Just International

Unsilencing Abuse

This website has been set up by friends of Nazia Ahmad and Junaid Ahmad, as they attempt to reveal their truth of the abuse they faced at the hands of a well-known academic

March 3, 2021

Dear friends

Since the publication of our article in The Daily Vox a few days ago, talking about male academics’ abuse, and the circulation of the unedited version of the article on social media and various academic mailing lists, we have received an avalanche of messages, almost all showing a heart-warming level of solidarity and support. In these private messages and in public forums there have been numerous calls or requests, a genuine desire, by people who want to know who the abuser is so that friends and others can decide how they will respond.

We are both extremely thankful to courageous colleagues (mostly women) who publicly declared their solidarity with Nazia and me, some of whom then received a few somewhat obnoxious responses that criticized those who try to unequivocally stand with survivors of abuse.

Our decision not to reveal the name earlier was partly based on our (and especially my) sense of protection for ourselves. I have been able to speak about this only years later and after much intensive therapy. The intention of the article was not to open wounds but to point out a phenomenon. However, with the overwhelming support that we have received, we are sure that there is sufficient support to cushion any trauma that might arise from public exposure. Those who think that not revealing the name was some intellectual game or because the culprit is seemingly untouchable and incredibly intimidating don’t know the experience of trauma from a decade-long period of abuse, and the fear that lingers from it. To name an abuse (let alone an abuser), especially by one who wields social and political power, is not an easy thing to do.

At the age of around 20, I believed in a man who seemed to me to have come from a commendable background of being a leading veteran of the South African liberation struggle, and who offered Muslims around the world a valuable Muslim intellectual-activist intervention in his classic book Quran, Liberation, and Pluralism. To me, he loomed as an Ali Shariati-type figure and a hero when I met him for the first time when our community in Yorktown, Virginia, and my father, the late Professor Mumtaz Ahmad, hosted him at our home.

It was not long after our first meeting that Farid Esack’s sexual advances towards me began, despite me telling him that I was not gay and reminding him that I was married (to Nazia). Sadly, that did not stop him, and for the next 9 years the sexual advances continued, developing into sexual abuse. Enthralled by him after our first meetings, I moved to Cape Town to study under the great progressive academic. In retrospect, I and my family were masterfully manipulated by him; I now understand that I was groomed by him.

It took Nazia and I virtually a decade after that to come to terms with what had happened, after first deeply repressing it, and then slowly revealing it to ourselves through intensive therapy and abundant support from close friends and colleagues, and we continue to live with the trauma today. We could not have written the earlier article about a seemingly all-powerful, well-resourced, often-cited narcissist had we not received such support, which we are extremely grateful for.

Attempts by Farid Esack to silence me happened as late as 2018, and included threats such as: ‘I guess I will step out of public life now forever, or better yet, I will kill myself. But that may make you feel guilty since you may feel responsible!’ Or his claim that my exposing him would harm the Palestinian cause because, according to him, ‘I am BDS South Africa.’ Humility was never his strong point; more hypocrisy by someone who built a career as a famous ‘feminist,’ ‘progressive,’ ‘Muslim liberation theologian.’

We would love to see more feminists, progressives and Muslim liberation theologians, but Farid Esack belongs in none of these categories. He utterly sullies the meaning of these appellations, and sullies any platform, space or movement for social, global, and gender justice that he is involved in.

Sincerely,

Junaid Ahmad (with Nazia Ahmad)

 

 

When men speak out against abuse they must be ready to be accountable for the abuse they have perpetrated

An article published on the South African website ‘The Daily Vox‘ on 17 February 2021 has raised much debate and consternation in a number of sectors: academic circles, activist circles, international solidarity circles, and feminist circles. It alleges sexual and other forms of abuse against a well-known academic and activist.

​The article in the ‘The Daily Vox’ is heavily edited. Below is the unedited version that was subsequently posted on facebook. It makes for grim reading, and should cause all activists to sit up and take notice of the abusers they hide in their ranks. For years. For decades. The authors of this article call on us for action. We can respond. Or we can ignore them and move on.

by Nazia Ahmad and Junaid Ahmad
Several months ago, two incidents in Cape Town sharply raised the issues of sexual harassment and misogyny among South African Muslims. The most recent was of two Bo-Kaap brothers accused of child molestation, and before that, of a maulana spewing tasteless sexist remarks in a video that went viral. Muslim women (and men) were understandably outraged and many, including academics, activists and grassroots leaders, expressed their outrage with righteous anger. We want to focus on responses to the earlier incident, the maulana’s video.

There was a legitimate demand from women that Muslim men denounce the crudely sexist language in the video. Many Muslim men did express their abhorrence for the video, and a public, and very welcome, display of this was a letter of solidarity by a group of Muslim men condemning the sexist remarks.

Many of the signatories to the letter were prominent men who have demonstrated a lifetime of commitment to justice and human rights, including women’s rights. But, as many women know, it’s better to be cautious about those who leap first into the limelight to lead some new crusade that they latch onto. One of the signatories of the letter, for example, is a vocal, diva-like individual who likes to describe himself as a “feminist” and a “progressive” liberation theologian committed to gender equality. His character, however, is diametrically opposite to these ideas which he claims to champion. In fact, he is guilty of worse things than the maulana’s sexist language. We know; we are among his victims.

The misdemeanors of this academic range from luring young foreign students to his home with promises of free accommodation then throwing them onto the street because they refuse to obey his every command, to the abuse of his Black female domestic worker, to sexual abuse.

One case we know of intimately is of a young protégé/disciple of this academic who was abused by him for almost a decade, beginning with sexual advances when the protégé was around 20 and already married, to verbal, intellectual, emotional and sexual abuse. The young man’s wife meant nothing to this “feminist” academic who held him hostage to his authoritarianism and abuse and subjected his wife, too, to emotional abuse.

After finally breaking from the clutches of the perpetrator – many years later, the young man finally faced his abuse after engaging with a psychologist for many months of intense therapy. What was shocking for him, however, was that when he told his story to other friends, he found members of three Muslim organizations who casually made comments such as “Oh yes, he was accused of sexually harassing boys thirty years ago already.” So why did these people not speak then? Why did they not write open letters about this theologian like the one written about the Cape Town maulana? Why was he protected by these Muslim organizations? If he was exposed then, how many young men could have been saved from him?

The narcissism and egoism of this academic leads him to seek the limelight of whatever fashionable cause he can latch on to and to create student cults around himself. His captive students must revere him, obey him and accept the myriad forms of abuse that result. His feminism seems to allow him to abuse young people, insult those who disagree with him, and even swear and abuse his domestic worker. It is pure hypocrisy for such a person to sign that open letter about the maulana.

The mistake of such people is that they think that the naïve young 20-year-olds they induct into their cults will never grow up, and their domestic workers will remain silent and will not complain. Many such victims will remain silent out of sheer fear. But it is time for the fear to be broken. These abusers also think that all the nasty and insulting things they say about real feminists and liberation activists behind closed doors will remain hidden.

It is quite possible that this powerful man’s pattern of abuse may very well have influenced and enabled others close to him to behave in the same way. One of his protégés was recently accused by multiple women of sexual harassment, and he was protected and defended by the said academic.

It is welcome and laudable when men stand up in support of the rights of women and speak out against sexism and misogyny. But we must be careful that such solidarity is not just self-serving, and that the men standing up are not themselves abusers – of naïve young men and women, of their domestic workers, of their sisters, mothers and wives. Including such men in the kind of letter that was issued makes a mockery of the female victims and their suffering, and serves nothing but the egos and careers of such men. They must be stopped and they must be exposed.

Let’s get U.S. troops out of Syria & Iraq!

The Biden administration is continuing the devastating cycle of endless war.

On February 25, President Biden ordered airstrikes on militia forces in eastern Syria. Days later, rockets were launched on an air base housing U.S. troops in western Iraq. We’ve been here before: they bomb, we bomb, they bomb, we bomb.

In places like Syria and Iraq U.S. occupation has fueled historic instability, caused immense suffering, created millions of refugees, and cost hundreds of thousands of lives. And if you’re reading this, you know what we know: this status quo has got to go.

Here’s the silver lining: because we’ve been here before, we’ve also learned what works — and we know that the only way ANY of this changes is with *grassroots pressure*. So we’ve got to get LOUD.

There is one straightforward, simple way we stop the cycle of endless war in its tracks, get U.S. troops out of harm’s way, and stop them from deepening or causing new harm: we bring them home.

To President Biden and Secretary of Defense Austin:

I urge you to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria and Iraq. U.S. troops should come home, and they must be withdrawn responsibly — with a complementary humanitarian and diplomatic surge that works to build a sustainable peace, holds war criminals on all sides accountable, welcomes refugees displaced by the conflict, and addresses the instability and suffering that violence-first U.S. foreign policy has caused.

Add you name here

Palestinian Students Solidarity Campaign #FreePalestinianStudents

We, the undersigned organizations, join our voices together in a global call to urge the immediate freedom of imprisoned Palestinian students and the protection of Palestinian students’ right to education, right to political expression and involvement and right to determine their own futures. The Israeli occupation has targeted Palestinian students and, specifically, the Palestinian student movement and Palestinian student organizations for harsh repression and political detention and imprisonment.

We join together to call for action and support for Palestinian students behind bars, including:

Boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel, including Israeli academic institutions, which are fully complicit in the systematic deprivation of Palestinian rights.
Ending all military and economic aid, military transactions, joint projects and direct funding to the Israeli occupation regime by governments around the world.
Challenging “normalization” programs that aim to legitimize Israeli occupation — this is an attempt to legitimize the criminalization and targeting of Palestinian students.
Organizing to build direct links of solidarity with Palestinian students and the Palestinian student movement, to ensure that they will not be isolated from their global community of support despite all attempts by the Israeli occupation.
**

Hundreds of Palestinian students are routinely detained by the Israeli occupation, especially those who are part of student organizations involved with campus political life. At Bir Zeit University alone, approximately 74 students were detained by occupation soldiers during the 2019-2020 academic year. They are among nearly 5,000 Palestinian political prisoners jailed by Israel. The work of student organizing, from holding book fairs to organizing events and participating in student elections, is criminalized by the Israeli occupation. Still more students are detained for joining demonstrations or posting on their social media profiles.

Palestinian students have been seized by Israeli occupation forces and abducted for their participation in the student movement in their homes, at their workplaces and on their campuses.

Once arrested, Palestinian students are routinely subjected to torture under interrogation — subjected to stress positions and stretched out over chairs, suspended from walls and forced to stand on tiptoe, deprived of sleep, cuffed and pressured on injured limbs, and beaten.

Palestinian students may be sent to administrative detention — imprisonment without charge or trial, indefinitely renewable in six-month periods. Palestinians routinely spend years jailed with no charges, no trial and no real challenge to the deprivation of their rights. They may be brought before Israeli military courts, which convict over 99% of the Palestinians charged there.

One of the most common charges is “membership in a prohibited organization,” typically referring to the student blocs. These represent the full spectrum of Palestinian politics. They organize lectures, book fairs, rallies and other campus events and participate in student elections. The charge sheets often refer to these standard activities of campus life, which are widely interpreted as a barometer for broader Palestinian political opinion.

The targeting Palestinian students is an attack on Palestinian futures. It is a systematic attempt to undermine the capacity of young Palestinians to organize with one another for a liberated future for their people: One free of colonization, apartheid and occupation.

These are not isolated cases, but a direct and collective violation of Palestinian students’ right to education, as affirmed in Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The targeted repression of students is just one facet of Israel’s crime of apartheid against the Palestinian people.

We condemn the complicity of the Palestinian Authority, which has not only failed to defend Palestinian students but has also engaged in political detention and harassment of student movements as part of its “security coordination” with Israel.

Palestinian students in occupied Palestine ‘48 — Palestinian students in Israel — are subjected to ongoing, systematic harassment and discrimination, including bans on student groups and prohibitions on demonstrations and protests.

Further, Palestinian and Palestine solidarity student groups internationally are targeted for campaigns of defamation, organization bans and administrative repression, with these efforts officially and unofficially supported by the Israeli government and pro-apartheid lobby organizations around the world. All the while, Palestinian refugee students are denied their right to return to occupied Palestine.

This persecution is supported by the billions of dollars in aid, military transactions and unlimited political support given to Israel by major imperialist powers like the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Union states and Australia. This coincides with the militarization of police in imperialist countries and their global use of military and economic domination against the peoples of the world. Israeli persecution of Palestinians mirrors the state repression of popular movements and marginalized peoples in these countries, especially indigenous and Black liberation movements.

We cannot and must not remain silent about the persecution of the Palestinian student movement and of individual Palestinian students behind Israeli bars. We stand with Palestinian students!

Add your organization’s name to this statement: http://bit.ly/palstudentsignon

Tell Congress: Demand that Israel provide the COVID-19 vaccine to Palestinians

Like all people, Palestinians have the right to live in health and safety. But while the Israeli government rolls out the COVID-19 vaccine to millions of Israeli citizens, Israel is denying the lifesaving vaccine to Palestinians living under its military occupation.

On February 15, Israel delayed the transfer of vaccines for medical staff in Gaza [1]. And in another clear example of Israel’s racist policies, the Israeli government planned to vaccinate only Israeli citizens held in their prisons, leaving Palestinians illegally held in Israeli prisons [2] vulnerable to disease and death. Only after massive international outcry, this plan changed.

Let’s be clear: the Israeli government is obligated under international law to provide the vaccine to Palestinians living under its military occupation [3] and is actively neglecting their obligation to do so. This endangers Palestinians who are already at risk because of Israel’s systematic destruction of the Palestinian health-care system [4]. For instance, in Gaza, the worsening public health situation is compounded by living under an almost 14 year blockade, facing crushing poverty and ongoing, systematic violence.

COVID-19 is revealing Israel’s brutal decades-old system of separate-and-unequal control over the Palestinian people. This is apartheid, and the U.S. is paying for it with $3.8 billion in unconditional military funding every single year.

Congress has the power to hold Israel accountable, or continue enabling Israel’s abuses. It’s up to us to make our demands clear and ensure they choose justice. Tell your representatives that healthcare for all has no borders: Congress must demand Israel provide the COVID-19 vaccine to Palestinians now.

Sources:

1. Israel blocked Covid vaccines from entering Gaza, say Palestinians, The Guardian, Feb 16 2021

2. Israel ‘declined WHO request’ to provide Covid-19 vaccine for Palestinian medics, Middle East Eye, Jan 11 2021

3. Israel: Provide Vaccines to Occupied Palestinians, Human Rights Watch, Jan 17 2021

4. COVID-19 in the West Bank and Gaza: A second wave under military occupation and siege, MEI, July 29 2020

ADD YOUR VOICE HERE.

Take action now: On his 100th day of hunger strike, it’s time to #Rage4Maher

 

Join the twitterstorm and social media campaign for Palestinian prisoner Maher al-Akhras now, on his 100th day of hunger strike. Take action NOW – at 10 am Pacific, 1 pm Eastern, 6 pm British and Irish time, 7 pm central Europe time, 8 pm in Palestine.

Post on Twitter and your other social media accounts – including Instagram and Facebook, and use the hashtag #Rage4Maher!

Use this handy Tweet Sheet for prepared tweets that you can paste and use: http://bit.ly/mahertweets

TAKE ACTION:

1. Join the social media campaign on Tuesday, 3 November at 10 am Pacific time, 1 pm Eastern time, 8 pm Palestine. We will launch a new hashtag for maximum impact. Follow @SamidounPP on Twitter for the hashtag, sample tweets and more. Let us flood social media with demands for Maher al-Akhras’ freedom on his 100th day of hunger strike!

2. Join the picture and solidarity campaigns. Send your photos to Within Our Lifetime – United for Palestine, CAPJPO-EuroPalestine and more.Join WOL’s Instagram campaign today!

3. Sign the petition. Join over 3,000 people who have already raised their voices to international human rights groups Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights to take action for Maher al-Akhras. The ICRC in particular has failed to live up to its responsibilities to protect Palestinian prisoners, calling on the political prisoner jailed without charge or trial to “find a solution” with the occupying power violating his rights.

Sign the petition here: https://www.change.org/p/amnesty-hrw-icrc-un-ohchr-act-now-to-free-maher-al-akhras

4. Organize creative actions. Ad hacks, postering and other outdoor actions can draw a significant amount of attention to Maher al-Akhras and the Palestinian cause at this critical time.

4. Build the boycott of Israel! Join the movement for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. Highlight the complicity of corporations like Hewlett-Packard and the continuing involvement of G4S in Israeli policing and prisons. Build a campaign to boycott Israeli goods, impose a military embargo on Israel, or organize around the academic and cultural boycott of Israel.

Please share your actions and posts with us at Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network on Facebook, @SamidounPP on Twitter, and at samidoun@samidoun.net.

 

https://samidoun.net/2020/11/take-action-now-on-his-100th-day-of-hunger-strike-its-time-to-rage4maher/

 

MEDIA STATEMENT FROM MALAYSIAN NGOS AND PROMINENT INDIVIDUALS ON NORMALISATION OF UAE-ISRAEL RELATIONS

We condemn in the strongest possible terms the decision by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government to normalize relations with Israel. It is thoroughly ill-advised and treacherous to the struggle of their Palestinian brethren for justice and freedom.

When the momentum is gaining the world over for the continuous and enhanced isolation of the one remaining apartheid state in the world, the UAE’s decision to break ranks is utterly shameful, deplorable and fully deserving of the criticisms and condemnations it is receiving.

The UAE foreign minister’s attempt to cloak the decision as being motivated by a desire to stop Israeli annexation of Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) is truly pathetic. One only needs to see the angry reactions of the Palestinian Authority (PA), the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), and the Hamas government to know what a hollow and self-serving excuse the minister’s statement was. Even as he spoke, the Zionist regime has made it clear that annexation is only on a temporary halt. So, the claim of a quid pro quo by the UAE foreign minister fools no one but himself.

It is high time that the UAE and other similar regimes in the Gulf which are in continuous power without universal suffrage realized that they are being manipulated by the Zionists and their propaganda machinery. The Iranian specter is being used to capitalize on the fears and anxieties of these unelected regimes. What states such as the UAE appear to forget is that taking decisions such as normalizing relations with Israel without genuine consultations with their own populations may be counter-productive and self-defeating to their objective of making their unelected regimes more secure.

We call on the international community and all organizations which are desirous for a genuine peace in the Middle East and justice and freedom for the Palestinian people to redouble all efforts and campaigns to isolate the Zionist regime.

14 August 2020

NGO:
1. BDS Malaysia
2. Palestine Scholars Association Abroad in Southeast Asia
3. Malaysian Women Coalitiin for Al Quds and Palestine (MWCQP)
4. SEJAGAT Malaysia
5. National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students (PKPIM)
6. Malaysian Consultative Council Islamic Organizations
7. Pertubuhan Mawaddah Malaysia
8. Pertubuhan IKRAM Malaysia
9. Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia/Muslim Youth Movement Malaysia (ABIM)
10. Al Quds Foundation Malaysia (QFM)
11. Muslim Care Malaysia
12. Viva Palestina Malaysia
13. Asia WE
14. International Movement for a Just World (JUST)
15. Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM)
16. Global Peace Mission (GPM) Malaysia
17. MediCOM Malaysia
18. HARMONI
19. Majlis Perwakilan Pelajar Kebangsaan (MPPK)
20. Palestinian Cultural Organization of Malaysia (PCOM)
21. Citizens International
22. Palestinian Progressive Association Malaysia (PPAM)
23. Movement for Monetary Justice – Malaysia
24.  Ummatic Mission Relief of Malaysia (UMRM)
25.  SALIMAH (Persatuan Persaudaraan Muslimah Malaysia)
26. HUMANE (UniSZA Society for Humanity)

POLITICIANS

1. Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh, MP Ledang, Malaysia
2. Mukhriz Mahathir, MP Jerlun, Malaysia
3. Mohd Azis Jamman, MP Sepanggar, Malaysia
4. Fahmi Fadzil, MP Lembah Pantai, Malaysia
5. Azman Ismail, MP Kuala Kedah, Malaysia
6. Steven Sim, MP for Bukit Mertajam, Malaysia
7. Ahmad Hj Hassan , MP for Papar

Take Action Against Sanctions and Economic War

Sanctions Kill!
Sanctions are War!
End Sanctions Now!

The global COVID-19 pandemic and global economic crash challenge all humanity. Only scientific and technological cooperation and global solidarity can avert disaster. Instead Washington escalates sanctions and threatens war. U.S. economic sanctions block essential medicines and food killing tens of thousands of people. Sanctions on one-third of the world’s population impacts the entire world. We must renew our efforts to END all U.S. imposed sanctions.

Sanctions are imposed by the United States and its junior partners against countries that resist their agendas. They are a weapon of Economic War, resulting in chronic shortages of basic necessities, economic dislocation, chaotic hyperinflation, artificial famines, disease, and poverty. In every country, the poorest and the weakest – infants, children, the chronically ill and the elderly – suffer the worst impact of sanctions.

US imposed sanctions, violate international law and are a tool of regime change. They impact a third of humanity in 39 countries. They are a crime against humanity used, like military intervention, to topple popular governments and movements. They provide economic and military support to pro-US right-wing forces.

The US economic dominance and its +800 military bases worldwide demands all other countries participate in acts of economic strangulation. They must end all normal trade relations, otherwise they risk having Wall Street’s guns pointed at them. The banks and financial institutions that are responsible for the devastation of our communities at home drive the plunder of countries abroad.

As an initial step for this campaign we encouraged mobilizations and educational efforts to be organized prior to, during, and after the International Days of Action against US imposed Sanctions and Economic War on March 13-15, 2020. NOW is an opportunity to further combine efforts to raise consciousness on this crucial issue.

Sanctions Kill.org will sponsor webinars, education and other efforts and actions on sanctions during the COVID-19 crisis and build toward an International Week of Actions Against US-Imposed Sanctions and Economic War from May 25-31, 2020. A conference held in Cuba first called this action, which coincides with African Liberation Day, May 25. (The largest number of sanctioned countries are in Africa.)

We urge activists to develop creative actions to overcome the physical separation needed to prevent virus spread. We will continue sharing ideas through Sanctions Kill! Send your ideas to info@sanctionskill.org.

Sign here.

The Days of Resistance are growing – join over 100 organizations in the call to action, August 7-9

Over 100 organizations have joined Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network in the call for the Days of Resistance for Palestine, 7-9 August 2020, including National Students for Justice in Palestine in the United States, Within Our Lifetime – United for Palestine, the Palestinian Youth Movement, and Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition. Events are planned in New York, Vancouver, Charleroi, Manchester and Copenhagen, with more action announcements forthcoming. (See upcoming events below)

Today, the program of Israeli annexation continues to threaten Palestinians in the West Bank, including the most fertile agricultural land of the Jordan Valley, which is still slated for Israel’s latest land grab. Of course, this is simply the continuation of over 72 years of land theft, dispossession, apartheid and genocide – but it requires continued mobilization and action to confront, alongside the siege on Gaza, the mass imprisonment of Palestinians, the demolition of homes, the denial of Palestinian refugees’ right to return and further war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Annexation is a continuing threat – especially if the Israeli state thinks that it can pass unnoticed without continued resistance. The struggle is not over; in many ways, it has just begun. We urge you to continue mobilizing to defend the land and people of Palestine and join us in the Days of Resistance, August 7-9.

Endorse the statement here

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres proposed this global ceasefire

Our world faces a common enemy: COVID-19.

The virus does not care about nationality or ethnicity, faction or faith. It attacks all, relentlessly.

Meanwhile, armed conflict rages on around the world.

The most vulnerable — women and children, people with disabilities, the marginalized and the displaced — pay the highest price.

They are also at the highest risk of suffering devastating losses from COVID-19.

Let’s not forget that in war-ravaged countries, health systems have collapsed.

Health professionals, already few in number, have often been targeted.

Refugees and others displaced by violent conflict are doubly vulnerable.

The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war.

That is why today, I am calling for an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world.

It is time to put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives.

To warring parties, I say:

Pull back from hostilities.

Put aside mistrust and animosity.

Silence the guns; stop the artillery; end the airstrikes.

This is crucial…

To help create corridors for life-saving aid.

To open precious windows for diplomacy.

To bring hope to places among the most vulnerable to COVID-19.

Let us take inspiration from coalitions and dialogue slowly taking shape among rival parties in some parts to enable joint approaches to COVID-19. But we need much more.

End the sickness of war and fight the disease that is ravaging our world.

It starts by stopping the fighting everywhere. Now.

That is what our human family needs, now more than ever.

Sign the petition for a global ceasefire.

BIG PHARMA: MAKE ALL COVID TREATMENTS & VACCINES FREE AND FAIR

Access to COVID-19 treatments and vaccines will determine who lives and who dies. Who gets these life-saving goods — and when — will also determine how long this global health and economic crisis will continue to uproot our lives.

Many drug companies like Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Gilead are getting millions of taxpayer dollars and making sky-high profits but have so far refused to forgo monopoly control over their treatments and vaccines. While companies have committed to the idea of affordable access to all, they continue to use their political might to protect massive profits at the expense of public health. This is wrong and could have devastating consequences.

COVID-19 anywhere means COVID-19 everywhere. Treatments and vaccines will be useless if the people most affected can’t get them.

In this unprecedented crisis, we must ensure ALL drug companies put people over profits, and hold human rights above property rights.

ALL US pharmaceutical companies should make COVID treatments and vaccines a global public good by:
Committing not to profit from the COVID-19 pandemic, and cooperating with governments to make all treatments and vaccines free to all who need them here and around the world
Forgoing monopoly control over all COVID-19 treatments and vaccines to allow for worldwide, low-cost production to meet the unprecedented demand
Committing to support fair global distribution based on need, not price or nationality
Becoming fully transparent about all public subsidies and tax incentives received, the true costs of producing treatments and vaccines, and all lobbying activities here and around the world
Add your name to stand with Oxfam America to demand Big Pharma make all COVID-19 vaccines free and fair!

 

 

Sign here: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/forms/big-pharma-make-all-covid-treatments-vaccines-free-and-fair?detail=emailaction&link_id=1&can_id=a4f488f42ad134d4357acc4bfa4bb613&source=email-urgent-demand-big-pharma-put-people-before-profits-sign&email_referrer=email_812130&email_subject=firstname-default-friend-sign-if-you-agree-big-pharma-should-not-have-monopoly-control-over-covid-19-treatments