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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1982)
K rs F ra n c e s Scho^n-M cw spap«? R ee » Univers’. ty e* Oregon Library i j J i Careers for the '80s Cuba dominates CA games LU LU Trail Blazer Update w s Labor Day Message page 9^ page 4 PORTLAND OBSERVER September 1,1982 Volume XII, Number 47 25C Per Copy Two Sections U*!PS 959-680-855 Neighbors organize crime battle MICHAEL STOOPS Stoops: A handto man by Nathaniel Scott Me resides in (he Burnside area, the Butte Hotel in historic old town; he has hewn an advrv.su* tor the "bum s” on Skid Road; he speaks out against (he draft and registra tion; he limits his earnings to less than $3000 a year to avoid paying federal taxes; and now, with visions of writing a book about the "culture of hobo life ,” he contemplates the possibility o f running for mayor. He is Michael A. Stoops, co-founder of Baloney Joe's and Director o f the Northwest Draft Counseling Center — 313 East Burnside Street. Stoops, a 32-year-old graduate of Ball State University in Indiana, a rural area college where he earned a BA in social work, moved to Port land and the Burnside community in 1977 and took up the mantle o f neighborhood crusader at Baloney Joe’s in 1978. But prior to that. Stoops had taken his Quaker background and training to set up a Big Brother, Big Sister program while a junior in high school. " M y family taught me some good values," he says, adding that his father was a farmer in addi tion to working in a factory for 40 years. In addition to working on the family farm, Stoops found time to help his relatives. " A ll o f my rela tives had farms so I worked for them to o ," he says. "The idea for the Big Brother, Big Sister program manifested when I was in high school,” he says. " I came into contact with a lot o f kids who were being sent ‘down the river’ to reform school. A lot o f the reasons were because they had no support system,” he adds. Stoops was a conscientious ob jector during the Vietnam War — based on religious beliefs that he would not take advantage o f — and he served four years doing alterna- t i - ; werk with V IS T A in Minnesota as a paralegal. " I believe in my country, believe in serving," he says, "but I am sure as hell not going to get involved in killing people." He adds that World War II may have been a justifiable war, but he staunchly maintains that nothing since, including the Korean W ar, has been. As a draft counselor, he sees the possibility o f legal action being taken against him for the views he expresses. He maintains that he ad vises people what their rights are: some are in the military and want to get out, others are A W O L (absent without leave) and many are delayed entry people. Delayed entry is a pro gram that allows people to enlist now and enter the service for active duty at a later date. But, he says, he does express his beliefs and philoso phy and that could possibly lead to legal action. O f which, he says in ef fect, if it comes to pass, so be it. Stoops is a firm believer in living where your heart is, as exemplified by the room he has occupied in the Butte Hotel for the past four-and- one-half years. To elude to the idea that Stoops is concerned only with the draft would be a mistake. His community in volvement, seeking betterment for the residents o f the Burnside Com munity, encompasses many hours — 70, 80, and sometimes as many as 90 hours per week. He founded the West Hotel Women’s Shelter, 127 N W 6th (Please turn to page 5 col I f Residents o f the northeast neigh borhoods o f Concordia, Sabin, Ver non and parts of Alameda are or ganizing in the wake o f rising inci dence o f home burglaries — cur rently the highest rate in the city. Some o f the increase — which is taking place city-wide — is the usual summer upswing due to vacations and good weather. Many of the bur glaries are done by juveniles, often in their own neighborhoods. Most occur during the day, although early evening burglaries are increasing, as are forced entries through back doors or windows. In the Concordia neighborhood there have been seven armed robberies while people were in their homes. Frequently persons — especially the elderly — arc afraid to report suspicious or criminal behavior be cause they can too easily become the targets o f harassment. Some victims refuse to press charges and witnesses refuse to testify out o f fear. "Neighborhood W atch” pro grams are being organized to help residents o f a block protect one an other. In addition to providing in formation on marking belongings, locks and home security as provided by the Police Bureau’s crime pre vention unit, Neighborhood Watch establishes communication net works. Usually two neighbors volunteer to be resource persons, reporting problems and providing informa tion. Others volunteer to help the el derly, single women, and handi capped to do the work necessary to secure their homes. Residents learn to observe and re port suspicious and criminal behav ior and provide support for each other. They become aware o f neigh bors’ activities so unusual behavior is noticed. Some neighbors have had success in challenging suspects — especially young people — and persuading them to cease their activities or to return stolen goods. Neighborhood Watch has a side benefit, according to Sharon Mac- Cormack, northeast coordinator for Neighborhoods Against Crime, in that it helps break down social and racial barriers. "W hen people in a block meet about a common prob lem — crime — things begin to hap pen. Personal perceptions and pre judices that keep neighbors from talking to each other are broken down. The feelings that divide the neighborhood change and people find they can work together. This ■ n il1 ■ could be the greatest accomplish ment of Neighborhood W atch.” Rape and sexual assault has in creased in the Eliot and Irvington neighborhoods. One o f the greatest problems is receiving accurate infor mation on the time, place and facts o f an occurrence in order to take preventive measures. Rape preven- tion classes have not been well at tended in minority and poor neigh borhoods so new ways o f providing information are being explored. Persons interested in either pro gram should contact Neighbor hoods Against Crime or the North east Neighborhood office, 248-4763. Sahara conflict endangers African unity by Philip Ochieng A ghost which has haunted the Organization of African Unity (O A U ) ever since its inception in 1963 may prove the death o f it yet. It is the colonial national border sys tem which every original member state pledged itself to honor. Today, that system may be held directly re sponsible for the threatened break up of the O A U . While violations o f the so-called Berlin Treaty by which various European powers partitioned the European powers partitioned the continent among themselves — have been the chief test o f the O A U ’s elasticity, the elastic limit appears to have been met with the failure this year o f the annual O A U summit to get o ff the ground. Morocco’s unflinching insistence on the possession o f the former Spanish Sahara, or Western Sahara, has split the organization so badly that for the firs, time in its history the summit has lacked a quorum. Some members have taken the stand that the Sahara is a sovereign state, ruled by the Polasario Front guerril la army, with a right to sit in all O A U councils. Others have taken Morocco's side, arguing that the Polasario’s claims are not legiti mate. Although the argument has beset the O A U since Spain’s departure from the territory in 1975, this year Morocco threatened to boycott the summit, scheduled for Tripoli, the Libyan capital, if Polasario repre sentatives were admitted. A dozen states sided with Morocco. This would not have resulted in lack o f a quorum, however, but for the happenstance that the summit was going to be chaired by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Gad d afi’s recent intervention in Chad has fueled fears among the pro- Western states that his willingness to violate the border system would eventually lead to violations o f their own borders. Thus many o f the pro-Western states, which form a majority in the O A U , refused to at tend the Tripoli meeting. The fears over Gaddafi’s alleged expansionist aims, however, are highly selective. No such grumblings have followed numerous other re cent border violations, including Tanzania’s intervention in Idi Amin's Uganda or Morocco’s air lifting o f troops to Zaire to help re store the callous and corrupt pro- Western regime o f Mobutu Sese Seko. Amin — a man a hundred times more odious than Gaddafi — chaired the O A U summit in 1975 and there was barely a murmur. But apart from the issue o f Gad- daft, himself, the larger issue o f the sanctity o f national borders has al ways been both the keystone and the central weak point o f the O A U . Morocco’s Saharan claim is a good example o f the problem, for it is based on the concept o f "irrident- ism" — a nation’s legitimate claim to territory with which it has close pre-colonial cultural ties. The fact is, however, that all modern African states are artificial creations o f colonialism, with borders cutting everywhere across nations, nationalities and ethnic groups. Thus, if Morocco’s claim can be accepted through some pre- MUAMMAR QADDAFI colonial relationship with the Saha ra, there is no reason why Egypt should not claim the whole of the Sudan, to which it could also lay irridentist claims. (Please turn to page 2 col I f Cuban troops will remain in Angola Cuba advised the United Nations Committee on Decolonization A u gust 20th that if South America launches a large-scale attack on A n gola, Angolan and Cuban troops will respond with all the means at their command. The statement, made during the debate on the Namibia question, echoed the recent words o f Fidel Castro; " I f they launch a large-scale attack on Angola and reach out lines, we will engage in a very seri ous fight with all our means and all our energies against the South A fri can facists, racists and merce- Castro explained that, "in order to solve the problem o f Namibia’s independence, the closely united South Africans and U .S. imperial ists want to set the prerequisite that the withdrawal o f South African troops from Namibia take place simultaneously with (hat o f Cuban troops in Angola, a position con trary to the stand taken by other European countries in the Contact Group. The government o f Angola is completely opposed to the idea with full reason. The role of the South African troops in Namibia is that o f illegal occupants and aggres sors. The role o f the Cuban troops in Angola is that o f allies o f Angola, o f fighters defending Angola's inde pendence and security. ceed to gradually withdraw our troops within the period o f time agreed on by both governments.. . ” "Angolans and Cubans have de cided on the gradual withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola within a period of time agreed on by both governments. When all o f the South African troops have left Namibia and have moved to the other side o f the Orange River, when all the danger o f attack on An gola from abroad is over, when all imperialist aid to U N IT A . C O M 1K A , and FLEC puppet or ganizations ceases, then we will pro "W e have fought against these racists once and they are well aware o f the tenacity, bravery and firm ness o f our fighters,” Castro said. " It 'd be more worthwhile for the imperialists to stop the threats be cause they'll never intimidate u s .. . Our attitude is not that o f promot ing conflict. However, no imperial ist threat or aggression will even make us step back as much as half an inch. Not even half an inch.” Speaking for Cuba, Miguel Alvarez reminded South Africa of the losses it suffered at the hands of Angola and Cuba in 1976 when it in volved itself in Angola's fight for liberation. Cuban troops first went to Angola to assist in the fight against South Africa and U .S .- supported mercenaries and troops and remained at the request o f the Angolan government. Alvarez reminded the body that it is the South Africans, along with their western allies, especially the United Stales, that arc interfering with the right to self-determination and independence o f the people of Namibia as guaranteed by resolu tion o f the United Nations. He also denounced the false im pression given by the U.S. and the western press that a peaceful nego tiated settlement that will give Namibia independence is near. While important elements of the U N plan remain without solution. South Africa attempts to install a puppet government in Namibia and in creases aggression against Namibia and Angola. The Cuban position is that SW A PO is the only legitimate repre sentative of the Namibian people ________ _________ J
