International Women's March in Santa Barbara
By Robert Bernstein
The second annual Women's March was disrupted by the mudslides and was split in two. January 20 was the rally. But the police were tied up with the mudslides, so the march was delayed until March 10.
Here are some of my photos and video.
Organizer Michal Lynch kept things moving
The first commemoration of International Women's Day was on February 28, 1909 in New York. But when women gained the vote in Russia in 1917, March 8 became a date for women to celebrate and this became the official date from then on. In 1975 the day was officially recognized by the United Nations.
Sharon Byrne spoke as representative of Safe At Home, about human trafficking.
She observed a strange scene one day on State Street at Paseo Nuevo. A woman was asking for money and she had two young children with her. The children were clinging to each other in fear, but paying little attention to the woman. She learned that the woman and the children had been dropped off by a well-dressed man in a Cadillac Escalade. He had dropped off the woman the previous day with a different pair of children.
Ms Byrne asks that we all pay more attention to notice such situations. She notes how there are many businesses with immigrant workers. Yet we never see these workers in the supermarket or out and about elsewhere in the community. She noted that many of these workers are being held against their will. Their "employers" hold their documents so they have no ability to leave. And most of these workers are women.
California offers help through the Safe At Home Program. We need to let these workers know that this help is available.
Here is more information.
The organization Health Care for All was out to remind people that true universal health care would save women's health and lives. They advocate for a single payer solution by simply making Medicare cover everyone. And/or starting with a California single payer solution.
They invite people to join here http://www.healthcareforall.or
They marched down to the Dolphin Fountain and back. In the rain.
Because of the mud slides it was not possible to have coverage of the January 20 event at the time. But here are a few photos to show that people were out in large numbers then!