News
Sommary
di Ada Donno
Coming back from Malta On the 22nd, 23rd and 24th of last July we were in Malta for the fourth AWMR (Association of Women of the Mediterranean Region) Conference to talk about "militarism in the Mediterranean". Last year, at the end of another three-day debate on "colonialism, patriarchate and women's rights", we had already established the topics of this fourth appointment: that must be said, because it's a discourse we - women coming from various countries of the Mediterranean - are carrying out by following a standpoint dating back to ten years ago. At the starting point there was an idea of "mediterraneity" to define and circuscribe as a possible political location for women who, coming from different experiences and backgrounds and mixing thought and action, become authors of a common project. The constitution of the association was an essential passing point of this course, covered at first by chancy and irregular steps and then by more and more quickly ones; the founding act of a location identifiable not only materially, thanks to a determinate office, a statute and an organisation chart, but mainly ideally and politically, by four key- words: equality, self-determination, justice and peace. We must acknowledge that the true moving spirit of all this are Maltese women and principally Yana Mintoff, the actual president of the Association; who can annually be met at a conference thought and arranged as a forum, open to the participation of women working within different fields, both on a local and international levels in their respective countries, so that they can exchange knowledge, create new awareness, promote networks (both inside and outside of the Mediterranean area) and programme political action. To attend this forum one only needs - as Yana says - an attitude: the courage to stand up and talk, but even more to sit down and listen, to look into oneself and think about the ideas and reasonings other women introduce, and then make it all concrete. Because "minds are like parachutes: they work when they are open". Many times, during the years the association has been taking shape, we had to appeal to this attitude, since we went through great disorders (from the slump of the East to the Gulf war, to the war in ex Yugoslavia) that have changed the aspect of the region, but often even ours: of bath European and Arab women from the two shores. Malta - a small tufa island that, expresses its strong identity, through the mixture of Arab and European cultures and where it's still possible to read the enigma of the mother goddess in the megalithic temples and deep inside womenis glances - it seems to be the most suitable location for a Mediterranean womenis association to have office. On the other hand, when we discussed about it, Maltese women seriously presented their credentials, by reminding that the notion itself of "Mediterranean region" was welcomed in the international high politics agenda in the seventies, thanks to the obstinate action of these islanders, who were determined to stop using "the history annals as a always crupting aggressive memories - to speak with Myriam Stiperiis words - and to make it a field of investigation and interpretation that would make past as a building material for the future". Thus, discussing about "militarism within the Mediterranean" has meant above all questioning on how and why is there such a militaristic spiral in this part of the world today. Why, while there is so much talking about peace agreements in Palestine and in Bosnia, does it whirl so rapidly? Why does the end of the Cold War seem to have accelerated the arms trade and devaluated the "warfare state" in the Mediterranean region (to mention some data: in the early nineties, Israel invested 13% of the GNP in military expenditure, but only 2% in health service; Turkey 5% in military, against 1.4% in health service; Lybia 7.2% against 3%; Egypt 5.1% against 1.1% and so on)? And of course, as military costs increase, so do poverty and social instability for the populations. Substancially, it has meant trying to understand the hidden reasons, investigating on the origins of the phenomenon, on the basis of its existence, and evidencing the many connections: with capitalism, patriachate, religious fundamentalism, the use of mass media, etc., and then telling its devastating and often irreparable effects on the health of mankind and the environment. Ultimately thinking and suggesting possible ways out, if we succeed in seeing them. So, starting from a consideration on the Mediterranean history, Yana suggests a reconstruction of the radical and inextricable connection between militarism and capitalism, today emblematically represented by the "strong" western economy condition relying upon arms production and trade, with its ruinous and dissolutive effects. I still recall the uneasiness I felt during the contribution of Rosalie Bertell of the International Institute of Concern for Public Health, who, describing, like a meticulous scientist, the desolating effect of poisonous gas, used in war, but not only, evoked the ghost of mega- death, upon which the "new world order" is based. "Militarism is the cancer which is destroying what we love and care for, - she stresses - the job is enormous and there isnit much time". She conludes by saying: "If there is someone who can civilize or banish war-mongers, these are women". But, there still is a long way to go, for the cry of the 120 million women living within the Mediterranean region is still feeble. Nevertheless, we can shoulder the responsibility of covering the ground and imagining another upcoming world, "demilitarised, human, just, in which - as Margarita Panandreu says in Women for Mutual Safety - we could even allow ourselves the extravagance of laughing". POST SCRIPTUM: The conference proceedings will be published by next autumn, while a Newsletter, whose editorial staff is located in Gaza and co-ordinated by Shadia Mattar. The topics of the next conference, in July 1995, will be "Health today and for future generations". To sum up, AWMR has supported the "Mediterranean Women Network", proposed by Nadia Gambilongo within the MED-CAMPUS project, and the "Womenis European Resourse Network against Violence, Intolerance, Militarism & War". 6th International Femminist Book Fair Over 100 feminist writers from across the globe attended one of the greatest gatherings of women writers ever to take place in Australia. The first IFBF took place in London in 1984. Since then IFBFs have been held in Oslo, Montreal, Barcelona and Amsterdam; this is the first time the event has been held in the southern hemisphere. The theme for this IFBF was Indigenous, Asian and Pacific Writing and Publishing. As the event was held on Bunurong/Wurundjeri country, Elders welcomed participants to their land. The healing and welcoming ceremony was organised by the Yuroke Aboriginal Womenis group. Report of the NGO Consultation "Changing Forums in a Changing World", New York On 3/4 March 1994 around 750 participants gathered in New York for the NGO Consultation: "Changing Forums in a Changing World". The two-day gathering updated NGOs on global and regional preparations for the NGO Forum on Women, Beijing T95 as well as the Fourth World Conference on Women. It also provided them with opportunities to work together on strategies and porograms for action. International Conference: Women in Black and women's peace movements Jerusalem, Israel After 6 years of vigils in Israel, and the spread of Women in Black throughout the world, we have decided to host an international conference of Women in Black and women's peace movements, and we would like to extend an invitation to all women for peace to participate. The theme of the conference is women, war and peace: the vision and the strategies, and it will be held in Jerusalem on December,1994. We are inviting participants from women's peace movements throughout the world, as well as writers and scholars. This is being planned as an activist conference that will include discussions, workshops, a mass vigil and march through Jerusalem. Some subjects that will be raised: creating a culture of peace, feminist strategies for resolving international conflict, dialogue among women at war, peace and feminism, grassroots organizing versus establishment politics, new strategies for peace, analysis of women's peace work ( Argentina, England, Italy, ex - Yugoslavia, Israel, Palestine), and more. The goal of the conference is to enable women from all over the world to share and learn from each otheris experiences, to be empowered as individuals and as a group, and to enhance cooperation on a local, regional and international basis.