Our policy is to help these movements carry out their actions according to the priorities they themselves determine. We do not impose “our” projects. All the funds we receive are passed on to them. The small team of volunteers who run our association finance their own “internal” costs (website, newsletters, etc.). Our partners are :

– In the Philippines, the MiHands coalition. Based in Mindanao, in the south of the archipelago, it can also intervene on neighboring islands. It is a network of some fifty associations who pool their specific skills to act together in response to crisis situations and strengthen the sustainable self-organization capacities of grassroots communities. It is particularly active in the region where populations of Christian and Muslim cultures cohabit, as do the indigenous Lumad peoples.

Action is taken with various organizations to develop community kitchens

– In Indonesia, the “Free Women” movement. While participating in collective initiatives on various issues and working closely with trade unions, this association, based in the industrial zones of Jakarta and Sukabumi (West Java), works with women workers in the garment sector to defend their social and reproductive rights (not respected by employers), against gender-based violence in the domestic sphere as well as in the workplace. It conducts educational campaigns, conferences, self-organization assistance, support for women’s demonstrations...

Perempuan Mahardhika in Sukabumi (November 2022)

– In Bangladesh, the twin farmers’ associations BKF (men) and BKS (women). They are mainly based in the south-west of the country. The majority of their members are peasants who occupy public land (large sandbanks that appear in estuaries), cultivate it and demand legal recognition of their rights to use it. BKF-BKS members face violence from landowners’ henchmen (one of their leaders was killed in december 2022). In the event of humanitarian disasters, these associations can provide help in other places. Associated with a trade union and an indigenous peoples’ organization, they take part in unitary activities, notably in Dhaka, where their national headquarters are located, on a wide range of issues.

Civil society representatives at a press conference protesting the assassination of Bakul Begum on December 6, 2022

– In Pakistan, the Labour Education Foundation (LEF) and the Crofter Foundation (CF). The latter’s priority is to defend the interests of the peasantry. It works closely with LEF, which helps workers in the formal and informal sectors to organize, train and demand their social, economic and political rights, with a view to transforming power relations. Based in Lahore, it operates throughout Pakistan. Part of the aid we provide is destined for the Himalayan territories under Pakistani administration (Gilgit-Baltistan, Kashmir).

Salary mobilization

– In Burma (Myanmar), a group of associations on the borders of Burma that distributes aid to resistance forces. As a reminder, in February 2021, the army seized all power and was faced with a huge civil disobedience movement, which it militarily repressed. In the central plain, this vast movement was forced to take up arms and coordinate its action with ethnic movements on the periphery, most of which already had long experience of combat. It’s impossible for us to send financial aid directly, especially as the situation is fluid. It is therefore transmitted indirectly. Unfortunately, our regional communication lines have been temporarily suspended. We hope they will be restored soon.

Capture of a government armored vehicle in the north of the country.

In recent years, populations have been hit by successive traumatic shocks: health crises (including Covid), devastating floods and rising ocean waters due to climate change, earthquakes and tsunamis, military conflicts of various kinds, a surge in sectarian religious fundamentalism... With each shock, the living conditions of laboring people are structurally weakened, their dependence on the established powers is aggravated. The effects of one shock are far from over when another occurs.

The role played by our partners is all the more important in helping grassroots communities to cope, but they have to intervene in situations that are increasingly deteriorated and, often, dangerous.

We would like to thank in advance all those who will be able to help us enter 2024 in good financial conditions, knowing that the rising cost of living is weighing on each and every one of us.

Pierre Rousset and Adam Novak
ESSF, November 17, 2023

Donations to ESSF can be “dedicated” by indicating the country for which they are intended. If they are not, they are paid into the Permanent Solidarity Fund for Asia and distributed to our partners according to urgency. Donations can be made on a one-off basis, in the form of monthly transfers (which enables us to anticipate income) or a combination of both.

Remember that our association operates without any form of remuneration, on an entirely militant basis. Thus 100% of donations received are transferred to their recipients. The costs associated with these transfers are mainly banking and kept to a minimum (less than 5%). We do not “export” our own projects. We help movements to respond to humanitarian, social and democratic emergencies, based on their involvement in the field and their own perception of priorities.

In January 2024, we will report on the amount and use of donations received this year.

To send donations via ESSF

Donations can be given by cheques (in euros only, payable in France), direct bank transfers to our account or via Helloasso and PayPal.

Cheques
cheques to ESSF in euros only, payable in France, to be sent to:
ESSF
2, rue Richard-Lenoir
93100 Montreuil
France

Bank Account:
Crédit lyonnais
Agence de la Croix-de-Chavaux (00525)
10 boulevard Chanzy
93100 Montreuil
France
ESSF, account number 445757C

International bank account details :
IBAN : FR85 3000 2005 2500 0044 5757 C12
BIC / SWIFT : CRLYFRPP
Account holder : ESSF

Through PayPal
To access PayPal use the email address contact europe-solidaire.org
Or click on the PayPal icon on the home page.

Through HelloAsso
You can also send money through the association HelloAsso: see its button on ESSF English home page: http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?page=sommaire&lang=en
Or go directly to:
https://www.helloasso.com/associations/europe-solidaire-sans-frontieres/formulaires/1/widget