Translation of a statement issued on April 28 by the National and International Caravan “El Sur Resiste” (The South Resists) regarding the repression and eviction of the "Tierra y Libertad" (Land and Liberty) protest camp, which was located in the Mogoñe Viejo community, Huichicovi, Oaxaca. Mexico. Read the original Spanish statement.

“Rivers keep us alive and keep so many other living beings alive.” With those words, Blake Lavia, the President of Talking Rivers, welcomed more than 30 North Country community members to a wide-ranging discussion on a revolutionary idea: the Rights of Rivers. Held at Clarkson University on Earth Day (April 22), the event showcased the local and global momentum behind the idea as well as some of the key challenges facing those who would like the Rights of Rivers to become law across the St. Lawrence River / Kaniatarowanénhne and Adirondack Watersheds.

Recently Kenya has come into the global spotlight following the murder of fashion designer, model, and LGBTQIA+ activist Edwin Chiloba in a suspected hate crime in January 2023. However, there are LGBTQIA+ people in Kenya who rarely make it into the global and even national media spotlight - people like Wayne, a monitor with the Center for Minority Rights, who is working to protect and support LGBTQIA+ people in the coastal region of Kenya.

The Australian government has incorporated marine life into its Threatened Species Action Plan for the first time ever, but experts warn that the government's failure to address marine species and aquatic predators, such as rays and sharks, could threaten the entire ecosystem.

In early May, the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala introduced the first reading of Initiative 5923 or, the “Law for the Rescue of Pre-Hispanic Heritage” (Ley para el Rescate del Patrimonio Prehispánico). Despite the bill’s ambiguously progressive-sounding title, the reading was met with disappointment, outrage, and alarm from the many Indigenous Mayan peoples of Guatemala and their allies from around the world.

This was certainly not the first national strike in Ecuador, nor was it the first time that Ecuadorians have protested against the neoliberal economic policies that have historically disenfranchised the country’s indigenous and impoverished communities. The willingness to shut down Ecuadorian society as an act of protest, despite the subsequent harsh economic repercussions of such mass mobilization, illuminates the fervent desperation of the indigenous communities and other social groups within Ecuador as well as people’s desire for drastic political, social, and economic change.

The post has caused a debate on German social media about discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community, especially as it was published in June, internationally known as LGBTQ+ Pride Month. One of Munich’s city council officials, Anja Berger, remarked disapprovingly that this attitude was “hostile towards the LGBT community, and therefore unacceptable.”

Alone, isolated from friends, struggling with finances, and constantly worried about his loved ones back at home, Abdul spent days in bed, sleeping through online classes and not communicating with anyone. A student at IMT Atlantique in Brittany, France, Abdul lost more than fun nights out with friends and in-person lectures when the pandemic forced the city into lockdown. "It was difficult to live another day at that time."

As Colombia prepares for elections that have the potential to shift the country’s direction significantly, a look back at the country’s 2021 general strike provides a useful window into the forces that have led the country to this point. In particular, a critical analysis of establishment media coverage of the strike reveals the continuing role of dominant institutions in seeking to extend the status quo and undermine the people’s desire for peace and justice after decades of structural violence, dislocation, and corruption.

As the presidential elections and a glimpse of change approach, Colombians keep rising to disclose the numerous human rights violations and other abusive realities that the current administration has caused. In order to make sense of what is happening on the ground at the moment, however, we need to look back at the national strike that shook the country in 2021.

Every Sunday, a warming atmosphere spreads out in Victoria Park, a green spot in the centre of Hong Kong where groups of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) spend their one day off. Since in Hong Kong, domestic workers are forced by law to live in their employers’ houses, they often find themselves trapped in their workplace. For this reason, on Sunday, they gather in Victoria Park to share their skills and celebrate life in all its forms.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro created the National Strategic Development Zone of the Orinoco Mining Arc in 2016. Commonly known as the Arco Minero, it comprises an area of 111,843.70 km², larger than Cuba, adjacent to the Orinoco river, and is designated for unlawful mineral extraction. The Arco represents 12% of the country’s territory and is a severe environmental problem for the region.

“The younger generation is often framed as the ‘procrastinator.’ We are the ‘kids’ who only care about social media. Yet, in the face of the Climate Crisis, our generation is mobilizing to demand change. Here in the Haudenosaunee territory (the North Country), people of all ages believe in the ideas that the concept of Rights of Nature encompasses. We believe nature deserves further legal protection in the form of recognition as a living entity with legal standing. We want to preserve and prosper with our Mother Earth. This is why young people from the St. Lawrence River watershed are working together to organize an international symposium which will take place on March 22, International Water Day. During the North Country Rights of Nature Symposium, community members will join to discuss how best to protect the region’s waterways.”

Gaia Guatri reports from Hong Kong, where several NGOs have called for the government to implement measures to check and provide acceptable living standards of foreign domestic workers (FDWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Four members of the Weave News team presented their work at the 2021 Critical Media Literacy Conference of the Americas (CMLCA), held virtually from October 15-17, 2021. With sessions in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, the conference celebrated the life and work of the Brazilian scholar-activist Paulo Freire (1921-1997), widely considered the “father of critical pedagogy.”

As ordinary people in Eswatini/Swaziland take to the streets to protest in favor of human rights and democracy, digital activism is playing an important role. Weave News contributor Phiwa T. argues that instead of dismissing such efforts, we should recognize that forms of digital protest can work hand in hand with traditional forms of street-level activism.

In response to the ongoing Israeli violence against Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah, Gaza, and elsewhere, several dozen St. Lawrence University students, faculty and alumni gathered on May 15 for a Vigil in Solidarity With Palestinians.

Resources to help educate on how to be a better ally to the Asian and AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) community and educate about anti-Asian bias, hate crimes, and violence. 

As students continue to play a key role in mass protests in Haiti against the current government of Jovenel Moïse, Jesús G. Ruiz argues that it is time we look to Haiti once again, not just for inspiration but also for lessons on how to engage politically and fight for one’s freedoms and rights.

In a follow up to “Coatepec: The Fight for the Cloud Forest”, a Forest Guardian from Movimiento por la Defensa de la Sierra describes the impact of art on their movement. The artists in question are children, and the young Earth Guardians are inspiring their community to rise up and protect their forests.