Please consider signing the parliamentary petition organized by Mervyn Russell from Horseshoe Falls, which is in the office. The petition calls for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza, for protection for UNRWA workers and infrastructure, and for an immediate ceasefire. Since we started working on this petition, on 15 July the UNRWA headquarters in Gaza were completely destroyed by the Israeli Defense Forces. 197 UNRWA workers have been killed since the start of the conflict. Added to ongoing and severe restrictions on the entry of food and humanitarian aid, on July 18, Oxfam International reported that Israel is "systematically weaponizing water against Palestinians in Gaza" and that Israeli forces had damaged or destroyed "five water and sanitation sites every three days since the start of the war". On July 5, global health experts in the Lancet, including McMaster's Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Dr Salim Yusuf, OC, reported that the likely death count in Gaza is many-fold greater than deaths from trauma, because it is known that deaths from communicable and non-communicable diseases in war outstrip deaths in combat by a factor of 3 to 15 fold. They estimate deaths of 186,000 or more, 8% of the Gaza strip population (https://shorturl.at/j8laf).
Links:
Petition_-Humanitarian-aid (pdf)
Download
For anyone interested in petitions and letter-writing as methods to take action for justice, we have identified two potential actions for 5 May 2024, a day in honour of missing and murdered indigenous women (MMIW).
1. The UN International Rapporteur on Indigenous Affairs has criticized Canada for criminalization of land-and water-defenders. Sign the Amnesty International petition to show you agree and to stop violence against women, girls, 2-spirit people and all who protest or demonstrate to preserve lands and water. You can add your own personal message, eg, Please take action now to prevent violence against land-and water-defenders across Canada.
2. Send the letter below as an email to the Honourable Gary Anandasangaree. Remember to:
a. Update the date
b. Add your address and postcode
c. Fill in something about yourself in the first line
d. Add your name and any credentials as a signature
Email: gary.anand@parl.gc.ca
Cc: justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca; pierre.poilievre@parl.gc.ca; Jagmeet.Singh@parl.gc.ca; elizabeth.may@parl.gc.ca
You can look up your MP by name or postcode here.
Hamilton Central’s MP is Matthew.Green@parl.gc.ca
Or you can print the letter and put it in the mail, without a stamp. Mail can be sent post-free to any member of parliament.
Letter Template MMIW (docx)
DownloadMelrose United Church is on Treaty 3 territory, the territory of Erie, Neutral, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Mississaugas, land that was earlier included in the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Covenant and the Two Rows Wampum Covenant. May 5th 2024 is the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous women, girls and 2-spirit people.
The rate of homicide for Indigenous women is four times that of non-Indigenous women in Canada. Half of Indigenous women have experienced assault, compared with a third of non-Indigenous women. Indigenous women are four times more likely to experience violence and twice as likely to experience intimate-partner violence, compared with non-indigenous women. Indigenous women, girls and 2-spirit people who protest to defend lands and water in Canada are subjected to violence, such that in 2023, the UN special rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples expressed grave concern over the ongoing criminalization of Indigenous land and water defenders.
The Assembly of First Nations calls on Canada to take direct action against violence against women, girls and 2-spirit people, and to fun Indigenous-led resources for healing.
What can we do?
The United Church joins other faith-based organizations in ecumenical partnerships to explore issues of faith and to act toward justice, peace, and the integrity of creation. These partnerships include Canada Foodgrains Bank and the Canadian Council of Churches. Another such United Church partner is Kairos, which unites Canadian churches and religious organizations in a faithful response to the call we read in the 6th book of Micah, to "do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God".
We ask for wisdom and love as we seek, during this service, to connect with all that is holy and that inspires us to right action.
Resources
Here are some other useful links to learn more about this issue and other actions that we can take:
https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1524494530110/1557511412801
https://www.kairoscanada.org
https://united-church.ca/community-and-faith/welcome-united-church-canada/partners-mission/canadian-partners-and-community-ministries
https://www.kairoscanada.org/remembering-our-stolen-sisters-may-5
https://www.kairoscanada.org/missing-murdered-indigenous-women-girls
https://afn.ca/rights-justice/murdered-missing-indigenous-women-girls/