Moana Nui 2011 Statement

 
"We, the peoples of moana nui, connected by the currents of our ocean home, declare that we will not cooperate with the commodification of life and land as represented by APEC's predatory capitalistic practices, distorted information and secret trade negotiations and agreements.

We invoke our rights to free, prior and informed consent. We choose cooperative trans-Pacific dialogue, action, advocacy, and solidarity between and amongst the peoples of the Pacific, rooted in traditional cultural practices and wisdom.

E mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono. A mama. Ua noa."

This statement was conjured at the Moana Nui 2011 conference, a gathering of peoples of the Pacific to connect and grow our relations with each other. We ask you to join us in shifting away from neoliberal, profit-driven relations and sign-on to this statement. http://www.change.org/petitions/moana-nui-2011-statement

For more information go to: http://moananui2011.org.

Passionista! Undressing Globalization and Militarism Fashion Show















Women Voices Women Speak in collaboration with Third Path Movement for Reproductive Justice, DMZ Hawai'i/Aloha 'Aina, Pek Pek Liberation Front and Women for Genuine Security present

Passionista! Undressing Globalization and Militarism Fashion Show
Thursday 11/10/11
6:30 PM
Church of the Crossroads
1212 University Ave.
Honolulu, HI

This fashion show is a Honolulu community-based grassroots collaboration that is conscious and humorous!  We are a community of scholar-activists, teachers, students, parents and movers and shakers who are addressing and fighting against the hewa that APEC and other ultra-militaristic, corporate and state entities bring into our lives and onto our homelands across the globe.

Read about each of the outfits at our Fashion Show Archive page.

Passionista’s Resisting: Sistahs and Braddahs Uniting to un-dress Globalization and Militarization, 2011, mixed media installation

A Home grown Community Art Collaborative with
Women’s Voices, Women Speak,
Pek-Pek Liberation Front,  &
3rd Path for Reproductive Justice

Come check this out at...

Arts at Mark's Garage 
1159 Nu`uanu Avenue 
Honolulu, HI 96817-5121 

Members and co-inspirers:   Ellen-Rae Cachola, Grace Caligtan, Malaya Caligtan-Tran, Melisa Casumbal, Kim Compac, Pete Doktor,  Nicki Garces, Kyle Kajihiro, Kotoba Kanazawa, Koa Luke, Christine Lipat, Gigi Miranda, Darlene Rodrigues, Terri Keko'olani, Eri Oura, Faith Pascual, Malaya Valenzuela-Lipman, Sarah Smorol, Leotele Togafau, Jen Yu, and Monique Yuen

Description:  An art installation and a local O'ahu fashion show that builds on the work of the Women of Color Resource Center's popular education campaign, "Runway Peace Project:  Fashion Resistance to Militarism." Also, check out Runway Peace Project's rendition over at Women for Genuine Security Fashioning Resistance to Militarism Project and Archive.

Peace Force
Our Peace Force mannequin rocks bigger picture vision glasses. S/he is fully armed with re-purposed weapons: a mike that speaks truth to power, a dialogue device , a human aid bag and used to gather la’au and traditional medicines, and lastly, several writing instruments, since the pen is mightier than the sword.




Tapis and Topless
This outfit depicts and honors the successful resistance led by Kalinga and Bontoc tribal women in the Cordilleras in the 1980’s  to defend their land, life and resources from drowning because of the World Bank-funded Chico River dams.   Because of the sheer determination and courage of the dam-affected peoples to stop the project by all means, the World Bank decided to withdraw its funding for the dam project.  In fact, it was the experience of the World Bank on the Chico Dam that it formulated its operational guidelines of projects affecting indigenous peoples.

“Entayo agpabuya, paypayew kalkalsada, salidummay salidummay ay ay. Minas ken kabakiran, teatro pay ti babaknang, salidummay salidummay ay ay. Bannog, pudot ken bisin, tudo pudot ken lammin, salidummay salidummay ay ay. Uray kasta karigat na gana-ganasen tay latta, salidummay salidummay ay ay,”  (Let us perform on the rice fields, streets, mines, forest and even in the theatres of the rich. Fatigue, hunger, rain, heat or cold. No matter how difficult, let us give our all).- excerpt from the Salidummay song entitled Kultura ti wayawaya [Culture of freedom].)

Daughters of Lien Apinam
The outfit pays tribute to the daughters of Lien Apinam, descedents who fight for accessible health care for their families. Lien Apinam was a female ancestor from Lukunor, Chuuk who stepped on the battlefield of two fighting groups. Her female presence on the battlefield stopped the battle because in the tradition and culture, hurting a woman brings bad omens to the nation.




Occupied Bride
In this outfit, our occupied bride wears chicken wire stretched into barbed wire to represent the ways in which her body and the earth she lives on has been bound along the military fence-line with toxins, contaminants and unexploded ordinances. Her boots bloom with flowers, signaling the flowering of young aloha 'aina warriors, willing to malama, defend, and bring back what has been poisoned.




 
Unko Spam
When Hawaii was occupied and colonized as the 50th state, it was lured into dependency and could no longer be a self-sustaining country.  In World War II, spam was introduced to Hawai'i as an alternative to meat because the islands food imports were closed down during the war.  A troupe of ex-G.I. women was recruited by Hormel Foods to promote Spam from coast to coast. The group was known as the Hormel Girls and associated the food with being patriotic. Today, it is estimated that the residents of the state of Hawaii and the territories of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) consume the most Spam per capita.

Miss Moana Nui
This dress represents Oceania outside of global first world nations’ divisions, military aggressions, and economic exploitations. Military symbols of brass buttons, looped epaulets, and the purple heart are here reconfigured to symbolize oceanic connections of friendship and good will unity and solidarity.






Military Straight Jacket: Commitment to the Nation?
Designed by an Army reservist, this piece touches on the phrase, "Commitment to the Nation" that was repeated over and over again during her ROTC enlistment.  Her outfit questions the motivation under those words and behind those who choose military service.  According to the National Priorities Project, of the 70,026 military recruits in Fiscal Year 2010, 1,111 came from U.S. Possessions and Territories, including the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and foreign addresses, including military postal addresses. The promise of  a green card and citizenship is what commonly attracts Asia Pacific migrants to join the military because to be a U.S. citizen means they can access health care, higher education, and a decent standard of living for their families. While cash and US citizenship are powerful enticements for joining, she wants viewers to recognize soldiers underneath the numbers of dead,  and honor the complex human beings under the uniform as sisters and mothers, brothers and fathers, and as all our children.

Check The Numbers:
2,776: US and Coalition deaths in Afghanistan
14,733: Wounded in Afghanistan
4,798: US & Coalition deaths in Iraq
32,224: Wounded in Iraq
11,2726: civilian deaths in Iraq
1985: suicides in military since 2001

Other numbers to consider as well:
In 2010 Lockheed Martin paid its CEO Robert Stevens $21.89 million and spent $12.7 million lobbying politicians.
In 2010 Northrop Grumman paid its CEO Wes Bush $22.84 million and spent $15.7 million lobbying politicians.
In 2010 Boeing paid its CEO James McNerney $19.4 million and spent $17.98 million lobbying politicians.

Hula Rise Up
This outfit plays on the designer's childhood memory and the ways that hula has been commodifed and used for tourist consumption. She updates and adds to this memory with adorning the mannequin with a poem by Summer Nemeth, titled, Na Wahine Koa, which speaks back to exploitation of this cultural practice and the 'aina. 







Remembering Labor History and Resistance
Our remembering labor history outfits commemorates the proud labor organizing tradition in Hawai'i. The mannequin wears a palaka shirt, fused with a housekeeping outfit used in the hotel industry. Pinned to her uniform is a heart pierced with seven sewing needle symbolizing women garment workers in free trade zones.  This outfit honors the  organizing legacy of women plantation workers and their links to today’s struggle for fair wages and working conditions in the hotel and tourism industry. Her heart remembers her international sisters and their efforts to organize, even when in places where it is prohibited.

Ea reconstructed and For Realz Kine, Genuine Security Blanket
The need to re-purpose and reconstruct is reflected in the blanket.   What is old can be made new. Liberated Cuts can reconstruct your shirt into new. Click here for more info.








 But this production does not end here! Check these affiliated events...
Thurs, Nov 3 (Alterna*APEC) Yes Men Keynote
Fri, Nov 4 (Alterna*APEC) 1rst Friday
Sat, Nov 5 (Alterna*APEC) Yes Lab
Sun, Nov 6 (Alterna*APEC) UH Forum, Passionista Demo, Panel 5-7 pm 
Thursday, Nov 10 Moana Nui afternoon panel on militarization & Passionista demo at 6:30 pm

Liberated Cuts! Reconstruct your Shirt and Support Fierce Hawaii Women

Women's Voices Women Speak presents:



































"Liberated Cuts"

Reconstructed Shirt Fundraiser for the Hawai'i Women's Delegation to go to Puerto Rico for the 2010 International Women's Meeting on Genuine Security.

CUSTOM RECONSTRUCTION AVAILABLE

Donation of $10-20

Mahalo for your Support!

Keeping checking us out here at wvws808.blogspot.com

WVWS at Community Alternative to APEC

Women's Voices Women Speak will be representing at the Community Alternative to the APEC conference "Forum (to) Festival." Check it out on November 6, 5-7pm, at UH Manoa Art Auditorium.

Women's Voices Women Speak Stand in Solidarity with Jeju Island Activists

On Sept. 4, 2011, Women's Voices Women Speak, Ann Wright, and a few friends gathered at the Korean Consulate of Hawai'i to hold a vigil in solidarity with peace activists on Jeju Island. This action was catalyzed by the current military and police encroachment on the Peace Camp at Gangjeong Village, Jeju. As we prepared for this event, Ann Wright reported back on her recent trip to Jeju Island.  Despite the fact that Jeju island activists are being arrested and harassed for protecting the island from the naval base construction occurring on the island, they continue to protest. 

Women's Voices Women Speak read the International Women's Network Against Militarism letter of support to Jeju Island activists to contextualize the vigil. They left messages of opposition to the Naval Base at Jeju on the Korean Consulate compound. Some wrote letters to the Korean Consulate.  The Naval base on Jeju is to house Aegis destroyers, equipped with U.S. anti-ballistic missile and radar systems.  This construction matters to Hawai'i because the Barking Sands Pacific Missile Range on the island of Kaua'i is also part of the anti-ballistic missile defense system network. In 2009, Hawai'i Senator Daniel Inouye pushed for funding for Aegis Ashore test facility at Barking Sands. Women's Voices Women Speak stand in solidarity with peoples of Jeju island to expose how Asian and Pacific island nations are being used to connect networks of U.S. Military weaponry.





No Naval Base on Jeju!
No Military Expansion in Hawai'i!
End Military Dependence in all Nations!

APEC from Japan People's Movement Perspectives 2010

APEC had a meeting in 2010 in Yokohama Japan.  Here are perspectives from No APEC TV! and People's Plan Study Group about what is APEC. These are resources on alternative views on APEC from people's perspectives. 






Message from the International Women’s Network Against Militarism to the peoples movement for No Naval Base on Jeju!

September 1, 2011

Dear friends in the struggle against US military expansion at Jeju Island,

We women from Okinawa, mainland Japan, the Philippines, Marshall Islands, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Australia and west-coast USA send our greetings in solidarity with the people of Ganjeong who oppose the construction of a new naval base to house Aegis destroyers.

We understand that 94 percent of the residents do not want this base. We admire and respect your strong opposition by occupying land seized by the government and by blocking roads in an attempt to stop construction. We deplore the fact the South Korean government has ordered police to take further measures against you, especially as you have used every possible democratic means to overturn the decision to construct the base in the pristine waters and land that have been your livelihood for many generations.

We agree that this base and the increased militarization of the island of Jeju will create new security threats in an increasingly tense region.

We also live in communities that experience increased militarization and the effects of enormous military investments that distort our local economies and take resources needed for our communities to thrive. The political and military alliances between our governments and the United States jeopardize our genuine security. Indeed, U.S. military expansion in the Asia-Pacific and the Caribbean relies on these alliances to tie our communities together according to their version of security that is not sustainable.

The plan to relocate U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam includes military construction projects that involve labor from Hawai’i, Micronesia and the Philippines. In addition to the destruction and loss of life caused by continued wars in the Middle East, these wars are also destabilizing our economies. For example, Filipinos who have been recruited to work on military construction projects are laid off during times of crisis and return to the Philippines where they have no jobs. On Guam, local companies cannot compete with larger military contractors and are seldom able to get contracts for base construction projects. The establishment of the U.S. military base at Ke Awa Lau o Pu’uloa, or Pearl Harbor, has transformed Oahu's food basket into a toxic “Superfund” site where many of Hawai’i's poorest communities live along its contaminated shores. In Puerto Rico, Governor Luis Fortuño has unleashed brutality against citizens, and suppression of their civil liberties because of protests against budget cuts to public services and education. In the continental United States a new campaign is calling for new priorities in federal spending away from war and toward services to support local communities.

We see your struggle as part of a wider pattern of people’s protest against increasing militarization.
Although we are far away, please know that we stand with you. We thank you for your courage to resist the militarization of your home. Your example inspires and strengthens us.

In solidarity,

Signed, on behalf of the IWNAM:

Kozue Akibayashi, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Japan
Ellen-Rae Cachola, Women for Genuine Security/Women's Voices Women Speak, U.S. & Hawai'i
Grace Caligtan, Women's Voices Women Speak, Hawai'i
Lotlot de la Cruz, KAISAKA, Philippines
Cora Valdez Fabros, Scrap VFA Movement & Philippine Women's Network for Peace and Security, Philippines
Annie Fukushima, Women for Genuine Security, U.S.
Terri Keko'olani, Women's Voices Women Speak, Hawai'i
Gwyn Kirk, Women for Genuine Security, U.S.
Rev. Deborah Lee, Women for Genuine Security, U.S.
Bernadette “Gigi” Miranda, Women's Voices Women Speak, Hawai'i
Eri Oura, Women's Voices Women Speak, Hawai'i
María Reinat Pumarejo, Colectivo Ilé: Organizadoras para la Conciencia-en-Acción
Aida Santos-Maranan, Women's Education, Development, Productivity and Research Organization (WEDPRO), Philippines
Dr. Hannah Middleton, Australian Anti-Bases Campaign Coalition, Australia
Suzuyo Takazato, Okinawa Women Act Against Military Violence, Okinawa
Lisa Natividad, Guahan Coalition for Peace and Justice, Guahan (Guam)
Ana Maria R. Nemenzo, WomanHealth Philippines.
Darlene Rodrigues, Women’s Voices Women Speak, Hawai’i

The International Women’s Network Against Militarism was formed in 1997 when forty women activists, policy-makers, teachers, and students from South Korea, Okinawa, mainland Japan, the Philippines and the continental United States gathered in Okinawa to strategize together about the negative effects of the US military in each of our countries.  In 2000, women from Puerto Rico who opposed the US Navy bombing training on the island of Vieques also joined; followed in 2004 by women from Hawai’i and in 2007 women from Guam.  The Network is not a membership organization, but a collaboration among women active in our own communities, who share a common mission to demilitarize their lands and communities. For more information, visit  http://www.genuinesecurity.org.