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ACHR NEWS ON URBAN POOR
COMMUNITIES AND
ACTIVITIES
Below are eNews stories from July
to August 2000
AUGUST
14 MANILA
CEBU PHILIPPINES
Philippines Planning Secure Tenure
Launch
Leaders from urban poor
communities, federations and NGOs from 18 cities in the Philippine's
will meet in Cebu on 26th and 27th of August to plan the launch of a
Secure Tenure Campaign in collaboration with the UNCHS later in
November.
Over the following days, Jockin Amputham and Jesse Robredo will be
presented with their Magsaysay Awards and will also meet with urban poor
communities and spend time advocating with Philippines government and
international agencies. Slum dwellers from other Asian countries and
South Africa will attend the weeks activities which include sharing
experiences with the Payatas dump site and Pasig River
communities.
ACHR Sec Gen. Somsook Boonyabancha has met with focal point groups in
the Philippines (Aug 12-13).
More detail of the coming events HERE
AUGUST
13 BANGKOK
THAILAND
Ban Krua Community Prepares
Five Communities Vow to Block Survey
Teams
Since the 1988 the residents
of Bangkok's historic inner city community of Ban Krua have been
fighting freeway construction which threatens to evict them. Despite
two public hearings in favour of the community's assertion that the
expressway will be of no benefit to Bangkok traffic, the Expressway
and Rapid Transit Authority (ETA) will send their teams into the
community in the next few days to begin surveying for a controversial
new expressway access ramp. The community is prepared to resist.
Note: The BK community is strong, resilient and their strategy
has been very successful over the past 12 years. We're in touch with
Soroj (Community leader of Ban Krua) and will follow his advice on, if
and when there is a need for regional and international support.
MORE HERE
AUGUST 12
SRI LANKA
New Urban Poor Housing Fund in
Sri Lanka
The Women's Development Bank Sri Lanka is
proposing to setup a Housing Development Fund. The
Bank reports that "a revolving fund will make it possible for our
urban members to borrow money for Housing through the WDB's federation.
This would initially be a pilot project that will prove the viability of
our specialised credit system in the field of housing. Our experience
should encourage both government and other NGO's to come into the
partnership with us for appropriate housing for the poor. "
Those with experience in setting up such a system in the SDI and ACHR
networks can send their experiences to the Women’s Development Bank at
janatcf@lanka.ccom.lk
JULY 29 THAILAND
UCDO Merges with Rural Fund to
become CODI
Those in touch with urban poor
development processes in Asia will know of the significant impacts of
Thailand’s unique and innovative Urban Community Development Office .
As of 28th of July the UCDO has by law officially merged with
Thailand’s equivalent Rural Fund to become a new public organization
called the "Community Organization Development Institute"
(CODI). CODI will have an initial budget of around $US77
million and although under the Finance Ministry, the new organization
will be administered by an independent Board and will be highly
decentralized. Somsook
Boonyabancha (Director of UCDO and Sec General of ACHR) will head CODI
to initiate the merger.
MORE HERE
on the ACHR site
THE UCDO HAS A WEB SITE AT www.ucdo.thai.com
JULY
25 INDIA
Secure Tenure Launch a
Success
The inaugural launch of
the Global Campaign for Secure Tenure was held in Mumbai, India on
Sunday 16 July, 2000. "Superbly organized by the National Slum
Dwellers Federation (NSDF), all three levels of Government were
represented at senior levels. In addition to 3,000 slum dwellers from 23
Indian towns and cities, and slum dwellers from nine countries in Asia
and Africa, these events were witnessed by representatives of the
diplomatic community and international agencies."
William Cobbett in his Report on the Launch.
Other launches
are currently being planned by slum dwellers in South Africa,
Philippines, Cambodia and Thailand.
See the full text and Launch Summary at the CITYWATCH
News Site.
SDI EXTRA:
The
presence of the South African Homeless People’s Federation at the
Bombay launch has reinforced it’s questioning of the priority it has
earlier given to housing delivery at the expense of land. Read about the
new strategy and the SAHPF’s commitment with the SDI network to
collaborate with the UNCHS Secure Tenure Campaign in South Africa:
People's Dialogue Backyard Fax No. 31 HERE
JULY
25 REGIONAL
Magsaysay Award To Jockin
Jockin Arputham, founder of the Indian
National Slum Dwellers Federation and leading the focus of ACHR's
grassroots exchange programmes in Asia and Slum / Shack Dwellers
International was given the Magsaysay Award for international
understanding earlier this week. - A wonderful and greatly deserved
achievement. Jesse M Robredo,
a former mayor of the Philippine city of Naga, received the government
service award. MORE
HERE on the ACHR Site
More on the CITYWATCH News Site
JULY 24
PAYATAS
3rd Week of the Payatas Landslide
"trash-slide"
victims - 217 bodies recovered, about 82 still unidentified and allegedly withheld from legal
claimants, retrieval operations slowed down due to health hazards to
retrievers, 30 families still based in the Parish Church and over 500
families crowding in the elementary school to be transferred to Phase IV
due to outbreak of epidemia -
UPDATE from VMSDFI From Tragedy to Strategy HERE
JULY
15 BOMBAY
The Global Campaign for Secure Tenure
is being launched tomorrow in Mumbai India. Representatives of more than
90 countries will participate. These include those from UN agencies UNCHR,
UNICEF, UNDP, from multilateral agencies like the World Bank and the Asian
Development Bank and from bilateral agencies as well as government
officials from India. The Asian Coalition for Housing Rights and Slum /
Shack Dwellers International have arranged for urban poor representatives
to attend from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Cambodia, Nepal, Kenya,
Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.
This launch is for the South Asia region. Launches for other regions
around the world are planned.
More: Press Release from SPARC, India HERE
JULY 14 BOMBAY
Landslide at Slum in Mumbai
The incessant rains stopped,
the heavy clouds dispersed and sun shone brightly in Mumbai today after
the two days of torrential rains as rescue workers dug out seven more
bodies, raising the landslip toll to 67 in the northeastern suburb of
Ghatkopar.
More news from The Hindu
newspaper.
JULY 13
PHILIPPINES
Payatas Landslide
A landslide at the Philippines Payatas dump site community has killed at least
120 people made 300 families homeless and more are still missing - many are children.
Updates July 11th, 12th, 13th HERE
JULY 12
STORIES BELOW ON
ACHR Regional Fund / Facility
March Across Japan
UNCHS Secure Tenure Launch Campaign
Historic Day for Pavement Dwellers
ACHR Workshops 2000 -1
ACHR Advocacy June July
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ASIA
ACHR REGIONAL FUND / FACILITY
ACHR has had discussions internally, about the concept of
an
Asian Solidarity Facility or Fund for the Urban
Poor
and will hold a workshop on the topic in Cebu,
Philippines January 2001. It is important to let many others know
that ACHR is thinking along these lines and to encourage comments from
those who are interested and have opinions and ideas on the subject.
For detail on the idea so far click HERE
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JUNE 24 JAPAN
MARCH ACROSS JAPAN FOR THE HOMELESS BEGINS
Through-the-Archipelago-March-of-the-Homeless. The Marchers departed
successfully from Shibuya in Tokyo at 2030 on the last Saturday,
encouraged by 200 homeless comrades, who themselves live on streets in
Shibuya.
The March will last approximately a month. "We made a fresh
resolve to make this act against unemployment and evictions fruitful with
homeless comrades in various places in Japan, those deprived of, and the
poor in all over the world," writes Peter Shimokawa.
The group have opened a special home page for this March, where you can
see a diary that reports what is going on, and where the party is
walking on the map (maybe since 27th). Information will be updated as much
as possible every day.
See Progress Reports HERE
(external site)
Send messages of solidarity to
pmshimo@aa.mbn.or.jp
ACHR JAPAN WEB SITE
HERE
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JUNE
27
UNCHS Secure Tenure Launch
UPDATE Message from UNCHS
In partnership with the National Slum Dwellers
Federation, the Government of India, The state Government of Maharashtra
and the Mumbai Municipality, we intend to launch the Global Campaign for
Secure Tenure on Sunday 16th July.
These events are being organised by our partners in
Mumbai, and will be focused on the needs, aspirations and efforts of the
slum dwellers themselves. Overwhelmingly, the message that will be
conveyed is one of hope and of partnership, in which the role of the
government of India is extremely significant.
This event will also attract slum dweller organisations
from other parts of the world, particularly from Asia and from Africa, and
will provide a platform for learning from the Indian experience. In
addition, other multilateral organisations will be represented, as well as
a number of bilateral agencies.
For more information contact SPARC at
sparc1@vsnl.com
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BOMBAY INDIA
HISTORIC DAY FOR PAVEMENT DWELLERS
SPARC and the Pavement Dwellers of Bombay have
just signed historic documentation, which forms the basis for the first
3,000 households from the pavement settlements of Bombay to be
rehabilitated.
It was an agreement between the landowner of relocation site, the
construction company, the Slum Rehabilitation Authority, the Mumbai
Municipal Corporation and SPARC and the communities.
MORE on this story at SPARC
SPARC HAVE
2 NEW WEB SITES
www.citywatchnews.net
www.sparcindia.org
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ACHR Regional and Issue Based
Workshops 2000-1
Bombay INDIA July 2000
Alternatives to Forced Evictions - Strategies / Programmes/ Processes
Seoul
KOREA July 2000
Urban Poor East Asia, Prep Meeting
Karachi
PAKISTAN Nov 2000
Urban Resource Centres
More
HERE
Bangkok
THAILAND Nov-Dec 2000
Urban Poor Community Improvement Facility
More HERE
Kathmandu
NEPAL Dec 2000
Urban Poor South Asia
Hanoi,
VIETNAM March 2001
Understanding Asian Cities
Cebu,
PHILIPPINES Jan 2001
Region Urban Poor Fund
More HERE
SURABAYA INDONESIA MARCH
2001
Solid Waste Management
More HERE
Chiang
Mai THAILAND April 2001
Urban Poor & Young Professionals - Changing
the Institutions & Curriculums
More on these coming soon
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MAY 24
ACHR Advocacy Activities for July
See the In-House page below:
More on ACHR Activities and Friends at
ACHR's In-House Page
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PHILIPPINES WEB SITES
2 sites collectively maintained by urban
poor People's Organisations and NGOs.
CODEWAN at
www.codewan.com.ph
BALAY
at www.codewan.com.ph/balay
The CO Multiversity, together with UPA, and COPE are contributing to
the site above.
FROM
HOTLINE ASIA in HONG KONG
SPECIAL URGENT APPEAL
INDONESIA
SOS in AMBON / MOLUCCAS
MORE
HERE
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FROM
SOS GEORGETOWN
MALAYSIA
60,000
people living in the historical city of Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia are
threatened with mass expulsion following the repeal of an half century
old rent control law, effective from the start of this new millennium.
MORE HERE
NEWS BRIEFS
FROM
Third
World Network
Third World Resurgence
NEW ISSUE No 117
ZIMBABWE
LAND
GRABBERS
"While there can be no doubt that President Mugabe is shamelessly
exploiting the land problem in Zimbabwe for his own naked political
ends, the fact remains that the seizure of land by those who had no
title to it is neither more nor less than what was done a thousand times
over by 'heroic pioneers, intrepid colonists and builders of
empire'."
Jeremy Seabrook
Also Features
RICE PATENTS
G-77 Havana Summit
Third World Network
![[New!]](images/smallnew.gif)
FROM ACHR
What's Happening with the Tibet Heritage Fund in Lhasa ? HERE
COLUMBIA
Assassinations of Human Rights workers and Unionists
continues.
Two hundred journalists have been assassinated in the Americas since 1988,
89 of them in Colombia
More than 30,000 civilians have died in the last 10 years; killed by
Colombian armed forces and their paramilitary allies.
For information and actions
www.igc.apc.org/csn/
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FOR NEWS & ACTIONS ON ACEH
International
Forum
for Aceh
IFA
External Website Link
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NEW PUBLICATION
Vital Signs 2000
The World-watch
Institute
This book from the
Worldwatch Institute that shows in graphic form the key global and
development trends that often escape the attention of the news media and
world leaders, and that are often ignored by economic experts as they plan
for the future.
WORLDWATCH
web site
MAY 26
Blasphemy Laws Pakistan MORE
Pak Mool Dam Thailand MORE
The HOTLINE Section will publish urgent
appeals as well other News from local press and friends concerning urban
and rural poor activities in Asia
_______________________
From
IIED UK
ENVIRONMENT and URBANIZATION
JOURNAL
Vol. 11 Number 2 APRIL 2000
Poverty Reduction and
Urban Governance
Asia Africa South America
256 pp
Subscriptions: humans@iied.org _________________________ |
