SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 2024
Weekend Reading
Dear John,
This Thursday, June 20, is World Refugee Day. AFSC joins in solidarity with the tens of millions of people worldwide who have been forced from their homes by conflict, natural disasters, poverty, and other forms of violence. That includes the more than 2 million Palestinians who have been displaced by ongoing attacks and destruction in Gaza. Here’s one simple way you can show solidarity today. Tell Congress: Demand a permanent cease-fire and humanitarian access for Gaza! [link removed]
Here are this week's picks to inform and support your activism:
Providing hygiene kits and promoting mental health in Gaza: [link removed] Nine months into the crisis in Gaza, more people are seeking mental health support to help them cope with the ongoing traumas of the war. To help meet these needs, AFSC is collaborating with the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme. The organization provides psychological first aid to displaced women who are now living in tents. Following these sessions, AFSC staff and volunteers give out hygiene kits, which are vital to basic well-being and dignity. Read more from AFSC’s Serena Awad.
Honoring the unfinished work of abolition: [link removed] For over a century, people have celebrated Juneteenth as the end of slavery in the United States. But today, the U.S. is keeping over 1.9 million people in cages in jails, prisons, and immigration detention centers across the country. They are disproportionately Black people and other people of color. Today, we must recommit to ending white supremacy and working for a world without prisons or cages—the living legacies of slavery, writes AFSC’s Lewis Webb, Jr.
Speaking out against border closures: [link removed] Last week, President Biden signed an executive order to make it harder for migrants to apply for asylum. In Colorado, AFSC and other advocates spoke out against the inhumane measure. “These policies don’t get at the root of what causes people to migrate,” said AFSC’s Jennifer Piper. “They're just making that migration more dangerous and more deadly.” (Colorado Public Radio) Join us to oppose this executive order. Send a message to the Biden administration today! [link removed]
Donations needed for Refugee Response Fund: [link removed] Will you donate to help AFSC deliver critical support to people displaced by war, persecution, and other disasters? Your gift will be matched up to $100,000 now through June 30. Thank you to all who have already given!
Listen to the latest “Quakers Today” podcast: [link removed] AFSC is sponsoring season three of the “Quakers Today” podcast, a project of Friends Publishing Corporation. The podcast features musicians, writers, and others who seek wisdom and understanding in a rapidly changing world. The most recent episode explores “What does it mean to be welcomed in a space?”
Special thanks to our monthly donors, our Partners for Peace, for their ongoing support to make all our work possible.
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