This article is revised from 2016, to update on two clean-water battles cited in that drash. The idiom, “blood in the water” refers to perception of apparent weakness or vulnerability that predators take as a sign to attack their chosen victims.
Parashat Va’era: Ex. 6:2-9:35, maf. Num. 28:9-15, Isa. 66:1-24. Sources for this drash include the Dvar Tzedek page of the ajws, currently grantfunding $38 million+ /year to 450 social justice groups in in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and advocating in the US for human rights in law and policy.
Ex.7:24 And all in Egypt digged round about the Nile for water to drink; for they could not drink of the river’s water.
At Dvar Tzedek, Aviva Presser wrote about the worldwide plague of clean-water shortage, and one victory in particular.
...In Mexico, Oaxaca’s Central Valleys experience frequent droughts. For thousands of years, indigenous people have coped with the water shortages by using traditional farming practices that respect the ebb and flow of the water table. They dug wells that tapped into natural aquifers; and when water was sparse, they conserved it until the wells refilled.
In 2006, Mexico’s national water authority, CONAGUA, interfered with this delicate balance: the government began restricting indigenous communities’ use of water from the wells and over- charging them for it. The farmers could no longer thwart the effects of drought naturally—and could not afford to pay the government’s high rates.
As a result—like the Egyptians cursed with the bloody Nile—their crops suffered, their livelihoods were devastated and their lives were in danger.
Moreover, while local people’s farms withered, they saw the government supplying ample water to nearby industrial farms, tourist hotels and mines — all projects that stood to benefit more privileged sectors.
But Oaxaca’s farmers are overcoming this plague. Flor y Canto, a local women-led organization, organized the farmers to sue CONAGUA -—and in 2013, it won the case.
On pg 20 of this American Jewish World Service pdf, is more on Centro de Derechos Indigenas Flor y Canto (Flower and Song Center for Indigenous Rights) — AJWS was Flor y Canto’s first long-time donor.
Location: Oaxaca
Website:
www.cdiflorycanto.
wordpress.com
Organizational budget: $657,125
AJWS Funding History:
$287,055 since 2008
The municipal tribunal ruled that the water commission must consult with the farmers and give them a say in how water resources are allocated. It was a landmark victory—the first time anyone had sued this powerful body, the first time CONAGUA had been madeaccountable to follow the law on indigenous rights, and the first time nationwide that a government institution had recognized those rights.
Unfortunately, the victory came with a price: the organization received threats throughout the case and, in 2012, a community activist was murdered.
But the community held its ground. Flor y Canto and the people are now negotiating the community’s role in making decisions moving forward. Today, communities all over Mexico are reaching out to Flory y Canto for guidance about how they can bring similar lawsuits.
While they pursued justice in the courts, Flor y Canto and the farmers worked to bring the local farms back to life. They restored ancestral methods of managing the natural water sources and created new techniques for combatting the effects of the dry season. They have strengthened natural aquifers and increased the water levels of communal wells, demonstrating how effectively indigenous people manage their own natural resources.
The people now refer to the indigenous farmers and Flor y Canto as the “sowers of water.”
(Photos @pdf & website are heart-lifting — worth a look all on their own.)
In Flint, Michigan people are also fighting on, led by stalwarts such as “Dr Mona” —
Mona Hanna-Attisha (born 1976)[1] the pediatrician and public health researcher whose elucidation of the ongoing impact of the pollution helped forced government to deal with it— director of an initiative to mitigate the toxic impact. From
Flint Bottles Hope From Its Toxic Water Crisis by Sebastien Malo for Thomson Reuters Foundation via Medscape — November 2, 2017
Since the
2014 water scandal coming to light, bottled water and water filters have been pretty much the only safe alternative as the crisis goes on.
Flint was drowning in empty bottles … this week it began to fight back with a project that transforms its plastic waste into a hip new line of clothes [made of fabric derived from the recycled plastic. Their] "Flint Fit" fashion brand … rolled out plans [for, fittingly, water-resistent] everything from raincoats to [windbreakers to sleep-wear to bikinis].
...Flint [had already] faced a run of crises …as chronicled by Michael Moore's acclaimed movie "Roger & Me" about the shutdown of its local auto plants… becoming known for high crime rates, dangerous living and its city falling into financial emergency… The impoverished community of 100,000, once a thriving manufacturing behemoth, drew national attention in 2015 when research revealed residents were exposed to dangerously high levels of lead in their running water...
Inspiration came after [North Carolina conceptual artist Mel Chin] visited Flint last year, and found women stitching hospital scrubs and other garments on a basketball court, part of a community project. [Chin and New York fashion designer Tracy Reese] devised a way to turn [the added plague of bottles] into opportunity ... as much about creating objects of beauty as about reviving some of Flint's lost manufacturing.
...The women of St. Luke's N.E.W. Life Center are now the manufacturing arm of Flint Fit… For Flint resident Barbie Biggs, a community activist in her 50s who collects bottles for the project], the initiative is a rare positive in a town that feels down and dumped.
“It means that we take something that is painful and make it positive..."
Research into lead pollution of ‘potable’ water was widened in part because the people of Flint raised voice against their plague. November 15, 2017 also a Medscape link: free to all, you just need to register— Reuters Finds 3,810 U.S. Areas With Lead Poisoning Double Flint’s [Levels] by M.B. Pell and Joshua Schneyer.
Commenters please feel welcome to mention or link stories you’ve found about people fighting back against the plague of pollution and for the implicit survival-right of sustainable access to water.
Shabbat Shalom
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Jan.20 Parashat Bo Ex.10:1-13:16, Jer. 46:13-28_mettle fatigue___
Jan.27 Beshalach Ex.13:17-17:16, Judg. 4:4–5:31 [Judg 5:1-31] by ramara_
◻ Wed. Jan 31 Tu B’Shvat ◻The 15th of Sh'vat ◻ New Year for Trees ______
Feb.3 Yitro Ex.18:1-20:23, Isa. 6:1–7:6; 9:5-6 [Isa. 6:1-13] by_hhcovitz__
Feb.10 Mishpatim Ex.21:1-24:18, 2 Kgs. 12:1-17 [2 Kgs. 11:17–12:17] Shabbat Shekalim ______________
Feb.17 Terumah Ex.25:1-27:19, 1 Kgs. 5:26–6:13 _mettle fatigue___
Feb.24 Tetzaveh Ex. 27:20-30:10, maf. Deut. 25:17-19, 1 Sam. 15:2-34 [1 Sam. 15:1-34] Shabbat Zachor ________
◻ Wed.Feb.28 Ta’anit Esther [Fast of Esther] erev Purim
◻ Thu.Mar.1 Purim by ramara
Mar.3 Ki Tisa Ex.30:11-34:35, Ezek.36:16-38 [Ezek 36:16-36], .________________
Mar.10 Vayakhel -Pekudei Ex.35:1–40:38, maf. Num. 19:1-22, Ezek. 36:16-38 [Ezek. 36:16-36], Shabbat Parah __________________
VAYIKRA / LEVITICUS comes next. Whew, that was fast!