World Day of Fasting for Peace and Independence of Nourishment - Water for Peace

Call for a Solidarity Fasting on 18 October 2008

Message from Pastoral Land Commission, CPT, member organisation of Pax Christi International in Brazil
We are calling upon you to join us on a worldwide day of fasting for peace and independence from nourishment in defence of free access to water and healthy food as a human right and in support of local, family farmers.
At the end of 2007 the Franciscan bishop Dom Luiz Cappio protested with fasting and praying for 24 days against the water diversion project of the Rio Sao Francesco. This was his means of supporting the preservation of the natural resources of this semi arid region and a proper revitalisation of the Rio Sao Francesco.

Pax Christi International awards Dom Cappio and all those who fought with him the Pax Christi International Peace Award 2008. The awarding of the prize is going to take place together with the fifth Water Pilgrimage (Romaria das Aguas) in Sobradinho, Bahia on 18 October 2008. Numerous organisations and thousands of people are expected to come to the event "Water for Peace".
During the World Nourishing Week the social movements of the Rio Sao Francesco region and of the northeast, the Via Campesina Brasilia and Pax Christi International are going to carry out a worldwide day of fasting for peace and independence from nourishment. These activities are part of the campaign of Via Campesina against genetically manipulated plants and continue the movement of solidarity fasting that developed from the solidarity with Dom Cappio. Hundreds of people worldwide fasted for one or more days during the hunger strike of the bishop. Their action was a demonstration for a world of justice. This movement combines political aims and spirituality and is to be seen in the tradition of Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and the non-violence of many others which was founded by Jesus Christ himself.
We want to use this gesture to draw attention to the severe and growing conflicts about water. This issue affects one third of the world population, as does the growing control that some transnational companies are exhibiting over land, production of, and access to, food.
The abundance and extravagance of the rich coincide with a growing endangerment of the population by pesticides and genetically manipulated foods. At the same time the number of those who do not have regular access to enough quality food is constantly rising.
The world day for peace and independence of nourishment supports the immediate necessity for an agricultural reform to give more families the opportunity to produce their own food. This reform has to make the production and consumption of healthy and ecologically produced food possible. Every people and every region have to have the right to produce and to consume their own food without being suppressed by global players like Syngenta, Monsanto, Bunge, ADM, Cargill, Dupont, Bayer and BASF. These companies are striving to control the water resources, the agricultural land, the biological and agricultural diversities, biotechnology and the global business with food. Their main asset is the development of genetically manipulated seeds which is made possible because the governments neglect their caretaking principles.
This gesture strengthens the necessity of recognising the access to water as a human right and as a universal right of creation. It explicitly opposes the diversion project of the water of the dying Rio Sao Francesco, which supports the production of fruit meant for export, of bio-fuel, of shrimps and steel by 70%.
The infrastructural mega-projects of the growth speeding programme have to be reconsidered in favour of another development programme that does not only take the need of the whole population into consideration, but looks especially at the needs of the poor, and which at the same time includes the challenge of the ecological crisis. Hundreds of fundamental organisations in the semi arid regions are already working accordingly on methods of water capacities and water usage. One example out of many is the Atlas Nordeste of the ANA (Agencia Nacional de Aguas) proposal to decentralise water supplies. These are much less expensive and much more expansive in their social and local responsibilities than the apparent "solution" of the diversion of the Rio Sao Francesco waters. The life and production model is supported by the simple people who live and know about the real needs of the population of the region and their independent organisations.
Until today the following organisations, that will participate on the Global Day of Peace and Independence of Nourishment" have signed the Manifest "Water for Peace" (as of 13-10-2008) Pax Christi International, Misereor (Germany), Via Campesina Brasil (MST, MPA, MAB, MMC, FEAB, CPT, PJR), CPP, PACS, CESE, CARITAS, Forum Permanente em Defesa do Rio Sao Francisco, SERPAJ-Brasil e America Latina, International Free Water Academy.
Please tell CPT if your organisation wants to sign this manifest and who wants to participate in the fasting. E-mail cptba@cptba.org.br - or tel. (0055)71.8714-5724; 71.9208-6548 -- Ruben; 31.9997-2440 -- Erica) or Via Campesina / Nordeste (e-mail viacampesinape@gmail.com or tel 81-3222-7569 81-9164-9758 -- Paula) this is important to enable us to publish the participants!
Brussels, 17 October 2008
2008-0760-en-am-HS