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Social Action Program
Goals:
1) To educate participants about the issue of human rights in Tibet, Rwanda, Bosnia,
and China.
2) To inform participants of the Jewish experience in regards to the struggle for
human rights.
3) To motivate participants to do something about the issue.
Objectives:
1) Participants will participate in a carousel offering them information on the
situations in Tibet, China, Rwanda and Bosnia.
2) Participants will be involved in information sessions on persecution and genocide
in which they will be presented with information on the issues' respective countries, the
Jewish experience in regards to the situation, and what the participants can do about the
issue.
Timetable:
0:00-0:05 Introduction and break into groups
0:05-0:10 Country #1
0:10-0:12 Move
0:12-0:17 Country #2
0:17-0:19 Move
0:19-0:24 Country #3
0:24-0:26 Move
0:26-0:31 Country #4
0:31-0:33 Move
0:33-0:48 Information Session Rotation #1
0:48-0:50 Move
0:50-1:05 Information Session Rotation #2
1:05-1:07 Reconvene
1:07-1:15 Wrap-up
Materials:
4 Country Leaders
Information on Amnesty International
Procedure:
0:00-0:05 Introduction and break into groups
Group leader "In America our rights of freedom, our rights to be, are specifically
stated in the first amendment. However, around the world these rights are being held
from people. This program will address that issue. This is a very serious
program, and the appropriate decorum is expected.
-Announce locations, group leaders , and groups.
0:05-0:10 Country Reports
Each group will listen to a real life story, told byg one of four board members that
aren't group leaders, of citizens from Tibet, China, Rwanda, and Bosnia.
0:10-0:12 Move
0:12-0:17 Country reports
0:17-0:19 Move
0:19-0:24 Country Reports
0:24-0:26 Move
0:26-0:31 Country Reports
0:31-0:33 Move to information sessions
Group # 1 and Group # 2 in one location
Group # 3 and Group # 4 in another location
0:33-0:48 Information Session Rotation #1
#1-Genocide
Information Session will contain:
Definition of Genocide
Facts on Rwanda
Facts on Bosnia
Jewish History with Genocide
Info on Amnesty International
Time for each will be budgeted as follows:
5 min. on definition and facts
5 min. on Jewish history
5 min. on what we can do
0:48-0:50 Move (switch groups)
0:50-1:05 Information Session Rotation # 2
#2-Persecution
Information Session will contain:
Definition of Persecution
Facts on Tibet
Facts on China
Jewish history with persecution
Info on Amnesty International
Time for each will be budgeted as follows:
5 min. on definition and facts
5 min. on Jewish history
5 min. on what we can do
1:05-107 Reconvene
1:07-1:15 Wrap-up
The NFTY Social Action theme for 1998-1999 is "Contemporary Genocide: We Do Not
Forget". This theme also includes issues of persecution, because they are
usually the foundation for genocide. It is our responsibilities as Jews to fight for
the rights of those who are persecuted or are being exterminated for who they are.
This is because of our lengthy experiences with genocide and persecution. This
issue of human rights is much more than just genocide and persecution, because any
infringement on people's right to basic freedoms, rights to be ins a human rights
violation, i.e. Sweat shops, migrant farm workers, gay rights issues, racism and
discrimination.
As a movement and a people we must always remember that "Human rights has no
borders."
Story of Tang Yuanjuan: China
My name is Tang Yuanjuan. I was an assistant engineer at a car
factory in Changchun. I was among a group of workers arrested in June of 1989.
We were accused of forming a counter-revolutionary group, and of organizing two
peaceful demonstrations in Changchum during the pro-democracy movement. In November
1990, I was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. That is what happens in this
country. I spoke out, I voiced my opinions. Because they differ from those of
the government, I was sent to jail. In April of 1991 I was transferred to the Labor
Reform Detachment province. I was assigned to a special squadron of political
prisoners jailed during the crackdown on the pro-democracy movement. These prisoners
and myself were subject to cruel torture during this time. In May 1991 I was among
11 political prisoners who were severely beaten for refusing to acknowledge that we were
criminals. After our beating, we were taken to the correction unit. There, we
were stripped naken and given shocks with high voltage electric batons on my head, neck,
shoulders, armpits, stomach and the inside of my legs. When the baton ran out of
power, when I thought the beating was over, an officer wearing leather boots began kicking
me. He broke two of my ribs. The following months brought similar incidents of
torture. A person never gets used to such brutality. I was often forced to
stand in one place or run for hours at a time, regardless of the weather. There was
one time when a human rights group came to visit the prison. Of course, the Chinese
officials transferred the badly beaten inmates out of the prison before the visit. I
remained in my cell. Once they arrived, I had an idea. I would pass the
visitors a note, begging for help, describing our situation. So I did just that.
But the note was intercepted by a Chinese guard, and later on, I was shackled by my
hands and feet bending over. I was hit all over my body with fists, I was kicked and
I was hit with the butt of a gun. I was then kept in a pitch-black cell for 12 days.
I remain here in this prison because of my beliefs. They call me a political
prisoner. I feel I represent all Chinese who have been persecuted for what they
think, what they feel. It is no government's responsibility to dictate the emotions
of its citizens. I hope my life has made a small difference in the plight of all
Chinese.
Story of Tenzin Yangzom: Tibet
My name is Tenzin Yangzom. I was born one of seven children
in the Lhoka area of Tibet. My family was a farming family. I remember, as a
teenager, I would watch as Chinese arrived in large numbers to build army bases near my
family's farm. Shortly after construction began, the Chinese ordered my family to
give them half of our crop.
As a result, my family did not have enough to eat. I became very
angry at the Chinese. When I turned seventeen, I decided to become a nun, hoping
that it might help me to express my frustrations. The Chinese charged me nearly $600
to join the nunnery, an amount I could not easily afford. When I joined the nunnery,
the Chinese prohibited me from praying in groups with fellow nuns for two years.
They believed that this would lead me to learn "counterrevolutionary"
ideas. By the time I turned 20, I had become completely frustrated by the Chinese
rules, both in my nunnery and in Tibet. I decided to do something about it; to risk
my life for it. On June 9, 1994, I and two other nuns hung a poster and a Tibetan
flag on the main government building of the Lhoka district. The poster said,
"Tibet is an independent country." At the bottom, in black ink, were our
signatures. Me, Tenzin Yangzom, Ngawang Choedon and Tenzine Choenyi. All three of us
paid dearly for this offense. The following evening, six police officers came for me at my
parents' home. They put handcuffs and drove me in a truck to the Testuang Detention
Center, beating me on the head with sticks along the way. There was blood all over.
I felt pain and burning, like my whole body was burning. When we reached the
detention center, a police officer pushed me onto large, jagged stones. I still have
a scar from that fall. Inside the center, I was led to a cell that smelled like a
public toilet. Fences and urine smeared the floor. The scene was mental
torture for me, a Buddhist nun, because cleanliness is extremely important in the nunnery.
There was no sink in the cell, only a bed and a bucket. I spent five months
there, allowed out for two minutes each day in order to dump y bucket into the vegetable
garden. Once each week, three police entered my cell: a Tibetan and two
Chinese. The Tibetan acted as an interpreter. The Chinese beat and tortured
me, repeatedly shocked me with electric prods on my stomach, breasts, back, face and arms.
They punched and kicked me with their boots, they trampled me. Besides this,
every day, a Chinese officer walked into my cell, holding an electric cattle prod.
He glared at me for five minutes, then walked out. He did this to threaten me.
They asked me why I put up the poster, and I gave them only evasive answers.
After 5 months., I was given a trial where myself and the other two nuns were
sentenced. They each got 2 years, I got 3. I think that's because I was the one who
obtained the flag we hung. I spent 6 months of those 3 years in a hospital
recovering from tuberculosis. I guess that this is where I got lucky: the doctors at
the hospital told the prison police that I would die if I returned to finish my sentence.
In December 1995, I was released, but Chinese policy prohibited me from resuming my
life as a nun. This year, I decided to leave Tibet and join the Dalai Lama in India.
I am now at a nunnery in southern India. I still suffer from chronic
headaches every day, and severe back pain. I have great difficulty sleeping. I
have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and serious depression. All
of this is because I chose to speak out for my country, for my religion.
Story of Valentina: Rwanda
First they asked people to hand over their money, saying they would
spare those who paid. But after taking the money they killed them anyway. Then
they started to throw grenades. I saw a man blown up in the air, in pieces, by a
grenade. The leader said that we were snakes and that to kill snakes you hat to
smash their heads. The killers moved into the terrified crowd of men, women and
children, hacking and clubbing as they went. If they found someone alive they would
smash their heads with stones. I saw them take little children and smash their heads
together until they were dead. There were children begging for pity but they killed
them straight anyway. The killings took place over four days. At night the
butchers rest4ed and, guarding the perimeter so that nobody would escape. Other
infants, crying on the ground beside their murdered parents, were taken and plunged head
first into latrines. One of my classmates a angle-faced little boy named Placide,
told me how he had seen a man decapitated in front of him and then a pregnant woman cut
open as the killing reached a frenzied climax. Placide said "There was so much
noise, people were begging for mercy." You could hear the militia saying,
"Catch them, catch them, don't let them get away." Me and my friend hid
among the bodies, pretending to be dead. I had been struck on the head and hands
with a machete and was bleeding heavily. Following my instinct I crawled to my
mother's body and laid there. During the killing I had seen the militia murder my father
my 16 year old brother, Frodise. After several days I crawled to the room where
there were fewest bodies. For the next 43 days I lived among the rotting corpses,
too weak to stand up and convinced that the world had come to an end. I prayed that
I would die because I could not see a future life. I did not think that anybody was
left alive in the country. I thought everybody had been swept away. I drank
rainwater and rummaged for scrapes of food. In the weeks that followed, a few other
children emerged from hiding places around the church. The stronger ones lit fires
and cooked what food they could find, feeding the weaker ones like me. Then a new
hazard appeared: wild dogs that had started to eat the corpses. The dogs were coming at
night and eating dead children in take other rooms. A dog came to where I was and
started to eat a body. I picked up a stone and threw it at the dog and drove it
away.
Story of a Young Person: Bosnia
You see, young people like to think nothing is going to happen to them, that they are
invincible. This is true wherever you go-youngsters pretend they are not afraid of
anything, they can do everything and they will be safe. Unfortunately this is not
true. Back in the wartime me and my friends used to do a lot of stupid, far too
brave, things just to prove that you are not afraid or just for the sake of being so brave
that everyone thinks you are crazy. Of course, this goes up to the time when you
have to join the army and prove how really brave you are. Then, all you want is to
prove to the military's medical commission that you ARE really crazy, but this is a
different story altogether. Oh, yes, I have finished with an artillery shell falling
six meters from me and with Serbia sniper shooting at me-nothing happened to me and it
made me think I was invincible. And then, Tuzla massacre happened. Massacres became
quite a common thing in Bosnia and everyone got used that the Serbs will, not and then,
fire a few arty rounds on a city market and kill a few dozen civilians, but no-one was
prepared for what happened in Tuzla. Wherever you go in Bosnia you will find youth,
often several thousands of them, hanging around some area of the town all night long.
This was especially popular during the war, as everyone was broke and most
nigh-clubs didn't work because of the curfew. On the 25th of May 1995 I was in one
of those groups in a central Bosnian town of Zenica-another group like that was in Tuzla.
It was a night like every other night-meet the friends, have a laugh, etc. I
mean, there was this, always present danger that the idiots from the hill will fire a few
of us, but no-one thought about it-just a complete lunatic would do something like that,
but, unfortunately, we forgot we were dealing with lunatics. Anyway, the first
rumors that something has happened in Tuzla came to around half past eight-I just didn't
believe them. It was like "they killed 50 youngsters in Tuzla half an hour
ago." Who would believe to that anyway. But, after several more rumors
and careful consideration of the nature of our enemy this just fit in place. The
place was almost instantly cleared of everybody (there were at least 2000 of us) and
everyone rushed into neighboring cafes and houses to watch the news. It was awful-
you see hundreds of young people laying around in blood, some without their arms or legs,
some without their heads. The next picture is a cut of leg, from knee below, with an
Nike trainer still on, then a headless girl's body in a mini-skirt, then pieces of human
flesh laying all around them. You see, I have seen more awful pictures of Serbia
victims, but this was something that I will remember-this was kids massacred. The tragic
toll was 71 dead and more than 250 wounded-the oldest victim was 28 years old, and the
youngest was just 13.
Information Session #1: Genocide
Facts on Rwanda:
Rwanda has recently suffered one of the most traumatic events in world history.
Within the brief period of 4 months, from April to July 1994 an estimated one million
Rwandans (approximately one seventh of the population) were massacred in an unprecedented
genocide. The entire governmental apparatus including the Army and the local
administration was used to carry out the genocide and to mobilize or even compel active
involvement by a large percent of the adult population. The genocide has left Rwanda
with seemingly insurmountable problems. Rwanda faces many challenges, including
bringing hundreds of thousands of suspected perpetrators of genocide to justice; attending
to the needs of survivors, many of them orphans, widows, widowers and raped women;
repatriating and resettling over a million refugees; and more importantly reconciling the
society and creating conditions that will ensure that genocide will never happen again.
Facts on Bosnia:
Serbs-Orthodox Christians, reside in Serbia and Montenegro, allies with Russia.
Croats-Roman Catholics, very westernized, inhabit coastal land.
Muslims-Muslim, placed all over Bosnia-Herzegovina.
June 25, 1991-Croatia and Slovenia proclaim independence from Yugoslavia.
December 19, 1991-Serbs in Croatia declare independence
January 3, 1992-After cease-fire between Croatia and rebel Serbs is broken, UN sends in
troops
August 1992-Serb-run prison camps are exposed for what they are (through the media),
detention camps that are severely infringing upon human rights.
January 1993-War breaks out between Muslims and Croats
April 13, 1993-Bosnia air space is closed, UN peace efforts fail
March 1994-Muslims and Croats cease fire as a result of US peace efforts
April 10, 1994-First NATO air strike against Serbia
Fighting continues on until November 21, 1995
November 21, 1995-Dayton peace accords ends fighting
End Result: In Bosnia Serb revolution against Muslim government -200.000 dead ,
mostly Muslims as a result of ethnic cleansing
Jewish History With Genocide:
(Insert)
What we can do:
Now that we know what the issue of genocide is, where it happened
recently, heard the stories of the people who went through these places, let's figure out
what we can do as an organization, to fight back against genocide. Already, at
NFTY's first board meeting of the 1998-1999 year, regional board members wrote letters
urging the President to vote for the International Criminal Court, a tribunal which would
try war criminals such as the aggressors in Rwanda and Bosnia. Whether our letters
made a difference or not, the International Criminal Court was established in July.
Now, I am going to pass out information on how to join Amnesty International, an
organization who, through grass roots efforts, influences our government to act on
countries violating human's rights. (Pass out brochures and allow participants to
read through and answer questions)
Information Session #2: Persecution
Facts on Tibet:
In 1951, Tibet was annexed by China. At that time, China's
president was Mao Tse Tung, the communist leader. When China first occupied Tibet,
the Chinese government wrote, "The Chinese Communist Party considers that its
ideology and that of religion are two forces that cannot coexist and occupy the same spot
at the same time." in other words, Communist China did not accept religion and
was officially atheist. In 1959, China's occupation of Tibet reached a brutal
climax, and by 1963, 1.2 million Tibetans had either been killed by the Chinese military
or starved to death in labor camps and collective farms. Buddhism had always been
the religion practiced widely among Tibetans. Communist China felt that such
religion was a threat to nationalism, and thus put major restrictions on religion.
The Dalai Lama, who is the highest figure in the Buddhist religion, was exiled to
India. With him went about 70,000 followers, but in his absence, the Chinese
military destroyed thousands of Buddhist temples. In addition, Chinese leaders took
the opportunity to defame the Tibetan leader, calling him a rapist and a thief.
Internationally, however, the Dalai Lama is a respected figure, awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1989.
The Chinese destroyed not only Buddhist temples, but almost all of the
ancient religious scrolls and artifacts that had been passed down through the centuries.
Chinese flags were raised all over monasteries and pictures of the Dalai Lama were
outlawed. Things improved somewhat during the 1980's after Mao had been forced to
abandon his Great Leap Forward campaign and Cultural Revolution which was especially
brutal in Tibet. But China's rule over Tibet has grown increasingly repressive ever
since President Clinton delinked trade and human rights from China's Most Favored Nation
trading status in May 1994. This means that President Clinton is continuing to renew
China's Most Favored Nation status despite knowledge of the brutal treatment of Buddhist
monks. In August of 1997, Beijing renewed and strengthened martial law in Tibet
under the "Strike Hard" campaign, a supposed anti-crime effort that provides a
new pretense for arresting Buddhist followers of the Dalai Lama. Surveillance,
arbitrary arrest, detention, execution, and torture in Tibet have increased dramatically.
The number of examples of the brutal torture of monks seems endless. Here are
just a few:
1) Palden Cyatso, a 64 year old monk, has spent 33 years in Chinese prisons in
Tibet, usually on charges of putting up freedom posters. He recalled prison police
tying his hands while he was naked, then throwing hot water on his head. He was
locked in a concrete box the size of a coffin for up to five months at a time, where he
could fit himself and a bucket which was used as a toilet.
2) Ngawang Dorjee, a 23 year old monk, was arrested at an independence
demonstration. In prison, police interrogated him for hours at a time and beat him
with sticks.
3) Tenzin Yangsom, an 18 year old Buddhist nun, was arrested for hanging a Tibetan
flag. She said police beat her on her head with knotted wooden sticks. In
jail, police tortured her with electric cattle prods. They also kicked her and
trampled on her.
There examples are only a few of many. The basics of the
situation is that : Communist China fears that a strong Tibetan Buddhism will eventually
lead to Tibetan independence. They therefore do everything in their power to hinder
the growth of Buddhism, which means they relentlessly persecute Buddhist monks and nuns.
In addition, they hold the worlds youngest political prisoner: 8 year old Panchen
Lama, who was second in power to the Dalai Lama. They instead appointed their own
puppet Panchen Lama.
Facts on China:
This persecution by the Chinese doesn't stop in Tibet. China
itself feels the effects of the brutality, with the persecution of Christians.
Christian persecution has recently become something of an issue as it is becoming a
presence throughout the Middle East as well as China. In China, he government makes
no secret of its view of religion. They believe that it is to be tolerated, but only
barely, until Chinese socialism is fully realized, at which time religion will die.
Until then, freedom of religion is officially protected by the constitution.
However, state protection of this right is limited to "normal" religious
activities, leaving "normal" undefined. The government, therefore, has the
freedom to persecute any religious practice it deems "abnormal".
Religious persecution in China began with restricting the religions
recognized by the government to five: Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Taoism,
and Islam. A division of the government called the Religious Affairs Bureau monitors
each of these five recognized religions. All churches, temples, mosques, monasteries
and other locations for worship must be registered with the Bureau. Unregistered
religious activity is a punishable offense. Still many underground churches operate
in secret. Registration causes problems for the churches because of other clauses
effecting their membership. Catholic churches, for example, are not allowed to have
ties to the Vatican.
The stories of brutality in China are nearly equal to those in Tibet.
On June 18, 1992, 40 vehicles loaded with armed police and government officials
broke up a monthly communion service held by the Jesus Family, an unregistered evangelical
Protestant sect. They arrested participants and destroyed a large part of the
village, including completely or partially bulldozing six buildings. Sect members
were arrested on the spot and again later n the month and in early July, leaving some
children without a parent at home. In what appeared to be a deliberate attempt to
reduce the group's ability to survive economically, the police also confiscated most of
the sect's belongings. At least 31 of the 61 arrested were sentenced to between one
and 12 years in prison on charges of holding illegal religious gatherings, leading a
"collective life", disturbing the social order, resisting arrest and beating up
police. This last charge probably referred to the attempt by a Jesus Family members
to prevent the destruction of their church. The majority of those detained were sent
to Reeducation through Labor and wound up working at mining camps. Tibetans and
Chinese Christians are most often sent to labor camps, where they make many of the Chinese
exports we use.
All this is not an incident now and then. It is persecution of
thousands-government policy enforced by police terrorism.
Jewish History:
So what? What does this men to us? It's really a direct line. As Jews, we have
been the persecuted people through centuries. (Go through Persecution calendar).
Now, other groups are being persecuted in the same way as we were, and we have the
responsibility to take action. There is a famous quote by Hillel:
"If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
If I am only for myself, what am I?
And if not now, when?"
This quote describes in full our responsibility as Jews to take action, now, for others.
What we can do about it:
First of all, know that the situation in China is looking brighter. Human rights
issues there have come into international spotlight, and so the world is becoming a little
more focused on the persecution there. In addition, Hollywood attention to Tibet has
had positive effects on the attitude there. However, much is left to be done.
The US government is currently discussing the Wolf-Spector bill, known as the
Freedom from Religious Persecution Act. The act would protect religions around the
world. It has recently passed in the House, but still needs to be made official.
I have letters here to send to your representatives if you choose.
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