Winnipeg Multicultural Human Rights Forum

June 20, 2016

Levy Abad

Published in Diversity Times

July 2016, Vol.5 No, 7

Back in the mid-2013, I remember meeting some of my friends in the community like Simon Baer and Mario Fuentes, a political prisoner in El Salvador in June 1988 during Napoleon Duarte’s regime. They are members of the Winnipeg Multicultural Human Rights Forum of which I serve as a Program Coordinator.  I vividly recall in one of our meetings, Simon and Mario asked me about the relevance of organizing the Human Rights Forum  when we already have the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, which was about to open  in September  2014.  I explained that even if we have the museum, it is still important to organize a grassroots group to help empower small communities. I added that if there is an institutional human rights, there should also be grassroots human rights like the Multicultural Human Rights Forum to support the view from the ground. This way, the minorities in a given community are assured of a venue to express themselves and have a voice if the institution becomes beholden and fettered by interest. During that time, the museum was a controversial issue since most people perceived it as serving the status quo.  We are not sure if it will not be captured by the powerful in the community and eventually be used as a tool by powerful interest groups.

In 2012, I met Bro. Ali Saeed of the Solidarity Committee for Ethiopian Political Prisoners (SOCEPP). He was preparing for their event, the annual “Night of the Disappeared.” I was working as the Executive Assistant of then Minister of Culture, Heritage and Tourism Flor Marcelino. Brother Ali proposed a meeting where we discussed about organizing the Night of the Disappeared. I suggested to Brother Ali that it would be better if we involve other communities on this important issue.  I volunteered to invite friends and arrange a meeting.

 The first few meetings were attended by the following individuals, Raimund Bukovich, Jaime  Carrasco, Michael  Pajemolin,  Diwa Marcelino, Pablo Herrera, Simon Baer, Mario Fuentes, Susan Rodriguez, Maree Rodriguez, Vanessa Harari,  Eric Wilson,  Clifton Starr, Ayni Omar,  Rosa Gonzales, Lucia Madariaga- Vignudo,  Edwin  San Jose, Pedro Fontanilla and of course, Ali Saeed.  Kathi Neal of the Manitoba Human Rights Commission also graced the event.

We decided to call the group tentatively as the Winnipeg Multicultural Human Rights Forum (WMHRF) and this was immediately followed by educational events on human rights, including a forum called “Where are they now? A Human Rights Forum on the Disappeared,” that was held at the Convocation Hall of the University of Winnipeg on September 9, 2013. In this event, we invited panelists to talk on the human rights situation in their respective countries:  Ali Saeed for Ethiopia, Lucia Madariga-Vignudo for Argentina, William Vivas for Nicaragua, Hugo Torres Cereceda for Chile and me for the human rights situation in the Philippines. We also had cultural performances where Hugo Torres Cereceda and I sang a couple of socially relevant songs. The event was a success. We had a great turn-out.

The forum was followed by the “Night of the Disappeared of 2013,” held at the West End Cultural Centre. Each member actively helped in gathering people for the event.  The following year, we organized another forum, which was held at Young United Church titled, “Global Mining and Indigenous Rights,” where we invited speakers like Jaime Carrasco who discussed the situation in Chile and the surrounding countries, Helal Mohiuddin of the Bangladesh community and Leah Gazan, President of the Social Planning Council who shared her views on mining and its impact on Indigenous communities. The Winnipeg Multicultural Human Rights Forum played a significant role in the “Night of the Disappeared 2014.” The group was able to raise money for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.

This year, we are organizing another event titled, “Migrant Solidarity Night with Refugees,” to be held at Broadway Disciples United Church (Broadway /Kennedy) on the 25^th of June. This is a fundraising event for refugees. There will be solidarity messages, poems and songs coming from representatives of the different communities.  Organizations like the Chilean Human Rights Council, Migrante-Manitoba, SOCCEPP, Mining Justice Network Winnipeg/ United for Mining Justice, Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba, Solidarity Winnipeg and friends like Ruby Syed and Mildred Caldo of Workers United will be on hand to support this event. 

These are some of the highlights of the Winnipeg Multicultural Human Rights Forum’s short but significant history. To date, we are still an informal organization, but we are working on the group’s registration this year.  Many thanks to the steadfast members and supporters who consistently help out in organizing forums, human rights education programs and mobilization. Long Live Grassroots Human Rights!