| 

Home arrow NIJC Immigration News Blog arrow Fasting for immigrant rights

Fasting for immigrant rights Print E-mail
Friday, 17 October 2008

More than 100 people are on Day 2 of a hunger strike to draw attention to the need for humane immigration reform and to mobilize 1 million people to sign a pledge to vote in support of immigrant rights.

 

The "Fast for Our Future" was organized by RiseMovement.org:

 

On October 15th, 21 days before the 2008 election, immigrants, movement leaders, day laborers, faith leaders, student leaders, grassroots organizers, musicians and artists, and people of conscience will rise out of fear and begin one of the largest hunger strikes in American history.

 

"The Fast for our Future" will set up a permanent encampment at La Placita Olvera (or Olvera Street Plaza), the historic heart of Los Angeles, for the duration of the hunger strike. In the same spirit as César Chávez and Mohandas K. Gandhi, our shared sacrifice and commitment to the Immigrant Rights Movement will inspire a historic mobilization of Latino, immigrant, and pro-immigrant rights voters. We must remember the I.C.E. raids, those detained and deported, the families torn apart, the dreams deferred. We must remember the marches, the walkouts, the boycotts, and the promise we made: "Hoy Marchamos, Manana Votamos."

 

In 2006 we marched in millions for our rights.

 

On November 4th we will vote in unprecedented numbers.

 

 

 

Prerna at No Borders and Binaries got to the heart of the meaning of the fast in her blog post on her first day of fasting:

 

Poverty, not in strictly economic terms, but denoted by lack of access to food, clean water and health care-the result of various factors from discrimination to government corruption to neo-liberalism-and hinging from that real desperation, influences the decisions of thousands of migrants to come here with or without documentation. Our parents were drawn to the promise of this ‘land of free and home of brave' (who falls for such corny lines btw?) to build a better future for us, and falling for that false promise does not make them de facto criminals. It serves no compelling human or state interest to detain migrant workers, rip families and communities apart, stomp on the dreams of innocent children and "deport them all." How about some real and meaningful immigration reform now?

(h/t to Citizen Orange)

 

Sign the pledge to stand up for immigrant rights and demand meaning full immigration reform.

 
< Prev