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At the award ceremony
in Washington, DC, from L to R: Edward J. Olmos,
Sen. Kennedy, Mrs. Ethel Kennedy, Al Hunt (CNN),
and CIW members Lucas Benitez, Julia Gabriel, and
Romeo Ramirez. For
photos from the ceremony, click here. |
In a gala ceremony on Capitol Hill -- including speeches
by Senator Edward Kennedy, actor Edward James Olmos,
and a letter of congratulations from former President
Jimmy Carter -- Lucas Benitez, Julia Gabriel, and Romeo
Ramirez of the CIW received the 2003 Robert F. Kennedy
Human Rights Award in recognition of their courageous
work fighting modern-day slavery in the agricultural
industry and their leadership of the national Taco Bell
boycott.
A whirlwind week of events -- beginning with the tense
final day of a 34-mile march to Miami, in protest of
the impact of free trade policies on human rights throughout
the hemisphere (see below) -- saw the new RFK laureates
go from being surrounded by thousands of riot police
in Miami to being feted by hundreds of celebrities,
political leaders, and activists from around the country
in Washington, DC.
At the ceremony, Lucas Benitez gave a moving speech
in acceptance of the award. Here below is an excerpt
of that speech. [To see the full text of Lucas Benitez's
acceptance speech, click
here.]
"Just two
days ago, we marched into downtown Miami surrounded
by nearly 3,000 police in riot gear, mounted police,
police on bicycles, police on foot, police in helicopters
hovering above Miami's skyline, their propellers beating
out the soundtrack to what seemed to us like a movie
about martial law in the US—all because we were
there to call for fair trade that respects human rights,
not free trade that exploits human beings... Yet today,
we stand here in this historic city—in the heart
of the US government—receiving this prestigious
award for our work in defense of human rights... Truth
is, my compañeros and I are confused. It's hard
for us to understand in which of the two worlds we actually
live—in the world where the voice of the poor
is feared and protest in defense of human rights is
considered the gravest of threats to public security?
Or in the world where the defense of human rights is
celebrated and encouraged in the pursuit of a more just
and equitable society?..." read
more
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