{"id":8491,"date":"2016-04-26T16:51:11","date_gmt":"2016-04-26T15:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=8491"},"modified":"2016-04-26T16:51:11","modified_gmt":"2016-04-26T15:51:11","slug":"whatever-it-takes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=8491","title":{"rendered":"Whatever it takes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe are calling on all our branches to affiliate to Justice for Colombia, we are calling on all our branches to support their region in affiliating to Justice for Colombia,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 says Tony Woodhouse, chair of Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s executive council.<\/p>\n

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He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear that doing so can literally be a matter of life and death in a country where atrocities are taking place against trade unionists every day of the week.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bColombia is not only the worst place in the world to be a trade unionist, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the worst place in the world to be poor, worst place in the world to be if you are lesbian and gay,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Woodhouse says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe will support them whatever it takes. The atrocities include people being kidnapped, being killed, being jailed, lesbian and gay people being killed. No-one is safe over there, if you are poor, if you are a trade unionist or an indigenous person,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Woodhouse adds.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s impossible to argue with that assessment, given that nearly a quarter of a million people have been killed in the country in five decades of conflict. Three thousand trade unionists have been murdered in the last 25 years, with an entire left-wing political party wiped out in the 1980s.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As Mariella Kohon, from the Justice for Colombia campaign says, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bthe military and business elite and landowners set up right-wing paramilitary death squads to carry out the worst abuses.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe conflict basically is rooted in inequality, you have got huge percentages of people living in poverty and a tiny percentage of people with most of the wealth.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSo historically you have had a huge amount of inequality and a lack of democracy. Any opposition to that inequality that has tried to organise itself politically and democratically has been wiped out. The left, the unions \u00e2\u20ac\u201c anyone who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s organised \u00e2\u20ac\u201c has been targeted. You have got an economic model which has exacerbated the inequalities.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bFive million people have been pushed off their land to make way for oil, mining and mass agro industry. So you have millions of people living in shanty towns on the outskirts of the main cities,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she adds.<\/p>\n

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Under serious threat <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Even now, with peace talks between the government and the Farc rebel group at an advanced stage, trade unionists are under serious threat, as Kohon, explains.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bLiterally people there are being targeted there for what we do as trade unionists here every day,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bYou look at the threats and the killings and it all correlates to industrial action. Someone is on strike, they end up in prison, someone is negotiating, they are sent a death threat.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite is not only trying to raise awareness of horrific human rights abuses and injustices in the South American country, but generate funding which will allow campaigners time and space to get on with their work.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Woodhouse calls this funding \u00e2\u20ac\u015bcrucial\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 because \u00e2\u20ac\u015bit helps save lives.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s now demanding action from regions, branches and individual members alike.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Affiliate now call <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bEach region has agreed to give \u00c2\u01415000 to carry on the human rights fund for Colombia,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he says. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis fund is a Unite regional fund, which the chairs are involved in. The regions have agreed to do everything they can to get their branches affiliated.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

His target is getting 50 per cent of branches affiliated, his message is clear. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bBy affiliating to the fund you will be helping our comrades in dire need.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bJustice for Colombia and Unite has a tremendous amount of work to do to help in the fight against the atrocities that are taking place over there. We need branches and individuals to affiliate. All Unite regions are fully on board with this.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As Kohon points out the JFC campaign is, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bpurely trade unions funded. We were founded by the TUC and a group of unions specifically because Colombia is the place in the world where most trade unionists get killed. So it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the only way we can survive \u00e2\u20ac\u201c we are part of the trade union movement, we are not an NGO.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Huber Ballesteros <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sister union, Fensuagro \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the agricultural workers union \u00e2\u20ac\u201c has had one thousand members killed and dozens imprisoned, most notably Huber Ballesteros, the union\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s vice president. He was jailed in 2013 on trumped up charges while leading a major strike.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ballesteros is a figure of major standing who, despite being a diabetic and suffering poor prison conditions, remains unbowed according to Kohon.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s incredibly effective, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s done an amazing job organising and is recognised as a national figure, so his imprisonment has been a big blow to a lot of people.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhilw he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been in prison he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been incredibly active, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s organised lots of prisoners, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s constantly writing articles \u00e2\u20ac\u201c he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not defeated in any way. But all the way along his case has been mired in irregularities,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ballesteros \u00e2\u20ac\u201c who has said \u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s solidarity has helped us save the lives of many of our members\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c is due to see his case come to trial soon. But he has had many hearings delayed in the past.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It seems Colombia is again at a crossroads. The peace process is finely balanced after three years of negotiations. Many on the Left all too well aware of the bloodshed in the 1980s after the Farc entered the political process as the Patriotic Union.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the meantime, as Woodhouse says, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe must stand together, all Unite branches, and affiliate to this campaign<\/a>, to help our brothers and sisters in their fight against this terrible injustice.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For more please contact Justice for Colombia on 020 7324 2490<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pic of Mariella Kohon and Tony Woodhouse by Mark Thomas<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe are calling on all our branches to affiliate to Justice for Colombia, we are calling on all our branches to support their region in affiliating to Justice for Colombia,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 says Tony Woodhouse, chair of Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s executive council.   He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear that doing so can literally be a matter of life and death in a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8513,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[158],"wps_subtitle":"Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Justice for Colombia support call","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8491"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8491"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8514,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8491\/revisions\/8514"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}