CONVOCATION 27 JUNE 2010: WOMEN IN BLACK FOR NOVIOLENCE

The last Sunday of the month
in the Plaza Mayor (next to the horse statue) at 12:00 noon
Women in Black
invite you
to a vigil in black and in silence.

27 June 2010

WOMEN IN BLACK FOR NONVIOLENCE

Women in Black against War work for nonviolence from a feminist, pacifist and anti-militarist perspective. Nonviolence does not just mean to be against violence but also to seek alternatives, to approach conflicts with the conviction that they can be resolved without aggression and without wars.
We believe that one can say and should continue to say: No war in our name; budgets for social needs, not military; demilitarization of consciences; another nonviolent world is possible.

Let us expel war and violence
from history
and from our lives
................................................................................

WOMEN IN BLACK FOR NONVIOLENCE

Women in Black against war work for nonviolence from a feminist, pacifist and anti-militarist perspective. Nonviolence does not just mean to be against violence but also to seek alternatives, to approach conflicts with the conviction that they can be resolved without aggression and without wars.

Non-violence is a path, a process, a continuous learning experience, both personally and also with regard to human relations; it is an ethical tool for social transformation, which gives strength to those who practice it and takes power away from the violent.

As feminists, we denounce specific violence against women in war; we build networks of solidarity across borders, ethnicity and religions; we transmit the voices of women against war who live in countries in conflict.

We say NO to the patriarchy because it is a system of power and oppression against women, but also because it is inimical to many men, as it exalts values like physical strength, heroism in war, victory and hierarchy. We do not want an equality that repeats the violence or power structure of the patriarchy, and we do not believe that being in an army is a step ahead for us.

As pacifists, we believe that peace is not just the absence of war. There is no peace in the name of which and with the pretext of terrorism countries can be invaded and subjugated. We do not believe that any army can be a force for pacification. We do not believe in any sort of insurgent armed group for “liberation”. No war is undertaken for the good or the defense of the people, rather for economic or hidden political interests.

We express the need to:
· Find the primary causes that generate conflicts and attempt to overcome them through social transformation, ending with injustice and giving priority to the good of civil society.
· Maintain historical memory so that forgetfulness, prevarication and manipulation do not succeed.
· Defend the validity of human rights to protect personal dignity.

As anti-militarists, we say NO to armies and to social militarization, because its goal is power and subjugation; we do not believe in concepts like national defense, discipline, obedience owed to the homeland.

Nether do we defend any type of armed struggle or armed group, or any violence that justifies itself through ideology.

We live in a moment of grave economic crisis, cuts in spending for social services, and we, nevertheless, continue to fail to question the militarization of our budget, which destines for defense an amount of money that would more than cover the cuts foreseen by the government of Spain.

Women in Black against war also declare that:
· Every time a non-violent reply is given there is a transformation.
· It is important to construct a new language based on nonviolence, excluding words derived from a macho, xenophobic or militarist culture.
· We work to recover from history the events and actions and protagonists of nonviolence that are generally not well-known and, above all, the role of women as active war resisters.

We believe that one can say and should continue to say: No war in our name; budgets for social needs, not military; demilitarization of consciences; another nonviolent world is possible.

Translation: Trisha Novak, USA