Berkshire Human Rights Speaker Series

In her recent book, The World of Mexican Migrants, Dr. Judy Hellman explores the conditions in Mexico that lead migrants to leave their families and cross the border, the journeys they make to find a better life, and the situation of family members who stay behind, relying on remittances from the north

Drawing on five years of in-depth research, Hellman focuses on the lives and survival strategies of Mexicans in NY and LA, immigrants who work in restaurants, hotels, and landscaping crews. She will compare the lives of these migrants with the reality of Mexicans, documented and undocumented, who live in rural areas like Berkshire County.

Dr. Hellman, Professor of Social and Political Science at York University in Toronto, will give us a portrait of Mexicans on both sides of the border that is very different from the popular notions that dominate the migration debate in the US. Talk is at Hevreh of So Berkshire.

December 1, Thursday, 7pm – “The Israeli – Palestinian Conflict – A Holistic Approach to Peace"

With the Israeli-Palestinian peace process in shambles, both sides are exhausted by the ongoing cycle of violence and retaliation. A vision for an alternative, non-violent way toward peace and security has yet to present itself. Years of political struggle and far too many loved ones tragically lost have left Israelis and Palestinians demoralized. The suffering on all sides dreadful and heart breaking.

Professor Yehezkel Landau argues that it's time to explore other ways of healing this seemingly intractable conflict. It’s clear by now that military force, from either side, won’t solve this highly charged and terribly complex issue. Is a lasting peace possible?

Committed to pursuing peace through healing and reconciliation for all those affected, Professor Landau currently teaches at the Hartford Seminary and lectures internationally on issues of religion, politics and Middle East peacemaking. Talk is at Hevreh of So Berkshire.

February 9, Thursday, 7pm – “Cotton and Race in the Making of America"

Cotton, for most, brings to mind benign images of sheets and towels, blue jeans and T-shirts. The health and fashion benefits that cotton produced overshadowed a sinister past we seldom recognize. From 1800, to the Civil War to Civil Rights, cotton played an enormous role in the destiny of the American experience with vast global markings long before globalization became a contemporary, household word. Cotton was a powerful engine of American economic growth and wielded the same authority as oil today.

Gene Dattel's fascinating account, Cotton and Race in the Making of America - The Human Costs of Economic Power, presents an insightful and revealing narrative about economics and race in the entire United States - not just the south. And as cotton shaped the nation’s economic landscape, racial oppression and the human suffering of slavery shaped the face of America. Slaves cultivated cotton for sixty years, though free blacks were cotton laborers for nearly a century after emancipation. A people and a crop became inextricably bonded. Talk is at Hevreh of So Berkshire.

March 18, Sunday, 2-5pm – “Bearing Witness" – A Screening

For International Women’s Day, a screening of the astonishing new documentary film by Pamela Yates, Granito: How to Nail a Dictator, focusing on the important role of women in peace and reconciliation movements in Guatemala and other post-conflict societies.

In the early 1980’s for her 1984 documentary film, When the Mountains Tremble, Ms. Yates filmed the only known footage of the Guatemalan Army carrying out mass killings of the indigenous Mayan people. Twenty-five years later, her footage was used as forensic evidence in an international crimes case against former military dictator Gen. Efrain Rios Montt.

Social justice activist Rigoberta Menchu, the central figure in Yates’s earlier film, was later awarded the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize for her courageous struggle against Guatemala’s brutal military regime. Hailed as compelling political thriller, Granito is the winner of numerous human rights awards. “Granito doesn’t simply relate history; it is also part of history.” Stephen Holden, the NY Times. Screening is at the Daniels Art Center.

October 28, Thursday, 7pm – “Afghanistan – Caught In The Crossfire"
November 22, Monday, 7pm – “Poverty and Global Health”
March 10, Thursday, 7pm – “The Modern Middle East”
April 4, Monday, 7pm – “The Gender Wealth Gap”

The talks in the 2010 – 2011 series were:

The following are talks from previous seasons (these are links to their e-posters):

March 27, 2010 – “Monique and the Mango Rains"
November 17, 2009 – “A Common Humanity”
October 19, 2009 – “Closing the Food Gap”

March 21,2009 – “The US Supreme Court – A Lively Primer"
February 10, 2009 – “No One Deserves to be Beaten”
November 25, 2008 – “Hate and Hope in America”
October 22, 2008 – “Time for a Paradigm Shift in US – Iran Relations”

April 22, 2008 – “The Human Face of Immigration"
March 20, 2008 – “The Right to Vote”

Poster for 2007 – 2008 Series
Poster for 2006 – 2007 Series

October 28, Thursday, 7pm – “Afghanistan – Caught In The Crossfire"

( ⇒ e-poster suitable for emailing )
Please join us for an engaging evening with author and documentary filmmaker, David Edwards, Professor of Anthropology and Sociology at Williams College, who will provide an overview of the Afghanistan conflict and what lies ahead for its people.

After the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, Afghanistan became "ground zero" in America's new War on Terror. Strategically placed between the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent, 30 years of savage fighting have left Afghanistan in ruins, its society and economy in shambles.

Can this war-weary, impoverished, tribal nation organize a functioning government free of corruption? Can it achieve peace without repression - or will the country once again slide ever deeper into a devastating and destabilizing civil war.

Soon after President Obama's West Point Afghanistan speech last year, noted journalist Hendrik Hertzberg commented, "there are no good options for the US in Afghanistan." The difficult choices for resolving this brutal conflict are few and deeply complicated - especially for the Afghan people caught in the Crossfire.

Somewhat larger than Texas, Afghanistan is largely an agrarian society, comprised of tribal groups ordered by complex and fluid social relationships developed over centuries. "To abandon this area now," President Obama said, "would significantly hamper our ability to keep pressure on Al Queda and create an unacceptable risk of additional attacks on our homeland and our allies."

The precarious stability of Afghanistan's regional neighbors, India, Pakistan and Iran hold delicately in the balance. A potentially voluble and dangerous situation considering the nuclear capability of India and Pakistan, an already troubled situation - and perhaps soon-to-be nuclear-armed Iran.

With the current escalation of US troops being sent to Afghanistan, it's impossible to predict which direction the conflict will take. With human rights abuses from both the government and the Taliban insurgency at perilously high levels already, health, education and discriminatory violence to civilians continues to escalate.

Is the international community willing to commit to a long and costly redevelopment process of nation building, or leave Afghanistan to its own, quite uncertain future?

To be sure – a foreign policy quagmire of immense proportion with no clear exit strategy in place.

November 22, Monday, 7pm – “Poverty and Global Health”

( ⇒ e-poster suitable for emailing )
Please join us for a compelling presentation on the profound effects of poverty on global health, and the current situation in Haiti after the devastating earthquake.

Combating disease in impoverished settings also means addressing the crushing poverty at the root cause of ill health.

As the Advocacy and Policy Director at Partners in Health (PIH), Donna Barry is the guiding hand for PIH’s efforts related to health, hunger, maternal mortality, TB treatment, and socioeconomic development in Haiti. As an effective advocate for the poor and the marginalized, PIH – described in Tracy Kidder’s Mountains Beyond Mountains – is an inspirational model for changing the face of global public health.

More about Partners in Health

Beginning in 1987, PIH was formed by Paul Farmer, Jim Kim and Ophelia Dhal, with the generous financial support of Tom White, a successful building contractor who simply wanted to “give back” to others less fortunate than himself. PIH addresses the crushing poverty at the root causes of ill health. It has a mission both medical and moral that's simple, direct and human. It is a compassionate and effective working definition for human rights.

Dramatically low income doesn’t guarantee ill health, but the two act in sync as a potent and reliable recipe for sickness, misery and shorter life expectancy. As Tracy Kidder points out so well, throughout the world an imaginary socioeconomic line divides those who enjoy relative good health and those who don’t.

Many living on the poor-health-side are people of color, and many are women and children. What the poor health group nearly always shares is a profound and chronic poverty that lacks most of what those on the good-health side take so for granted.

Clean water tops the list, but no less important – access to decent food, healthcare, housing, education and jobs. The basic needs for a life on earth for those who routinely live without.

To help relieve the chronic social conditions of deprivation and disease that plague poor communities throughout the world, PIH is an inspirational model for changing the face of global public health.

It is a comprehensive health care and social justice partner that both listens to and advocates for the poor. At best – it is an antidote to hopelessness for some of the world’s most destitute and struggling communities.

In many instances it truly saves lives with modern medical intervention, and in other ways it simply allows for a child to go to school with some food in her belly. When confronted with the magnitude of global need, PIH makes a start and forges ahead with what needs to be done.

As PIH’s Director Ophelia Dhal so poignantly says, "you have to believe that small gestures matter – that they do add up.”

March 10, Thursday, 7pm – “The Modern Middle East”

For years the modern Middle East has been strained to the breaking point with full-blown wars in Iraq and Iran, ongoing crisis and conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians, and now the dramatic uprising in Egypt.

A lasting peace in the Middle East is vital for global security and the preservation of human rights.

With Iran’s appetite for nuclear weapons, and those already stockpiled in the US and Israel - is there a clear path for diplomacy and a dignified solution to avoid more aggressive action?

What lies ahead for Iran/Iraq/US/Israeli/Palestinian relations, as core values and lives on all fronts hang precariously in the balance? Dr. Magnus Bernhardsson, Professor of Middle Eastern History at Williams College, will overview historical trends, present problems, and future challenges.

April 4, Monday, 7pm – “The Gender Wealth Gap”

As we collectively struggle with the latest economic downturn, the wealth gap for women, especially women of color is widening. “Not just a gap,” says Meizhu Lui, author of “The Color of Wealth,” “it’s a deepening canyon.”

As defined by Ms. Lui, the wealth gap is simply what you own minus what you owe. Savings, homes, businesses, retirement and investment accounts enable a person to weather economic storms allowing for some measure of economic security.

For many women and for women of color, economic security is non-existent. Ms. Lui asserts that our nation’s long-term economic future greatly depends on the inclusion of all Americans in opportunities to build wealth.