Forum Post: OWS is spending 29k to send 20 people to egypt-see notes form GA 11-10-2011
Posted 12 years ago on Nov. 11, 2011, 1:21 p.m. EST by Rob
(881)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
New F: It’s now 8PM. We’ve been here for one hour. There’s someone at the very end of this agenda that really wants to have their chance. The next agenda item is Movement Building: A trip to Egypt. We hope twenty minutes will suffice.
55.1.3.1. Movement Building: Hi! My name’s Maria, and I represent the Coalition of Egyptian Civil Society Monitors, and they have made a request of OWS to help them monitor the elections. So I’m going to read to you two letters from different coalitions and from two individuals who came here, …..who are the founders and leaders of the April 6 movement, one of the main drivers of the Egyptian Revolution. [Reading from letter. Will fill in the rest of the content soon.] …Egyptians are very proud to have been the inspiration for your movement, and we wish you the best of luck in achieving your goals. In the spirit of international solidarity, we would like to invite OWS to send a delegate to Egypt and to observe the first step in our ……we hope this election will constitute not only the beginning of a genuine democratic government, but through your involvement, the first significant …dedicated to the universal ideals of freedom, human rights and social justice.” So I think I won’t read the next letter. Essentially what they want is, like it was stated in the letter, that we send a delegation and put out on our networks a request for participation. This is very important because these elections will be the first since the transition, and they will define who gets to write the constitution. So we are requesting for 20 people to go to Egypt on November 25th, which will cost $29,000, and this will include transportation, hostel accommodations, and airfare. We will be putting a call-out through all the working groups to send us three representatives who will be candidates and eventually decided upon by the Egyptian Coalition, who will go to Egypt to represent OWS and help them monitor these democratic elections. One more thing, we will also be putting the call-out to all of our caucuses.
R: I can break it down for you now, or it’s also on nycga.net under the proposal. We budgeted $1200 for each airfare ticket, $50 for food and transport, and $20 for accommodations. This will not be a fun trip, it will be very high-risk, but I think it’s worth it.
F: Closing stack for questions
55.1.3.2.3. CQ: Hi. I would like to know which international organizations and which governmental organizations are you cooperating with, if at all?
R: Do you mean the Egyptian coalitions, or the Occupy movement?
55.1.3.2.3. (Continued) I mean for example is the UN involved, is the US State Department involved, etc.
R: So these coalitions, some of them are funded by international coalitions and governments, but the majority are by grassroots initiatives that involve 50,000 volunteers from across Egypt. The Cairo Institute for Human Rights, …April 6, the Egyptian Democracy Academy and the [word undecipherable]…Coalition.
55.1.3.2.4. CQ: I would like to know what is the criteria required for volunteers, and how are they being chosen? For example, if somebody wanted to go, how do they get to go?
R: There is a defined list that was developed with the Egyptian Coalitions that’s quite detailed and that will be distributed to each working group. Like, having Middle Eastern experience, experience with social movements, experience with media, experience in high risk environments, language skills like Arabic, direct action experience… but we want the committees to use their best judgment… If you’d like to pay your own way anyone can go. It’s an open invitation, this is unprecedented. There’s never been a… devoted to democracy and human rights, in the Middle East or elsewhere.
F: Stack is now closed. They would like to accept this FA. So now we will move to a temperature check on this proposal. Can I ask the group to concisely restate the proposal with the FA?
55.1.3.4. Movement Building: The proposal is to respond to the request of the Egyptian opposition to act as monitor for the November parliamentary elections, and inform Legal of what we’re doing,
F: Can we get a temperature check on this proposal? [positive] Looks good. We are building consensus. We would now like to ask for any blocks.
55.1.3.5. Blocks
55.1.3.5.1. Block: I don’t believe there are enough people here to form a GA, but that’s just my opinion.
F: PoP: Blocks must relate to the proposal. There is also no stipulation as to the number of people that constitutes a GA.
F: Are there any other blocks? [none] Do you retract your block? [he left] The proposal passes.
55.1.3.6. Consensus.
Maybe we should vote on this, I think we' re all tiired of seeing our money going everywhere but here at home & being spent on us. If the Egyptians need us there let them foot the bill.
I hope the past and present donators to OWS know that they are funding trips to Egypt to monitor foreign elections. Should that perhaps be put up near the donate button? I wonder how eager potential donators will become when they learn this.
Moral of this story: So if I bring enough of my friends I can pass since there is no Quorum needed.
Cool!
PS: ... but also corrupt.
Fuck Egypt!
Wonder if it's going to be the more equal than others that get a paid for vacation to Egypt.
And?
so yo have no issue with this? people need a warm place to stay and the best use for money is to send people to egypt? OWS is far more corrupt than they pretend to be.
Why is this corrupt?
Moral of this story: So if I bring enough of my friends I can pass since there is no Quorum needed. PS: Wonder how many who are going to Egypt voted YES at that GA!!!
Yep.
Well stated. Thank you for your insightful input.
Here let me bump it too.
this really needs to stay at the top of the heap. this is very disturbing,in my opinion
This is shocking.
and stunning
I'd love to see the list of people going, wonder if Lisa Fithian will be on it - her Arabic must be awesome.
you really are clueless.
No, just waiting for an answer.
They are using power they do not have to spend money that does not belong to them to send a small contingent in a non official or sanctioned role to monitor elections they have no right to monitor. Hope they take body bags with them.
The power is vested in them through consensus. The money was donated to them, so it does belong to them. You don't need a "right" to monitor an election.
You can argue that it isn't what you would do, but it isn't corrupt at all.
As I have said before, the 99% is already tired of their tax money being spent overseas to help other countries, while our own people are impoverished. Do you actually think people will continue to support your efforts globally when this movement locally has yet to take hold and has yet to receive a mandate by the general public. You are jeopardizing everything by doing this.
You can argue the point that spending donor's money in this fashion, could intact jeopardize the entire movement and the support you are receiving. OWS depends on donors, and donors have a right to know how the money is being spent and whether to donate any further money.
The 99% do not want their money being spent for this type of BS. You are going to USURP the movement by doing this. Once the press gets hold of this, your donations will drop like a rock.
I cannot wait for the bickering to begin regarding the process to pick the 20 "chosen ones". get the popcorn ready as it will be a fun show.
Bam... Boom... Consensus.
I found this sentence a tad scary. There are a lot of implications.