HUNGER STRIKE WINS AMNESTY

New York (LNS)--What began on December 28 as a hunger strike by a small group of Bolivian women and children ended three weeks later as a major victory in the battle to restore democratic rights to a country ruled for the last seven years by a brutal military dictatorship. On January 18, General Hugo Banzer's government signed an agreement promising a general amnesty for political exiles and prison. ers, thus granting the chief demand of a hunger strike that had grown to include more than 1300 people, had ignited a work stoppage among the nation's 77,000 miners, and had attracted widespread international attention and support.

The strikes began after Banzer took some small steps toward liberalization, first announcing plans to stage an election next summer and then proclaiming an amnesty which specifically excluded 348 political and labor militants out of 600 people recognized by the government as political exiles. More than 17,000 people have been driven into exile since the progressive nationalist government of General Juan Jose Torres was overthrown in 1971. Banzer's limited amnesty didn't satisfy his opponents. week after the announcement, four women and their

SCHOOL KIDS SELL PEPSI

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New York (LNS)--Right now in schools across the country, children are busy selling Pepsi-Cola in the name of education. They are part of Pepsi's "Learn and Earn Project"--an annual competition set up by Pepsi and the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) which encourages students to sell the soft drink at pep rallies, basketball games and other school functions--all for class credit. "The students get involved in setting up the sale of Pepsi," one DECA representative explained. "They go through the whole concept of how much to buy, whether or not to sell the big cups or the little cups...." Then, each spring, the students write up their Pepsi-selling success stories for a chance at national prizes: shares of stock in the Pepsi-Cola company.

According to materials the company sends to teachers, the project professes to "help strengthen students' broad understanding of business--particularly its broad marketing and management aspects."

Whether it fulfills this objective or not, it does succeed in selling Pepsi.

The "Learn and Earn Project" is just one example of the hundreds of ways foods companies (as well as other types of corporations, public utilities and trade associations) promote their products in schools. Particularly in the fields of nutrition and home economics, companies send numerous "teaching aids': highly professional films, shiny work-books and pamphlets--all available to teachers at well below commercial rates or free. For example, the Savannah Sugar Refining Corporation puts out a booklet for students called "Sugar through the Ages," which includes statements such as "Scientists have found that generous amounts of sugar are a valuable part of well-balanced diets for growing children."

Meanwhile, mimeograph materials sent to home economics classes by the Campbell Soup Company refer students to the Campbell Cookbook which, of course, only mentions recipes using Campbell products.

By far the largest supplier of nutrition-education materials to schools is the National Dairy Council, which provides all sorts of pamphlets addressing questions ranging from "How am I doing socially?" to "How am I doing physically?" Woven throughout these materials are subtle references to dairy products, daily calcium requirements, etc. Drink milk, the message seems to be, and you too can be popular.

page 14/What She Wants/February, 1978

14 children entered the archbishop's offices in La Paz, declared a hunger strike, and demanded amnesty for all.

José Venturelli

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LEGISLATION PROPOSED TO CURB DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Domestic violence will be made a separate crimin al offense, and upon the verbal complaint of the victim would warrant immediate arrest, if legislation proposed by Ohio Attorney General William Brown passes the Ohio General Assembly.

Brown visited Cleveland recently to release the results and recommendations of a task force on domestic violence issued by the Attorney General's Office. The task force estimates that 28 million women, millions of children and tens of thousands of elderly persons are physically abused by their spouses, parents or relatives each year.

In addition to making domestic violence a separate criminal offense, proposals to eradicate the problem include more training hours of police officers in crisis intervention, establishing a system of payment for shelter houses for victims, educational courses on marriage and family roles at all levels. Brown said that persons who have knowledge of child abuse must report that to authorities. Specific legislation will be placed before the Ohio House in a matter of weeks.

Brown says that one quarter of a police officer's work is spent dealing with incidents of domestic violence. However, out of 290 hours of basic police training, only nine are spent in domestic violence. No advanced training is given in this area. The Attorney General discussed other issues

from an article by Lori Ashyk, The Cauldron, January 26, 1978

Among that first group of hunger strikers was Domitila Chungara, leader of the organization of miners' wives at Siglo XX (Twentieth Century), most important of the tin mines that bring in two-thirds of Bolivia's foreign exchange. Chungara is the wife of a miner exiled since the army crushed a strike in 1976 and took over the mining towns. She is also an important figure in the opposition, well known to the police ever since she helped organize the first organization of women at Siglo XX in 1967. She has been arrested and tortured several times. But she has managed to help build the women's organizations into a national center of resistance which has become increasingly important since Banzer threw most miner activists such as her husband into jail or into exile.

The hunger strike, launched three days after Christmas, showed how powerful the national resistance has become. Within a few days, hunger strikers were occupying churches all across the country, the clandestine but still powerful miners union had issued a statement denouncing "the false government amnesty," and students were demonstrating in the streets.

Banzer's first response was to ignore the unrest. On January 9, he unveiled his handpicked candidate for next summer's presidential elections, General Pereda Azbun, commander in chief of the air force and former hardnosed minister of the interior. Banzer's second response was to get hardnosed ! himself, to send in the troops. Demonstrators were clubbed in the streets, hunger strikers driven from their sanctuaries and 120 of them arrested. But the resistance continued to spread. And on January 18, the Banzer government agreed to grant unrestricted amnesty for all political prisoners and exiles.

The agreement also commits the government to release all persons arrested in connection with the hunger strike, and to reinstate all exiled mineworkers in their former jobs with full seniority. A few days later, Banzer announced that union activity would also be restored. These steps go far beyond the liberalization Banzer originally had in mind. But the strikers made it clear they still see a long way to go.

NEW YORK HOUSEKEEPERS STRIKE

New York (LNS)--About 200 housekeepers in the South Bronx, New York, staged a two-week strike in late October, forcing their employer to agree to ⚫ their demand for a union-certification election.

The women, mostly black and Hispanic, are employed by the Morrisania Comunity Corporation's Medicaid-funded Housekeeping Vendor Program, which sends them to clients who are sick or disabled and in need of housekeeping care.

The workers are paid an average of $2.50 an hour, with no health or pension benefits and minimal sick leaves and vacations. Their travel expenses as they shunt from one job assignment to the next must come out of their own paychecks. And if they want lunch, they have toi eat it on the subway or bus between jobs.

Meanwhile, the corporation is reimbursed by Medicaid at the rate of $4.20 for every hour the housekeepers work. And according to a recent city audit, the program made the company a healthy profit of about 14 percent last year.

"My clients are in full support of this work stoppage," Francine Beale, one of the striking housekeepers, told a reporter while marching on the picket line October 25.

"All I want is a good standard of living, sick leave and decent wages--what they have," she said, pointing to the Corporation board room.

The housekeepers first began meeting back in August with La Raza Unida, a group of South Bronx community activists.