French cooking class to benefit PfP!

On Sunday, January 11th, Betsy Piper, the Chef of the French House and an experienced culinary instructor, will teach a class of French Favorites. Cost is $40 and the class will run from 5:30 - 8 p.m. in the Community Room of the Williamson Street Co-op, 1221 Williamson Street.

Don't miss this opportunity to watch, learn and taste these favorites, and take the recipes home to use yourself! We'll enjoy:
* saumon en croute (salmon in puff pastry -- technique can be used for other dishes too), with rice pilaf
* haricots verts à la française (green beans French style)
* homemade vinaigrette and variations (you'll never want to buy salad dressing again!)
* and flourless chocolate cake (oh la la!)

We expect the class to sell out, so reserve your place today! Email pfpmadison@gmail.com for more information or to save a spot and arrange payment.

Invite a friend to enjoy the class with you and double the fun!

Two great fair trade shopping opportunities!

There are TWO event coming up that will help you check off some of your holiday shopping needs while support great organizations and producers. Playgrounds for Palestine - Madison will be selling fair trade coffee, tea, chocolate, olive oil, and olive oil soap.

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Sunday, Nov. 23 - Fair-Trade Christmas Sale
8:30 am to 3:00 pm
Orchard Ridge United Church of Christ
1501 Gilbert Road, Madison, in the Church's Friendship Hall. (A complete list of vendors and products is below)

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Saturday, December 6, from 9 am to 4 pm
Community action on Latin American (CALA) sponsors the
12th Annual Fair Trade Holiday Festival
at Monona Terrace!

Bigger and better than ever!

Find the perfect unique gift while you support fair trade producers
around the world.

Fair Trade seeks to shorten the path between you and the artist who makes your gift, so the artist can make a living wage and you can know they receive the largest possible portion of the purchase price.

Shop a wide selection of art, crafts, clothing, home decorations,
pottery, weavings, food gifts, and more. International fair trade
products will be available from Mexico and Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and beyond.

New for 2008: Domestic Fair Trade products made in Wisconsin and throughout the country, with the goal of supporting sustainable small businesses and family farms. Domestic fair trade products will include cheese, maple syrup, honey, sausage, granola, wool products and more.

For more information (including list of items for sale) visit www.calamadison.org

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ORCHARD RIDGE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

Fair-Trade Christmas Sale
ORUCC is sponsoring a Fair-Trade Christmas Sale where you will find unusual and beautiful gifts and holiday items. Proceeds go to organizations that help people around the world to be self-sustaining.

List of Vendors and items:
SERRV promotes social and economic justice by marketing hand-crafted items in a just and direct way. They will offer a wide selection including jewelry, Christmas decorations, baskets, carved animals, musical instruments, food, and toys.

GLOBAL REFLECTIONS offers hand-painted mirrors, ornaments and pottery from Mexico and Guatemala. Sales of these beautiful pieces provide a sustainable livelihood for the artisans.

CHIRIPA sells exquisite hand-hammered copper vases, bowls and other ornaments and also offers hand painted wooden animal from Oaxaca, Mexico, jewelry, ceramics, rugs and other artisan crafts from the Americas.

TERRA EXPERIENCE specializes in ethnic doll clothes, hand-woven in South and Central America, and also sells clothing, books and art. Sales support local artisans and sustainable development for their communities.

VILLAGE HEALTH PROJECT focuses on public health in Uganda. They will offer paper beads made by Ugandan women.

PLAYGROUNDS FOR PALESTINE raises funds to build a playground for children of the Jenin Regugee Camp. Items include coffee, olive oil, soap, spices, teas, chocolate.

DOERS offers humanitarian aid to victims of war, poverty, oppression and natural disaster. They will be selling books and handmade Afghan blankets, pillows and jewelry to support that country's refugees.

MADISON-RAFAH SISTER CITY PROJECT builds relationships in order to improve living conditions in Palestine. Items offered include embroidery, olive oil, soap and calendars.

VENUS IMPORTS markets hand-made clothing from Nepal as well as artisan crafted jewelry, musical instruments and other exceptional gift items.

HEIFER PROJECT provides the chance to buy shares of farm animals, trees, fish and honey bees for impoverished rural families so they can produce their own food and a livelihood.

MASAII HANDCRAFTS from Kenya sent by Pastor Benson Kishoyian who works directly with the artisans and was a global exchange preacher with ORUCC several years ago

TUPENDANE COTTAGE INDUSTRY sells greeting cards handmade by African AIDS widows.

RHUMY WARA is raising money to build a clinic and provide school books in Ecuador. Crafts and weaving by local artisans will be available.

PORCHLIGHT provides housing for the homeless. They will be selling jams and sauces made locally.

PfP Fair Trade Open House, Sunday, 11/9!

Get a head start on your holiday shopping, and support Playgrounds for Palestine - Madison at the same time!

PfP - Madison's Fair Trade Open House!
Sunday, November 9th, from 1 to 4 p.m.
2643 Van Hise Ave., Madison

Stop by and sample our "Play Grounds" fair trade, organic french roast coffee and fair trade tea and chocolate, and taste PfP's delicious fair trade Palestinian olive oil and za'atar spice blend! Palestinian olive oil soap will also be available for purchase.

Get a head start on your holiday shopping, and feel free to bring friends!

For more information, please email pfpmadison@gmail.com or call 345-8659.

PfP National Building Playgrounds for Palestinians in Lebanon

Thanks to seed money from Dr Nabil Qaddumi, PfP was able to partner with MECA (Middle East Children's Alliance) and ANERA (American Near East Refugee Aid) to initiate playground projects in Lebanon. On September 30, 2008, three playgrounds will arrive for installation in Ein el Hilweh and Nahr el Bared refugee camps.

In addition, 152 soccer balls are being shipped with our equipment to Lebanon courtesy of Little Feet Sports. The children will be so happy to receive those along with the playgrounds to enjoy!

Nahr el Bared
(The site of the future playground is to the right)
The Nahr el Bared Camp (NBC) was established in December 1949 by the League of Red Cross Societies in order to accommodate the Palestinian refugees suffering from the difficult winter conditions in the Beqa’a valley and the suburbs of Tripoli. Located 16km from the city of Tripoli and occupying an area of about 20 km2, some 31,000 displaced Palestinians and their descendents live in and around the camp, named after the river that runs south of the camp.

On 20th May 2006, fierce clashes erupted between armed members of the radical group Fatah Al Islam (FAI) and the Lebanese Army in Tripoli in northern Lebanon. These quickly spread to the nearby Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr el Bared (NBC), causing more than 300 deaths. The camp was decimated and became uninhabitable. The human, economic and political consequences of this conflict are severe.

The "new" Nahr el Bared camp was set up to accommodate the refugees of the refugee camp and is in great need of help. PfP has partnered with ANERA and MECA to provide children in this impoverished camp with a safe and fun place to play.

Ein el Hilweh, UN Refugee camp in Lebanon: Najdeh Preschool
Najdeh Association, a local NGO doing great work with Palestinian children in refugee camps, has a preschool in Ein El-Helweh Camp in Saida which serves a highly impoverished community of Palestinian refugees. The preschool serves around 90 children aged 3 to 5 in the mornings Sunday to Thursday and hosts youth activities on Friday and Saturday for 90 to 100 kids aged 7 to 14. They have youth activities organized by ARCPA/al-Jana, another wonderful NGO working in the camps. The space available is part of the preschool property directly adjacent to the two-story school building which is walled-in and currently empty. To the right is the playground being sent for the site.

Our partner organization, ANERA, worked intensively with Najdeh Association in the distribution of kits during the summer 2006 war and they currently participate in ANERAs Mother and Child Health Program.

Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) Condemnation of Killing of Palestinian Child

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the use of force by the Palestinian security forces to disperse a peaceful march near ‘Aaida refugee camp, north of Bethlehem. The security forces fired at the march indiscriminately wounding a child seriously. PCHR calls upon concerned authorities to initiate an immediate investigation into the incident, to take legal action against the perpetrators and to take serious steps to ensure the non-recurrence of such incidents.

According to investigations by PCHR and testimonies by eyewitnesses, on 9 September 2008, after having performed the afternoon prayer, dozens of prayers exited the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Mosque in the center of ‘Aaida refugee camp, north of Bethlehem. They walked in a peaceful march to protest the aggravation of drinking water crisis and the water cut for more than 22 days in their camp. The demonstrators crowded near Kendo intersection on the main road adjacent to the camp, and they chanted slogans calling upon officials to consider about their demands. A few minutes later, about 200 security men came. They surrounded the demonstrators and requested them to return to their homes. They then pushed the demonstrators and assaulted them using their hands and batons. In response, the protestors got angry and threw stones at the security forces. They also blocked the main road with stones and fellies.

At approximately 17:00, security men intensively fired into the air to disperse the demonstrators and they tried to arrest some of them. Some demonstrators continued to throw stones. Meanwhile, unknown persons who were not participating in the march threw stones and empty glass bottles at the nearby Intercontinental Hotel. Security forces fired indiscriminately in different directions. As a result, 15-year-old Jadallah Akram ‘Eissa Abu Sorour, from ‘Aaida refugee camp was seriously wounded by a gunshot to the abdomen. The child was taken to Beit Jala Public Hospital where he underwent a surgery to stop the hemorrhage and eradicate the damaged part of the bowel. The child is still receiving treatment in the medium care unit in the hospital. In addition, 15 demonstrators and 8 security men sustained bruises and light cuts.

The Public Committee, locals and ‘Eissa Qaraqe’, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, blamed Bethlehem 's Commander and the Chief of Bethlehem's Police for suppressing the march and for the use of excessive force. However, Bethlehem 's Commander, Brigadier Yousif Qaddoura, stated that security forces responded to maintain security and order. He added that the forces responded after they had been thrown with stones that wounded 8 of the forces' members.

He further stated that the Security Forces were obliged to respond that way after they failed to stop the attacks on the main road and on the Intercontinental Hotel that had been thrown with stones and Molotov bombs.

In light of the above:

1. PCHR strongly condemns the use if firearms by security forces to suppress the peaceful march and to forcibly disperse the demonstrators. PCHR affirms that it is necessary to have clear and specific instructions for the use of firearms by law enforcement officials that conform to international standards and ensure respect for human rights.

2. PCHR condemns attacks against private and public properties and stresses that civilians have the full and legitimate right to organize public assemblies, sit-ins and peaceful marches under law.

3. PCHR emphasizes that neither the governor nor the police has any legal right to license or prevent any public meeting, peaceful demonstration, or any other form of peaceful assembly, as the law calls for only “informing” the governor or the police by the organizers, and that the police has the right to put some limitation “for traffic control.”

4. PCHR calls upon concerned authorities to immediately investigate this attack, take legal actions against its perpetrators and take necessary steps to ensure its non-recurrence.

Israeli Troops Shoot Dead Palestinian Boy

Democracy Now! reports on July 30, 2008 that:

Israeli troops shot dead a ten-year-old Palestinian boy on Tuesday during a protest against Israel’s construction of a wall through the West Bank. Witnesses said the boy, Ahmad Moussa, died instantly after being shot in the forehead. The shooting took place in the village of Nilin, the site of another controversial shooting earlier this month. On July 7th, an Israeli soldier was captured on film shooting a rubber bullet at a handcuffed Palestinian man.

Thanks to all who made our benefit dinner a success!

On Sunday, May 18th, a group of enthusiastic PfP supporters gathered at King of Falafel restaurant. We enjoyed a delicious buffet of falafel (of course!), hummus, both veggie and cheese filled sambosias, yalangi, and chicken shwarma, with King of Falafel's signature cardamom tea and delightful baklava for dessert.

While the focus was on fun and socializing over a delicious meal, we took advantage of having a special guest to talk about the importance of our Jenin playground project. Sol Kelley-Jones had just recently returned from 3 months in Palestine doing theater work with children, including those of Jenin. Her passion, anger and hope conveyed powerfully why we are doing wheat we are to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people. I am sure I was not the only one whose heart leapt when she said that the children know exactly where the playground will be and are anxiously awaiting it. There was a sense of immediacy for me that made me want to do everything I could to raise the funds as soon as possible. We also got to hear a historical perspective from Jennifer Loewenstein, who was sent to Jenin just days after the 2002 massacre to witness the destruction.

Thanks to everyone that came to the benefit. If you have not yet had a chance to donate to the project, please take a moment NOW and either write a check or use Paypal (use the link at the left). Thank you!

I also want to share a P.S. from the evening, because the most amazing thing happened after the event. My family and I came home, and I was watering my garden before going inside when my phone rang in my pocket. I didn't recognize the number at first, but then realized it was the owner of King of Falafel. I figured we must have forgotten something and answered it. He told me that a man was there who had heard the event announced on WORT as he drove into town, but he had to go to a friend's daughter's graduation party. So he went to the party, but left a little early, telling the host about our benefit and that he wanted to try and make it. The host gave the man $200 to give to us as a donation! I hopped right back into the car and met him at King of Falafel, where sure enough, he had 2 $100 bills from his friend. It warmed my heart.

We should never doubt that there are kindhearted people in the world.