| Kia ora Peace Friends,
Hope you are charged up and ready for a great year of peace action and justice! We have been reminded recently that "When the rich wage war, it is the poor who die". The NZ government has committed $2.4 billion to new military aircraft while thousands of people in this country are unable to get access to the necessities of life. Peace is more than just the absence of visible conflict; it is the ability for all people in our society to live with dignity. With that in mind, here is an update of some things we are doing. If you are in agreement with our principles, we encourage you to get active organising with APA this year! |
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Justice for Survivors of Wartime Sexual Slavery
Last Saturday, Auckland Peace Action was part of the opening of ‘Women and War: Voices for Peace’, an exhibition and series of events at the Mairangi Arts Centre which seek to remember and honour the survivors of military sexual abuse during the Imperial Japanese colonisation of the Asia-Pacific, also known as ‘Comfort Women’.
This Wednesday, 23 January at 3:30pm be a part of making history. New Zealand will host its first ever “Wednesday Demonstration” as part of the Women and War exhibition. The First Wednesday Demonstration was held on January 8 1992; it is the world’s longest-running rally on a single issue. Organised by 정의기억연대 Justice for the ‘Comfort Women’, the demonstrations are, "a place for solidarity between citizens and the victims, a living site for history education, a platform for peace and women’s human rights, bringing people together in solidarity beyond gender, age, borders, and ideologies."
Come along for a public talk about the history, significance and impact of the Wednesday Demonstration, then take part in NZ’s first solidarity event, in real-time with the 1371st demonstration in Seoul! |
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Auckland Peace Action will join PRIDE Walk 2019 – will you join us?
The Pride Walk, which will take place on 9 February, will start at Albert Park in the central city and end at Myers Park. APA will march with a banner that says
“No Peace without Queer & Trans Liberation". Please feel free to join us with our banner. We’ll send out another notice with further details of meeting time & place closer to the day. |
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Our Work for the Year
The APA crew has been working on our plans for the year. They include our continued focus on the global arms trade, military spending and the annual Weapons Expo. Other actions and organising we are planning include an alternative Anzac Day Picnic for Peace (25 April), a World Refugee Day concert (20 June) and a commemorative event for Parihaka Day (5 November). We’ve got a lot on our plate and so are super keen for new people to get involved in the group. If you would like to come to a meeting or just offer up some skills or good connections, please drop us a line aucklandpeaceaction
If you don’t have any time for organising, feel free to support our work with a donation. More money helps us do more things like create resources, put up posters and do actions. You can donate by Credit Card via PayPal here or directly to our account: Name: Auckland Peace Action @ Kiwibank # 38-9017-0840541-00.
Kia pai te tau hou pākehā! Have a great New Year. We’ll see you in the streets!
Ngā mihi mahana,
Auckland Peace Action |
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