HandsOffVenezuela Campaign (Universities)

[Kez]

Hi there! Hola!

How is everyone? Hopefully grand.

Anyhow, the universities will soon begin to open in a months time, and this is an excellent time to start getting across whats happening in Venezuela and the actions of our imperialist governments.

In Britain we can start societies at the universities to hightlight whats happening, and from these we can use as a platform for actions of solidarity with the Venezuelan people and the Venezuelan Revolution.

This is an excellent opportunity for all members of Revolutionary Left who are either in University or going to go this year to aid the revolutionary process in Venezuela.
This is done by
a) highlighting whats happening over there, breaking the media blockade on the happenings over there
b) Show how the Venezuelan situation is not an anomoly, but linked with the effects of Capitalism, and the lengths capitalism and imperialism will go to stop the people progressing. This in turn raises peoples consiousness and can turn them to socialists.

So if anyone can help the campaign in whichever country you are in just reply to this post below, and im sure we can make this campaign grow, and will have amazing effects on the Venezuelan Revolution, and the Revolutionary process in your own home country!

In Struggle,

[RevolucioN NoW]

In Australia we have been working on a Venezuelan Solidarity campaign all year, including pickets of the US consulate, meetings and video screenings on universities and other locations and soon we will be having a series of Venezuelan reportbacks from comrades who have recently returned from Venezuela.

I am happy to know people are doing the same in Britain, Venezuelan solidarity is one of the most important things we as revolutionary Marxists can do, as the revolutionary process led by the masses of society is showing that another world is not only possible, but is in fact becoming a reality.

Check www.venezuelasolidarity.org for information on our campaign in Australia.

[chebol]

I agree with Kez, now is a really imortant time to start building solidarity with Venezuela, especially after Pat Robertson has come out and called for Chavez' assassination.

In Australia, the Australia-Venezuela Solidarity Network is organising a series of report-backs from our first-ever Solidarity Brigade to Venezuela. These will be held around the country in coming weeks (I'll post details as they are confirmed).
The first one will be at 4pm Sat August 27 at the Sydney Social Forum, and others are already confirmed for September 3 at the Resistance Centre in Chippendale and September 8 at Sydney Uni.

Other things that we've found really useful is to contact local Greens branches and other progressive organisations (Unions, student groups, community radio) to tell them about the process in Venezuela, visiting them and giving them an account of what's happening, and asking if they want to be involved or support a solidarity campaign. This has already been quite succesful.
Getting motions up in whatever organisation (union, student group, human rights org) you might be involved in is also a useful way to get the word out.

Finally, we are holding our 3rd National Conference in Solidarity with Latin America in Melbourne on October 1. Check out the web page for details.
www.venezuelasolidarity.org

For resources for building solidarity campaigns, I suggest checking out the following web pages (in English):
www.venezuelanalysis.com
www.venezuelasolidarity.org
www.greenleft.org.au
www.handsoffvenezuela.org
www.vheadline.com


chebol

[MoscowFarewell]

Is there any linked with America? I may be in High School, but I want to start helping.

[Guest_chebol]

www.ushov.org

[Kez]

Well, HandsOffVenezuela was the first international organisation in solidarity with the Venezuelan Revolution and People, so wherever you are in the world, you can join and do something in your area. Just contact them now to see how they can help your activity

www.handsoffvenezuela.org

[Guest_chebol]

By all means check out the HOV website, but remember that they aren't present everywhere, so you might have to build your own solidarity campaign.

The written resources on the HandsOffVenezuela site, as well as VenezuelaSolidarity, VenezuelaAnalysis and GreenLeft (which now has a news bureau in Caracas), can provide you with info about the revolution, as well as ideas about what kind of things (demos, fund-raisers, educational meetings, etc) you can do.

It might also be worth trying to find old solidarity activists from the Nicaraguan and Cuban revolutions or other campaigns- their experience in outreach work is invaluable.

comradely

chedol