Dear Friend, Will COVID ever end? The virus continues to rage around the world, amplified by all the inequalities of race, class and empire. Though vaccinations have been a blessing, the Global South still suffers and scrounges. But you and I can join the movements doing something about it. |
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When COVID-19 hit Brazil under the grip of far-right authoritarian president Jair Bolsonaro, the results were disastrous. Brazil rapidly rose to be among the top countries in the world for case counts. Bodies of the dead were tossed into mass graves. But key to the devastation? The Bolsonaro regime not only denied the seriousness of the pandemic. He and his yes-men had been actively dismantling much of the country’s social safety net, including public health infrastructure, since 2019. Thankfully, Brazil’s Landless Workers Movement (MST) sprang into action — buoyed by funds provided from donations to Grassroots International last year. Organizers converted one of their agroecology schools into a field hospital. Their National Health Collective sent popular health agents to educate communities across the country and help stop the spread. And with food the MST sustainably produced in their settlements, they have distributed over one million lunchboxes and 5,000 tons of food since March 2020. With the new omicron variant surfacing, we sadly know COVID is far from over. But movements like the MST point to a solution led from below: provide people with immediate support, organize to demand a human-centered response, and continue the struggle for a better world. If we can make our solidarity concrete, movements can have concrete resources for the struggles ahead. That’s why I’m asking today: for our New Visions, Continuing Resistance campaign for the end of 2021, can you commit to a gift of at least $30 to Grassroots International? You can be a crucial ally to the MST and other movements in their battle against this deadly virus. Let’s let these movements keep up the fight into 2022! In gratitude, |
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Chung-Wha Hong
Executive Director |
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