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August 26, 2004 10:19PM EDT [general.addtranslation] Download Article (PDF) [ insert language bar ]

Chinatown Youth Protest Bush Policies

By Jenny

Over one hundred people gathered in Confucious Park, Chinatown today to protest the Bush administration's wars- at home and abroad.
In a spirited rally, speakers broke down the impact of Bush's war agenda on Chinatown residents in dollar-per-hour amounts: "The cost of war and occupation in Iraq over a period of four hours is $30 million. This money could be used to provide job training for all Chinatown workers who lost their jobs after 9/11. One and a half days of war in Iraq costs $239 million, which would be enough to provide health care for all Chinatown residents. "

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Chinatown Youth Protest Bush Policies

The demonstration was lead by young activists from the Chinatown Justice Project, a branch of CAAAV (The Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence). CAAAV is a youth-lead organization based in several Asian American communities throughout New York. They work to build community power around many issues, including: affordable housing and tenants rights, ending violence against domestic workers, welfare rights and ending the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Yi-Hang Chen, a member of CJP stated, "as young people in Chinatown, we oppose the war and occupation in Iraq. War is not and will never be a solution to the problems we face."

CJP found the Republicans' decision to hold their convention in New York City offensive, as New Yorkers and residents of Chinatown in particular, have received virtually no support from the federal government in the aftermath of September 11th. One quarter of the factories in Chinatown closed down after the attacks, laying off 8,000 workers, but no training or job placement programs have been made available to them. Compensation to victims and their families has been scarce and health complications among survivors have not been addressed.

Following these statements from youth in the Chinatown Justice Project, the rally turned into a march / street theater performance. A Bush look-a-like bounced a giant earth-shaped ball down the street, demonstrating the recklessness of U.S. global domination. Protesters followed close behind, symbollically chasing him out of town, chanting "peace, no war / at home and afar / no blood for oil, get Bush in jail." All chants were read in both English and Chinese.

The march ended at East Broadway and Catherine St., in a plaza beneath a sign that read " In honor of those who died fighting for freedom and democracy." Here the CJP youth leading the march convened a people's court to try George W. Bush for his crimes against the Chinatown community and the world. Each person wore a bilingual sign representing different characters, affected by the policies of Bush administration. They were,"soldier," "student," "vendor," "teacher," "tenant," "Iraqi," "9/11 survivor," "garment worker" and "immigrant restaurant worker." They arrested Bush, handcuffed him, made him kneel and read the charges against him. He was soon found guilty and taken away in handcuffs.

Join CAAAV and the 34 other racial and economic justice organizations in the Still We Rise Coalition for two upcoming marches:

> SUNDAY AUGUST 29th: A march for peace and an end to the occupation, with :United for Peace and Justice. 9:00 am / at the corner of 14th St. and 9th Ave.

> MONDAY AUGUST 30th: The Still We Rise Poor People's March. 12:00 pm / Union Square

By Jenny jllz@umich.edu

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Add your comments

You folks are awesome!

Aug 26, 2004 09:48PM EDT

Thanks from N. Cal. See you soon!

Iraq War vs. Opium War

Aug 26, 2004 10:37PM EDT

Y W

Reasons for War:
WMD as the excuse to steal Iraq oil vs. trading opium for China''s silver, silk, china and everything the West lacked. Either way, it's robbery in day light and it's committed by the governments.