After the bloody military putsch in Burma, we had received last year an unprecedented amount of donations [1], which allowed us to send to the resistance forces of this country a significant financial aid, without reducing the one dedicated to the usual partners of ESSF, whether it is in Bangladesh (the movements associated to the peasant organizations BKF-BKS), in Indonesia (the association Free Women - Mahardika), in Pakistan (the Labour Education Foundation and the Crofter Foundation), in the Philippines (the coalition of association MiHands in Mindanao).
We hoped to maintain the same level of support in 2022 as in 2021, but we felt that it would not have been effective to launch a new appeal for donations in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On our website, we have extensively covered this European war, but in terms of financial aid, Europe is outside the geographical scope of our association’s commitment. On the other hand, it is our responsibility to maintain our support for our Asian partners. We therefore launch this fundraising appeal, with the objective of raising the same amount of money as last year.
Our most recent fundraising campaign conducted at the end of 2021 allowed us to replenish our Permanent Solidarity Fund, and provide limited financial assistance to our Asian partners. The Ukrainian conflict is now a long-term issue and will continue to dominate the international agenda. However, we cannot delay our solidarity campaign any longe. FWe therefore launch this fundraising appeal, with the objective of raising the same amount of money as last year.
– Our association does not receive any subsidy. It does not accept any subsidies or grants from governments or from NGOs that accept government funding. The ESSF solidarity fund is entirely financed by private donations, and all of your donations are transfered to our partners. [2].
– ESSF helps progressive, militant, initiatives that support local populations exposed to disasters, poverty, exploitation and repression. Our partners are committed to supporting the self-organization of these communities. [3].
Acting in times of global crisis
South and Southeast Asia is directly affected by the globalization crisis and its socio-economic impact on workers, but there is more. Our partners are also active in a wide range of other areas:
– The health crisis. A large part of the support we have been able to send has been used to help vulnerable populations most affected by Covid-19. This pandemic has its ups and downs depending on the variants, countries and regions, but it is not over. The recent spread via new ways of the (less dangerous) monkeypox reminds us that we live in epidemic times. Our partners insist that vaccination and health protection campaigns for the poor cannot just be for Covid response and will not lose their relevance in the future. Public health provision must be protected and improved, with attention to the long term social rehabilitation of popular sectors that are victims of chronic health crises, deficient health care, authoritarian lockdowns, unemployment and school closures.
– The climate and ecological crisis. Deadly heat waves are increasingly common in South and South East Asia, particularly in Pakistan. The rise of sea levels threatens to submerge a large part of Bangladesh as well as coastal plains of the Indonesian and Philippine archipelagos. Cyclones are becoming more intense and soils are being eroded. The decline in biodiversity is accelerating, and the route of the great ocean currents in the Pacific is changing, which will probably have considerable consequences. We have entered a period in which the various dimensions of the ecological crisis are interacting with each other, with formidable knock-on effects. Our partners are actively contributing to strengthening the capacity of populations to organize themselves to face the current catastrophe, including the adaptation of their modes of production and the reinforcing of their mutual aid networks.
– The democratic crisis. Under the boot of the military junta, Burma is experiencing a total crisis of legitimacy, , but authoritarian trends can be seen throughout the region. The return to power of the Marcos clan in the Philippines, 36 years after the overthrow of the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos Snr., is a symbol of this. So is the strengthening of fundamentalist and reactionary currents in all of Asia’s religious communities. In this context, the activists of our partner organizations are under constant threat. The danger they face takes many forms: military campaigns (accross Burma, and in Mindanao in the south of the Philippines), arbitrary arrests, death squads, hired thugs and militias in the service of the rich and powerful, accusations of blasphemy or of undermining national security, the list goes on. In these circumstances, the financial aid that we can provide also represents a precious moral and political support for these front-line activists.
We warmly thank in advance all those who respond to this appeal.
Adam Novak, Pierre Rousset
ESSF
Donations can be one-time or regular (monthly, the best formula for our association), or a combination of both.
To send donations
Cheques
cheques to ESSF in euros only, payable in France, to be sent to:
ESSF
2, rue Richard-Lenoir
93100 Montreuil
France
Bank Account:
Crédit lyonnais
Agence de la Croix-de-Chavaux (00525)
10 boulevard Chanzy
93100 Montreuil
France
ESSF, account number 445757C
International bank account details :
IBAN : FR85 3000 2005 2500 0044 5757 C12
BIC / SWIFT : CRLYFRPP
Account holder : ESSF
Through PayPal
You can send money through Paypal: see the PayPal button on ESSF English home page: http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?page=sommaire&lang=en
Through HelloAsso
You can also send money through the association HelloAsso: see its button on ESSF English home page: http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?page=sommaire&lang=en
Or go directly to:
https://www.helloasso.com/associations/europe-solidaire-sans-frontieres/formulaires/1/widget
We keep you regularly informed via our website of the situation and use of the solidarity fund.