By Jodie Evans, CODEPINK Co-Founder

We started the day with another CODEPINK / Women Say No To War march through the streets. With our umbrellas, banners, Cheney and Rumsfeld masks and a fabulous mix of activists. We went the other direction this morning, towards the tents from the various countries. June, Woody and I hung the giant pink slip off the Anauco, one of the main hotels of the WSF, it faces everything, the tents and the Hilton, the other hub, it stayed up for about 6 hours. We watched as the team below snaked through the streets handing our flyers for our afternoon panel and stopping for photographs. We all arrived at the panel room just in time to begin. Yanar Mohammad joined the panel for the first hour, we had just run into her in the streets. Yanar is the head of one of the women's groups in Iraq, she can only be there about 6 months of the year because her life is constantly threatened. It was about this time 2 years ago that we did a women's march with her in the streets of Baghdad with other women's groups. Many of the people left the panel really amazed at what they saw and heard. Cindy was of course her fabulous self and Medea wove the whole program together. The 2 hours went too quickly, with the audience wanting more we had to end and be rushed off to a meeting Medea set up with President Chavez and other anti-war activists. Tiffany had to run off in another direction and represent us at the meeting of the anti war groups and Jamie had to get 2 huge suitcases of banners, pink slips and t-shirts back to the hotel. On the ride to the palace, Medea helped us craft an agenda for our meeting. It was interesting to watch her move the other members of the delegation off wanting to tell the stories of what is happening in their countries to what we needed Chavez to do to help boost and support the movement. We had an hour to walk around the palace and question his Chief of Staff before moving into his office for our time with him. The atmosphere at the palace was so comfortable. It is called a palace, but it feels more like a home. No one stopped me when I started wandering around the halls, no one even asked questions. At the end of one corridor I push open a door and found the counsel room I knew so well from "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised". We were well supplied with coffee the entire time, Chavez had to leave the meeting for 5 minutes to take an international call and as he left he asked for more coffee for his guests. He was a doll. Generous, open, passionate, excited, stimulated by the requests and happy to be planning with us. He was realistic but willing to stretch. I was fascinated to learn what a well educated environmentalist he is. The next project of his administration is one focused on the environment. When we asked him to take a stronger leadership position in the international anti-war movement, he was happy to do so, and said "this is not a lost cause, we can stop this war." Cindy Sheehan sitting next to him, shaking her head. He spoke candidly about the power of the American Empire, how he watches it blackmail countries and other presidents. He spoke of being alone in fights because others don't have the independence he does. Stay tuned for more on our meeting!

Day Three - Meeting Chavez By Medea Benjamun, CODEPINK Co-Founder

Today a group of us from Global Exchange and CODEPINK were among the delegates invited to hear Hugo Chavez speak at a stadium in Caracas. The stadium was filled with Venezuelan fans of the president and people from the World Social Forum. On the stage with the president were activists and revolutionaries from around the world, including Aleida Guevara, the daughter of Che Guevara; Ricardo Alarcon, the head of the Cuban National Assembly; and leaders from Asia, Haiti and other parts of Latin America. The one person on the stage representing the United States was our dear Cindy Sheehan, who the president greeted warmly and with great respect. Chavez talked for about two hours--which the people here say is one of his shorter speeches. Rumor has it he is a bit sick, but sick or not he certainly exudes charm and charisma. He even sang to us in a beautiful, robust voice. Chavez talked about the people throughout the continent, especially the indigenous people, rising up against oppression. He recalled the efforts of Bolivar and others to unite Latin America, and said that challenge now is to unite Africa, Asia and Latin America to challenge US imperialism. He talked about his friend Evo Morales, and how they were going to help Bolivia by trading soy, meat and other products for Venezuelan oil, and about the literacy plan they are going to do, together with Cuba, to help eradicate illiteracy in Bolivia. There were a lot of Cubans in the stands, waving both Cuban and Venezuelan flags. Many of the Cubans are either here for the Forum, or are here as health workers in Venezuela (there are 20,000 Cuban doctors working here!). The most beautiful part of the speech for us was when he talked about the US people rising up. He called Cindy "Mrs. Hope" (in English, too), and he said that the people of Latin America had to work together WITH the people of the United States to end injustice, inequality, and to create a better world. He invited us to dream of a US government that called for peace in the world, a US government that worked with everyone else to end poverty, hunger, misery. He conjured up the image of the US people waking up, the great giant inside the US awakening. "What a tremendous positive impact we could have on the world", he said. While he was speaking, a few of us got up and walked around with our beautiful bright pink banner that said: "Mujeres Dicen Fuera Bush" (Women Say Bush Must Go), and the crowd went wild in solidarity. The only part of the speech I didn't really like is when he talked about the slogan Socialism or Death! That slogan has always seemed over the top for me… In any case, it was a thrill to be in the arena with Chavez and all these wonderful people from Latin America working for a better world. We will certainly be going home with the infectious spirit of the people of this continent…

Fireworks at the WSF By Jodie Evans, CODEPINK Co-Founder

Walking home from dinner tonight, we were startled by fireworks celebrating a victory at the baseball game, the heart beat of the day seems so much nearer to you here...the sounds of life are ever present; the beating of the drums that never seem to end, the music always in the distance, the laughter in the streets, it makes the US feel so dulled....so subdued...so lacking in robustness. Reports say that over 60,000 marched yesterday, demonstrating against War and Imperialism. Many of the very large delegations were from all over South America, hundreds of Cubans were at the front of the march with us, all in red with C’s on their caps. So energetic and thrilled to be part of Another World is Possible, the theme for this WSF. The famous words at the end of Arundhati Roy’s speech at the WSF a few years ago. They estimate over 100,000 activists from around the world were participating in the over 800 programs listed for today. You could spend hours studying the program (in 4 languages) trying to figure out what you could attend. The issues range from Feminism, War and Peace, Human Rights, Environmental Justice, Culture, labor and workers rights and building a more just world without neoliberalism, capitalism and imperialsim. Many of the people we have met from around South America and Africa are very curious to see so much participation from the US, seen as the problem, they are impressed with the passion and interest they find in the many groups from the US who have traveled here; Global Exchange, Jobs for Justice, Poor People’s March, American Friends Service Committee and many others. I met friends of my son from Brown University as they ran between meetings. What is the WSF? The grassroots alternative to the World Economic Forum (WEF) held in Davos by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. While the WSF is not intended to eliminate the street demonstrations that have confronted the WEF, it does provide an opportunity for grassroots activists to envision and build a new future which is an alternative to the global domination of US imperialism and corporate interests. The regional WSF in Caracas is one of three being held throughout the world. The others are being held in Pakistan and Mali. Gael Murphy, the other co-founder of CODEPINK is at the one in Mali.

Anti-War & Anti-Imperialism in Caracas By Cindy Sheehan

Dear Friends, There were tens of thousands of people in the antiwar, anti-imperialsm march in Caracas yesterday. Fernando Suarez (another member of GSFP) and I were among the people who led the march.It is incredibly exciting here. Tens of thousands of people working for peace with justice... But you won't see this parade and the World Social Forum covered in America...except Truthout.org is here...stay tuned. I will have a meeting with President Chavez later this week. Will ask him how we can work together to spread peace non-violently. Love Cindy

By Jodie Evans, CODEPINK Co-Founder

We began today with a press conference on the affects of the Iraq War. The moderator was Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK. Cindy Sheehan, Fernando Suarez del Solar and Pablo Parades, fielded questions for almost 2 hours in a packed press room. Fernando and Pablo proudly wearing the new CODEPINK buttons Susan Adelman created, Pro Soldier, Pro Peace. (Check them out at the CODEPINK store) They were all excellent; taking hard questions and using them to educate the press here. This MSM relies on ours on MSM for their info about Iraq. By the end Cindy, Fernando and Pablo had the audience in tears. As we walked to events and stood in the galleria, we ran into friends from Greece and El Salvador. While talking we noticed a fabulous ledge and began planning an action for tomorrow morning. The giant pink slip with BUSH LIED, FIRE HIM, should really delight this crowd. How wonderfully strange to be planning an unfurling of the pink slip without the usual concerns about security. We will use the attention of the unfurl to spread flyers for our Women Say No To War event on Saturday morning. We decided to create an event this afternoon as more and more women...and men, came up to us drawn by our visuals and wanting to know more. All those we have talked to want to know how to participate. So in the midst of all this we are creating flyers, press releases and preparing for an action in the morning.

CODEPINK is in the House, By Jodie Evans, CODEPINK Co-Founder

The travel day was exhausting until we entered the starry sky outside the airport. The air was sweet and the density of stars was magical....Cindy Sheehan's sister Dede had her cheek pressed against the window drinking it in as we began our 3 hour drive to the hotel. The main road was closed at 9pm and it was now midnight. The only road to take snaked up and down hills. We were all a little green when we arrived. But the views had been breathtaking, or was that a rollercoaster ride? The streets had been so quiet the night before that it was shocking to wake to the bumper-to-bumper honking traffic below. A swarm of people and machines in motion. The hotel lobby was now the hub of activity, participants from every country-meeting, sharing stories and trying to figure out what to do and where to go. We crossed the street to the Parque Central and found ourselves in a maze of levels, theaters, book stores, a community gathering place....quite beautiful. On the top floor all the television stations are set up to capture interviews of the participants. Cindy was dragged to all of them, doing cameos, panels, and interviews. I was, as usual, dripping in pink, which caused one of the women producers to ask questions and soon I was on camera, talking about women to say no to war. Between questions as I was being translated they would switch to Dede holding our fabulous giant Women Say No to War banner. The men helping her had ducked down not to be seen. One of our decorated umbrellas garnished the corner of the banner. The station was the Al Jazeera of Latin America, so it will go to every country. All of that was before we have been in the country 8 hours. Next we rushed to the head of the big inaugural march with Cindy. It was easy to find the CODEPINK gals because of the pink umbrellas, which also protected us from the pounding rain in intervals. The last half hour of the march, the womensaynotowar banner and the lead banner were side by side. The march was refreshing. Tens of thousands of people from around the world marching through the streets of Caracas and no mobs of police, what police we did see were so friendly and helpful. Lots of laughter, music, communities represented by their banners. It was a giant celebration. The rally after was more music than speakers, very refreshing, the music touching everyone's hearts and raising spirits, easing the ache in our feet. Music was shared from many countries, but appreciated by all. Street vendors prepared the most delicious food and water was free. Another world. Oh I forgot--Medea rocked the masses when she was on the stage with chants to stop Bush and her call for women to say no to war. We stood behind her with Antoine's giant banner. What would we have done without Antoine Bonsorte who created our fabulous banner and Maya our new intern for creating all the visuals we wore, and carried. In less than 24 hours, we have made many friends--already organized 5 new cities to do actions on March 8th and spread the word...we are already out of the 2,000 flyers we brought. The call is popular, we don't give the flyers out-women come asking for them. Photo Credit: Jamie Romano

Jan. 19-23, 2006 “Another World is Possible” By Gael Murphy, CODEPINK Co-Founder

Bamako, Mali is one of 3 cities to host the 6th World Social Forum – an alternative to the neo-liberal economic policies that have been imposed on ordinary people and believed by many of us to be at the root of the injustice and violence we see in the world today (click here for more on the WSF charter) It is a space for civil societies to come together to share, discuss, debate and strategize alternatives to growing poverty, environmental destruction, war, militarism, among other realities millions face in today’s world. It was decided that this year’s forum would be polycentric, held in three different places during approximately the same period – Bamako, Caracas and Karachi. I and my partner, Laurie, decided it was time for us to join this powerful gathering of people working to create a better world. It was also an opportunity to reach out to our sisters and allies in Africa, Europe and beyond about our “Women Say No To War” campaign. After 24-hours travel from the U.S., we landed in Bamako, made our way inside the airport, where we were warmly greeted by WSF volunteers, mostly recruits from the university. We found other participants waiting to go into town. Of particular note were the nearly dozen Burundians who had also brought as many large traditional drums (each weighing in excess of 60 pounds). They came not only as participants, but also as part of what was promised to be a fantastic cultural extravaganza during the forum. That night we encountered old friends and met new ones. The excitement and energy about the days to follow could be felt everywhere. Participants filled every hotel, guest house and dormitory. As is typical of the Forum, families offered to host attendees in their homes, to assure even wider participation. But it is expensive to travel to Bamako which limited participation to between 15,000 and 17,000, half of the attendance (30-50,000) hoped for. However, Mali and neighboring countries took full advantage and traveled long distances by road to participate. The result was a preponderance of French and Bambana speakers and the difficult logistics needed for translation was a real drawback for the non-French speaking participants. I need to mention that they did have adequate translation for many of the sessions thanks to the wonderful folks from Babel and numerous multi-lingual spontaneous volunteers (Click here to find out more about Babel). Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world which made it a real challenge to provide adequate support for logistics, translation and infrastructure. The next day after a somewhat chaotic registration we all gathered at the Place de l’Independence to march through Bamako with banners calling for everything from the liberation of Western Sahara from Moroccan colonial rule to food sovereignty to ending the war in Iraq to stopping violence against women. Two Tuareg men atop camels carried a banner calling for fair trade. A flatbed truck served as a stage for dancers from one of Bamako’s many women’s groups. It was an amazing sight to see such a collection of ordinary people from all classes, races and ethnic origin marching together in solidarity, representing all the various struggles, strategies and hopes for a better world. The city was strewn with banners announcing the Forum and few Malians, no matter how poor, were unaware of the planned event. We ended the march after about an hour and half at one of Bamako’s sports stadiums where the official opening was to take place. This was a cultural event rich with some of Africa’s most prized contributions weaving traditional and modern. One of the organizers and founder of the Mali Social Forum, Madame Aminata Traore, had served as Minister of Culture and did an amazing job ensuring that Mali’s ethnic beauty and diversity was a main thread of the conference starting with the opening ceremony. The spectacle brought together young, old, women, men, griots, dancers, singers, masks, traditional instruments and more in a celebration of human ingenuity, grace, beauty and tradition. It was a time to encounter old friends and make contact with new ones. The energy was high and the positive hopes for the Forum were palpable. The sharing had already begun. Fifteen to seventeen thousand people attended the Bamako WSF, representing some 40 countries in Africa, as well as Europe, Asia, and North, Central and South America. There was wide national coverage of the forum in Mali. When the conference ended, we traveled far into the countryside and found that most Malians we met who have access to radio or television had heard and appreciated the detailed reports about the proceedings. Not a likely scenario in the U.S. Their hope, similar to our own, is that the leadership hears our message that alternatives are not only possible, but critical. We want humane policies that benefit the ordinary person rather than always catering to the elite and wealthy minority. More description to follow soon… Women’s universe and village About the sessions networking the women and men I met what the SF means to Africans Iraq challenges of an internet campaign in the global south attitude about Bush and the US war on Iraq