Harrogate and Knaresborough Jubilee Debt Campaign
John Sentamu weighs in for 'Stand Up' actions
3 October 2008
Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, has sent a powerful message of encouragement to poverty campaigners in the north of England , and implicitly to everyone planning to engage in 'Stand Up against Poverty' actions to show support for the Millennium Development Goals from 17th till the 19th October.
After expressing his regret at not being able to join campaigners in person, Dr Sentamu stated that:
"The greatest scandal of our time is not the millions of our brothers and sisters around the world who live on less than a dollar a day. It is not the millions of children who do not have access to even the most basic level of education. It is not even the millions who die each day from hunger, malaria or HIV/AIDS.
"The greatest scandal of our time is that the remedy to each of these situations is within our grasp if only there was sufficient political will from our leaders.
"For the first time in modern history this generation has the technology, medicine and knowledge to achieve these goals. Now we need the political will to make them happen.
"The time has come for each of us to speak truth unto power, and that truth is that we will no longer be content to wait for justice for the poorest of the poor whilst the world's biggest economies shore up their rich.
"May God bless you in your endeavours to love mercy, do justly and work humbly in Standing Up against poverty and calling our leaders to account in pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals."
Thursday 16 October 2008: Harrogate & Knaresborough JDC AGM
7:15 for 7:30pm, Friends Meetings House (Map) with guest speaker Nick Dearden, national director for JDC on 'Debt, the Food Crisis, and Climate Chaos'. Poster available (pdf, 46kb)
17-19 October 2008: Stand up against Poverty
Part of Global Call To Action Against Poverty during International Debt Week; various local events.
The Bishops marched against Poverty at Lambeth in August including the Anglican bishop of Riopon and Leeds, John Packer, who made reference to it in September's 'Together' (diocesan news) and its focus on the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) laid down by the UN in 2000 with the aim of them being achieved by 2015.
For the past two Octobers, some Harrogate Churches have joined in 'Stand Against Poverty' with other groups around the world. The Global Call to Action on Poverty (GCAP) which organises it, is once more calling concerned groups to 'Stand up Against Poverty' at some time during the three days from October 17th-19th. It is a simple, easily organised action but numbers takng part are to be counted and registered on the standagainstpoverty website alongside others from around the world, More info and a Toolkit
for churches, schools or groups
available via www.bond.org.uk.
18 May 2008 Journey to Justice, Birmingham
The Harrogate & Knaresborough group joined with a group from Leeds sharing a coach to the Birmingham event. 'Over 1,000 campaigners were in Birmingham on Sunday to mark the 10th anniversary of the G8 human chain, and to make fresh calls on world leaders to drop $400 billion of poor country debt' More info: JDC webpage
April & May 2008
DROP the DEBT FAST (April 12th to May 17th) and encourage churches to take on a day or more. Each day focusses on a different country and there is a growing amount of information on the JDC website www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk
The JOURNEY to JUSTICE event in Birmingham on Sunday May 18th?- significant because it will be just 10 years on from the '70,000 strong JUBILEE 2000 human chain, which surrounded Birmingham in 1998 demanding the G8 'BREAK the CHAINS of DEBT', the event which really made powerful decision makers start to sit up and take notice
The event was put forward powerfully by such organisations as CAFOD, Christian Aid and Tear Fund at the time and I know that some Harrogate people were part of the chain)
I am at present looking into the possibility of arranging transport to the May 18th event but need to know how much definite interest there may be VERY SOON! (At present I have a carload interested, but if there were 16, this could be a minibus!). Beryl Tierney
18 October 2007 AGM
Friends Meeting House 7.30pm
We are delighted to announce that ‘the Doctor' has agreed to return to address our AGM on 18 October. Dr. Who? – who else but Dr. David Golding of Newcastle University, debt activist, leader of Make Poverty History in the North-East and Board Member of JDC. The evening was opened by Cllr Cliff Trotter, Mayor of Harrogate.
Many of you will remember the inspiring address Dr. David Golding gave us two years ago. Since then, some of you will also have viewed him on ‘Look North' a few months ago, alongside Bob Geldorf and the ex-President of Tanzania, Benjamin MKapa, after each had received an honorary degree from Newcastle University, in recognition of the unique leadership contribution of each, from their own situations, striving to bring about poverty reduction.
Rev Darren McClintock added detail of his brother's work in Haiti
witha slide show.
Look out for more details of this meeting. In the meantime, put the date in your diary.
REMINDER! – Have you signed a ‘LIFT THE LID' card?
2 June 2007: Jubilee Debt Campaign
10am onwards around St Peter's. Lift The Lid on unjust loans and calling governments to account on their promises to cancel debts caused through irresponsible lending years ago. Church bells will ring out, and like those gathering at the rally in London, we shall observe a minute's silence and then 'Ring The Alarm' for three minutes with whatever noise-makers we have." Coffee and biscuits served inside the church from about 11am.
Tuesday 17 October 2006 Global White band day
Last year we took part in Make Poverty History. Even though that has now finished, THE GLOBAL CALL to ACTION AGAINST POVERTY (GCAP), continues. Campaigning in the UK is part of that global effort.
GCAP has called for a worldwide ‘month of mobilisation' which will start on 14 September. Its stated aim is to engage the public, put pressure on decision-makers and build momentum for further campaigning.
It will climax on 17 October in a Global white band day so get those white bands out again!
The general theme of the month will be Stand up against Poverty. There will also be a specific global attempt to set an official Guinness World Record on 15 th – 16 th October for the most number of people ever to ‘stand up' against poverty. Look out for news of how you can be part of this in the UK .
Harrogate & Knaresborough Jubilee Debt Campaign AGM
17 October 2006: Our main speaker will be Valentine Sakala, who is from Malawi, who will talk to us about Debt, debt cancellation and related issues, from an African perspective. (Note that this will be part of the GCAP Month of Action.) A brief AGM will follow.
Cut the Strings update on the 3 June 2006
Many co-operated on the Cut the Strings event to raise awareness of the issues. Over 300 passers-by signed cards to Hilary Benn and a further 72 signed the petition. Press photographs showed Phil Willis MP and Geoff Webber, Harrogate's Mayor, supporting the work.
Cut the Strings (extracts from main JDC website)
In July 2005, the unprecedented worldwide pressure on the G8 forced them to take a step forward on debt, giving significant cancellation to some indebted countries.
However, the deal by no means covers all countries or all debts, and it does not touch on some very important issues. One crucial issue is the damaging and undemocratic conditions typically attached to debt cancellation. Failure to comply with these conditions leads to suspension of debt relief and a refusal to grant debt cancellation
The conditions attached to debt relief have been disastrous for poor countries. If they do not comply with these conditions, debt relief is witheld, and cancellation delayed. Typically, the conditions include trade liberalisation, privatisation of basic services, and cuts in vital social spending.
These conditions hurt.
Countless studies have shown that economic policy conditions attached to debt relief and aid have harmed indebted countries. For instance, Senegal was forced to liberalise its groundnut sector, a disastrous policy that resulted in more than two thirds of the crop not being collected, farmers collectively losing millions of dollars, economic growth being cut in half and a near state of famine in rural areas. But the World Bank and International Monetary Fund continued to insist on further liberalisation a condition of debt relief for Senegal. They undermine democracy.
Countries often resist implementing these policies, but are forced to adopt them even when their people protest and their parliaments oppose them. For instance, the IMF requirement that Zambia privatise its state bank in order to get debt relief prompted mass public protest, a parliamentary motion opposing the privatisation and the refusal of the President. But the IMF insisted that "if they don't sell, they won't get the money".
They are inconsistent with UK and G8 statements.
The UK's has promised not to attach economic policy conditions to aid it gives directly to poor countries, saying it is "inappropriate and ineffective for donors to impose policies". The Commission for Africa questioned the role of conditions, for instance stating that "forced liberalisation will not work" as a way of reducing poverty. The recent G8 communiqué also stated clearly that "developing countries…need to decide, plan and sequence their economic policies." Despite this, debt relief and cancellation granted by the World Bank and IMF - which the UK helps to fund - still has huge numbers of damaging conditions attached. The UK is also using implementation of World Bank conditions as the criteria for deciding which countries will get the additional debt relief it is now offering.
These conditions are not about accountability.
Jubilee Debt Campaign supports efforts to ensure that governments are accountable to their own people over how they spend the funds released by debt cancellation. Some countries have successful mechanisms in place; in others, campaigners are calling for greater accountability, and their efforts and calls should be reinforced. But that is not what these conditions achieve; instead, they impose detailed economic policies onto poor countries that often harm the poor and benefit those in the rich world.
Action
Sign the local petitions or write/email to UK politicians and officials to protest at these conditions - details on the JDC website.
Make Poverty History
On 14 September 2004 'A wide Coalition of charities, trade unions, campaigning
groups and celebrities, announced ambitious plans for next year. In a
world where poverty kills 30,000 people every day, 2005 will be a year
of unprecedented opportunity for rich countries to:
Change the rules and practices of Trade
Cancel poor countries' Debts, and
Deliver more and better Aid.
Make Poverty History aims to be the most powerful coalition ever
against world poverty. It calls for urgent action and is looking to our
Prime Minister as he hosts the G8 and holds the presidency of the EU in
2005 to improve the lives of millions of poor people around the world'
(The coalition includes Jubilee Debt Campaign, Christian Aid, CAFOD, Oxfam,The
Leprosy Mission, Methodist Relief and Development Fund, One World Week,
United Reform Church, Wateraid, WDM, Save the Children, Mothers Union,
Traidcraft, Tearfund, TUC and many others).
Thank you
A note of thanks to all who sent 'CALL for CHANGE' cards to the Chancellor
earlier in the year, calling on him to write off unilaterally, the UK's
share of all debts owed to the World bank and IMF by the world's poorest
countries, to take a lead for other rich nations to follow. Perhaps you
already know the GOOD NEWS that very recently Gordon Brown has announced
that the UK will commit up to £100 million per year for the next
10 years to do just this for up to 30 poverty-stricken countries with
debts to the World Bank.( He also called for IMF gold to be revalued/sold
in order to write off debts to the IMF.)
Mr. Brown stated his aim to create a precedent for other countries to
follow, with the objective of 100% cancellation of debts owed by poor
countries to the IMF/World Bank.
'This is a complete vindication of the HARD WORK that DEBT ACTIVISTS have undertaken to get the UK to put its hands in its pocket and set an example to the rest of the world. Gordon Brown should be congratulated for heeding the words of campaigners by taking this major step towards ending the Third World Debt crisis. Its now time for the rest of the G7 to meet their share of the cost' said JDC's Campaign Officer Caroline Pearce.
Thanks are also due
to the many of you who responded to a last-minute call to write urgently
to Gordon Brown before the October meetings of the IMF, World Bank and
G7 also faxed the German Finance Minister the day before. The meetings
did not bring a dramatic breakthrough, but progress was made and Gordon
Brown spoke afterwards of a 'growing consensus' around 100% cancellation.
Keep the letters and e-mails flowing. Don't forget to pray.
World Debt Day 2004 is on 16 May. Being a Sunday it is a call for many to Prayer and Meditation, and an opportunity for churches to take it on board. Some resources are available to help - listed at the foot of this page. Beryl Tierney has offered the following thoughts on this key issue:
It is envisaged that there will be once more colourful and active campaigning around the country ON and AROUND that DATE on debt issues affecting the lives of millions of men, women and children in the poorest countries of the world.
YES, we can rejoice
with Guyana, recently becoming the ninth country to have received a measure
of debt cancellation and the real difference the funds set free will make
in providing basic Health and Education facilities for its people, but
NO the debt problem has not gone away. YES it is still with us and for
campaigners YES it is frustrating; YES we do seem always to keep repeating
the same story; but YES we must stick with the campaign for the sake of
the poor who suffer its dire consequences and look to us to speak up for
them.
.
Serious research has shown that many of the poorest countries have no
hope of getting out of poverty, no HOPE in fact of achieving internationally
agreed Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 unless they are granted
both 100% debt cancellation and double the amount of Aid.. Other recent
research has shed light on the damaging effects which certain conditions
demanded by the IMF to achieve eligibility for debt cancellation, are
having on poor countries'
economies. Notably these have to do with liberalisation of trade and privatisation
of public utilities.
Our local Working Group has discussed ideas for attention-grabbing,campaigning on or around May 16th and feel that the idea of a variety of Penalty Shoot Out has possibilities. (ie The scenario would be aiming for goal to achieve Millennium Development GOALS, but impeded by DEBT & DAMAGING CONDITIONS, including unfair TRADE RULES.) What do you think?
Please join in!
We need your ideas too for activities, drama, games, to focus attention
in a colourful 'catchy way to the problem which needs to be resolved.
We would love YOUNG PEOPLES' GROUPS and SCHOOLS to take part too, on or
around May 16. (Contact 508460)
Lets make Harrogate and Knaresborough's campaign a good one.
On 27 March, the JUBILEE DEBT CAMPAIGN is holding its Annual Convention in London. It looks like an interesting day (12 noon to 6pm) One or two people from Harrogate intend to go. You are welcome to join us.
Resources
We always need people to write letters to MPs, MEPs, World Leaders etc.
Letters are a particularly fruitful way of campaigning. Be sure to send
off the Christian Aid card focussing on Debt and Trade to Gordon Brown.
Worship Resources
available from the Mothers
Union website 
and
Tearfund. 
More in-depth
background material is available from Beryl
Tierney direct (508460), tierneyb @ homecall.co.uk.
See also the Jubilee
Debt Campaign website.
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