Friday, June 3, 7 PM.  Bay Area Women in Black was pleased to bring Belgian peace Activist Lieve Snellings and the film "Song of Silence" to an enthusiastic audience of activists from Women in Black, JVP, Crabgrass, the Labor Chorus, Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, Nonviolent Peace Force and ISM. This video collage of Women in Black vigils around the world was made by WIB India for the World Social Forum in Mumbai, India, January 2004. This powerful and informative 45-minute film highlights the actions of Women in Black in the southern hemisphere with footage from India, South Africa, Beijing, India, as well as Iraq, Palestine and Israel, Italy Argentina, England, Scotland and Wales, and more.
WiB Bay Area website

introduction film of the film"Song of Silence"
by Lieve Snellings
Bay Area WiB - Friday June 3:

the film is showing WiB worldwide and is made by WiB India

First I want to give you warm greetings of Cynthia Cockburn from WiB London.  She was here some time ago and told me how much she injoyed meeting many of you and so she asked me to sent you her love.

Than I have special warm greetings from Corinne Kumar from WiB India and the World Court of Women Against War and For Peace (some words about the Women's Courts - link to our website http://snellings.telenet.be/womeninblackleuven/world_court_women.htm ).

It was Corinne who has sent me the film "Song of Silence" we are seeing tonight
+ 3 CD film "Singing in the Dark Times" on the World Court of Women in Cape Town, South Africa

maybe the words "song" and "singing" explain why these films reached me on such a deep level
not only informative
but the images
the music
the way this film was made

it touches the heart
AND my Soul or Spirit or however you call that

and all can come inside & inspires those who are watching

but for me it also put questions, confronted me...
our first WiB group in Leuven started in 1994
and I have quite some international contacts

but untill Corinne told me I didn't know about WiB India
about so many women doing WiB vigils in Cape Town...

Yes, when you look at the WiB international website
there is indeed a part of WiB India in the history text Cynthia Cockburn wrote, but you have to read all the text to know (which I clearly hadn't done)
it is not in the list of vigils worldwide (this is done now, they are on the list now!)

and then I received these films...
hundreds, thousands of WiB of the South
WiB of color

and with all the strenght of these wonderful women
there is this focus in the films on
our Hope, our Dreams

This I think is so important
yesterday puting up our War Exhibition in SomArts (gallery in SF), there was this piece of Arts on the words:
"Hate blows a buble of despair"

reading these words I understood better why I was so overwhelmed
in a very positive way
by this film WiB India made
it was as their energy flew over to me

these WiB's from the South
these WiB of color
they were giving me so much

that's why I would love other WiB's have the chance to get inspired by them too

AND AT THE SAME TIME   

WiB's of the North or West
we, practicaly all white women of WiB

get to know
get to see
and most important get to aknowledge
our sisters of the South
our sisters of color
than mutual empowerment can work

and to give you any idea of what power we can have if we all
colaborate

there is this huge, fantastic victory of the Neem tree
the neem tree = is a tree in India, from which local people for maybe thousand years they had the knowledge of making some medicines they used in their community
than there comes this american/northern multinational and they say they "invent" this medicine, even the local civilians used it already for thousands of years, and they claimed to get a patent on these medicins, so that would mean these local people had to buy what is theirs...

but on international women's day this year:
Vandan Shiva, from India, the place of the tree
Magda Aelvoet, from Belgium, the place of where the pattent would be given
and Linda Bullard from the US, the place of the multinational

their persistent colaboration for 10 years on this case
South and North together
this had as big result that on international Women's Day the Court declared:
ther could NOT be given a patent on the medicine made of the Neem tree
(arms went in the sky, a big hoeraaa, a big smile and happiness in the hearts of these women and men that came to see the film)

this example shows why it is so important to keep our hope up
it took them 10 years
but then they won
and this victory created new hope
to go on and on and on

imagen what would happen
when we colaborate on many more items...

and now it is time for the film
to let them speak themselves
I'm just a messager
this is a film of WiB India

I hope you enjoy it too

 

 

 

Meet. Mingle. Get Inspired.

Women in Black is Alive and Well Around the World

Please Join Bay Area Women in Black in welcoming Belgium Peace Activist Lieve Snellings from Women in Black Leuven Belgium who will introduce a rare showing of the film “Song of Silence”. This video collage of Women in Black vigils around the world was made by WIB India for the World Social Forum in Mumbai, India, January 2004.

This powerful and informative 45-minute film highlights the actions of Women in Black in the southern hemisphere with footage from India, South Africa, Beijing, India, as well as Iraq, Palestine and Israel, Italy Argentina, England, Scotland and Whales, and more.

  “This film is so strong because it is informative AND touches our heart and spirit.  The film can come inside you, inspire, but also confront - why was I not aware there were so many WIB's in Africa or India? For me these international connections work very much like mutual empowerment. We have so much to learn from our sisters in the South, from each other. This sharing helps us feel connected to all, to life...” Lieve Snellings

 

When:           Friday, June 3, at 7 PM

                  

Where:         Hospital Workers Union Local 250

560 20^th Street (also called Thomas L Berkley Way)
Oakland, CA Between Telegraph Ave & San Pablo Ave

Lieve Snellings has been engaged for thirty years in social movements, women & lesbian, Third World and peace-organizations.  A freelance photojournalist, her pictures have been seen around the world in Amsterdam, Köln, Ljubljana, Montevideo, New York, Nijmegen, Zagreb and Zürich.  See her work at www.gms.lu/eye/snellings/indexuk.htm. 
Visit Leuven Belgium WIB http://snellings.telenet.be/womeninblackleuven

Please RSVP to info@bayareawomeninblack.org

There is no charge for this event although donations gladly accepted.

Wheelchair accessible.  Plenty of street parking.

Easily accessible by BART from 19^th Street Station

 

back to agenda (English)

terug naar agenda (Nederlands)