Fellow Mainer Jason Rawn (on right in photo) writes from Gangjeong village on Jeju Island, South Korea the following:
This is the English text (below) I wrote for a handout on War Tax Resistance
we made here in Gangjeong for our two days of Global
Days of Action on Military Spending (GDAMS) demonstrations. We timed
them to coincide with national Election Day here, which everyone I know is very
happy about because the ruling right-wing party, Saenuri, is no longer in control. People were very worried that if Saenuri did well in this election, it
would lead to more crackdowns on free speech, among other things.
I hope you can use some of this information in your
work. I will also forward a link to the Korean-language website, which has some
photos of people participating in a modified Penny Poll with some very pretty
heart stickers.
I've been told this is the first time this kind of
activity has been done here. People seem interested, and I look forward to
following up in my last few weeks here, as well as during future visits.
Due to human-caused climate change, we must make huge
changes in how we live very soon. The US military and its allies use the most
fossil fuels and have the largest Carbon bootprint on the planet. Most of these
fossil fuels are used in pursuit of more fossil fuels. There are also nuclear,
biological, space, and conventional weapons, torture, surveillance, and many
other harmful aspects of militarism to consider.
Activists around the world are organizing the GDAMS from April 5-18. In 2015, 127
actions were held in 20 different countries. GDAMS is part of the International
Peace Bureau's Global Campaign on Military Spending. The central question is,
"Money for War...Or Human Need?"
Here in Gangjeong, our action is to speak out and
picket during our daily blockade of the navy base here. We will also conduct a
poll to discover how local people would like to invest their hard-earned tax
money. We ask people to examine their priorities and the long-term well-being of
the planet and then use stickers to indicate
what types of projects and programs they value and want to fund. This is
an adaptation of the "Penny Poll," a fun activity used by peace activists in the
US to start conversations on the subject of divesting from war.
These are the categories of projects and
programs:
- Peace: disarmament, conflict prevention and
resolution, human security
- Sustainable development and anti-poverty
programs
- Climate change and biodiversity loss - for
mitigation, adaptation, bioremediation
- Public services/social justice, human rights,
gender equality, and green job creation
- Humanitarian programs to support the most
vulnerable groups
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