Jubilee Debt Campaign, Chester
Press Releases
Jubilee Debt Campaign, Chester, Press Release: 8th November 2004
Chester groups campaigning for Cancellation of the unpayable Debts of the world’s poorest
countries and for Justice in Trade with those countries are pledging to increase their level
of campaigning in the next 12 months. They heard Charity Musamba, a Jubilee activist from
Zambia, tell a packed meeting at the St. Mary’s Centre, Castle St., Chester last night
(Monday 8th November what the burden of unpayable debts and the unfair trade rules have done to
her country. Zambia has a population of 10.3 Million of which 8 Million have to live on the
equivalent of 60p a day.
Zambia has International Debts of £6.5 Billion and has to spend up to £100 million each year
in interest payments. This is money which is desperately needed for education, health and
welfare. The country has had a little debt relief, the assets being used for education and
health, but IMF/World Bank conditions for that relief have meant that 15,000 trained teachers
could not be employed. The IMF has also insisted on the privatisation of public utilities and
this has had the effect of putting essential services beyond the pockets of the very poor.
One in five Zambians are infected with HIV; life expectancy has dropped to 33 years, and young
people aged 20-25 actually have less education than their parents' generation. Charity Musamba
wants 100% debt cancellation of Zambia's external debts. It is absolutely essential.
At the same time Zambia has been forced by IMF and WTO to open its markets to foreign imports;
the dumping of subsidised goods from richer countries has undermined local producers. Zambia
needs access to foreign markets and at the same time, protection from subsidised imports.
Charity thanked campaigners from Britain and other developed countries for campaigning on the
behalf of African countries and asked for this to continue.
Stephen Rand, chairman of the Jubilee Debt Campaign (U.K.) also spoke about what had been
achieved in Debt Cancellation so far. ($50 Billion of the $360 Billion needed). Where Debt
had been cancelled this had made a difference but much more needed to be accomplished. Plans
for campaigning in the U.K. over the next 12 months would be under the campaign theme
“Make Poverty History”. "Band Aid" were involved with a re-release of "Do they know it's
Christmas". The Celebrities of "Comic Relief" were on board and would raise the profile of the
campaign. One focus point would be the G8 meeting in Gleneagles in July and a mass rally was
being organised for 2nd July 2005 in Edinburgh. He called on all who were able to get involved
in the campaigning to make sure that politicians of all countries could not hide from the call
to "Make Poverty History".
the over-arching banner for 2005, with the 3 themes of DEBT, TRADE and AID. Cancelled debt; Trade justice; and more and better quality Aid.
Peter Linsey, JDC Exec Secretary and Bernard Payne. Edited for CWDF website by P Byrne, with
some small additions from Cafod handout:"Trade Justice Campaign November 2004 update".
Photograph of Charity Musamba, in front of Scales of Justice and Debt Chains, by
Richard Johnson, Quaker, JDC and Trade Justice supporter and CWDF member.
The meeting at St Mary's Centre was organised by Jubilee Debt Campaign, Chester.
Charity Musamba's tour was sponsored jointly by Cafod and the national Jubilee Debt
Campaign HQ.
World Debt Day - Sunday, 16 May 2004 and
Chester Jubilee Debt Campaign AGM, Thursday 20 May 2004
Chester supporters of the Jubilee Debt Campaign gathered in
Eastgate Street last Sunday, to remind citizens and visitors that the debt crisis is not
over.
World Debt Day was designed to focus on debt in the poorest countries of the world, and
was being marked throughout the world. The date was chosen by international consensus to be one
month ahead of the next meeting of the world's richest countries (the G8). This will take place
in Georgia, USA.
Our campaign has been going on for years, and some people may think that the problem
has been solved; after all governments keep making promises. In fact although some progress
has been made - there is a long way to go. The debt can be cancelled - the cost would be a lot less than waging war - and the end result would be genuine progress in the countries concerned. They could begin the long journey towards economic independence and political stability, and reach the Millennium Development Goals agreed by UN members.
At the Chester demonstration supporters signed cards urging the G8 to act now. Photographs were taken of groups and individuals signing, an action replicated world-wide. The pictures and cards will be sent to the June meeting of the G8, in Georgia, USA. They will be presented courtesy of our American colleagues, the Jubilee Debt Campaign - USA.
The Chester Jubilee Debt Campaign held its AGM in the Quaker Meeting House , Frodsham Street, on the following Thursday. The business content was dealt with briskly, the main content of the evening being the film "Life and Debt" (in Jamaica), a highly praised documentary. One of the things this demonstrated was the close link between debt and unfair trade rules. Poverty was being created by the destruction of the island's banana industry.
The USA, on behalf of Chiquita, had brought an action at the WTO which ruled against the Lome Convention whereby European states could waive tariffs for former colonies. Without special provisions, Jamaica cannot compete with large-scale Latin American plantations run on what amounts to slave labour. The said plantations have been accused of using violence to keep workers in line. Film evidence would appear to substantiate this allegation.
This underlined the point of one of the business motions put to the members earlier in the evening: that the Debt Campaign collaborate with the Chester Trade Justice Group and share resources such as display boards for events and actions, so long as Debt was covered at the same time.
Jubilee Debt Campaign, Chester - Press Release for Jan 1st 2002.
The theme of jubilee has pervaded the last couple of years - there was the second millennium,
the Jubilee 2000 campaign, and now the Queen's Jubilee.
Accordingly, twenty Chester supporters of Jubilee Debt Campaign turned out on a bitterly cold
New Year's day to launch a special poster campaign. The demonstration took place
under the Chester Jubilee clock in Eastgate Street. This clock, captured by
tourist cameras from around the world, commemorated Queen Victoria's Jubilee of 1897.
Would Queen Victoria be amused by the fact that the subjects of what was her Empire were, over a hundred years later, worse off than in her reign? Many of those subject countries are still members of the
Commonwealth and will be celebrating the Jubilee of our own Queen Elizabeth; what a wonderful
way to celebrate that event - by persuading our allies and the international organisations to
go all out to end chronic poverty.
The poster, designed by the National Coalition, bears the message Still Waiting for the Jubilee to emphasise the point that the world's poor will go on waiting until we act decisively. Posters are being delivered to every church in Cheshire County, where the Old Testament Jubilee theme ought to
resonate.
A POSTCARD VERSION OF THE PHOTO ABOVE RIGHT IS ON SALE TO CHESTER CAMPAIGNERS FOR 9p and
generally for 15p. contact Peter Linsey. click here to mail
him now. The text on the reverse of the card is:
A reminder from Jubilee Debt Campaign - Chester. Many poor countries are still waiting for
their jubilee - debt cancellation. We hope that people will send the cards to friends abroad,
especially to those in the USA and Canada. The cards will also be on sale at various outlets in
Chester.
The hard truth is that the debt crisis is far from over in the world's poorest countries,
and the sooner the world as a whole bites the bullet the better for the poor and the better for
us. So long as the debt relief is monitored and spent wisely it will further the cause of world
peace. On a day of prayer for world peace, this was worth keeping in mind.
Supporters went up onto the City wall to display to better effect the new banner and the new
national posters, currently displayed in churches and elsewhere throughout Britain. We have to
thank the tourists who showed great patience while we held up their progress along the wall.
(The wall and the clock attract photographers whatever the date, whatever the weather.)
Bangladeshi Dinner, 26th October 2001 - Press Release
In excess of 50 local campaigners turned up at the Chester Tandoori
Restaurant on Friday night, 26th of October for a Bangladeshi meal
and to hear a speaker from the Tameside Racial Equality Council speaking on
poverty in Bangladesh caused in part by the burden of unpayable debt owed by its
government to other countries and international banks. Ahmed Ali spoke of how
Bangladesh, a peaceful country with good relationships with its neighbours India
and Pakistan had conducted its own fight against terrorism. He spoke of the
‘poverty cycle’ in that country where people especially in the countryside are
isolated through poverty. They feel powerless and are unable to help themselves
due to the physical weakness caused by poverty. He told how 60% of the
population are illiterate and how a miniscule amount of funding goes to health
and education. Because the infrastructure is unable to employ sufficient of the
population people are obliged to emigrate to support their families back home.
He went on to tell that a new government had been elected but it needs to be
better and more transparent and more money is needed for education, training and
jobs The G.8. governments must cancel Bangladesh’s international debt and then
ensure that savings made are spent of health, education and training. There is
no Social Security in Bangladesh, a country where you work, emigrate or starve
so the campaign is a good and noble cause and he is proud to be associated with
it.
Abdul Noor the proprietor of the Chester Tandoori Restaurant spoke of the
high incidence of infant mortality and abject poverty of this downtrodden
people and he reminded his audience that every minute a child dies due to
poverty, a shocking statistic.
Campaigners signed a letter to Chester M.P., Christine Russell, sending her their greetings
and urging her to attend a meeting at Westminster Hall on Wednesday 1st
November when a statement would be issued from the Department for International
Development. The letter went on to urge Mrs. Russell to do all in her power to
encourage wider as well as deeper debt relief.
Leaving the restaurant, Peter Linsey, local organiser for the Jubilee Debt
Campaign remarked,"Campaigning is not all about standing in the rain with
petitions. Functions like these show that it can be fun as well."
While the main focus of this dinner was the effects of Bangladeshi debt and the fact that the
country is not even being considered for debt remission or cancellation, it was also good to show
our solidarity with the Bangladeshi community in Chester and Britain at large at a time when
some people here are taking advantage of the outrage in New York to commit racist acts.
Jubilee Debt Campaign Background and History