from CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) like the Food Bank Farm in Hadley (413.582.0013) or Brookfield Farm in Amherst (413.253.7991).

Stop purchasing bottled water, and rather, work for clean water for everybody in western Massachusetts and around the world.

Try to eat organic and in season. Avoid purchasing produce that has been doused with pesticide transported thousands of miles.

Start reading your food labels and ask your local grocery store to demand the labeling of all genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Start noticing how many products contain fructose corn syrup (which has no food value, is high in calories, and is likely produced by a GMO/pesticide-friendly agribusiness which received large government subsidies.

Join and/or support the River Valley Market Co-Op and / or purchase a membership for someone who wants to, but cannot afford it. For more information, call 413.575.1203 or 800.392.3862

Purchase fairly-traded goods and ask your elected officials to support fair trade (not free trade) policies. When something has been fairly traded, often the worker who made it or grew it has been decently paid and works in safe and/or healthy conditions.

Learn about what it means when you drink a Coca-Cola-distributed product. Visit www.killercoke.org or www.cokewatch.org, or call 413.584.8975.

Within the next few weeks make time to watch Life + Debt, a beautifully-filmed story about the people of Jamaica’s struggle with globalization policies. Life + Debt is available at Pleasant Street Video in Northampton, or from AFSC, 413.584.8975.

Talk to one new person about your work for justice each day.

Local Grassroots Efforts…

Join the national movement to protect our civil liberties. Contact the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, 413.582.0110 / http://www.bordc.org.

Get on the bus to DC: August 23, the 40th anniversary celebration of the 1963 March on Washington. The Western Massachusetts LGBT Political Alliance (LGBTA) is working with the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) to send a bus. Tickets are $45.00. Contact: AFSC 413.584.8975. October 26, a march to end the occupation of Iraq. Buses from Western Massachusetts will be sponsored by the International Action Center/ANSWER. Tickets are $55.00. Contact Nick at 413.538.8537.

Get involved with the One World Fair, September 20, 2003, 10:00am to 6:00pm at the Cummington Fair Grounds. The One World Fair will celebrate a spirit of community, creativity and social justice. (www.oneworldfair.com)

Be part of a Valley series on the US Empire. Writers, organizers, artists needed! Contact the American Friends Service Committee, 413.584.8975 / http://www.WesternMassAFSC.org.

Help stop the construction of the new Chicopee women’s’ jail. Join the Springfield Harm Reduction Coalition. Contact Arise for Social Justice, 413.734.4948 / http://www.angelfire.com/ma4/arise/index.html.

Support the valley’s independent media sources: The Valley War Bulletin (http://www.westernmassafsc.org/vwb/ or 413.584.8975), The Voice (http://www.angelfire.com/ma4/arise/voice.html / or 413.734.4948), Active Ingredients, http://www.activeingredients.org/, Western Mass. Independent Media Center, http://www.wmass.indymedia.org/, Flyby News, http://www.flybynews.com/

Work for progressive airwaves: Join the Western MA Citizens for Independent Public Broadcasting is conducting a campaign to get the nationally syndicated radio program "Democracy Now!" aired on our local NPR affiliate, WFCR. Contact Kate at 413.586.5516 / http://www.mediaed.org/WMCIPB.

Help organize a community performance of Oiligarchy, a tragic comedy about oil's history and ties to oppression and war. Contact the Liberty Cabbage Theatre Revival, 413.586.4792.

Learn about Depleted Uranium and what it does to our health and environment. Contact Traprock Peace Center, 413.773.7427.

Get in touch with one or more of the area's organizations working for justice and peace: Anti-Displacement Project, 413.739.7233 / http://www.a-dp.org/
Center for Popular Economics, 413.545.0743 / http://www.populareconomics.org/
Citizens Awareness Network, 413.339.5781 / http://www.nukebusters.org/
Fair Vote Massachusetts, 413.222.8760 / http://www.ma.fairvote.org/
Flywheel Arts Collective, 413.527.9800 / http://www.flywheelarts.org/
Food Bank of Western Mass., 413.247.9738 / http://www.foodbankwma.org/
Media Education Foundation, 413.584.8500 / http://www.mediaed.org/
Military Recruitment Education Network, 414.584.8975 / afsc@crocker.com
National Priorities Project, 413.584.9556 / http://www.nationalpriorities.org/
Solidaridad Colombia, 413.584.8975 / http://www.westernmassafsc.org/colombia/index.html
United for a Fair Economy, 617.423.2148 / http://www.FairEconomy.org
Veterans Education Project, 413.253.4947 / http://www.vetsed.org/
Western Mass. Jobs with Justice, 413.262-7689 / http://www.unix.oit.umass.edu/~tnm/WMassJwJ/

Explore alternative information sources:
1 World Communication, http://www.1worldcommunication.org/
Common Dreams, http://www.commondreams.org
Democracy Now!, http://www.democracynow.org (In Northampton, you can hear
Democracy Now everyday from 4:30pm to 5:30pm by tuning into FM 92.3)
The War Times, http://www.war-times.org
Zmag, http://www.zmag.org/weluser.htm

Plug into national and international movements:
Friends Committee on National Legislation, http://www.fcnl.org
Global Exchange, http://www.globalexchange.org
MoveOn, http://www.MoveOn.org
United for Peace, http://www.unitedforpeace.org
Win Without War, http://www.WinWithoutWarUS.org