CWS Update October 2008
Days to note
- October 6: UN World Habitat Day
- October 8: International Day for Disaster Reduction
- October 16: UN World Food Day
- October 17: International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
- October 19-25: Congo, Break the Silence week
>>Globalisation: A ‘Tattered and Forlorn Project’ What are
we to make of the globalised financial turmoil of the past month which
has shaken many economies and threatens all of us, especially the
poorest of the world’s people read more
>>Haiti: An Urgent Appeal: United Nations’ special envoy
Hedi Annabi says Haiti has been overwhelmed by the effects of recent
storms and the country cannot cope read more See also background on Haiti, the world’s poorest country
>>Congo Cell OUT: join the international boycott on mobile phone usage read more
>>The Earth Charter: summary of the Earth Charter, which
was created by the independent Earth Charter Commission, convened as a
follow-up to the 1992 Earth Summit in order to produce a global
consensus statement of values and principles for a sustainable future read more
>>Sri Lanka: Rising food prices crisis: “In rich Western
countries, the average share of family expenditure on food can be as
little as 8% of expendable income, while for poor families in Sri Lanka
it is said the figure is around 80%. Thus a 40% increase in the prices
of essential food (as in 2007) makes it well-nigh impossible for Sri
Lanka’s poor to buy food" read more
>>Reflections from the Christian Faith on the Economic Crisis: what does our faith have to say about God’s concern for the poor? read more
Globalisation: A ‘Tattered and Forlorn Project’
What are we to make of the globalised financial turmoil of the past
month which has shaken many economies and threatens all of us,
especially the poorest of the world’s people? And what can be done for
them?…. First, what is this thing called ‘globalisation’?
Columbian Priest Pat McMullen, who works in Korea, writes: “As the
first decade of the 21st century draws to a close, globalisation is
looking like an increasingly tattered and forlorn project. The hype and
promises of the 1990s have given way to wars of aggression, increased
religious tension, structural poverty, food shortages and deepening
environmental crisis. Significantly, globalisation is increasingly
spoken about as economic globalisation – a codeword for policies that
promote the privatisation of public assets such as water and
electricity and entrench social deprivation through cutbacks in welfare
and access to healthcare, housing and food…..
“Within the tight strictures imposed by globalisation, people are
no longer defined as people, but as consumers. Their self-worth is
identified with their buying power and levels of consumption. Those
who have little buying power are marginalised: lacking economic
significance they lack political significance…The forces of
globalisation tend to reduce the democratic process to an exercise in
electing detached managers of the economy, who enforce international
legal frameworks such as Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and the rules of
the World Trade Organisation (WTO)…
“Globalisation places local communities in competition.
Communities are forced to create optimal conditions such as tax breaks
to attract investment capital. This capital often comes at the expense
of human and environmental rights… The disembodied measure of this
process is those seemingly innocuous graphs on the nightly TV news
showing the rise and fall of the share market and exchange rate. Human
and environmental costs are hardly ever linked or reported.” (From
“The globalisation myth”, Tui Motu InterIslands Magazine, September
2008. www.tuimotu.org - used with permission) - See page 4 for a
reflection on the economic crisis from the Faith tradition.
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United Nations’ special envoy Hedi Annabi, says Haiti has been
overwhelmed by the effects of recent storms. The scale of the disaster
is beyond what the UN and Haitian authorities can deal with and more
international help is needed. The western city of Gonaives was all but
destroyed, with every house damaged or swamped by mud. He suggested
Haiti’s gross domestic product had fallen by between 3-4%. Haiti was
hit in the space of a month by two tropical storms and two hurricanes,
leaving about 550 people dead. Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis
believes up to one million Haitians are homeless. People need seeds to
replant or livestock to replace those killed, otherwise they will have
no way to feed themselves for months to come. Storm damage in the
agricultural sector alone amounted to more than US$200m.
Please support this appeal for relief operations in Haiti: Phone 0800 74 73 72,mail to PO Box 22652, Christchurch 8061 or donate online
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Haiti: The World’s Poorest Nation
Haiti, the small country (about the same size as the Waikato) in the
Caribbean, south-east of Cuba, has been much in the news as four
successive hurricanes have slammed into it, causing death and
destruction on a huge scale. This disaster has compounded the
situation of its 8.5 million people, who are the poorest in the Western
Hemisphere, if not in the world. Why?
The island of Hispaniola, whose original Arawak people have almost
completely disappeared, knew occupation by various European powers from
the time of Columbus. Its prosperity as a sugar-growing country under
French rule was based on African slave labour and today most of the
population are descendants of those slaves. Various slave uprisings
ended in the proclamation of the first independent black republic in
the world in 1803. Internal strife continued and a further revolution
in 1843 resulted in the island being divided into the Dominican
Republic in the east and Haiti in the west. More civil war followed
and the country was occupied by US marines from 1915 to 1934. A series
of military coups against appointed governments ensued until the
infamous Duvalier family seized power in 1957. There were continual
human rights violations as Francois Duvalier and later his son
Jean-Claude, with support from the army and the US, ruled or misruled
until 1986.
A series of interim governments, appointed, fraudulently elected,
or who seized power through a coup d’etat, ran the country until 1991.
From then on elections have been held and won alternatively by
Presidents Jean-Bertrand Aristide and Rene Preval, who has been in
power since 2006. During much of this period anti-democratic forces
have been active in trying to destabilise Haiti through violence,
assassinations, kidnappings, killing of police, attacks on government
offices, including the NationalPalace, Police Academy, prisons and
police stations. In fact in April 2004 the UN Security Council decided
to send a “Stablisation Force” for a three-month period. Its 9,000
members are still there and are said to be the only force preventing
further anarchy, although President Preval has begun to stabilise the
country’s institutions.
All this underlines the fact that Haiti and its people have endured
great suffering and, for the majority, great poverty. Now, not only
are they experiencing the destruction of hurricanes, but they are also
caught up in global forces which have doubled food prices in the past
few months. The country used to produce most of its own food, the
staple being rice. But several years ago the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) in its usual way of “reforming” Haiti’s economy insisted
that it slash tariffs, which led to an influx of subsidised rice from
the US. Along with the neglect of irrigation canals and a lack of
fertiliser and appropriate machinery, due to the political instability,
the local rice industry collapsed. Now most food is imported. Overall
the value of imports are about two-and-a-half times that of exports,
keeping the country permanently in deficit, with about 70% of the
population jobless and often dependent on remittances from family
abroad.
The hurricane destruction has added to the misery, which is why
Christian World Service is receiving donations for our partners. One
of these is the Institut Culturel Karl Leveque, a CWS partner, which
supports grass-roots groups as they strive to rebuild local economies
and support their communities in various ways, such as obtaining water
supplies and health care services. Much of this work will have been
severely set back by the hurricanes and will need to be rehabilitated –
along with emergency efforts to ensure people have food and clean
water.
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As part of CWS’s response to “Breaking the Silence” over the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) we are asking everyone to join the
international boycott on mobile phone usage. This is to help raise
awareness about the conflict there which is driven by the scramble for
natural resources and has claimed 5 million lives. Local militias and
foreign forces are illegally mining coltan, which is essential for the
manufacture of cell phones and laptop computers. Most of the world’s
coltan deposits are in the north-eastern part of Congo.
The Cell OUT is a symbolic act to acknowledge the suffering and
atrocities committed in DRC while developed countries enjoy modern
technology based on the country’s minerals. It is part of a global week
of action, October 19-25, to raise awareness about the conflict which
kills 45,000 people every month.
To join in simply turn your phone off on 22 October (no texting) and
change your voicemail to reflect the message
below.
“Did you know that Congo has 80 percent of the world’s reserves of
Coltan, a mineral that is essential for the operation of our cell
phones? As we benefit from coltan, over 5 million Congolese have died
in the deadliest conflict since World War Two as a result of this
scramble for coltan and other minerals that are key to the functioning
of modern technology. Join us in solidarity with the Congolese people
and turn your phone off for a day.”
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Preamble
We stand at a critical moment in Earth’s history, a time when humanity
must choose its future. As the world becomes increasingly
interdependent and fragile, the future at once holds great peril and
great promise. To move forward we must recognize that in the midst of a
magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms we are one human
family and one Earth community with a common destiny. We must join
together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect
for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of
peace. Towards this end, it is imperative that we, the peoples of
Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater
community of life, and to future generations.
Earth, Our Home
Humanity is part of a vast evolving universe. Earth, our home, is
alive with a unique community of life. The forces of nature make
existence a demanding and uncertain adventure, but Earth has provided
the conditions essential to life’s evolution. The resilience of the
community of life and the well-being of humanity depend upon preserving
a healthy biosphere with all its ecological systems, a rich variety of
plants and animals, fertile soils, pure waters, and clean air. The
global environment with its finite resources is a common concern of all
peoples. The protection of Earth’s vitality, diversity, and beauty is a
sacred trust.
The Global Situation
The dominant patterns of production and consumption are causing
environmental devastation, the depletion of resources, and a massive
extinction of species. Communities are being undermined. The benefits
of development are not shared equitably and the gap between rich and
poor is widening. Injustice, poverty, ignorance, and violent conflict
are widespread and the cause of great suffering. An unprecedented rise
in human population has overburdened ecological and social systems. The
foundations of global security are threatened. These trends are
perilous—but not inevitable.
The Challenges Ahead
The choice is ours: form a global partnership to care for Earth and
one another or risk the destruction of ourselves and the diversity of
life. Fundamental changes are needed in our values, institutions, and
ways of living. We must realise that when basic needs have been met,
human development is primarily about being more, not having more. We
have the knowledge and technology to provide for all and to reduce our
impacts on the environment. The emergence of a global civil society is
creating new opportunities to build a democratic and humane world. Our
environmental, economic, political, social, and spiritual challenges
are interconnected, and together we can forge inclusive solutions.
Universal Responsibility
To realise these aspirations, we must decide to live with a sense of
universal responsibility, identifying ourselves with the whole Earth
community as well as our local communities. We are at once citizens of
different nations and of one world in which the local and global are
linked. Everyone shares responsibility for the present and future
well-being of the human family and the larger living world. The spirit
of human solidarity and kinship with all life is strengthened when we
live with reverence for the mystery of being, gratitude for the gift of
life, and humility regarding the human place in nature.
We urgently need a shared vision of basic values to provide an ethical
foundation for the emerging world community. Therefore, together in
hope we affirm the basic principles for a sustainable way of life as a
common standard by which the conduct of all individuals, organisations,
businesses, governments, and transnational institutions is to be guided
and assessed.
This is a summary of the Earth Charter, which was created by the
independent Earth Charter Commission, convened as a follow-up to the
1992 Earth Summit in order to produce a global consensus statement of
values and principles for a sustainable future. The Charter has been
formally endorsed by thousands of organisations, including UNESCO and
the World Conservation Union. For the full text, including the ‘basic
principles’, visit www.EarthCharter.org.
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Sarath Fernando, Leader of CWS partner MONLAR in Sri Lanka, writes:
“In rich Western countries, the average share of family expenditure
on food can be as little as 8% of expendable income, while for poor
families in Sri Lanka it is said the figure is around 80%. Thus a 40%
increase in the prices of essential food (as in 2007) makes it
well-nigh impossible for Sri Lanka’s poor to buy food.
“It seems that some staples, like rice, are already out of reach
for many Sri Lankans. A family requires about 40kg of rice per month,
which currently amounts to 4,000 Rials. 2.1 million families - that’s
half the population, receive less than Rs 1,500 per month. And while
food is the essential requirement for life, for most poor families
other areas of expenditure are also crucial - medicines, education,
transport, house rental, fuel, clothing and other basics. In many
cases the food budget is cut to meet these other needs. Latest
assessments show only half the country’s 20 million people are
receiving the minimum daily calorie intake of 2,030. So how can we
alleviate the suffering of the poor?”
Sarath goes on to point out that the scramble for economic growth
through industrialisation has only enriched big business, while poverty
and disparity have increased. However the government has begun to
recognise that domestic food production by small-scale farmers must
increase - a policy long followed by MONLAR.
“A programme called ‘Let us grow and build the nation’ envisages
building 4 million small-scale home gardens. This will allow food
production at very low cost, eliminate expensive and harmful chemical
inputs, improve soil structure and increase biodiversity. Then Sri
Lanka’s poor can be much more effective in the eradication of their own
poverty and hunger, as well as fighting against global warming.”
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Reflections from the Christian Faith on the Economic Crisis
‘Christian World Service believes the provision and enjoyment of the
basic necessities for living a decent, just and humane life is God’s
will for all humankind. All human beings have the right to a standard
of living that ensures justice, human dignity and environmental
integrity.’ (Partnership and Letting Go” – a theological rationale for
CWS
work)
So in light of the failings of globalisation, what does our faith
have to say about God’s concern for the poor? Fr Kevin Barr, an
advocate for peace and justice, works with CWS Partner ECREA, in Fiji.
He highlights some points from the Gospel of Luke:
“Chapter 12:13:21 relates Jesus’ parable about the rich fool who
kept constructing bigger and bigger barns to house his personal greed.
Ch.16:19-31 also gives us Jesus’ parable about the rich man living
in abundance and luxury who is condemned to eternal punishment for no
other reason than that he refused to share his wealth with a poor man,
Lazarus, begging at his doorstep:
Ch: 6:20ff tells us not only of Jesus’ blessing of the poor, but his
strong warnings to the rich – “Blessed are you who are poor…but woe to
you who are rich!”
Ch 1:52-53 puts on Mary’s lips words about God that are starkly
revolutionary but symbolic of the reversals that are needed for the
emergence of God’s Kingdom:
‘He will pull down the mighty from their position of power; and
raise up the lowly, He will feed the hungry with good food but send the
rich away empty-handed with nothing to eat.’”
Commenting on the Lord’s Prayer in Ch 11, Barr says:
“The prayer which Jesus teaches us is certainly a radical prayer
because it goes to the root causes of so much human suffering –
racism, greed, human suffering, hatred, power and selfishness, because:
*if we see ourselves as members of one family of God there can be no
more racism, discrimination, exploitation, poverty and exclusion;
*if we share our bread, nobody will go hungry;
*if we learn to forgive, there will be no more hatred or war;
*if we accept the vision and values of the Kingdom we will seek to
build a better world where justice, peace and compassion prevail.”
(From “The gospel of the poor”, Tui Motu InterIslands, September 2008.
www.tuimotu.org – used with permission)
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