Laka Foundation

Publication Laka-library:
Pacific women speak out For independence and denuclearisation

AuthorZohl dé Ishtar
Date1998
Classification 4.26.8.00/15 (PACIFIC - FRENCH TESTING AREA)
Front

From the publication:

INTRODUCTION

Pacific Women Speak Out is a collection of stories of resistance against 
incredible odds, stories of survival.

Indigenous women speak to us from Aotearoa (New Zealand), Australia, 
Belau (Palau), Bougainville, East Timor, KaPae'aina (Hawai'i), Marshall Islands, 
Te Ao Maohi (French Polynesia) and West Papua (Irian Jaya).

They tell of the impacts of invasion and war, nuclear weapons systems, nuclear 
testing, militarisation, human rights abuses, sexism, tourism, non-Indigenous 
settlement, mining, industrialisation, imposed economic dependency and all 
the manifestations of colonisation.

Despite all this violence, Indigenous women have maintained a strength and a 
compassion that come from their people's ancient connection with the land and 
water that have sustained them since the beginning of time. These women are 
sharing their stories here in a bid to break the silence that has concealed the 
violations. The hope is that as people around the world learn what is happening 
in the Pacific they will be inspired to stand beside them, to act. As Pacific peoples 
reclaim their inalienable sovereign rights, and determine to protect their lands 
and oceans from the myriad forms of racism, they are inviting us to join them.

The task is nothing less than leading the world back from the abyss of nuclear 
annihilation, environmental destruction, and military domination.

Covering half the Earth's surface, the Pacific is the home of 32 countries, and 
many more nations. And, although many nations are small, they are united in 
their determination to recreate an independent and nuclear free Pacific. They are 
empowered by the knowledge that they walk in the footsteps of their ancestors and 
are responsible for the future generations.

We hope that you can take up their challenge, not least because one thing is 
certain - until the Pacific is decolonised it will never be demilitarised; and 
until the Pacific is demilitarised we are all held to ransom.

This publication is only available at Laka on paper, not as pdf.
You can borrow the publication or request a copy. When we're available, this is possible for a small fee.