Water is a human right, not a “commodity”

By Maureen D. Taylor, State Chair, Michigan Welfare Rights Organization

Editor’s note: In Detroit, Michigan, up to 30,000 homes have had their water shut off for inability to pay, and the shutoffs continue.
DETROIT, MI — The Michigan Welfare Rights Organization (MWRO) is organizing an event in Detroit, MI with a gathering of social movements.  We are reaching out to all the Water Warriors we know of in the US, those in Canada, those in Mexico, and those in South America, asking that they arrive or be prepared to engage SKYPE in an effort to share best practices, and so they can see up front the attacks low income families in Detroit face with continuing mass water shut-offs.  The purpose will be to expose this practice, and to raise the message that water is a human right and can never be defined as a “commodity,” which implies access is tied to payment.
We are looking at a small gathering, with representatives from the Council of Canadians, the Indigenous Water Warriors, Women’s Economic Agenda Project, the Black Mesa Collective, plus we are asking these groups and others to share details about this event so that groups we are not aware of might know about this and connect to it.  YOU HAVE TO COME!!
The event will be Saturday and Sunday—May 30 – 31. The event will be similar to this scenario:
1)   Some may arrive Friday evening, so we are securing hotel accommodations.
2)  Our City tour bus will start around 10am on Saturday to addresses in Detroit where water had been off, is off, or the residents are facing eviction. Resident at these addresses will board the bus to tell us what happened, plus answer any questions the riders may have. We will then have lunch and gather in the hotel conference room where we will hear about the work of our national and international guests.  They will tell us what challenges they face in water and housing wars, and what are the best practices they are using to arrive at successful results.  There will be a presentation from our local legal team who will share information about litigation efforts. In the last segment, visitors will hear from the community advocates in Detroit, including the Homrich 9. We will then dine and any cultural events can take place at that time.
3)   If there is a desire, we can have a public event Sunday morning, where residents everywhere who have had water and housing challenges would be invited to come and share their experiences.  We will end before 1pm on Sunday, and folks can start returning home.
Contact the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization for more information at: (313) 964-0618.