Astraea Lesbian Foundation For Justice116 East 16th Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10003
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info@astraeafoundation.org www.astraeafoundation.org
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Statement of Solidarity with Aswat-Palestinian Gay Women
(Issued Friday 23rd of March 2007; Endorsers list as of 27 March 2007) Dear Aswat & all friends of justice: On behalf of the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, we write this letter in solidarity with the members of Aswat-Palestinian Gay Women (www.aswatgroup.org) as they move forward with plans to hold their "Home & Exile in Queer Experience" conference on the 28th of March. Aswat is an Astraea grantee partner, and the only organization of its kind—an organization that gives voice to the perspectives and realities of Palestinian women who identify as lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex. Aswat is a pioneering human rights organization that has operated for five years, never shying away from confronting discrimination, human rights abuses and the intersection of various forms of oppression and discrimination that play themselves out in the daily lives of their members. Given the realities of their lives, they simultaneously work to address issues including sexism, racism, occupation, homophobia and gender oppression. Seeing themselves as part of broader liberation struggles, and celebrating their lives, work and resistance, Aswat members are an inspiration to all of us who seek to promote global justice. In spite of threats facing the conference and their organization at this moment, Aswat has committed to moving forward with their plans to hold their conference—an historic gathering where they will launch the publication of their first book in Arabic (Home & Exile in Queer Experience, a collection of articles about lesbian and homosexual identity). They do so thoughtfully, responsibly and with significant courage in the face of threats. For those of us at Astraea, standing in solidarity with Aswat means several things, including trying to provide tangible support in whatever ways we can—while striving to be respectful of what Aswat has requested and being mindful of not doing things that would further jeopardize their work. We are humbled by their politically principled stances, their work to build a world where human rights of all are respected, and their unwavering commitment to self-determination of nations, communities and individuals (including self-determination of our bodies, our souls, and our minds). We hope you will join us in sending a solidarity statement to Aswat (aswat@aswatgroup.org) before their conference commences. If you would like to sign on to Astraea's statement, please send an email to info@astraeafoundation.org with your organization's full name and contact information (or if you would like to sign on as an individual, please send your name and contact information) by 5pm EDT on Monday 26 March. We will send a 2nd release of this statement to Aswat with a list of endorsers on Tuesday 27 March. Our board chair intends to be present at Aswat's historic conference. The rest of us plan to be with Aswat in full spirit, and will hold them in our thoughts as the conference proceeds. We hope you will join us in expressing solidarity with Aswat. In solidarity, ENDORSERS (as of 27 March, 2007) The Al-Fatiha Foundation (USA) INDIVIDUALS (based in USA unless otherwise noted) A, Laurie Palmer |