Reps Circular
From Sheenagh Burrell ALMA Communications Officer
sb@burrell1980.freeserve.co.uk T: 020 8567 7400
Mass Lobby of Parliament on Wednesday 2nd November for Trade Justice. Please think of coming to be part of this lobby and being advocates for Angola and Mozambique. Bishop Michael and Bishop Peter will be there and all of London's MPs have been told of the ALMA link (see below). Ask your MP to meet with you on 2nd November, bring friends and colleagues, and come to join thousands of others from all over Britain calling on our Government to support Trade Justice.
12.30 - 2pm is the critical time to be in Westminster. Come wearing London's colour DARK GREEN and bring something white to hold up at 1pm when there will be a two minute silence while a white MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY band is created around Parliament. After that the London MPs will meet their constituents.
For more information and to explore the issues, see:
Hope to meet some of you on Wednesday 2nd.
Best wishes
Sheenagh
21/10/05
The Bishops of Kensington and Edmonton in the Diocese of London have written to all London's MPs in advance of the World Trade Organisation Ministerial Meeting. The Bishops and church representatives from across the Diocese will also be part of the mass lobby for trade justice on 2nd November.
In their letter, the Bishops highlight the need for trade justice as a route out of poverty poverty in London’s twin dioceses of Mozambique and Angola. The text of their letter reads:
“As Bishops in the Diocese of London we stand alongside our congregations and clergy who, throughout this MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY year, have been highlighting the biblical imperative to address global poverty. St Paul’s Cathedral hosted the public meeting addressed by Kofi Annan and Gordon Brown before the G8 Summit in July, and there have been many creative, informative and prayerful events – among the most symbolic being the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY banner around the dome of the Cathedral and the priest who lived on bread and water for a week during a vigil on the Millennium Development Goals.
“Our support for trade justice as a route out of poverty is firmly grounded in the experience of our partner dioceses in Angola and Mozambique –two of the world’s poorest countries. There, the impact of enforced trade liberalisation, EU and US agricultural subsidies and the dumping of surpluses on fragile post-conflict economies is clearly seen. Bishop Dinis Sengulane of Mozambique writes ‘Mozambique produces so many different things like cashew nuts, cotton, fish and coconuts but we don’t get our fair share of trading opportunities. There are a lot of subsidised imports which are cheaper than Mozambican products’.
“It is our hope and prayer that the strength of this lobby will result in resolutions at the WTO Ministerial in December allowing developing countries: firstly, to use trade policies to protect their vulnerable farm sectors and promote national industries and secondly, to choose the best policies for the poor and the environment in services such as water, health and education.
“To this end we hope that as you meet people from your constituency at the lobby on 2nd November, we may have the opportunity of meeting with you as we accompany the constituency groups along the banks of the Thames from 1pm onwards."
“In our world city it is both encouraging and important to see the world’s poor at the forefront of the agenda. The UK led the way on debt remission and the reverberations from 2nd November may lead to a more just refashioning of trade rules. We encourage you to play your part in this and, along with members of our churches, look forward to meeting with you on 2nd November.”
What are Africa’s greatest challenges?
Malaria is a major killer. If we want to make progress, we need to be dynamically involved in the fight against malaria. Also, Mozambique produces so many things – like cashew nuts, cotton, fish and coconuts – but we don’t get our fair share of trading opportunities. There are a lot of subsidized imports which are a lot cheaper than Mozambican products. Our government exports raw material like cashew nuts to be processed abroad. This is a triple blow.
First there is plenty of labour available locally, but it is not being used.
Secondly we can’t sell raw material for as much as we could sell processed goods.
And thirdly it prevents us from being able to develop our own industries.
Lastly, our society is in moral decay. Integrity is important, and corruption creates so many problems. People need to earn a living with honest work, not by trying to get as much money as they can, as quickly as they can, for doing as little as possible.
What are the solutions?
We need fair trade so we can export our produce and sell processed goods rather than just raw material. And we need to bring a more spiritual dimension into our everyday lives, and strengthen family life, because the extended family is the root of African society.
How do you see Mozambique in ten years’ time?
I don’t want to see any more people dying of malaria. It can be prevented. It can be cured. It should be eliminated.
I would like to see a more prosperous Mozambique, where the gap between the rich and the poor has almost gone. This country has enough resources for all of us to live with dignity, not just with some barely surviving and others feasting day and night.
Bishop Dom Dinis Sengulane is President of Christian Aid partner, the Christian Council of Mozambique, which promotes peace and reconciliation, lobbies on behalf of the poor and runs a number of community development projects.