Farmers, Rural workers and Fishermen’s conference: Building Via Campesina in Palestine

2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th November 2011

Al Arroub College – Al Arroub Refugee Camp- Hebron 

Following a process of understanding and recognition of the situation in Palestine for three years, the MST (Movement of Landless Rural Workers of Brazil) and now in charge of Palestine in the Via Campesina, with supporting organizations in Palestine as Alternative Information Center (AIC) and Mundubat draws closer relations with Palestinian social movements UPWC (Union of Palestinian Women's' Committees), and especially for his character of peasant-based organization with UAWC (Union of Agricultural Work Committees).

 Thus it was decided to initiate a collective process to lay the groundwork for incorporating UAWC the Via Campesina, so they could share experiences of struggles from different continents and different organizations regarding food sovereignty, especially in a context in need of international solidarity as it is the Palestinian one.

This proposal is the first step –Palestinian farmers once part of the Via Campesina- of a process of medium and long term aims at building an international wide network of farmers to support the Palestinian farmer’s struggle towards getting their rights to land and water on the road to national liberation but also to achieve the Palestinian right of return freedom and independence. This process will begin in Palestine as a first point in the Middle East.

 The Via Campesina movement is an international movement that brings millions of peasants, small and middle-scale producers, agricultural workers, rural women and indigenous communities from the whole world together in order to defend sustainable agriculture in small and medium-sized farms as a way to gain access to human dignity and social justice.

This movement is strongly opposed to the multinational companies’ activities that aim at dominating the agricultural activities and destroying the environment and the human.

The Via Campesina is a coalition of 150 local and international organizations, distributed to 70 countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe, as well as in the Americas: North America, Central America and South America.

As a result of the initial position of the Via Campesina Movement in showing solidarity with the Palestinian people, especially Palestinian farmers against the occupation and its procedures that aim at confiscating the Palestinian land and water ,and depending on the existing friendship between UAWC and the Via Campesina movement and the common goal represented in protecting the Palestinian land and resisting Israeli occupation procedures, UAWC in participation with the Union of Palestinian Women Committees (UPWC), the Alternative Information Center (AIC) in addition to international friend associations such as (MST) and Mundubat, will held a conference in Palestine for three days from the 2^nd to the 4^th of November 2011. This conference aims at emphasizing on the right of the Palestinian farmer to his land, the right of the Palestinian people to their homeland as well as their right to establish their own free state over their land.

The Union of Agricultural Committees (UAWC) has the honor to invite you to attend our Conference. Please find attached the invitation and the conference program.

The Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) Palestine

PROGRAM

2nd of Novembre 2011

9:00-9:30 Registration  of the attending people and coffee
9:30-10:00 Opening session with cultural presentation: Present a small documentary film about UAWC and its progress 
10:00-10:30  The Opening: Palestinian National Anthem followed by speeches for:
1. UAWC2. Via Campesina3. Delegation from Palestine 484. Delegation from the occupied Syrian Golan5. Oxfam Solidarity 6. Ministry of Agriculture (MoA)
10:30-11:00 Break  
11:00- 13:30 Analysis of the international political situation and popular struggles in the Arab world: perspectives for the Palestinian national movement.
- Representative from PNA\ Fateh (an analysis by Fateh regarding this topic). 15min- Representative from Hamas. 15 min- FPLP Representative.15min- FDLP representative. 15 min - PPP representative 15min- Al Mubadara. 15min
Followed by an open discussion for 1 hour.
13:30- 14:30 Lunch and interchanges of different points of views with the participants.
14:30-16:00 Analysis of the development of social movements in the world – and in the Arab world: 
14:30-15:00 Analysis of the development of social movements in the world (Alternative information center)
15:00-15:30 Analysis of the development of social movements in the Arab world (Alternative information center) 
15:30-16:00 Open discussion
16:00-17:00 - Presentation about land confiscation 20min (Al Arroub)- Presentation about water confiscation 20min (Al Arroub)- Discussion 20 min 
17:00-19:00 Singing Show by Waleed Abd Alsalam and his band

19:00 Supper

3rd of November 2011

9:00-9:30 Coffee and Registration 
9:30-10:00 cultural representation: documentary film about fishermen in Gaza Strip
10:00-10:30 A Study on the forced changes in the pattern of the Palestinian peasant’s life (BISAN)
10:30-11:00 Coffee break 
11:00-13:30 The workers’ challenges in the current context of class clushes and the struggle for the national liberation: organization, mobilization, political and ideological formation, mass struggle, unity, tactics, strategies. 
- UAWC representative 20min- UPWC representative 20min- MST Brazil representative - Rural workers representative 20 min
13:30-14:30 Lunch and interchanges of different points of view with the participants.
14:30-16:30Peasants, rural workers and fishermen in the struggle against colonialism and israelian apartheid wall: specific actions for the conformation and shaping of unity. 
- The grassroots Palestinian anti-apartheid wall campaign –stop the wall- 20 min- UAWC representative 20 min- Palestinian Farmers Union 20min- Gaza fishermen representative 20min- Rural worker representative 20min 
16:30-17:00 Coffee break
17:00-19:00 cultural time in honor of the martyrs of the workers and Palestinian cause.
19:00-20:00  Supper  

4th November 2011

9:00-9:30 Coffee 9:30-10:00 Cultural presentation: documentary film about Naje Al Ali and a presentation for some of his caricatures
10:00-12:30
The Via Campesina movement and mass struggles for land: agrarian reform and social changes
- Representative of the international cooperation of Via Campesina- Representative of the Via Campesina Brazil: ABEEF, CIMI, CPT, FEAB,MAB, MMC, MPA, MST, PJR.
12:30-13:30 Lunch and interchanges of different points of view with the participants.
13:30- 15:30 Building Via Campesina in Palestine and the Arab World: a challenge for the popular movements and organizations.
- UAWC representative 20min- MST representative 20min- Mundubat 20min- Alternative Information Center 20 min
15:30-16:30 Conformation of groups in order to discuss building Via Campesina in Palestine. Each group should have its own spokesman\woman, indicated by the organizations in the meeting.
16:45-17:00 Break 
17:00-17:30 Discussion of the different spokesperson in each group.

17:30-18:00 Conformation of a commission with peasants’ organizations, rural workers and fishermen that have the interest in building the Via Campesina in Palestine and reading the final declaration of the meeting. 
18:00-19:00 Supper