One of the best ways to be "good news" to the poor is to allow them to trade fairly with the rest of the world.
This allows them to enjoy dignity and a better standard of living. However a lot of trade rules are stacked against them.
Campaigning under the auspices of Churches Together
continues apace.
As Churches we are deeply concerned about the issue of World Poverty and would welcome the opportunity of “Making Poverty History”. We often pray for God’s kingdom to come here on earth and that simply means that everyone should have the right to earn a living and be able to support themselves and their family.
Huge inroads have already been made with regard to the issues of the cancellation of unpayable debt of some of the poorest countries in the world. Often the debt was accrued by despotic leaders in the 1970s when the world was awash with money to be lent. Benefits were not felt by the poorest within developing countries but the money was used to buy arms to prop up the tyranny of the leaders. Now, decades later and with poverty increasing these dreadful debts need to be cancelled. Campaigning, by writing letters to our MP, sending campaigning postcards to leaders at the G8 summits, the heads of international finance organisations and those in positions of great economic and political power within the EU can make an impact. Campaigning on economic issues has carried on in Bishop’s Stortford over the years, in the form of petition signing in the town and a Trade Justice stall where postcards (over 500 of them) were handed out for members of the public to sign and send to the leaders at the G8 summit in Gleneagles a few years ago.
Campaigning continues against Free Trade – the common economic practice of dumping cheap, often subsidised goods (especially agricultural products such as rice, wheat and cotton) onto the markets of the world’s poorest countries. This has driven vast numbers of local farmers into bankruptcy as they can no longer sell their locally grown crops to their neighbours in their own districts.
A recent issue has been the growth of Vulture Funds. Rich investors have bought up the debts of very poor countries at a very low price. Through the courts they then try to reclaim the full value of the debt – Zambia has been a victim of this. Legislation is proposed to try and control this injustice and campaigning continues to try and see this proposed Bill come into law.
Work will be ongoing through Churches Together to ensure that economic injustice will, one day, be eradicated, our prayers continue for a much fairer and just world for each and every person.
