FOCUS
ACTION FOR GLOBAL JUSTICE Issue 86/ Autumn 2010 ISSN 1649-7368
INSIDE Action - Campaign for Tax Justice / Industrial Accidents - A Gulf in Response / Pakistan’s Pain and the Media / Trade: Corporate Responsibility and Social Justice / Women’s Rights: Drama in Ethiopia/ Food: Over supply and Hunger / A tribute to land issues campaigner / It’s back: Join the Debate
Photo: Gary Moore for Trócaire - Victoria Kabera sells tomatoes in Rwanda
{ Welcome } Credits & Contact details Focus magazine, established in 1978, now published three times a year, is Ireland’s leading magazine on global development issues. It is published by Comhlámh, Development Workers in Global Solidarity, Ireland, which works to promote global development through education and action. The views expressed in individual articles are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comhlámh, Irish Aid or our other funders. We have tried to contact all relevant photographers to seek their permission to use photographs. We apologise to those we have been unable to trace. The publication of Focus Action is grant aided by the Development Education unit of Irish Aid Honorary Patron, Mary Robinson. © Copyright Comhlámh 2010
We Need You – Get Involved Focus is produced by an editorial collective of volunteers, with the support of the Comhlámh office in Dublin. New volunteers are always welcome. Please contact Comhlámh if you are interested in any aspect of the production of this magazine. No prior experience is necessary.
Editorial team Editorial: Ali Leahy, Caroline S. Connolly, Chloé Saint-Ville, David Moriarity, Deirdre Kelly, Fleachta Phelan, Jeannie McCann, Justin Frewen, Miren Maialen Samper, Michael O’Brien, Niamh Lowry, Stephen Kelly, Tony Philips, Stiofáinín nic Iomhaird, Photography: Gary Moore for Trócaire, Stiofáinín nic Íomhard, David Graham Illustration: Alice Fitzgerald Design: Alice Fitzgerald (www.alicefitzgerald.com) Printed by Tralee Print www.traleeprinting.com
Code of Conduct on Images and Messages Comhlámh is signatory to the Dóchas Code of Conduct on Images and Messages (for full document see http://www.comhlamh.org/ resources-library.html or contact us for a copy of the Dóchas flyer). Feedback on this issue is most welcome – email: info@comhlamh.org
Correspondence Comhlámh, 2nd Floor, Ballast House Aston Quay, Dublin 2 Ph 01 4783490 E-mail: info@comhlamh.org
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The views expressed herein are those of Comhlámh and can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of Irish Aid.
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{ Focus Action }
Action: Campaign for Tax Justice People living in the Global South have enough resources to tackle poverty and inequality in their countries. The problem is they are being robbed of these resources every day. Some of the culprits responsible are multi-national corporations who are not paying the right amounts of tax to Southern governments. Christian Aid estimates that just one form of tax evasion by multi-national corporations costs Southern countries US$160 billion per year – enough to save the lives of 350,000 children under 5 years old each year, based on present health spending patterns. More transparency in financial reporting would help stop tax dodging. This could be done if multi-national corporations reported on how much profit they make, and how much tax they pay, in their annual financial accounts on a country-by-country basis. (Currently, multi-national companies only report at a global level).
What YOU can do: rite to the Minister for Finance and Minister for Overseas W Development. Ask them to: - Support Southern countries to keep the resources that are rightfully theirs, but are being lost through tax dodging by multi-national corporations. - Help make this happen through supporting the creation of a new international accounting standard of country-by-country financial reporting for multi-national companies. - Use their influence at the OECD, EU and UN levels to ensure that country-by-country reporting for multi-national companies becomes a reality.
Send your letter or call up: Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan TD Department of Finance Government Buildings Upper Merrion Street Dublin 2, Ireland Email: minister@finance.gov.ie Phone: 01 6767571 Locall: 1890 66 101 Minister for Overseas Development Peter Power TD Irish Aid Department of Foreign Affairs Riverstone House, 23 - 27 Henry Street, Limerick Email: peter.power@dfa.ie Telephone: 01 408 2000
Bloom is:
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{ Focus Action }
Get Campaigning against Tax Injustice Get Campaigning against Tax Injustice
Every year, countries in the Global South lose at least US$ 160 billion because of tax evasion by multi-national corporations. If this immoral transfer of wealth from the Global South to the North was ended, the lives of 350,000 children under the age of 5 could be saved each year according to Christian Aid.
A just tax system where everybody pays their fair share is essential for real democracy and equality. But companies and rich individuals hire teams of lawyers and accountants to exploit loopholes and make use of tax havens so they can avoid paying their fair share of tax. As a result, Southern countries are robbed of huge sums of money which undermines their financial independence, not to mention funds that could be used for development every year. Global inequality will never be adequately tackled unless tax injustice is put on the political agenda and firm action taken to solve the problem. It will take co-ordinated action by governments North and South to establish a fair tax system at a global level. The Irish government should take the initiative and act now for tax justice by supporting country-by-country financial reporting by multi-national corporations and automatic information exchange on taxation between tax jurisdictions.
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The Injustice of Tax Dodging in a Nutshell
Injustice: Southern governments robbed of cash Action: Ask the Irish government to help Southern governments fight tax dodging Countries in the Global South should be given the freedom to design their own tax systems in a way that minimises opportunities for tax dodging. Development aid should be made available to support their efforts. Injustice: Banks Keeping Tax Dodgers Secrets’ Safe Action: Insist that the Irish government supports an end to banking secrecy Tax havens like the Cayman Islands are estimated to hold between US$5 and US$7 trillion. By allowing non-residents to open accounts and withhold information from other countries, they play a vital role in the global system of tax evasion. We can no longer allow the off-shore banking sector to undermine efforts to tackle poverty, that’s why we need automatic information exchange on taxation. Injustice: Low Regulation by Governments lets Big Business off the Hook Action: Demand that the tax industry is properly regulated The big accountancy firms design tax avoidance schemes for companies all over the world. Governments and the International Accountancy Standards Board (IASB) – an accountancy body that sets global accountancy rules and that is funded by the biggest accountancy firms - must establish stronger public regulation of accountancy rules. A powerful start would be to ensure companies are required to publish accounts that show how much profit they make and how much tax they pay in every country where they operate (country-bycountry reporting).
{ Aid }
Pakistan’s pain Caroline S. Connolly explores possible reasons why the response to the recent flooding in Pakistan has been so lethargic.
A
ccording to the UN, the floods in Pakistan are the greatest humanitarian crisis in recent history. Maurizio Giuliano, a spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said: “This disaster is worse than the tsunami, the 2005 Pakistan earthquake and the Haiti earthquake.” Sadly though, this natural disaster did not raise anything close to the measure of aid that these other recent crises provoked. The story of the Pakistan floods has become not one of tragedy for those afflicted but rather one of incredulity as to why we in the West were so lethargic to move. Why the lukewarm response? It’s all in the timing. While the waters inundated millions of people in North West Pakistan, our TV screens and print media readily supplied us with headline images and stories of the deluge. Yet, we were slow to react. Perhaps our summer holidays or our festival fervour slowed our response. Do we respond more generously to a natural disaster if it happens at Christmas time? Think. The Haiti earthquake and the 2004 tsunami both happened when we were in the midst of our Christmas and New Year celebrations. We are perhaps more generous during the festive season. If this is the case, what does it say about the motivations behind our donations? Surely if we felt real empathy and solidarity with those suffering we would feel compelled to act regardless of the time of year. Perhaps it is not so much the time of year as the fact that this disaster has hit on the heels of the financial crisis. In these straitened economic times, does a country that is portrayed with such negativity warrant our attention even when we witness the massive scale of destruction brought upon it by the summer torrents? There was not a huge immediate death toll, is that why we didn’t rush to react? It took nearly a month for the scale of the disaster to be truly realised. Ban Ki-moon flew over the country on August 15th with the President, Asif Ali Zardari (returned and duly chastened for his absence in July when the monsoon rains first fell). Only in late August did the aid effort truly kick in.
Do we respond more generously to a natural disaster if it happens at Christmas time?’ Aid fatigue or image issue? Even then the aid effort didn’t so much kick in as stroll along. The images of entire villages being evacuated or families perched on treetops waiting to be rescued – we’ve seen them before. It seems we have now become immune to the devastation of such disasters that it takes more for us now to contribute, react and support. There is an image issue here and arguably this is perpetuated by the Western media. Often there are alarmist features/articles/stories about how Pakistan is harbouring terrorists, training fighters for Afghanistan, or preparing to launch into nuclear combat with India. Internationally, Pakistan does not seem to have many friends. There are strained, albeit improving, relations with the US. Former President Musharraf declared that he feared the country would be ‘bombed back into the stone age’ if they did not support the US post 9/11. In addition, Pakistan is making a, perhaps troubled, journey to democracy. Is the media guilty of inundating us with only negative stories about Pakistan? Can we blame the media’s promotion of solely negative stories about Pakistan for our lack of generosity? And here we are just a few months on since the floods. If you google Pakistan today, the search engine spews countless articles about its alleged corrupt cricketers. And again the media is highlighting another negative story about Pakistan. Clearly the media has moved on, yet 17 million acres of Pakistan’s most valuable agricultural land remain submerged and entire communities have been obliterated. This disaster is not over by any means – it is after all the greatest humanitarian crisis in recent history. We need to continue to support and contribute to the aid effort. Keep the flood victims in mind. If the front pages of our newspapers choose to move on, don’t let that be an excuse for us to move on too.
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{ Industrial Accidents }
Victim Apartheid
Justin Frewen explains why we urgently need a transparent and effective global system of redress for the victims of industrial accidents
M
ajor corporate accidents are thankfully not a regular occurrence. However, when they do happen, the outcome can be devastating. It is therefore essential that an adequate compensation system is in place for victims together with the legal remedies to ensure proper accountability of those responsible. Bhopal and BP Horizon Deepwater On 3rd December 1984, a poisonous cloud of methyl isocyanate gas seeped forth from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India. Thousands perished in the immediate wake of this disaster and the surrounding area remains contaminated with the residue of Union Carbide’s chemical waste. This waste continues to cause cancers, congenital health problems, genetic deformities and premature painful deaths amongst the residents of Bhopal. Most worryingly, there appears no end in sight to the devastating consequences of the Bhopal catastrophe. A full quarter of a century later, the people of Bhopal remain locked in an exhausting struggle to obtain adequate compensation for the death, destruction, and ongoing misery this gas leakage has caused as well as for justice to be served, with those responsible for the accident being held accountable. Earlier this year, another serious industrial accident with grave environmental consequences occurred in the Gulf of Mexico. Despite the BP Horizon Deepwater explosion resulting in only 11 direct fatalities - roughly one two-thousandth of the 22,000 deaths since 1984 caused by the gas explosion at Bhopal according to the 2004 Amnesty report Clouds of Injustice - this disaster has received far more international attention than Bhopal, particularly in the North (Northern Hemisphere). Corporate Responsibility BP and Union Carbide had been notified of problems with respect to Deepwater Horizon and the Bhopal factory. A number of internal investigations alerted senior BP managers to the repeated ignoring of safety and environmental rules at Deepwater Horizon. Similarly, a 1982 safety review by Union Carbide´s own experts emphasised the serious risk of substantial leaks of “toxic materials” at Bhopal. However, both corporations apparently ignored these warnings. The two companies also downplayed the impact of their respective catastrophes. In the early stages of the Bhopal disaster, Union Carbide spokespeople claimed methyl isocyanate was not poisonous but merely similar to a strong tear gas. BP´s Chief Executive, Tony Hayward, assured a worried East Coast US public that the oil leak would have a relatively modest impact. They have also strived to escape with minimal liability for the catastrophes they had caused.
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It is critical to ensure corporate wrongdoers are held fully accountable, both financially and in terms of their executives’ actions Disparity in Treatment The disparity in how Union Carbide, now a subsidiary of Dow Chemicals, and BP have been dealt with, however, is illuminating. When Warren Anderson, then CEO of Union Carbide, visited India in the aftermath of the Bhopal disaster, the Indian authorities facilitated his exit from the country to avoid detention by `overzealous´ officials. Subsequently, the American business and political community have assisted Anderson in fending off any extradition calls by India to clarify his legal responsibility regarding the disaster. Anderson, in his early 90s, currently enjoys a peaceful retirement in Florida. Hopefully, he has not been adversely affected by the BP oil leaks. Hayward has been given a far rougher ride by the same US businesspolitical community. There has been no shortage of public figures lining up to decry his role in the disaster. President Obama openly declared his desire to identify a BP ass to kick and his intention to keep his “boot on BP´s throat.” One can only imagine the reaction of the US and the Global North if the Indian Prime Minister had made similar statements at the time of Bhopal. Hypocrisy Despite BP’s status as one of the most powerful global conglomerates, the US administration and political establishment have not been slow to criticise the corporation. Union Carbide, on the other hand, was never subjected to anything like the same level of public outrage and opprobrium. Chetan Bhagat, the bestselling Indian author, has cogently emphasised this hypocrisy:
“It looks like Indian children’s lives are cheaper than [those of] fish. Obama should bang his fist on the table. If he can do that for fish, how about our kids? Or are they only Indians?”
The popular Indian TV journalist, Suhasini Haider, argued the US should have reacted to Bhopal as Obama has done to the BP spill, particularly on the issue of compensation and the personal pursuit of senior executives.
{ Industrial Accidents }
Photo: David Graham. Raju Taku is 35 years old and blind and paralysed from the waist down. He was a gas victim and believes his condition is a result of inhaling MIC in 1984 as a child. Raju used to be a photographer but now sells sweets and biscuits in the street to support his wife and three children
Compensation Dow Chemicals, Union Carbide´s current owners (they purchased the company in 2001), have consistently resisted being held responsible for the Bhopal gas disaster, arguing that the Bhopal compensation issue was resolved when the Indian government was paid US$470 million in 1989. This claim fails to convince on a number of grounds. The settlement was based on a discredited low estimate of only 3,000 fatalities. More importantly, the people in Bhopal were not consulted regarding the settlement by the Indian government, which unilaterally decided to represent all the survivors of the gas disaster in the negotiation. Estimates have revealed that the US$470 million awarded was grossly inadequate to compensate the victims and repair the environmental damage. Arun Subramaniam and Ward Morehouse estimate total damages should be between US$1.3 billion and US$4 billion. This may seem like a significant figure but it pales in comparison with the US$20 billion compensation fund BP established under pressure from the Obama administration. Lessons for the Future The Bhopal and BP disasters contain a number of lessons for people everywhere, particularly those working to promote global justice. Firstly, it is critical to ensure corporate wrongdoers are held fully accountable, both financially and in terms of their executives´ actions. The Indian government’s current efforts to pass a bill limiting maximum liability for nuclear plant operators to US$111 million, to entice foreign investment in its emerging nuclear energy market, is
therefore a serious concern. The Supreme Court Lawyer, Prashant Bhushan, contends nothing has been learnt from Bhopal, as still, 25 years later, the “drive to attract foreign investment [overwhelms] all other considerations.” A clear framework of transparent, justiciable and enforceable international sanctions need to be enacted to ensure corporate accountability in such instances in the future. Secondly, when there is (international) political will, even the largest multinationals can be held accountable. This is clear in how the US has held BP responsible for the oil spill this year. Thirdly, the parent company can be held accountable, as with BP, when necessary to ensure adequate redress to the victims of a disaster that could and should have been avoided. Fourthly, if Union Carbide\Dow Chemicals are perceived to have `got away´ so lightly with respect to the Bhopal disaster, it risks creating a precedent whereby large corporations may consider themselves immune to prosecution or liability for their actions in the Southern Hemisphere. Finally, there has been one inspirational development that has risen like a phoenix from the ashes of Bhopal. The steadfast refusal of the Bhopal disaster´s survivors to resign themselves to their fate but instead courageously struggle against corporate power and complicit politicians, serve as a beacon of hope to us all. Perhaps, to paraphrase Obama, therein lies the true audacity of hope. To read more about Bhopal, and the survivors’ ongoing struggle for justice see here - http://bhopal.net/ For more on BP, and a variety of redesigned BP logos, see - http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/files/tarsands/index.html
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{ Corporate Responsibility }
r o f e t i t e p p y A t i l i b a t n u o Acc ntability u o c c a e t a g corpor n i d n u o r r ebate su d. d e h t t a s rty look e reform in Irelan a i r o M d i Dav legislativ r o f l l a c e and th
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{ Corporate Responsibility }
T
he recent elections in the UK have resulted in an historic shift in the power dynamic within the country. As with all new governments, the commitments and priorities of the party it just ousted may not be foremost in the thoughts of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition. Unfortunately, this could jeopardize a review of the reporting framework prescribed by the UK Companies Act (2006), which was set to take place during the summer of 2010. This review was secured after a hard fought campaign by UK activists and it would be shameful if it was just simply ignored. The successful campaign managed to mobilise many elements of civil society including trade unions, women’s groups and nongovernmental organisations and secured changes to UK company law that increased corporate responsibility for people and the environment. The 2006 Act requires company directors to consider the environmental and social impacts of their decisions and makes reporting on such impacts mandatory for large public companies. This was previously unheard of in the UK. Unfortunately, despite the European Coalition for Corporate Justice repeatedly calling for such reporting to be made analogous to financial reporting and compulsory at European level, it remains voluntary in all but a small handful of countries - a common problem with many reforms that benefit people at the expense of vested interests. A review of the reporting framework in the UK is necessary to understand what improvements have already been achieved and how much more needs to be done. The new coalition should not underestimate the commitment of those involved. When Ed Balls was Economic Secretary to the Treasury in 2006 he admitted publicly that he “had more letters from constituents about trade justice and the Companies Bill than any other issue” since entering politics. Opportunity to influence The campaign in Britain could be of interest to justice campaigners in Ireland, and provide a positive example of what can be achieved. Campaigners in Ireland seeking the duplication of any progressive changes to company law in this country would also benefit greatly from a detailed evaluation. In December 2007, the Irish government began drafting the Companies Consolidation and Reform Bill after a General Scheme was submitted by the relevant statutory advisory body, the Company Law Review Group (CLRG). The purpose of such a bill is to consolidate all existing legislation into a single code. Complicating the matter is the fact that there are 12 Acts, numerous instruments and countless other provisions from EU law that currently govern company law in Ireland. It is easy to understand why even though the bill was originally due to be put to the Dáil in 2009, it has been repeatedly delayed (especially given the current context!). Publication is now not expected until 2011 so there remains an opportunity for campaigners in Ireland to influence the outcome – an opportunity that should not be missed. The original draft bill (based on the General Scheme) was submitted to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment back in 2007. Unfortunately, despite the fact
that the General Scheme runs to nearly 1,000 pages, there is no mention whatsoever of any corporate responsibility for environmental or social impacts. Indeed, the only reference to such concepts in the bill suggests that directors’ reports should include information relating to environmental matters only if it is relevant to the overall analysis of the development, performance and financial position of the business. This would hardly inspire confidence in anyone seeking trade justice. Interestingly though, as part of its work programme last year the CLRG considered including sections from the UK Companies Act (2006) into the General Scheme. Although the sections in question are not of any notable interest, the fact that an eye was cast over the 2006 Act provides a precedent that Irish campaigners should rely upon. The specific references to the environment and local communities in the 2006 Act made legal history in the UK and were welcomed by respected companies such as Traidcraft which “benefited substantially from the insights gained as a result of preparing comprehensive social reports” (Fiona Gooch, Senior Policy Advisor).
The public’s appetite for genuine accountability and greater regulation should be used to ensure that companies are forced to meet effective social and environmental responsibilities in the future Opportunity for Success An improved version of the Companies Consolidation and Reform Bill could achieve the same in Ireland but only if a broad based campaign puts sustained pressure on the Irish government to do so. There is a real opportunity for success given the current public discourse about the destructive role that private companies have played in Ireland in recent years. The public’s appetite for genuine accountability and greater regulation should be used to ensure that companies are forced to meet effective social and environmental responsibilities in the future. A review in the UK should be seized on by campaigners as a key moment for broadening the debate on corporate social responsibility and mobilising both public and political support for legislative reform in Ireland. The publication of the Companies Consolidation and Reform Bill will not be perpetually delayed and unless action is taken in the coming months, campaigners will lose their opportunity to frame the law and instead be left will a battle to reform it. To read more about the UK campaign see here - http://corporateresponsibility.org
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{ Hunger }
Hunger in a World of Plenty
One person in every six in the world is hungry. Why? asks Michael O’Brien, Trócaire’s Sustainable Livelihoods Policy & Advocacy Officer
F
ood is on everyone’s mind, every day. As you read this, you may be thinking ‘what will I have for dinner?’ Stocking our cupboards is influenced by many factors. Dietary preferences, affordability, social and environmental concerns all influence our purchasing decisions. Consumer choice is wide, retail outlets are overflowing with goods even if finding some of our favourite brands has become a bit more challenging in these economically straitened times. But, even if household budgets are tighter, it’s unlikely that your right to adequate food is actually compromised. Unfortunately the picture is much bleaker for 1.2 billion people around the world. Despite there being more than enough food to feed everyone on the planet, the reality is that more people than ever before, one sixth of the world’s population, are actually living in hunger. The causes of this are many, some are well known factors, others less so. Alongside poverty, unfair global trade rules and the relative neglect of agriculture in many developing countries there is also increased competition for land, more unpredictable climatic conditions and greater speculation in food commodity markets. Even in developing countries which have adopted framework laws to enforce the right to food, evidence of violations of this right are plentiful. Take Guatemala for example. An international fact finding mission to this Central American country in which Trócaire’s partner, the Coalition of Catholic Agencies for Development (CIDSE) participated, documented the mounting pressure exerted on rural dwellers, in particular on indigenous peoples, rural women and peasant communities, to dispossess them of their lands. These people were being displaced in order to exploit natural resources, a practice which has a direct negative impact on their right to food and water. Fuelling the problem Amongst the cases verified by the fact finding mission were a number of forced evictions in municipalities in the Polochic Valley. The affected communities were victims of commercial objectives of large landholders and companies. The mission documented the destruction and theft of crops and working tools, as well as the burning of shacks. They noted that “the affected communities
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were victims of encroachment, dispossession of goods and forced evictions to make way for the production of agrofuels (oil palm) and ethanol (sugar cane)’ and that the areas which had previously been farmed by communities “fell under the control of the Guatemalan Nickel Company (CGN) and other big landholders” As a consequence, the right to food and the food security of these communities in the Polochic Valley has been severely affected. Agrofuels are a key factor in increasing the level of “Land Grab”, with land being used for fuel rather than food production throughout the developing world. While the increase in agricultural production needed to feed the estimated global population of 9 billion people by 2050 is smaller than the increment achieved over the last forty years, its achievement is being undermined by a lack of international regulation addressing the issues of governance of tenure and investment in agriculture from the point of view of food security. Trócaire supports the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food’s view that there is a need to establish principles and measures to address the human rights challenge presented by large scale land acquisitions and leases and encourages governments to support the speedy completion of Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land and other natural resources. Trócaire’s ‘1 in 6 - Face Up To Hunger’ campaign is calling on Ireland to demonstrate leadership in tackling world hunger at September’s UN Millennium Development Goals Review Summit. We want Ireland to support international policies that promote the right to food as well as keep our commitments on overseas aid. You can add your voice to thousands of other people across Ireland calling for urgent action - just log on to www.trocaire. org/takeaction and take the hunger e-action which will be forwarded to the Taoiseach Brian Cowen in advance of the UN Summit. Read more about the issue of food and hunger here http://www.trocaire.org/sites/trocaire/files/pdfs/policy/ foodforallpolicypaperfinal.pdf
{ Human Rights }
Photo: Gary Moore for Tr贸caire - Victoria Kabera sells tomatoes in Rwanda
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{ Theatre and Women’s Rights }
Talking Vaginas in Ethiopia
Stiofáinín Nic Íomhaird exploress the delicate balancing act of entertainment and empowerment in Ethiopia
Members of V-Day Addis Ababa take their Curtain Call
T
he Vagina Monologues grew out of American writer Eve Ensler’s interviews with women about their physical and emotional life experiences as females. The surpisingly frank content of the interviews prompted her to adapt them for the stage, which resulted in a series of monologues now known internationally as the Vagina Monologues, staged globally around April every year in celebration and recognition of “V-Day”. The Monologues harness the openness of the women whom Ensler interviewed. Many of them speak extremely frankly about the physical experience of being a woman, in a way that is unfamiliar and even shocking to theatre audiences, or indeed audiences of any media. Many of the monologues use humour to get their message across, and indeed audience members tend to spend most of the show with one hand clapped across their mouths, laughing in shock and amusement. More serious issues Thus, V-Day was conceived as a ground-breaking event to promote dialogue about women’s issues, including inequality and the everpresent problem of domestic violence. New York, one of the most “developed” cities in the world, was the birth-place of the concept. More recently, however, V-Day has acknowledged that, while there is still a long way to go in terms of achieving gender equality and an end to domestic violence in the developed world, the issues faced by women in developing countries are yet more numerous and serious. There, the questions are not so much about same-sex marriage, equal job opportunities and the entitlement of women to talk openly about their sexuality, but rather about issues of access to education for females, underage marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM), domestic servitude and rape. It seems logical and indeed only right that the Vagina Monologues turn its attention to raising awareness about the plight of women where that plight is worst.
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One approach in Ethiopia A look at the Vagina Monologues in action in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, however, raises many questions about how best to tackle gender and sexual inequality in the context of a conservative, male-dominated society where the taboo about women’s sexuality and physicality is inextricably linked to the discrimination they experience. V-Day Addis, a group of volunteer women from both Ethiopia and abroad has been staging the performance annually for over seven years now, adapting some of the monologues to the local context, translating some of them to Amharic and involving local women’s groups in the stage production. Not only does the production spread the V-Day message, it also supports domestic beneficiary groups that work locally, in different parts of the country, to address gender inequality and violence against women with funds raised from the event. However, it could be argued that presenting one show a year to an educated, urban audience is little more than preaching to the converted. Ethiopia is a country where a whole range of women’s fundamental rights are violated on a daily basis. There is a clear similarity between the attitude to women and animals in the household; they are seen as a live resource, to be used to drive the productivity of the family farm or business. Until not very long ago, homes were divided in half, with men on one side and women and animals on the other. Though officially outlawed, practices such as the kidnapping and raping of girls in order to secure them as brides, FGM and early marriage, continue. One of three groups which received funding from V-Day Addis in 2010, Wogen, works to stop early marriage in Amhara Region of Ethiopia. In some areas of this region the average age of a bride is just 12 years. For the victims of such practices, the Vagina Monologues could possibly be seen as hovering meaninglessly on the horizon of an ocean of insurmountable obstacles and injustices.
{ Theatre and Women’s Rights }
The Vagina Monologues could possibly be seen as hovering meaninglessly on the horizon of an ocean of insurmountable obstacles and injustices
Yemsrach Worku of V-Day Addis Adaba
Monologues, a tool for empowerment To Laila Adi Aden, the 24-year old Vice Chairperson of the Urban Refugee Women’s Association of Addis Ababa, however, V-Day represents a significant educational tool for the empowerment of women. Not only was Laila’s organisation one of the 2010 beneficiary groups, but she also found the performance gave her personal inspiration. “I learned many things from the Vagina Monologues!”, she laughs. “And seeing Ethiopian women, whose culture is so similar to mine, on the stage, speaking openly about issues which are common across the Horn of Africa, gave me confidence in my own work with refugee women.” Herself a Somali refugee, Laila considers herself lucky to be the daughter of educated parents who prioritised her education, while so many of her fellow Somali girls are disadvantaged by negative parental attitudes to girls’ schooling. Asked what is the single biggest obstacle to gender equality in the region, Laila ponders for a moment. “There are a number of factors I could mention”, she says, “but I think the fact that women genuinely believe that they have no rights is major.” For this reason, she feels, women tolerate and keep silent about domestic violence, and teach their own daughters to do the same when their turn comes. And the fear of speaking out goes beyond the domestic context. Women know that, even if they were to take legal action against an abusive husband, they would be faced with a male-dominated law enforcement system which shares the belief that a woman has few or no rights. Though the law may now say otherwise, tradition says that a husband is entitled to beat his wife. Talking to Laila highlights the interconnection between the obstacles faced by women here. Lack of education for girls breeds an ignorance of women’s rights and a level of acceptance of discrimination and abuse. It also drastically narrows women’s life options in terms
of income generation which, in turn, radically limits independence. These matters, she says, are compounded by religious and cultural barriers which make women feel ashamed to, for example, seek medical treatment for gynaecological problems or to report cases of rape. Not to mention the health problems imposed upon women by the practice of FGM (female genital mutilation) which, in Ethiopia, affects an estimated 74% of the female population. So how can these issues be addressed? For a start, girls’ education needs to be prioritised in Ethiopia, with a simultaneous shake-up of the law enforcement system to drive home the fact that early marriage, rape and domestic abuse are serious crimes with consequences. And women’s health, advertised on massive bill-boards around Addis Ababa as a national priority, needs to be de-mystified and promoted in practice as well as rhetoric. And where do the Vagina Monologues fit in to such grand policy changes? For Laila, the Monologues play a key role because they go beyond telling women that they have a right to all of these changes, and in fact present women on the public stage, already enjoying those rights. And what could be more convincing than that?
Focus { 13 }
{ Activist Voices }
Tragic Caravan
A Tribute to Oaxacan community leader Beatriz Alberta Cariño (Bety) by Miren Maialen Samper and Tony Phillips
Bety Carino, photo supplied by LASC
B
ack in 2006, Beatriz Alberta Cariño (Bety) was one of the community leaders forced to temporarily flee repression in Oaxaca, Mexico. A remarkable woman, Bety organised women’s collectives in the movement for justice in this impoverished state. She advocated for food sovereignty, for community water management, for soil conservation and for the right to autonomy for indigenous peoples in Mexico. In 2009 Bety gave a talk here in Dublin. Bety died from a bullet wound to the head on the April 27th 2010 while attempting to bring humanitarian aid to the small town of San Juan Copala, Oaxaca.
The caravan was attempting to deliver food and medical supplies to the blockaded Triqui community Since 2006 the southern Mexican State of Oaxaca has seen various conflicts as a result of social struggles and repression by the state government. This has brought Oaxaca close to civil war on many occasions. These struggles came to a head in 2006 when, between May and October, Oaxacan state teachers occupied the state capital (also called Oaxaca). They were protesting to the state governor, Ulises Ruiz, demanding resources for rural schools. The protests were suppressed, resulting in many injuries and deaths when state troops
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retook the city. More recently the smaller indigenous community of San Juan Copala in the State of Oaxaca also protested to Ulises Ruiz. They too were met with violence. In 2007, the 786 inhabitants of the “Triqui” tribe declared their town independent of the Oaxacan state government. This led to the subsequent 2010 blockade of the town by a state sanctioned paramilitary agency: The Union for the Wellbeing of the Triqui Region (UBISORT). UBISORT is, in fact, a paramilitary group linked to state Governor Ulises Ruiz. In April 2010, paramilitaries linked to UBISORT attacked a humanitarian caravan with local and embedded international human rights observers. The caravan was attempting to deliver food and medical supplies to the blockaded Triqui community. The ambush left two people dead: one was Jyri Jaakkola, a human rights observer from Finland, the other was Bety, director of the local non-governmental Centre for Community Support Working Together (CACTUS). CACTUS is part of the Agrarian Zapatista Indigenous Movement and of the broader coalition “No Maize, No Country.” More than ten people in the caravan were injured: Jyri and Bety were both killed by a fatal shot to the head. In July 2010 UBISORT invaded and occupied San Juan Copala to bring it back under state control. Since then, to assess the human rights situation in Oaxaca, Satu Hassi (MEP) from Finland and Franziska Keller (MEP) from Germany visited the state and met with Bety’s partner, Omar, and other members of the Caravan. Omar and his children were subjected to further threats of violence
and intimation and have had to flee San Juan Copala. During meetings with federal representatives the MEPs were assured that the Mexican government is committed to making progress in promoting and protecting human rights in Oaxaca. For its part the Oaxacan government has stated that it is open to scrutiny of the human rights situation, however it nonetheless remains to be seen whether the Oaxacan government will engage in a transparent and open dialogue that will allow this to happen. CACTUS has called for an impartial, expedient, and accurate investigation led by the Federal Attorney General’s Office in order to punish and bring the murderers to justice and to respect the indigenous community. Bety Cariño was a speaker at LASC conference in 2009 and a participant at the Fifth Dublin Platform which was held by Front Line in February 2010. Bety will always be respected for her defence of human rights in Oaxaca and her work fighting for women and children’s rights and those of the indigenous populations. What can we in Ireland do? We can assure the citizens of San Juan Copala that they are not alone. “Never again another San Juan Copala”. BETY VIVE, BETY PRESENTE. More info see blog http://solidaridadcopala. blogspot.com/ For the latest update on San Juan Copala visit http://upsidedownworld.org/main/ mexico-archives-79/2702-autonomousauthorities-order-total-evacuation-of-sanjuan-copala-oaxaca
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Comhlámh Acting for a One-to-One better world
Advisory Session
Thinking of volunteering? Finding it hard to make a decision? Want to know more about the options available? 20 minute appointments are available with Comhlámh staff to talk through options for volunteering for global development. Next Sessions: November 11th, 4-7pm December 2nd, 4-7pm Where: Irish Aid Volunteering Centre, O’Connell Street. To book an appointment please contact Kate on 01-4783490 or kate@comhlamh.org BOOKING ESSENTIAL! http://www.volunteeringoptions.org/Events/ UpcomingEventsTraining/tabid/120/Default.aspx#Back_to_ top
Bewley’s First Wednesday Debates are Back!
Once again Comhlámh will host a series of topical and lively debates on key development and global justice issues in the lovely Bewleys Café Theatre on the first Wednesday of every month. Entrance is free but space is limited so admission will be on a firstcome first-served basis on the night. The debates are always lively and engaging evening. All welcome - do come along, join us and have your say.
Global Trade Course Starting the first week of November
This 6 week participatory evening course will take place in the Irish Aid Volunteering and Information Centre, 27-31 Upper O’Connell Street, Dublin 1. The course will focus on international trade and development justice, asking: How does global trade work? What role do Ireland, the EU and the WTO play? How is it unfair? What alternatives can we propose? For further information please contact Deirdre Kelly, Email: deirdrekelly@comhlamh.org, Tel: 01 4783490.
There are many ways to act for a better world from Ireland, from everyday choices we make, such as ethical shopping and investment, to getting involved in the global justice movement. This course will provide a space to share experiences with others, while also providing the media and campaigning skills to raise awareness effectively. It is relevant both to those who have lived in developing countries and those who have an interest in global issues. Date: 5, 6 & 13 November. Venue: Dublin city centre, TBC. Contact: Call 01 4783490, email deirdrekelly@comhlamh. org, or visit www.comhlamh.org/trainingsandcourses.html.
Coming Home Weekend 15-17 October 2010, All Hallows College, Drumcondra, Dublin
This weekend is a fantastic opportunity for you to meet with other returned development workers and volunteers, to hear each other’s experiences, reflect on the meaning of your experiences for you personally, share tips for settling back, plan how to put to good use in Ireland the experiences you gained overseas and have some fun! The weekend is facilitated by fellow returned development workers and professionals. The cost of the weekend is €75 with accommodation and meals provided. Please contact stuart@comhlamh.org for further information.
Festival of World Cultures
Comhlámh and Trócaire joined forces for this year’s Festival of World Cultures in Dún Laoghaire by hosting ‘Wolfie’s Unfair Funfair’. Festival goers were invited to play games to introduce them to the trickiness of global trade rules. The stall was busy and buzzing the whole weekend with children of all ages knocking down tin cans and helping the farmer get through the maze to the market despite the obstacles in their way. Thanks to all the volunteers and participants for helping to make the weekend such a success!
Comhlámh stand at Festival of World Cultures 2010
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