Tag: workers

An open letter in support of Mahalla’s workers and community members

Posted on By 3arabawy

If you are in the Bay Area, please join us today 10am in front of the Egyptian Consulate in San Francisco, to protest the Dictator Mubarak’s atrocities in Mahalla… The consulate is located: 3001 Pacific Avenue (at Baker St.)

To: Abderahman Salaheldin
Consul-General of Egypt in San Francisco
We, the undersigned, are writing to express our grave concern over the recent events centered in Mahalla, Egypt.
In response to their desperate situations, workers and community members have protested to demand better living and working conditions.
We are writing to protest the severe repression of these demonstrations, including the occupation of Mahalla, mass arrests and detention of workers and community members across Egypt, and the shooting and killing of at least two people. Reports of ill treatment and torture of detainees are very disturbing and raise concerns about the violation of basic human rights. Also of great concern is the arrest and detention of foreign and Egyptian journalists.
In order to prevent any further loss of life, and to begin to address the legitimate demands of the Mahalla workers and those who have responded to their actions across Egypt, the Mubarak government must stop this violent repression immediately.
Along with thousands of supporters across the world, we call for immediate release and amnesty for all detainees, and investigations and justice for those injured and killed during the demonstrations and subsequent repression.
Sincerely,

Individual Signatories:
Chen, Jia Ching… University of California, Berkeley
Clinton, Maggie… GSOC-UAW Local 2110, New York City
Damluji, Mona… University of California, Berkeley
Dayaneni, Gopal… Movement Generation, Oakland
Gonzales, AM …Planning for Elders, San Francisco
Goodwin, Owen… Campaign to End the Death Penalty, Oakland
Lin, Thung-Hung… Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Liu, Shaw San… Chinese Progressive Association, San Francisco
Poblet, Maria… St Peter’s Housing Committee, San Francisco
Ryan, Shawna… San Francisco City College
El-Hamalawy, Hossam… University of California, Berkeley
England, Jenna… University of California, Berkeley

Organizational Signatories:
Arab Resource and Organizing Center, San Francisco
Chinese Progressive Association, San Francisco
POWER, San Francisco
SOUL, Oakland
ISO, Oakland

Mahalla Updates

Posted on By 3arabawy

Police is stalling the release of the Mahalla detainees, including the Ghazl el-Mahalla activists Kamal el-Fayoumi, Kareem el-Beheiry, and Tarek el-Senoussi.

James Buck is also calling on everyone to help free his detained translator Muhammad Maree.

He’s requesting you contact Attiya Shakran, the Press Secretary at the Egyptian Consulate in San Francisco, and demand the release of Muhammad.

Also the Daily News Egypt has some troubling news about Israa.

In Seoul, the South Korean comrades held a protest in solidarity with Mahalla and the Egyptian detainees in front of the Egyptian embassy. Here’s a report from Comrade Kim Yong Wook:

There was a press conference in front of Egypt embassy in South Korea on 16th April to condemn barbaric repression on Mahalah workers’ movement by Egyptian government and to show our solidarity to the workers movement.
40 people, who belong to various organizations including Imagination for International Solidarity, All Together, Korean Democratic Labor Party, Korean Confederation of Trade Union, Friends of Asia, participated in the press conference.
All participants strongly condemned Mubarak who harshly suppressed the protests causing 2 death and arrested 800. The participants also sympathized with the protesters’ demands and read the solidarity letter which conclude with the following slogans:
The Mubarak regime must stop its barbaric repression!
The Mubarak regime must release all detainees!
Victory to the Egyptian anti-dictatorship struggle!
Down with the Mubarak regime!
The embassy didn’t receive the letter.
All participants showed their firm belief that one day the struggle of Egyptian workers and Egyptian pro-democracy movements will prevail, just like the social movements of South Korea did in the past.

Some photos from the protest:

  • Solidarity with Mahalla Protest in South Korea, Photo courtesy of Kim Yong Wook
  • Solidarity with Mahalla Protest in South Korea, Photo courtesy of Kim Yong Wook
  • Solidarity with Mahalla Protest in South Korea, Photo courtesy of Kim Yong Wook
  • Solidarity with Mahalla Protest in South Korea, Photo courtesy of Kim Yong Wook
  • Solidarity with Mahalla Protest in South Korea, Photo courtesy of Kim Yong Wook
  • Solidarity with Mahalla Protest in South Korea, Photo courtesy of Kim Yong Wook
  • Solidarity with Mahalla Protest in South Korea, Photo courtesy of Kim Yong Wook
  • Solidarity with Mahalla Protest in South Korea, Photo courtesy of Kim Yong Wook
  • Solidarity with Mahalla Protest in South Korea, Photo courtesy of Kim Yong Wook
  • Solidarity with Mahalla Protest in South Korea, Photo courtesy of Kim Yong Wook
  • Solidarity with Mahalla Protest in South Korea, Photo courtesy of Kim Yong Wook

And more letters of solidarity from Belgium and Turkey.

Ghazl el-Mahalla activists to be released

Posted on By 3arabawy

I received news around an hour ago, that the Tanta Prosecutor has ordered the release of a number of Mahalla detainees, including the 11 detained Ghazl el-Mahalla labor activists. Among those are our Kamal el-Fayoumi, Kareem el-Beheiry, and Tarek el-Senoussi.

Here’s also report from Tadamon about the recent release orders.

The Center for Socialist Studies issued a statement on Mahalla, while HRINFO denounced the raid on Muhammad el-Sharqawi‘s publishing house.

I gave an interview earlier to Democracy Now TV, on the Mahalla Uprising and the crackdown on the MBs, which you can watch here. Also Comrade Simon wrote about Mahalla in Socialist Worker, and below is a must read report by Sarah Carr in the Daily Star Egypt:

Egypt’s state-controlled media has failed to accurately present the events which took place in El-Mahalla last week on April 6 and 7, said participants in a press conference organized by the Hisham Mubarak Law Center in Cairo Wednesday.
The rights group — which has been active in the defence of individuals who were arrested all over Egypt following the general strike called for by opposition groups April 6 — invited eyewitnesses who saw what happened in Mahalla during the two days of protests to give their accounts.
Salah Muhammad was shot in the eye when he left work to run an errand.
“I was treated in Mansoura Hospital and handcuffed to the hospital bed for two days,” Muhammad said.
“I was then taken to a police station where they forced me to sign a blank charges form.”

I also received the following letter of solidarity signed by US activists:

We, the undersigned, demand the immediate release of all strikers and protesters, an immediate halt to repression of the workers’ movement and a full, independent, inquiry into police violence:
1. Michael Zweig, SUNY Stony Brook
2. Bill Henning, CWA Local 380
3. Mike Parker, UAW 1900
4. Jeff Crosby, IUE-CWA 201
5. Kim Moody, NUJ, UK
6. Jerry Tucker, UAW 325
7. Leonard Riley, Jr., ILA 1422
8. Fred Hirsch, Plumbers and Fitters 393
9. Martin Unzueta, Chicago Workers Collaborative
10. Jorge Mujica, UE & Chicago March 10 Movement
11. Ricardo Calderon, Frente Sindical Salvadoreno
12. Benedicto Martinez, Frente Autentico Del Trabajo
13. Robin Alwanch, UE
14. Nancy Evans, UHW
15. Dirveu Travesco, Conlutas, Brazil
16. Brian Cruz, SEIU 1021
17. Darrin Hoop, UFCW 21
18. Marva Wade, New York State Nurses Association
19. Randy Childs, UTLA
20. Guillermo Perez, CSEA, NY
21. Mark Goudkamp, NSW Teachers Federation, Australia
22. Katslen DiMensen, HK-Denmark
22. Steve Zeltzer, IUOE 39, LAbor Video Project
23. Glenna Swinford, UAW 3520, Freightliner 5
24. Tay Aluko, Tayo Aluko & Friends, UK
25. James Daria, Farm Labor Organizing Committee
26. Allen Bradley, UAW 3520, Freightliner 5
27. Shaun Harkin, Chicago March 10 Movement
28. Mildred Brown, UHW
29. Robert Whiteside, UAW 3520, Freightliner 5
30. Alexander Ramos, Adelante FLOC
31. Maria Pizarro, AFSCME 2089
32. Franklin Torrence, UAW 3520
33. Mara Lira SindiAlimentacao, VidaViva Platform Brazil
34. Anton Marcus, FTZGSEU, ExChains, Sri Lanka
35. Lee Sustar, NWU
36. Howard Zinn