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message from the APEIS (french unemployed)

imcista | 15.10.2004 17:55 | Social Struggles | London

Where are those for whom we‚re supposed to change the world ?

In Porto Alegre, at the World Social Forum , the representative of DAL
(right to housing campaign), and those of each of the three
organisations of the French jobless , that is to say APEIS, AC !, MNCP,
were refused official recognition and could not take part.

On the other hand among thousands taking part, were even right wing
elected officials, government officials and their sometimes huge
advisory staffs. Only a sprinkling of the poor was allowed. The
questions about the world we want to change still remain.
There are more and more poor people, everywhere on our planet,
destitution is driving out poverty, job insecurity is becoming a new
employment standard and at the same time we respond less and
less to the many emergencies.
Unemployment shatters lives, threatens wages, pensions, social
security, and is used as an adjustment process and a means for
employers to pressure wage earners.
Not interfering with unemployment means, allowing all sorts of attacks
on social welfare.
Why couldn't child labour be on its way back here since it is already
the case for millions of children elsewhere in the world ?

The main function of those who sincerely want to change the world is
to do everything they can so that the poorest the weakest, the most
insecure of people can be there asserting themselves, telling about
their lives, their fears, their dreams, their struggles. To be provocative
we could say that being ruled by hard and brutal rulers or by sweeter
rulers who would put a drop of welfare in our soup would not make
any difference. 
 The point is not being ruled any longer.

We won't accept being told by some, with the best of intentions, " Don't
worry, we will take care of you, we will fight for you „. This is no small
detail, nobody acts for others and in their place. If the top priority is
notto give back the right to speak to those who have been deprived of it, to
the men and women who are the first and foremost victims of
capitalistic wisdom.
All wills all commitments should promote direct expression ( taking
into account the difficulties it implies) from those who have a vital
interest in change and who are generally deprived of everything and
above all of the necessities of life.

We want to change the world with you, taking into account what we
are, jobless people, people with job insecurity, people with minimum
benefits, poor people, undocumented workers, homeless people,
people with no rights and we sincerely think that you won't achieve a
lasting change without being united with us.

Changing the world means starting from what is nearest to us, it
means not to accept what is unacceptable. evictions, furniture
seizures, electricity supply disconnection, the deportation of
undocumented workers.

Changing the world means struggling in your factory, your workshop,
your university, your building site, your department, your school, it also
means being active in your neighbourhood, your housing estate, your
apartment block, and in public transport.

Changing the world means siding now with the men and women who
are starving and not out of solidarity but because first of all they can't
be ignored if we are to change anything , if we are to achieve a
credible alternative.


APEIS

APEIS in French means Organisation for Jobs, Information and
Solidarity. It was created in 1987 to resist the lack of respect for the
rights of jobless people.
The long series of fights we have been fighting has made possible
the development of a movement of jobless people. Today this
movement is fully recognised, enabling unemployed people at long
last to speak out, to express their discontent, to bear witness about
the hardships of their poverty and exclusion .

Being active in 20 French counties our organisation plays a telling
role. We are a sort of social itching powder, an opposition force, we
prevent society from being content , even if we disturb above all if we
disturb..
The things we reveal, the things
we bear are not negligible. When we are fighting to enable every
man and every woman to play a part in society we are not asking for
any poor's status nor for any unemployed status, we are fighting for
equal rights.

Not to be undone
do things with APEIS.

imcista
- e-mail: apeis@freesurf.fr
- Homepage: http://www.apeis.org