at the occasion of
World Mental Health Day
2nd Black March
for less psychiatric violence in society
(to commemorate the victims of psychiatry and society)
from Spanjeplein (near to Central Station) to the Beurs
In Belgium…
there are five times more psychiatric admissions than the European average (!)
at least two times as many psychiatric medicinal drugs are prescribed
forced psychiatric hospitalisation (collocation) has increased 40% during the last 6 years
there is a multitude of psychiatric and mental health accomodation in comparison with the rest of the world and thousands of professionals are trying to help people in problems there
Yet…
we count in Belgium two times as many suicides as in similar neighbouring countries and yet we are at the top in the world in the field of suicide, depression and psychiatric disorders
nevertheless we annually count in Belgium more than thirty death people in psychiatry of which the cause of death is unknown and non natural decease increases relatively strongly in psychiatric institutions
direct cost blade for this madness amounts to around 6000 euro by person taken per month or approximately 200 euro by person per day.
These are disconcerting official facts and figures, unworthy to a civilised country. We have not left behind during more than ten years to call continuously for the attention of the policy and the public opinion for this situation. However, apparently everyone in our country can live and sleep quietly with that situation.
Even so Belgian Justice makes a bad impression in this cause. How many forced hospitalizations are (not) right?
How much medical drugs are being prescribed and taken rightly?
For this reason on 10 october 2009 in Brussels we commemorate for the second time the more than 50,000 premature victims of psychiatry and society in Belgium in the past half century.
We meet from about 1,30 pm around the statue of Don Quichote on Spanjeplein/Place d’Espagne (near to Central Station).
We will walk in complete silence via the Grasmarkt/ Rue Marché aux Herbes to the Bourse (Exchange). We will take with us the first names of victims and people who died most awfully in psychiatry or from psychiatric drugs.
As a sign of mourning we all go as much as possible dressed in black. There will be green ribbons and white flags as a sign of hope (those ribbons and flags are available on the spot).
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Please will you communicate your attendance (how much persons) to us
and if you want to cooperate in one or another manner in preparation and/or implementation of this black march.
We are only responsible for the official banners and leaflets of our movement.
No explicite publicity (commercial or not) for any other subject is wished.
Always take banners and leaflets in consideration with the organizers of the March.
Please send this message to as many friends you can and ask them to do also the same thing…
Print this message and make copies of it as much you can to distribute
to your friends and all the people you know. Use it e.g. as a (window)poster.
You can cooperate in the following manners:
Preparation and disclosure:
1. Spreading this message as much as possible to all your e-mail addresses, asking them to do the same to all their friends (forming a chain). Putting this message also on your blogs and Internet sites to spread it as much as possible.
2. Contacting journalists you know personally and invite them to advertise the black march or to report on 10th october.
3. Printing out this message as much as possible (e.g. as a poster), copy it and spread it on really useful and suitable places, where those people pass who can be interested to assist at the March.
10th october:
1. Carrying banners or distributing leaflets.
2. Helping to be in contact with the order services (with gsm with our police force spokesman and identify if somewhere problems would be (what we do not expect)
Contribution (optional, if you can’t come or cooperate in another way)
Possibly you may transfer a small contribution into the account of the Sarah movement (776-5960833-86), because we have not much money any more to realize this action. There are a lot of costs asfor banners, much administration, phone, inkt cartridges, traffic, contacts with the media, with the city of Brussels, with police force, postage stamps, posters, leaflets etc.
Suggestions? Mail or phone us.
Let us know you can or you want to do something in help.
Let us also clearly know if you will be there on 10th october and how much persons you will be. On 6th September we have a preparation reunion in Brussels Exki Agora at 2 pm.
Jan Vanhaelen et Mieke Houthaeve
spokesmen Sarah Beweging
Kloosterstraat 159
1700 Dilbeek
Tel./fax 02 466 48 50
Web: http://www.sarahbeweging.net