Date: Sun, 27 May 2001 13:51:59 -0400 (EDT)
Dear All,
I write to inform you of a march and rally that will take place next
month, on Saturday June 23 in New York City, demanding action to bring
an end to the global AIDS crisis -- "Stop Global AIDS Now" is the theme.
It has been scheduled for noon, and will take place in midtown Manhattan;
its exact location is yet to be announced.
The action demanded will be threefold. One, the rally will call
for billions of dollars from the wealthy nations. UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan has proposed a global fund of $7-10 billion for AIDS (and
other infectious diseases). It is critical that at the very least all
of these funds are forthcoming. For even this amount is billions of
dollars too low for a response that strikes at aspects of poverty (such
as weak health systems) and of inequality (such as the status of women)
that are at the root of the pandemic, and for a response that mitigates
the destruction that the pandemic is causing.
Two, the rally will call on wealthy nations to ensure access to AIDS
medication for people living with HIV/AIDS in poor countries. Treatment
is necessary in and of itself -- to save the lives of the more than 36
million people who are already infected (3 million died last year) -- and
because of its tight relationship with prevention. Three, the rally will
call for the World Bank and the IMF to cancel debts of countries heavily
affected by AIDS so that money can be freed to strengthen their national
responses to AIDS.
For more information on the march and rally, see
http://www.stopglobalaidsnow.org/. I will also send an e-mail
nearer the time of the event to give you its location and confirm the
time.
I would say that I hope to see you on June 23, but that I hope that
the march and rally will be attended by so many people that for any two
people to find each other will be all but impossible. Let those in power
see the numbers of people who insist on action. If few people attend,
those in power will be able to feel that much more secure in their policy
of speaking strongly but acting weakly. But if many people attend, they
will know that we see through their words to the wholly inadequate
actions behind the words (for example, a pledge by the US of only $200
million so far for the global fund). They will know that when activists
and ordinary citizens demand action, they are speaking with the voice of
a nation.
Please share information on the march with friends, family, and
colleagues, so that they too can make their voice heard. It is probably
mainly through word of mouth and e-mail that news about this march will
spread, so it would be a great help if you could pass on this information,
even if you cannot attend yourself. Thank you.
Yours,
Eric
"I have only dreams: to build a better world, a world of harmony
and understanding, a world in which it is a joy to live. This is not
asking for too much." -- Yitzhak Rabin
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