August 2010

 Climate change in Peru

As someone who works with small-scale farmers in Peru, now considered to be one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, I am saddened about the weak progress by rich countries towards tackling it, whether in the UK, or the climate summit in Copenhagen.

Here in Peru, climate change is already having a devastating impact on the natural environment. In the valley of Huaral, one of the country's most fragile zones, where a third of people rely on small-scale farming to make a living and feed their families, glaciers and snow-caps are melting, rains are less frequent and water resources are running dry.

In lowland areas too, farmers are reporting that seasons are disappearing, making it difficult to plan watering times, sowing and harvesting. Others say water pollution and changes in water temperature are affecting fish stocks. And they worry that climatic phenomena such as El Niño are becoming more frequent and increasingly devastating.

In one community, people are taking decisive action in response to water shortages – all but the elderly are leaving their ancestral lands. People here have little hope that richer countries will tackle climate change if it means their own economic development is compromised.

If politicians persist in evading the necessary targets and weakening their resolve, whether through red tape or self-interest, millions of poor people will, in effect, be abandoned by the West to the escalating impact of an unpredictable and increasingly merciless climate.

Bruno Guemes

Development Worker, Progressio

Your card pictures Andean people at the Put People First march in 2009.

If you haven’t already, you can send your card back to Progressio at Unit 3, Canonbury Yard, 190a New North Road, London N1 7BJ to be put on their mailing list

Progressio’s website has details of our Peru work: http://www.progressio.org.uk/peru

July 2010

All United Nations member states have pledged to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.   Now, in 2010, there are only five more years to go.
The Goals aim, by 2015:
To half the people who live on less than a dollar a day
To achieve universal primary education
To achieve gender equality
To reduce child mortality
To improve maternal health
To reduce HIV/AIDS related deaths and other diseases
To increase the availability of safe drinking water and to ensure environmental sustainability
To establish a global partnership for development
THERE IS A LONG WAY TO GO

All companies and business associations can work with the UN, governments and civil society organisations to help to achieve the MDGs. It is in their interest to do so and thus to improve their own standards and success as well as contributing to achieving the goals. 

The Global Compact, introduced at the World Economic Forum in Davos on 31^st January 1999, is a learning network with participation from UN bodies, companies, business associations, NGOs and trade unions. It has 9 principles focused on the bringing about of responsible business practices in the areas of human rights, labour standards and environmental performance.  The Global Compact asks companies to keep to the 9 principles.   They are that businesses should:  support the protection of human rights, make sure they are not complicit in human rights abuses, uphold freedom of association & recognition to the right to collective bargaining, work to eliminate forced labour and child labour and discrimination in employment, undertake initiatives for greater environmental responsibility and encourage environmentally friendly technology.

Send your card to a company of your own choice, perhaps operating near to where you live or linking to a developing country you have visited or learnt about recently.
Ask one or more of these questions:
How can your company, your chief executive officer and other senior executives take a leadership position on one or more of the MDGs in internal and external meetings?
How can your company contribute to setting rules, norms and standards that support the advancement of the MDGs? 
How can your company improve its business activities so that they contribute to the reaching of the MDGs?
eg.  If you are writing to a food company you might suggest that they develop new products that are affordable to poor people and contribute to their health.

June 2010

The shadow secretary of state for energy and climate change recently visited Bangladesh with Christian Aid to see for himself how the poorest communities are being affected by climate change. ‘In every village people said the same thing – floods and cyclones have become more frequent in their lifetime.’ Dr Greg Clark MP was speaking after a four day trip to Dhaka and the coast, which included meetings with communities affected by climate change and Christian Aid partner organisations working to help them combat its effects. One visit was to the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS), a Christian Aid partner that is carrying out a three-year climate change adaptation project. The aim is to build a climate-resilient society better able to adapt their lives and livelihoods to the dangers and risks associated with climate change. The project focuses on the poorest in society, who are increasingly the hardest hit by climate change. This is precisely because they are poor and lack the voice, assets, services and information necessary to adapt. Dr Clark saw how communities are learning to adapt to the very real impacts of climate change by learning new skills, such as growing vegetables in floating allotments, tree planting, crab fattening or rearing ducks. Another visit was to a cyclone shelter built to provide protection for women and children if a major storm hits the coast. These shelters have led to a dramatic reduction in the number of lives lost during the cyclone season. But much more needs to be done. As Dr Clark commented at the close of his visit, ‘the increased frequency of cyclones and other natural events means that every year of delay lives are going to be lost and livelihoods ruined’.

Commitment for Life, March 2010 update

Please consider taking one or all of the actions below.

1) Look at Christian Aid’s briefing paper, ‘Moving forward from Copenhagen.’ http://www.christianaid.org.uk/ActNow/Countdown-to-Copenhagen-climate-change/Index.aspx

2) Send your postcard  to Rt Hon David Cameron, MP,  10 Downing  Street,  London  SW1A 2AA

Dear Prime Minister

1.4 billion people across the world live in poverty. This is unacceptable. I believe in change, I believe that poverty can end - with the right political action aimed at tackling the causes of poverty, not only the symptoms.

Following the general election I want to ask that the British government makes it a priority to tackle the causes of poverty in the developing world. By cases I mean issues such as climate change, tax dodging and unfair trade rules.    Yours sincerely

3) Sign up for the climate change newsletter to be found at http://www.creationchallenge.org.uk/  which is the environmental network of The Methodist Church in Britain, The Baptist Union of Great Britain and The United Reformed Church.

May 2010

In this month’s action card we are greeted by the smiling face of Angelina Ngoza, a farmer who works with Progressio in Malawi. Angelina is shielding her six children from hunger and beating dependence on big business - by going organic with Progressio's help.

Much of Progressio's work with smallholder farmers like Angelina focuses on helping boost yields through 'agroecology', including organic farming. These draw heavily on farming traditions - but are not simply 'a return to the old ways'. Instead, they are about building upon traditional practices and adapting them to changing environmental and climatic conditions.

As a result, Angelina and her neighbours are no longer using high-priced chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides. Progressio's development worker has taught them how to make their own fertiliser using manure and other waste, grow legumes to turn into natural pesticides and turn weeds into compost, ending their reliance on herbicides. Angelina is now able to feed her family and plan a long-term future without being in debt with agricultural companies.

“Before I knew about organic farming I was forced to buy high-priced chemical fertilisers to make my crops grow. But I could never afford all I needed. I was taught to use pesticides and herbicides too, but they killed small animals and left burns on my arms. I always worried that these chemicals might one day kill me.”
“After only one year of being organic, I am already harvesting one extra bag of maize for my family and I know my harvests will get bigger. Organic farming doesn’t harm the soil, it is healthier and I can charge more for the vegetables I sell in the local market.”
If you believe this work is as important as we do, please sign up to join our mailing list.  Enter your name and address on your postcard, and post it to:

Progressio

Unit 3 Canonbury Yard

190a New North Road

London N1 7BJ

April 2010

Ma Ma Myo is 24 years old and became disabled due to the lack of consideration for what is called "health and safety" by the military junta in Burma.  She had been regarded as an appropriate recipient for the first "cosmetic glove" to be constructed at the prosthesis section of the Mae Tao clinic on the Thai/Burma border. She had been taken over the border into Thailand to be measured and fifteen months later, after three attempts at this procedure, a resounding success was achieved; now this young woman can continue her life with a more complete approach.

The bespoke cosmetic glove was made in two different parts of Europe and taken to Thailand by Jeremy Fowler, a member of the CA Burma Group, whose 4R's Project has assisted the Mae Tao clinic over a period of thirteen years.

Many of the disabled people in Burma tend not to be considered by the military junta to be in need of any assistance.  People who have the money generally can receive most kind of medical care, either inside Burma, or by acquiring exit visas to go into a second country.  Most people take the chance of crossing the border into Thailand by whatever means they can and visit the Mae Tao clinic near Mae Sot to help with their needs.  Backpack medics, based at the clinic, go into Burma to visit villages and give local health care advice and treatment.

Disabled people, mainly landmine victims, are considerably helped in the prosthesis section. Many of the assistants in the department are themselves disabled and led by Saw Mawker, himself a victim of landmines.  To visit the clinic is a very humbling experience for people from outside and many countries come to assist in the various disciplines of medical care at Mae Tao.

Send cards of support to the people in the border clinic via Jeremy Fowler at

2 Chapel Close

Leavesden

Hertfordshire WD25 7AR.

Jeremy travels to the border areas every year, and will take all cards he receives with him to share with the patients and staff in the clinic.

March 2010

Now is the time for a world free of nuclear weapons

A coalition of UK churches is calling for all nations to use this spring as the chance to map out the route to a nuclear free world.

The  Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty Review Conference (3 – 28 May 2010) presents a key moment for nuclear disarmament. Initial signs have been positive. Last year Russia and America, promised very large reductions in stockpiles. Our own government has pledged to work towards a world free of nuclear weapons. Now is the time to unite these good intentions within a strengthened international framework for non-proliferation and disarmament.

Developments since the end of the cold war have demonstrated that nuclear weapons offer no deterrent to the type of national and international threats that countries now face.  The list of defence specialists and politicians questioning the relevance of nuclear weapons to modern defence strategies continues to grow.  Now is the time to consign these weapons to history.

Under the banner Now is the Time, Churches in the UK urge that we grasp this moment to challenge all governments to commit to a path to zero nuclear weapons.  Play your part, write to the Prime Minister and ask him to ensure the UK government delegation is arguing for a world free of nuclear weapons.  In particular ask the UK Government,

·          To take bold measures at the NPT Review Treaty Review Conference in New York in May to strengthen the non-proliferation regime to ensure a more secure future for all.

·         To begin work on a new treaty to bring all fissile material under international control

·         To persuade nuclear armed states to adopt no first use policy

·         To work on achieving the political will to put in place a new legally binding verifiable and universal agreement to eliminate all nuclear weapons. 

Join the Now is the Time Campaign and download a petition calling for these aims from www.endnuclearweapons.org.uk

February 2010

In December 2009, the European Commission announced a suspension of preferential trade status with Sri Lanka as a consequence of the treatment of the Tamil population in the final stages of the military campaign against the Tamil Tiger rebels (LTTE).  The government of Sri Lanka have attracted widespread criticism for the shelling of civilian areas leading to the deaths of thousands of civilians.  In addition an estimated 300,000 people were relocated to internment camps which remained closed to outside agencies and journalists until December 2009.  The government has promised to return people to their homes by the end of January 2010. 

On 26 January Sri Lanka will hold a Presidential election.  The two leading contenders are President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his challenger, the former army chief, Sarath Fonseka.  Both had a prominent leadership role in the military campaign against the LTTE.  The challenge for any new government must be to satisfy the legitimate demands of Tamils who make up 18% of the population and to begin to restore peace, trust and confidence.

Action:-

Pray for Christians in Sri Lanka as churches are involved in the delivery of aid and initiatives to promote peace and interfaith collaboration. 

Write to the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband MP, to ask for Britain to use its influence to ensure that Government of Sri Lanka relocate all those in internment camps and to ask the President to outline concrete actions that his government will take to encourage meaningful political devolution and economic development in order to ensure a secure future for all.

As the situation is changing please check the following web page for updated information and actions, www.methodist.org.uk/srilanka or contact hucklesbys@methodistchurch.org.uk.

Write to: -

Rt. Hon. David Miliband MP

Secretary of State

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH

January 2010

The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme for Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) is an international partnership co-ordinated and led by the World Council of Churches (WCC). Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW), part of the Religious Society of Friends in Britain, co-ordinates the EAPPI in Britain and Ireland. The programme seeks to support local and international efforts to end the Israeli occupation and bring a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with a just peace, based on international law and relevant United Nations resolutions.

There are between fifteen to twenty-five trained Ecumenical Accompaniers (EAs) in the field at one time. They are able to cover the main areas of need in the West Bank, collect relevant data at checkpoints and report human rights abuses. As ‘internationals’ they are less restricted in their movement by the Israeli army than Palestinians or Israelis so can reach nearly all areas in the West Bank.

The EAPPI jackets, which EAs wear all the time, are recognised by more and more people on the street, at checkpoints, and at barrier gates. EAs live within the communities forming a link between the grassroots and the international community. Ana, whose image is on the action card, explains:

‘We’re here to monitor the situation and human rights abuses. Sometimes that fact means that soldiers don’t play with people, and treat them better. When things do happen we try to do something. We also count the number of people going through to report to the UN.’

Action
Churches and other ecumenical partners of the WCC have received an appeal to "mobilize their members and the public" in resistance to Israel's approval for the construction of 900 new housing units in the Gilo settlement on traditionally Palestinian land in East Jerusalem. The WCC general secretary, the Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, called on organizations related to the Council "to act with resolve, in concert," with the intention "to reverse this decision of the Israeli government and the settlement programme it represents." In a public statement, Kobia expressed "great disappointment" at this development and emphasized that the WCC "strongly condemns the decision of the government of Israel to expand the illegal Gilo settlement as we believe that this decision will hinder attempts now in process to restart the peace negotiations."

Quoting a position adopted by the WCC Central Committee at its meeting in September 2009, Kobia warned that, "if settlements continue to expand and proliferate, they will further complicate negotiations and may destroy any chance for peace". He continued: "People of conscience and good faith around the world are looking to the government of Israel now to move toward the resolution of an interminable conflict rather than continue with decades-old policies that have driven it toward the point of no return."

Please use the words from the WCC press release to send your card to the Israeli Embassy

His Excellency Ron Prosor, Ambassador of Israel

Israeli Embassy,

15a Old Court Place,

London, W8

Useful links

WCC solidarity with churches in the Middle East: http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=3113

eappi@quaker.org.uk  tel: 020 7663 1144

December 2009

Justice for East Timor: A Long Time Coming

Four years after a pivotal report into atrocities committed in East Timor was received by the East Timorese parliament, NGOs have delivered hundreds of copies of a widely-backed petition calling for its recommendations to be implemented to the President of the country’s national parliament.

The petitions – which contain the signatures of thousands of East Timorese alongside those of citizens from another 23 countries – were handed to the President of East Timor’s National Parliament in Dili, H.E. Fernando Lasama, on 28 November.

The signatories call on the parliament “to give urgent priority to discussion and implementation of the recommendations in Chega! in the near future.”

The Chega! Report (Portuguese for ‘stop, no more!’) documents the work, findings and recommendations of the independent Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation (CAVR) which began work in 2002.

The Commission was set up to investigate human rights violations committed on all sides during the Indonesian occupation of East Timor between April 1974 and October 1999. An estimated 100,000 people lost their lives during more than a quarter-century of violence and unrest.

Although the East Timorese parliament has had 4 years to examine the report, it has not yet debated its contents or recommendations. A “failure to respond to Chega! reflects negatively on the Parliament”, the text of the petition notes, adding that the implementation of the report’s recommendations is “important to victims and the building of the East Timorese nation”.

Dr Steve Kibble, Progressio’s Advocacy Coordinator for Asia said: “It is vital that the East Timorese parliament recognises the desire of many of its citizens, and many people around the world, to see justice done for the catalogue of crimes committed during Indonesian occupation. We urge the East Timorese parliament to discuss Chega! at the earliest possible opportunity. Only once this has been done can the people of this young nation begin to move forward with their lives.”

Progressio has been calling for justice in East Timor for many years. In 2008, its East Timor: Who Cares? campaign urged the UK government to provide financial and technical support for a justice centre in the East Timorese capital to promote accountability for past crimes.

In a letter to Progressio in April 2009, the British Ambassador to East Timor, Martin Hatfull said Britain felt “it was important for the East Timorese parliament to debate…the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation [CAVR – Chega! report] as part of the process of establishing accountability.”

If you would like to take part in Progressio’s fight for justice in East Timor, please send your postcard, with your name and address to:

Progressio

Unit 3, Canonbury Yard

190a New North Road

London, N1 7BJ

November 2009

October 2009

The Dar al Kalima School is a private co-ed Lutheran School in Bethlehem and a jewel in the battered city of Bethlehem. It is one of the ‘houses’ associated with the International Center of Bethlehem, the others being the Health and Wellness Centre and the College. The ICB is a Lutheran-based, ecumenically-oriented institution serving the whole Palestinian community.

As is the case of the boys in the image, children come from all over Bethlehem including the refugee camps. Many of these have gained scholarships from the worldwide Lutheran Church. The school takes children from 5-16 and is 58% Muslim and 42% Christian. It offers a holistic approach to learning and offers  Arabic, English and German as subjects. With a good spread of languages many have a better chance of employment abroad. The afternoon comprises  their extra curriculum activities such as sports, art and craft and music.

Religious Education is taken separately but the two groups meet together once a month and learn about shared values. Festivals and holidays are also shared. The teaching looks at the similarities rather than the difference between the faiths and culture. Judaism is taught but these days there is much less communication with nearby schools as there was before the wall was built.

The Occupation has had an effect on the children and the teaching. In the recent past curfews and shootings were common place. Children were not able to leave their homes for 40 days so the school  set up distance learning projects. When the children returned to school they wanted to be outside, not confined in classrooms. Guns, walls and violence often form part of their drawings but many also use images of bridges, the cross and crescent as signs of working for peace. 

Children often suffer bed wetting and trauma mood swings so the school has its own social worker and counsellor. The school tries to work with the parents on programmes to help the children adjust to their special situation.

Minister of the Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, Revd Mitri Raheb, senses that the people of Bethlehem are heading towards a catastrophe. “The Israeli government have taken the idea of the wall from the Russians, an import system from apartheid and land grab from the Indian reservations,” he says.

Today unemployment is high, with 50% of the population being under 18. Many Christian families have left because of the restrictions and joined families abroad. The wall has meant that new jobs in East Jerusalem are often unobtainable. Over three thousand men and women struggle though the checkpoint  each day to work. Many set out by 3am but are often turned back, even with the correct papers. Those who are ill can usually get permits but often the carer is refused making it impossible for the ill person to get to the hospital. For the first time this Easter, Israel only allowed three Bethlehemites through to Jerusalem to collect ‘The Holy Fire’ instead of the thousands that used to process.

Bethlehem is slowly being strangled and there are fears that there will soon be no Christians in the city. To find out more about the situation in Bethlehem visit www.openbethlehem.org. This group aims to show Bethlehem’s unique history as a living example of an open and multi-faith Middle East and encourage people to visit and invest in the city.

Send your action card to your local MP or MEP to tell them about what is happening in Bethlehem. Encourage them to visit the Open Bethlehem website. You could burn one of their videos to disc and send it with your personal thoughts to your MP or MEP.

Or

Bedouin tribes are increasingly seeking education as a way forward as their traditional life suffers with the Israeli authorities restricting movement of their herds. Most suffer from extreme poverty, lack of access to health, education, work, electricity, water and food security. Students, especially girls, face overwhelming obstacles to access schools & lack electricity for home studying.

One Bedouin Community decided to build a school for their children made out of car tyres. The School was designed and partly funded by an Italian NGO “Vento di Terra”. Sisters of Camboni, ICAHD with SIVMO and France-Palestine Solidarite de St. Etienne also provided funding. International volunteer builders included Rabbis for Human Rights, ICAHD and Bedouin community members.

However a demolition order has now been placed on the building which would have allowed the children access to education, many for the first time. The Palestinian Authority had already offered six teachers for the school.

What Can You Do?  Please contact:

Minister of Defence, Ehud Barak, Ministry of Defence, Kirya, Tel Aviv

Action cards are produced under the auspices of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, Christians Aware, Progressio, the Church of Scotland, the Methodist Church, and the United Reformed Church.

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