An alert from the US Section of the
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
May 2022
Call to Action for Ukraine, preparing for the PPC Rally in June, leadership in WILPF, change of leadership in the Philippines, and some April recaps. What have the WILPF committees been up to and what’s been happening around us? Find out in the May eNews.
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Your support helps WILPF reach farther and be more effective. Consider a donation to WILPF today to demonstrate your solidarity with our work.
Apply for PPC Rally Grants, learn about the U.S. Section Delegation for the 2022 International Congress, and discover what is happening on the other side of the world. View upcoming action items in the May Committee Updates.
Your DISARM/End Wars Issue Committee is dismayed that the war in Ukraine continues, thousands of Ukraine civilians have been killed and over 4 million Ukrainians have fled to neighboring countries. There are two entities WILPF US members can seek to influence to bring this deadly war to an end: the US government and the United Nations, particularly the Security Council. International WILPF issued a strong open letter to the United Nations Security Council on April 14. The Security Council fails to discharge its primary responsibility to maintain international peace and security as required under the UN Charter. Please read this letter and its annexes to inform your message to your Congressional representative and senators; which we want to focus on around May 7.

We Must Do MORE!          
WILPF members will be flying, busing, driving, and coming by train to the events on June 18, and some will stay for ancillary events with Code Pink and the PPC. As one of the two solidarity actions chosen by our branches, uniting at this event has a powerful significance to many of us. Learn how you can be an integral part of history. By Emily Keel
Leadership and Volunteering in WILPF               
In WILPF, we ask a lot of our volunteers, especially our volunteer leaders. Through the work WILPF volunteers do, they gain experience in activism and in WILPF, and the projects of our organization go forward. On the branch and national levels, WILPF members willing to take on tasks and responsibilities do so by making the choice to volunteer – and having that choice available to them. They are often de facto leaders. By Darien De Lu
 
After six years of the war against drugs in the Philippines (resulting in over 30,000 deaths according to the International Criminal Court’s preliminary report) rampant government corruption cases, a pandemic that has left the Philippines in economic shambles, and a government unresponsive to repeated typhoon disasters, hundreds and thousands of Filipinos waving pink flags, wearing pink shirts and hats, and handing out pink baked goods have turned out to support Leni Robredo in her bid to become the next Philippine President in this month of May. Read more here. By C. Domingo
Tax Day (April 15) has traditionally been, for many WILPFers, the day when we trim our federal tax payments as tax resisters against our government’s budget for war. So it was fitting on this Tax Day 2022 for us to protest the military budget, the continued growth of the military-industrial complex, and the concept of “corporations-as-people. As a small branch, we joined a coalition of activist groups to take action. 
Recognizing #TaxDayEarthDay              
To recognize #TaxDayEarthDay this year, Maine WILPFers participated in a Pop-Up Art Exhibit at Congress Square Park in Portland, Maine. It featured the #DefundClimateChaos project’s six artist panels that we assembled at home and transported to the park. How is WILPF Maine making an impact? Find out in this article. By M. Spiess
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Next eNews deadline: May 24, 2022
Submit stories and photos for the eNews to: tdemesa.editor@gmail.com. Editor may not publish all stories submitted, including late submissions.

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Women's International League for Peace and Freedom/US Section
Friends House | PO Box 13075 | Des Moines, IA 50310 | 617-266-0999 | www.wilpfus.org


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