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Malik Rahim, grassroots relief worker in New Orleans, former Black Panther, and former Green party candidate for mayor of New Orleans to address statewide conference against war "It's Criminal": Volunteer and Victim on the Ground in Louisiana to Call Into VT Says NO to War Conference at 11:45 a.m. Saturday, September 10 BURLINGTON, VT -- Tomorrow, Saturday, September 10, Malik Rahim will call in at 11:45 a.m. from Louisiana to address hundreds gathered for the Vermont Says NO to War conference at the University of Vermont. "From what you're hearing, the people trapped in New Orleans are nothing but looters," wrote Rahim in a piece published in several newspapers and online media outlets, including Znet, Democracy Now, and the San Francisco Bay View. "We're told to be 'neighborly'. But nobody talked about being neighborly until the people who could afford to leave left."
Rahim is the former Black Panther and New Orleans mayoral candidate who has been widely published criticizing the Bush administration's response to Hurricane Katrina. He will highlight the connection between the Bush failed military excursion in Iraq and the lack of response to help the poor victims of the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
Rahim has been on the ground, helping people escape New Orleans since the flood waters overtook the city. He has been a key organizer of grassroots relief efforts, shuttling food and water in to those who need it, and helping as many people as possible escape the catastrophe.
""We have Amtrak here that could have carried everybody out of town. There were enough school buses that could have evacuated 20,000 people... but they just let them be flooded," said an exasperated Rahim. "My son watched 40 go under water -- they wouldn't move them, afraid they'd be stolen".
Those people present tomorrow morning at the Vermont Says NO to War conference will get a first-hand description of the horrors experienced by the poor, neglected, and disenfranchised New Orleans residents who were left to drown, starve, and die in the formerly lively, energetic city.
Background On September 9 and 10, 2005, peace, social justice, and political activists from across Vermont will converge on Burlington for the "Vermont Says NO to War Conference for Peace and Against War, Occupation & Empire" at the University of Vermont.
The conference will offer not only well-known speakers and war resisters, but will give conference attendees the opportunity to work together on antiwar initiatives for Vermont and for preparation for the massive September 24 day of protest, which will draw hundreds of thousands of protesters to major cities across the U.S.
Speakers, panelists and workshop leaders include:
For information and interviews about the conference, or to arrange pre-conference interviews with sponsor organizations and/or the distinguished conference speakers, contact spokesperson Craig Chevrier at 802-598-7269 or [EMAIL PROTECTED].
Individuals seeking general information about the conference should contact the Peace & Justice Center at 802-863-2345.
About Vermont Says NO to War The Vermont Says NO to War committee was formed in early 2005 by representatives of several anti-war, social justice, and political organizations. The conference is sponsored by: Alternatives to Recruitment, American Friends Service Committee, Brattleboro Area Peace & Justice Group, Global Justice Ecology Project, Green Mountain Veterans for Peace, International Socialist Organization, Johnson State Anti-War Coalition, Military Families Speak Out, North Country Coalition for Justice and Peace, Peace & Justice Center, PeaceVermont, UVM Students Against War, Vermont Green Party, Will Miller Social Justice Lecture Series, Women's International League for Peace & Freedom. The conference is endorsed by: Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace, Democracy for VT, Vermont School of the Americas Watch, Vermont Labor Against War, Volunteers for Peace. Media Contact: Craig Chevrier (802)598-7269
September 9, 2005
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