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Prevent
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A Portlander
in Israel
Human H i
Rights
Day
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December 10
PORTWND OBSERMER
City misses minority goal
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Recant atorma have not removed the need to rake leavea aa Keith
Jackaon, age 18. can teatify.
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
Cooperative housing proposal
C .R .I.B , a non-profit organiza
tion active in the Northeast commu
nity, is exploring the possibility of
relocating a 14-unit housing struc
ture to North Vancouver and Skid
more as a housing cooperative for
low income families.
The Community Estates Project
.hopes to move the City-owned
building, now located on North Go
ing, to property that would be ob
tained from the Portland Develop
ment Commission and Pacific
Power and Light Company. The re
habilitated apartment building
would then be operated and
maintained by the tenants, who
would not only work together to op
erate the project but would learn the
skills necessary for community or
ganization and development.
Representatives of the National
Consumer Cooperative Bank will be
in Portland on December 7th to re
December 3, 1981
Volume XII, Number 8
25C Per Copy
view the project. The public is in
vited to attend these meetings which
will be held at King Neighborhood
Facility.
The 9:00 am meeting will involve
discussion of possible use of federal
Section 8 funds. Representatives of
the Housing Authority of Portland,
State Department of Housing, and
PDC have been invited to partici
pate.
A, 10:30 am, there will be discus
sion of possible City funding for a
consultant, with representatives of
the City Council, Office of Neigh
borhood Associations, Northeast
Coalition of Neighborhoods, M et
ropolitan Human Relations Com
mission and PDC.
At the 12:30 meeting the National
Consumer Cooperative Develop
ment Bank will explain its potential
role; PDC will discuss its feasibility
study.
The City of Portland, which has
continuously been below equity in
employment of minorities, reached
only 83.3 percent o f its m inority
employment goal for fiscal year
1980-1981.
During the 1980-1981 budget
process, city bureaus set affirmative
action goals for minorities and
women. These goals were directed at
increasing minority and female par
ticipation in all job categories, but
particularly increasing participation
in categories where underutilization
exists.
U nderutilization is defined as
having less representation o f
minorities and women available in
that field in the metropolitan area,
even though that figure might be
less than the percentage of minori
ties or women living in the city. For
example, parity for the category
“ technicians" is 7.3 percent for
minorities and 23.4 percent for
women.
During fiscal year 1980-81 the
percentage o f m inority workers
increased from 7.7 percent to 7.8
percent, a gain o f seven m inority
employees. However, the greatest
increase was in the category o f
“ para-professionals." With the ex
ception of “ protective services,”
minorities made no progress toward
parity in underutilized job cate
gories.
Progress was made in “ protective
services” with the hiring o f nine
minority police officers compared
to a goal of eight, bringing partici
pation from 4.7 percent ti *.2 per
cent. As o f July, 1981, .9 new
minority hires are necessary to reach
parity, which is 10 percent.
M in o rity representation in the
category “ officials/administrators”
decreased from 7.6 percent to 6.8
percent. No minorities were hired in
this category.
Minority utilization in the “ pro
fessional" category also decreased,
from 12.4 percent to 11.8 percent.
Six minority employees were hired
in this category, reaching the goal of
six to maintain parity.
No progress was made in the
underutilized
category
of
technicians." Four m inority
employees were hired, not reaching
the goal of seven. To reach parity,
23 minority technicians would have
be hired during the 1981-4982
fiscal year. Minorities are 3.8 per
cent of the “ technicians” category,
while parity is 7.3 percent.
The category “ skilled crafts” also
showed no progress. No minorities
were hired although the goal was
six. Minorities make up 4 percent in
the skilled crafts category. To reach
parity, 6 percent, eight m inority
technicians would need to be hired
during fiscal 1981-1982.
In the category "office/clerical”
10 minorities were hired, surpassing
the goal o f 10. M inorities are at
parity in this category. In “ service
maintenance,” the goal was 14 and
14 minorities were hired, making
this category also at parity.
Minorities working as “ para-pro
fessionals” increased from 20.9
percent to 26.9 percent, with the
addition o f three positions. This is
the largest percentage o f minority
employees, significantly above
parity, which is 6.1 percent.
The city’ s Equal Employment
Opportunity Regulatory Committee
with representatives from each
commission, personnel services and
the Metropolitan Human Relations
Commission, advised that to
increase hiring o f technicians and
skilled craftspeople the city should
“ consider expansion o f both its
apprentice program and use of
trainee slots to ensure broader
opportunities for both minorities
and women to enter underutilized
job categories.”
In addition to the city’s failure to
hire sufficient minority employees,
the turnover rate o f m inority em
ployees is 50 percent greater than
that o f white males. The greatest
turnover occurred in professionals,
technicians, para-professionals and
service maintenance categories.
The EEO Regulanory Committee
also reminded the City Council that
its commitment to affirm ative
action be made throughout city
government. “ This commitment
should be reflected in the city’s
citizen
advisory
committees,
commissions, task forces, and in
commissioners’ offices. The key to
the success of an affirmative action
program is the spirit in which it is
carried out. The C ity C ouncil,
through its appointment power, is in
a unique position to further the
success of the city’s affirmative ac
tion program.”
The city achieved 95 percent of its
(Please turn to page 3 column J)
African speaks on Human Rights
Dennis Brutus, a South African
poet and activist, will speak at Port
land State University on Friday, De
cember 11, at 7 p.m . His talk is
sponsored by the African Students
Association and the Black United
Front.
__
Drive ends
The N A A C P will close out the
Holiday Seal Drive Sunday. Decem
ber 13, 1981 at 3:00 p.m. at Bethel
A .M .E . Church, 5828 N .E . 8th
Avenue, corner of N.E. 8th and Jar
rett. The main feature will be the
“ Holiday Seals Gospel H o u r” in
conjunction with the announcing
and crowning o f the N A A C P
Grandmother of the year.
Churches and Grandmothers par
ticipating in the contest are: Allen
Temple C .M .E . — Mrs. EJIa Mac
Gay; Bethel A .M .E .— Mrs. Minnie
Scott; Hughes M em orial United
Methodist— Mrs. Marie Smith; Mt.
Olivet Baptist— Mrs. Thelma Cole
man; Vancouver Ave. 1st Baptist —
Mrs. Mary Harrison.
The public is encouraged to at
tend.
Brutus has been active for many
years in anti-apartheid work in this
country. He is now in danger o f
being deported to South Africa by
the U.S. government.
Brutus, a professor of African lit
erature at Northwestern University
and chairman of the South African
Non-Racial Olympics Committee,
has been active in the promotion of
non-racial sports in South Africa,
boycotts o f South African athletes
in the U .S ., and disvestment cam
paigns.
After a number of appeals, Bru
tus has been informed by the immig
ration service that he will be denied
renewal o f his visa and must leave
the United States.
Immigration officials say Brutus
is linked to “ subversive” elements
in South Africa, where he was im
prisoned and then, in 1966, banned.
Brutus replies that, “ If anyone
speaks out against the government
in South Africa they are subversive.
The U .S is responding to charges
given by the South Africans."
Somehow we survive
and tenderness, frustrated, does
not wither.
Investigating searchlights rake
our naked unprotected contours;
over our heads the monolithic
decalogue of fascist prohibition
glowers and teeters for a
catastrophic fall;
boots club the peeling door.
But somehow we survive
severance, deprivation, loss.
Patrols uncoil along the asphalt
dark
hissing their menace to our lives.
most cruel, all our land is scarred
with terror,
rendered unlovely and unloveable;
sundered are we and all our
passionate surrender
but somehow tenderness survives.
— Dennis Brutus
Los desaparecidos
December 10th will mark another
Human Rights Day, but through
out the world there arc thousands of
persons who “ disappeared” — pos
sibly imprisoned or murdered— for
political reasons. For their families
the worry and fear is a fate worse
than death.
Although disappearance has been
a weapon of repressive governments
at least since the Nazis, the term
“ desaparecido," or "disappeared”
came into use approximately fifteen
years ago when it was used by the
Guatemalan press. In Guatemala
alone an estimated 30,0(M) persons
have disappeared in the last decade.
Disappearance takes many forms.
Sometimes people are incarcerated
without charges or prosecution and
the government denies knowledge of
their whereabouts; others disappear
from their jail cells. In come cases
friends or family witness the arrest
or removal, but the individual never
is seen or heard from again. Some
times government officials deny any
knowledge of the victim; other times
they simply say the person is not in
custody.
There is of course no count of the
people who have disappeared but es
timates for the last ten years include
at least 1500 Chileans, I5,(MM) A r
gentinians. 30,000 Guatemalans, be
tween
100,000 and
500,000
Ugandans and perhaps 750,000
Kampucheans have disappeared or
been assassinated.
Disappearances are known to
have occurred in Mexico, El Sal
vador, Bolivia, Paraguay, F.quitor-
ial Guinea, Kenya. Rhodesia, A n
gola, Ethiopia, Zaire, South Africa,
Nam ibia, Morocco, Syria, East
Timor and Afghanistan.
Disappearance reached the level
o f an official government tool of
oppression with the CIA-aided over
throw of the Allende government of
Chile in 1973. The new military gov
ernment immediately began to con
solidate its power and eliminate its
opponents through imprisonment,
torture and murder. Thousands of
trade unionists, members of opposi
tion political parties, professors,
students, began to disappear and the
authorities denied any knowledge of
their whereabouts or their fates.
Human rights organizations filed
writs of habeas corpus bu, these
were summarily dismissed by the
courts. As time passed, “ desapare
cido” became a way of life in Chile.
A 1976 military coup in Argentina
brought similar activity. Bodies of
many o f the “ disappeared” were
found in mass graves and some of
those who had disappeared lived to
tell their stories of violent, usually
illegal arrest; torture; secret impri
sonment; and in many cases death.
In some countries such as El
Salvador and Guatemala victims are
kidnapped by what seem to be non
official agents, with government ap
proval and direction. Authorities
then deny any involvement but ei
ther refuse to investigate or to re
port investigation results. In El Sal
vador, particularly, many o f the
“ disappeared" and murdered have
no political ties but are young men
who conceivably could jo in the
guerrilla forces.
Nearly 3,000 Guatemalans have
been seized and killed since General
Lucas Garcia became president in
1978. In most cases their bodies
were dumped in ravines or on road
sides, bearing marks o f torture.
Death usually resulted from strang
ling, suffocation, or being shot in
the head. In 1980, 3,000 people de
scribed by government officials as
“ subversives” and “ crim inals”
were shot on the spot or murdered
later. At least 344 others have not
been accounted for. The govern
ment denies having made a single
political arrest or taking a single po
litical prisoner since Garcia came to
power—attributing all abuses to pa
ram ilitary groups beyond official
control. Witnesses deny the existence
of independent “ death squads" and
claim the murders and disappear
ances are perpetuated by regular
(Please turn to page 5 column I)