TimeToRise #3

TimeToRise is Phoenix Media Co-op’s regular newsletter about what’s new in the struggle for a better world, from the UK and beyond.

This week, Afghanistan continued to dominate headlines as Daesh affiliates killed dozens of civilians at Kabul airport. (You can support women in the country here, and refugees who’ve already left here.) Haiti, meanwhile, is still trying to recover from its devastating recent earthquake. (You can support grassroots Haitian aid groups here and here.) But there were other global (and local) struggles which deserve to be on our radars too.

Remember Yemen

While Western media and politicians often focus their voices and efforts elsewhere, many still consider Yemen to be the site of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The country remains on the verge of famine and economic collapse as the Saudi-led war there rages on. The environment is also suffering, as people turn to cutting down trees for work and energy.

In the UK, you can support people in Yemen by pushing for an end to the British government’s ongoing alliance with Saudi Arabia, to hold it accountable for its catastrophic behaviour in Yemen. You can also support Yemeni people via numerous aid organisations (see here, here, here, here, here, and here).

Resistance in Brazil

Indigenous peoples in Brazil, meanwhile, launched their biggest ever protest in opposition to a highly controversial bill which would trample over their rights in order to forward the cause of big business (from mining to agribusiness) in the Amazon.

Other global struggles

• Despite arrests, US environmental campaigners in Minnesota continue to resist the building of the controversial ‘Line 3’ pipeline.
• Indonesia has brutally occupied West Papua for almost 60 years. And it has just begun the ‘treason’ trial of West Papuan political prisoner Victor Yeimo for his alleged role in anti-racism protests in 2019.
• Turkey has been bombing Kurdish areas in both Syria and Iraq. The #TurkeyBombsHospitals hashtag aimed to increase public awareness of the ongoing campaign of NATO’s second-largest army against the Kurdish people.
• Israel, meanwhile, is still attacking Syria and pushing for more US hostility towards Iran.
• Rolling Stone India republished its digital cover in response to a Twitter backlash over the exclusion of lyricist Arivu (an activist who comes from one of India’s most oppressed communities) from its original cover which talks about the success of a viral song he conceptualised:

Animal suffering and the climate crisis

Animal Rebellion campaigners hit the streets of London to highlight the link between animal exploitation and the climate crisis. But as expected, they faced police hostility.

• Met Police refused journalists entry to the vicinity of Extinction Rebellion’s protest in London. Police also raided an Animal Rebellion training camp and arrested four people.
• Animal Rebellion, meanwhile, turned Buckingham Palace fountains blood red:

Other action on our radar

• The Manchester Pride Protest took place, with hundreds of queer activists protesting against the controversy surrounding the official Pride organisation.
• You can see more on the major recent victories of Scotland’s tenants’ movement here.
• Campaigners also kept up pressure on the TUI airline, calling for an end to its involvement in controversial deportations:

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Please get in contact with us if there are actions and/or events you’d like us to include in future TimeToRise newsletters.