Fuerza Puwersa Migrant Solidarity-Guelph

Fuerza Puwersa is an all-volunteer grassroots group of community members in Guelph dedicated to exposing the injustices faced by migrant workers. Central to our work, is to be an effective ally to migrant racialized working-class people, prioritizing their dignity and agency, and working to ensure they have a central position in what we do. Our work is grounded on the belief that all beings deserve dignity, agency, and the ability to both “move” and “stay” wherever on Earth we choose, according to our basic and self-determined needs. We formed in the fall of 2008 following a series of raids on seasonally migrating workers that occurred in the Leamington area. Since then, our group’s activities have involved awareness raising and critical discussion about migrant justice issues, particularly about the situations of migrant workers labouring throughout Turtle Island (where the colonial state of Canada is now located). We promote and bring about critical discourse on the subject of the Seasonal Agricultural Worker’s Program and the Live-in Caregiver Program, as well as on the broader issue of temporary worker programs. The state and corporate powers gain from these programs, gaining from the blood and sweat of hardworking racialized (im)migrants. These programs need to be critically examined and challenged. Ultimately the state needs to move towards granting status, freedom and rights for all. Currently our scope includes (but is not limited to): Guelph, Virgil (Niagara area), Leamington and Simcoe. Get involved &/or Pass the word on! - Fuerza.Puwersa@gmail.com Fuerza/Puwersa also has a public group facebook page - "like" us! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Based in Guelph, Ontario, MIGRANT MATTERS RADIO navigates through the interconnected issues that limit the freedom of peoples to move across borders (of all kinds) and stay wherever they choose. We bring into focus the individual faces and unique stories of migrant workers, "non-status" people, and racialized working-class immigrants. We share interviews and recordings about matters that immigration policy imposers don't want to remedy and dig below the mainstream perspective. The show sheds light on the topics of: race, class, gender, forced migration, immigration, citizenship, criminalization, corporate and state greed, and abuse and well-being in our communities. Migrant Matters podcasts are found on www.radio4all.net, rabble.ca, and on the National Campus and Community Radio Association website. Note* We'd like to return to airing episodes monthly at the local community station, CFRU, but for now, have reduced our contributions to producing im/migrant justice-related pieces every other month for a few shows at the station, and we'll post some of the content on the websites mentioned above as well as on our facebook pages. migrantmatters@riseup.net