Dear All,
Master Dogen quoted Master Eisai, " The Buddha cut off his flesh and limbs and offered them to living beings. Even if we gave the whole body of the Buddha to people who are about to die of starvation, such an action would certainly be in accordance with the Buddha’s will.” He went on, “Even if I fall into hell because of this sin, I have just saved living beings from starvation." ... "To miss a day’s food, or even to starve to death, should not bother you. It is more beneficial to save people in the secular world right now who are suffering from a lack of something they need.” (Zuimonki 2-2, 6-15)
As we discuss here from time to time, overt politics is avoided at Treeleaf, and "left at the Sangha door," so that we can sit and practice beyond views. However, certain topics press upon the Precepts, including our Vow to avoid the taking of life, and to rescue sentient beings. It is a thin line to tread, but I believe that this is a case where protest and concern must be raised because lives are at stake, including the lives of children.
Taking these effects as likely, the cutting off of aid to leave people in poverty, hunger, homelessness and without medical care and other resources is immoral by anything but the darkest interpretation of our Vows and general humane values. It must be protested by ethical people of all peaceful, caring humane creeds and philosophies.
Petitions and marches may have no effect. Words from the pulpit will not be heard. It may come time for citizen's civil disobedience as our only response, for lives are at stake.
Gassho, Jundo
stlah
Master Dogen quoted Master Eisai, " The Buddha cut off his flesh and limbs and offered them to living beings. Even if we gave the whole body of the Buddha to people who are about to die of starvation, such an action would certainly be in accordance with the Buddha’s will.” He went on, “Even if I fall into hell because of this sin, I have just saved living beings from starvation." ... "To miss a day’s food, or even to starve to death, should not bother you. It is more beneficial to save people in the secular world right now who are suffering from a lack of something they need.” (Zuimonki 2-2, 6-15)
As we discuss here from time to time, overt politics is avoided at Treeleaf, and "left at the Sangha door," so that we can sit and practice beyond views. However, certain topics press upon the Precepts, including our Vow to avoid the taking of life, and to rescue sentient beings. It is a thin line to tread, but I believe that this is a case where protest and concern must be raised because lives are at stake, including the lives of children.
Taking these effects as likely, the cutting off of aid to leave people in poverty, hunger, homelessness and without medical care and other resources is immoral by anything but the darkest interpretation of our Vows and general humane values. It must be protested by ethical people of all peaceful, caring humane creeds and philosophies.
Petitions and marches may have no effect. Words from the pulpit will not be heard. It may come time for citizen's civil disobedience as our only response, for lives are at stake.
Gassho, Jundo
stlah
Charities reeling from USAid freeze warn of ‘life or death’ effects
Abrupt order has done ‘serious damage’, say experts, with supply chains halted, HIV clinics struggling to source drugs and refugee camps facing loss of vital services
Clinics in Uganda are scrambling to find new sources for vital HIV drugs, aid workers in Bangladesh fear refugee camp infrastructure will crumble, and mobile health units may have to stop treating civilians near the frontline in Ukraine.
Services worldwide have been thrown into disarray by President Donald Trump’s executive order, signed on Monday 20 January and published on Friday halting US foreign aid funding flows for 90 days for review.
A few exemptions include military aid to Israel and emergency humanitarian food assistance, but charities said the sudden announcement – which included instructions for any US-funded work already in progress to stop immediately – had put lives at risk.
The US president’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) is included in the order. It provides antiretrovirals to 20 million people with HIV globally, and funds test kits and preventive medicine supplies for millions more.
Already, clinics worldwide are reporting that supplies have been halted.
“This is a matter of life or death,” said Beatriz Grinsztejn, president of the International Aids Society, adding that stopping Pepfar would be disastrous. “If that happens, people are going to die and HIV will resurge.”
Brian Aliganyira runs a health clinic for the LGBT+ community in Kampala, Uganda. He said the presidential order had brought supplies to a standstill. Ark Wellness Hub relies on Pepfar for testing kits, medication to prevent and treat HIV and running costs.
“Today is crazy,” he said on Monday. “We are worried. As I’m chatting with you now, I’m amid lots of emails and trying to find who can stock up our supplies and drugs. Supply chains [are] all affected.”
...
There has been concern about the impacts of the cuts on hundreds of refugee camps globally – from Chad to Nigeria – where displaced people are especially reliant on aid.
A million people live in sprawling camps in Bangladesh, where the US provided 55% of funding for the Rohingya humanitarian response and which had already seen a drop in funding last year. An aid worker there, who wished to remain anonymous, said they were assessing “what are the most critical life-saving activities to prioritise”.
...
It will also affect programmes monitoring the spread of bird flu, and working to eradicate polio and tropical diseases such as river blindness and lymphatic filariasis, he said, as well as services providing healthcare for pregnant women and childhood vaccinations.
...
The One campaign, co-founded in 2004 by the U2 singer Bono, estimated that nearly 3 million children could be at higher risk of malaria if the president’s malaria initiative paused work for 90 days.
Thomas Byrnes, who runs a consulting firm specialising in the humanitarian sector, said the sudden stop-work orders would have a harsh, far-reaching impact because of the extent the global system relies on US funding. The US provides 42.3% of global aid funding, according to the UN, and as much as 54% of the World Food Programme’s funding.
MORE HERE: https://www.theguardian.com/global-d...-death-effects
Abrupt order has done ‘serious damage’, say experts, with supply chains halted, HIV clinics struggling to source drugs and refugee camps facing loss of vital services
Clinics in Uganda are scrambling to find new sources for vital HIV drugs, aid workers in Bangladesh fear refugee camp infrastructure will crumble, and mobile health units may have to stop treating civilians near the frontline in Ukraine.
Services worldwide have been thrown into disarray by President Donald Trump’s executive order, signed on Monday 20 January and published on Friday halting US foreign aid funding flows for 90 days for review.
A few exemptions include military aid to Israel and emergency humanitarian food assistance, but charities said the sudden announcement – which included instructions for any US-funded work already in progress to stop immediately – had put lives at risk.
The US president’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) is included in the order. It provides antiretrovirals to 20 million people with HIV globally, and funds test kits and preventive medicine supplies for millions more.
Already, clinics worldwide are reporting that supplies have been halted.
“This is a matter of life or death,” said Beatriz Grinsztejn, president of the International Aids Society, adding that stopping Pepfar would be disastrous. “If that happens, people are going to die and HIV will resurge.”
Brian Aliganyira runs a health clinic for the LGBT+ community in Kampala, Uganda. He said the presidential order had brought supplies to a standstill. Ark Wellness Hub relies on Pepfar for testing kits, medication to prevent and treat HIV and running costs.
“Today is crazy,” he said on Monday. “We are worried. As I’m chatting with you now, I’m amid lots of emails and trying to find who can stock up our supplies and drugs. Supply chains [are] all affected.”
...
There has been concern about the impacts of the cuts on hundreds of refugee camps globally – from Chad to Nigeria – where displaced people are especially reliant on aid.
A million people live in sprawling camps in Bangladesh, where the US provided 55% of funding for the Rohingya humanitarian response and which had already seen a drop in funding last year. An aid worker there, who wished to remain anonymous, said they were assessing “what are the most critical life-saving activities to prioritise”.
...
It will also affect programmes monitoring the spread of bird flu, and working to eradicate polio and tropical diseases such as river blindness and lymphatic filariasis, he said, as well as services providing healthcare for pregnant women and childhood vaccinations.
...
The One campaign, co-founded in 2004 by the U2 singer Bono, estimated that nearly 3 million children could be at higher risk of malaria if the president’s malaria initiative paused work for 90 days.
Thomas Byrnes, who runs a consulting firm specialising in the humanitarian sector, said the sudden stop-work orders would have a harsh, far-reaching impact because of the extent the global system relies on US funding. The US provides 42.3% of global aid funding, according to the UN, and as much as 54% of the World Food Programme’s funding.
MORE HERE: https://www.theguardian.com/global-d...-death-effects
Jokes aside, it's often difficult to identify specific actions one can take and historically civil disobedience has taken many forms. In most instances, it's a collective action of some kind so you probably won't have to think something up yourself and when the opportunities arises you will have to size up whether or not it's the right thing for you to do. There could be many good reasons not to take part. Sometimes civil disobedience is violent and bloody (which I'm sure we all here would avoid) while other times its sitting on the whites only section of a bus, or even as saving and trading seeds used to grow food. I would think this is just a case of what and see what other people are doing. 
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