#NosDuelen56: Solidarity actions for International Women’s Day

March 8th, 2018 – International Women’s Day (IWD) – marks the tragic 1 year anniversary of the Hogar Seguro fire, which claimed the lives of 41 girls and young women in Guatemala and left 15 others severely injured. We’ll be joining our efforts with a global solidarity action #NosDuelen56 being coordinated by Guatemalan organizations to demand justice for these lives that were lost or forever changed. Nos duelen 56 roughly translates to “we mourn 56.” We encourage actions on March 8th, as well as throughout the month of March! 

In our actions, we are calling on the Canadian government, which has adopted a Feminist International Assistance Policy, to denounce the role of the Guatemalan state in the case and to urge the Public Prosecutor through diplomatic channels to investigate and prosecute all those responsible in an effective and timely manner. We are also calling on the Canadian government to undertake advocacy efforts aimed at urging the Guatemalan state to protect girls and women throughout the country.

(1) Send the postcard below to Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland. We’ve included two versions of the postcard: The first version (here) already has our asks and just needs the sender’s address and signature, while the blank version (here) has room to add your own message. Another option is to write your own letter using the key messages and asks from the postcard. No postage required to send!