Call to Action - February 2022

Engracia Figueroa

A few weeks ago I spoke about and posted about my good friend, Engracia Figueroa, who passed away last year when United Airlines destroyed her wheelchair delayed replacing it. On February 5, friends and families held a memorial service that was virtually attended by close to 90 people. Her sister announced that the family received a letter from Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg. In the letter, he said, that the DOT would look into holding hearings about airlines and how they damage wheelchairs. No date has been set. I encourage you to send an email, write a letter, or call the DOT and demand that these hearings happen sooner than later. Visit the DOT’s website at www.transportation.gov or call 855-368-4200.

Ukraine

Both Ranell and I have had the opportunity to travel to Europe as part of work and have met filmmakers and industry professionals from Ukraine. And it is heartbreaking to see what is happening there. Several doc peeps who live Kyiv have been posting specific actions we can take to facilitate their fight for freedom:   

• Call the Russian embassies and consulates in your countries and demand a stop to the war.

• Call your own national govenments and demand stronger sanctions that includes the cutting off of SWIFT codes. I’ve posted an article about this line of defense  on the website. But for those of you who don’t know, SWIFT codes are used for international payments .  

Support Filmmakers at War - Ranell posted this fundraising link on her Facebook page. - Babylon’13 is the informal association of documentary filmmakers in Ukraine, which was formed during Maidan revolution. It has been famous since then for fearless filmmaking in the war zones and occupied territories. Babylon’13 is now launching a fundraising campaign to support Ukrainian documentary filmmakers at war. The money will go to provide filmmakers with equipment and cover the expenses directly connected to their work at the frontline. This will help to bring the true stories about the Russian-Ukrainian war to the vast international audience, supporting Ukraine’s fight for freedom, democracy and independence Visit our website to find the link to their Facebook group and sign up for on the ground updates.