Focus magazine, issue 73, autumn 2005 by Comhlamh

FOCUS

ACTION FOR GLOBAL JUSTICE Issue 73 / Autumn 2005 €2.50 ISSN 1649-7368

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INSIDE Central America says ‘No!’ / The dis-United Nations / Timed-out minors / Towards a city of equals together / Ireland’s 0.7% promise / Putting Palestine on Limerick’s agenda / Art and Politics

{ Welcome }

Contents: {03} Call to action {04} Central America says {07} {08} {10} {12} {13}

{ Call to action }

Co-ordinator’s welcome

‘No!’ The dis-United Nations Timed-out minors Ireland’s 0.7% promise Art & politics Action news

Credits & Contact details Focus magazine, established in 1978, now published four 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. Focus is produced by an editorial collective of volunteers, with the support of the Comhlámh offices in Dublin and Cork. 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. The views expressed in individual articles are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the collective or of Comhlámh. © Copyright Comhlámh 2005

Correspondence Comhlámh, 10 Upper Camden Street, Dublin 2, Ireland. Ph +353-1-4783490 Fax +353-1-4783738 E-mail: info@comhlamh.org Comhlámh, 55 Grand Parade, Cork, Ireland Ph +353-21-4275881 Fax +353-21-4275241 E-mail: comhcork@iol.ie Comhlámh Northern Ireland c/o 9 University Street Belfast BT7 1FY Northern Ireland Email: comhlamhni@hotmail.com The editorial team wishes to thank all those who have collaborated in this issue of Focus. In particular we wish to thank our authors and contributors. We have tried, sometimes without success, to contact all relevant photographers and agencies to seek their permission to use photographs.We apologise to those we have been unable to trace. Editorial team: Conall O’Caoimh, Stephen Rigney, Thomas Geoghegan, Markham Nolan, Darragh Murphy, Miren MaialenSamper. Additional writing: Fionuala Cregan, Vincent Durac, Ian Oliver.

Dear members, I am delighted to introduce this issue of Focus Action. I am in the unique and very exciting position of having been involved in the development of the Comhlámh Strategic Plan as chairperson of the Executive Committee, and now I am directly involved in implementing it as the Co-ordinator. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to do this. In addition to my professional experience, I hope to bring to the role of cocoordinator and the implementation of the Strategic Plan my experiences of being a member of the organisation, both in groups and in the Executive. One key element of the Strategic Plan is around the development of the Activist Network - engaging wider groups of people in action for justice. The strength of Comhlámh has always been its members and this foundation is something that the Strategic Plan is committed to building upon. Focus Action is a key instrument for our members to reach into society, broadening awareness and offering action points. We seek to do this in solidarity and partnership with campaigners in the global South. This edition of Focus magazine is packed with articles that I hope will provide you with information on a range of global justice issues as well as some inspiration on the different ways of becoming active in building a more just world. I look forward to working with Comhlámh members and staff and to building alliances with other organisations so that together we can realise Comhlámh's vision of a just and sustainable world. All the best,

Design: Thomas Geoghegan (thomas@monkeybomb.com), Alice Fitzgerald (www.alicefitzgerald.com). Printed by Genprint Ltd on recyclable paper. The publication of Focus is grant aided by Trócaire, Christian Aid and by the Development Education Unit of Development Co-operation Ireland.

{2} Focus

Anne Molloy Co-ordinator

Action 1: Make Poverty History - send Bertie a Christmas card Send a Christams Card to An Taoiseach asking him to Make Trade Fair and so contribute to MakePovertyHistory. Cards are available in shops nationwide and through Comhlámh and each of the 44 organisations involved in this campaign. You can also send Bertie a Christmas Card via the website www.MakePovertyHistory.ie The card coincides with the World Trade Organisation negotiations in Hong Kong this December, and asks Bertie that Ireland support trade rules that help to reduce poverty. Comhlámh is centrally involved in this campaign and needs your participation. You want to do more? Please, we need people to help

distribute the card in their area. International Human Rights Day, December 10th, is a special White-Band day of action in this campaign. Hold a stall to gather signatures to the card. Or invite public figures to hang a card on the Christmas tree in your town - invite the local media to cover the story. Or spread the word by email asking your friends to send an e-Christmas eard via www.MakePovertyHistory.ie We also need people to place posters in show windows, pubs and other public places to raise awareness of the campaign. To receive a bundle of the MakePovertyHistory Christmas Cards contact cards@makepovertyhistory.ie

Action 2: You read the magazine, now get to know us a bit better! Focus is going national! This issue of the magazine is being distributed to more places than ever before - and will hopefully have a lot of new readers who are interested in getting involved with Comhlámh's campaigns. For our many readers who are already very familiar with the work of Comhlámh, a thousand thanks for your support and involvement. However, for those of you who have picked up this magazine for the first time, we have a small favour to ask.

When you have a few moments, please visit our website, www.comhlamh.org, to learn a bit more about us. If you have a little more time on your hands, get involved with us. There are plenty of ways you can do this - possibly by taking one of the wide range of courses we offer, working with our activist groups or simply by subscribing to our newsletter. We can use your help, any way you want to help.

Focus {3}

{ Trade Justice }

Central America says No! People in Guatemala and throughout Central America are taking to the streets to stop the loss of their economic rights. Fionnuala Cregan joins them.

Mass protests in Guatamala (left) and a Guatamalan neighbourhoud cleared for development (bottom right) Photographs by Fionuala Cregan

ne hundred people marching through the streets of a cold highland city in the north of Guatemala represented the first protest against globalisation in this small Central American nation. Passers by looked on but didn’t understand. Free trade agreements, Plan Pueblo Panama, The World Trade Organization and neoliberalism were alien concepts to them. That was 5 years ago. By March 2005 everything had changed. Over 25,000 people united and took to the streets in 47 different places throughout the country. “No to free trade agreements,” they chanted, “We do not want to become a colony of the United States.” In a nation which until 1996 had suffered decades of repression and fear

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during its 30 year civil war, where street demonstrations were prohibited and where thousands of social leaders were “disappeared”, this marked an unprecedented mobilisation of different sectors of the social movement. People were angry and they had identified a common enemy. Free-trade and neoliberal politics were no longer alien concepts to them but something they had begun to feel in their daily lives. A doll and some broken furniture lying in the mud is all that remains of a community which had inhabited what used to be a rubbish dump on the edges of Guatemala City. Over a number of years they had cleaned up the rubbish dump, built homes from corrugated iron, connected to local electricity and water supplies, made homes for themselves as

best they could. But the government had other plans. It needed the land for infrastructure. It sent in 200 armed police to tell them to leave. Immediately. They had been warned, the police said, and now they had to go. This was not some isolated occurrence, but something that faces the poor throughout Guatemala, as government plans for the building of airports, the resurrection of railway lines and the construction of a canal bisecting the country, are rapidly moving forward. Under its new neo-liberal agenda, efficiency in the movement of goods has become a government priority and any communities who live in the way of these plans must simply disappear. Struggles against neo-liberalism have spread throughout Central America -

citizens of El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica took to the streets to declare a resounding ‘No’ to free trade agreements, while their governments, behind closed doors and in secret locations, negotiated the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States. All governments, with the exception of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, ratified the agreement this year. Civil society was never consulted or informed about what exactly was being negotiated. In fact, in many countries in the region, demonstrations against CAFTA were met with police repression and violence. CAFTA has been described by Salvadoran social activist Raul Moreno, as a meeting between “a hungry tiger and five small tied up donkeys”. Essentially, it is an agreement which favours transnational companies, largely from the United States, at the expense of small producers and rural labourers. The agreement, amongst other things, eliminates tariffs for US grains and farm products, allowing them to compete with local products in the region. US export subsidies alone allow corn, the most important food produced in Central America and one of its principal sources of employment, to enter the market at 20% below the cost of production, a price that will make it impossible for small Central American rural producers to compete with. It is estimated that CAFTA will provide the US farm sector with US$1 billion in additional exports each year, which will benefit the largest 10% of US farms but cause devastation for peasant and indigenous production in Central America. Ten years ago, a similar agreement was signed between Mexico, Canada and the US. The North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has resulted in an estimated 15 million Mexican farmers

The development promises of the 2001 Doha agenda will be more important than ever for Central American countries attending the upcoming Hong Kong meeting of the World Trade Organization leaving their lands and has almost doubled poverty rates. “NAFTA has left nothing for Mexico just as CAFTA will leave nothing for us” says Guatemalan social activist Roly Escobar Ochoa who defines CAFTA as an “an economic agreement between a few friends that has nothing to do with freedom or with trade.” And so, as the shadow of CAFTA looms, the development promises of the 2001 Doha agenda will be more important than ever for Central American countries attending the upcoming Hong Kong meeting of the World Trade Organization. “What we are asking at the WTO is that countries in the North open up their economies as well,” says Jorge Mario Salazar of the Centre for Investigation of Central American Development. “This would help us balance the losses incurred by subsides and give our producers the opportunity to trade under fairer and more transparent conditions. If the WTO became a more horizontal structure, it could become an instrument that supports us. The problem is that it continues to be a structure in which measures are taken

against the poor countries and never against the rich countries. If it continues this way, it will continue to fail, like it failed in Cancun.” The Central American countries, with the exception of Honduras and Nicaragua, initially joined the G20 bloc of developing nations during the 2003 Cancun WTO meeting. Following a number of threatening phone calls from the United States’ representatives, however, they were forced to retract. Nonetheless, throughout the region a sense of hope prevails that the proposals of the G20 will be taken in to consideration during the Hong Kong round of WTO negotiations. “What the G20 has put forward are proposals for responsible political, economic and social development. It is time to take them into account.” says Roly Escobar. And even if the Hong Kong round fails to take on board these proposals, as many predict, the social movement in Central America remains optimistic. “We are not going to overthrow economic globalisation today, tomorrow or in the next round of the WTO. But what our struggle is helping us to do is to construct our own strategies, our own political and economic programmes," says Jorge Mario, "Before, our unity as a social movement was very fragile, but our struggle against neo-liberal politics has helped unite us against a common enemy. We are constructing our own political actors, forming bases made up of the poor and the excluded and together we are going to conquer the political spaces. “At an international level too, we need to begin to define a common agenda. Now that we have identified the common enemy to humanity as the incorporation of politics defined by multi-nationals into our societies, it is time to begin to work together and create alternatives.”

Focus {5}

{ Trade Justice }

{ Human Rights }

Trade Justice – Made in Hong Kong? A Development Round: The outcome of negotiations must add up to be the promised ʻDevelopment Roundʼ. That means it must redress the disadvantages which developing countries face in world trade. So far rich countries are pressing such a hard bargain that the outcome may further tilt the balance against the poor. Tipping the balance: Industrialised rich countries are zealously seeking access to the growing services markets of Asia and Latin America – but unwilling to open their agriculture in exchange.

Agriculture: Developing countries should have to make less onerous com mitments than richer countries l including mo re flexibility to shape their policies and rec ognition of ‘special products’ linked to foo d security. l Greater access for developing countr y food products to rich country markets, especially to enable value added goods l Eliminate exp ort subsidies on food exports and limit the amount of indirect subsidising allowed. l

on each of For further information tive lec these areas see the col ent pm elo position of Irish dev ejustice.ie rad w.t ww on s organisation

Manufactured Go ods: Obligations to red uce import taxes on manufactur ed goods must leave develop ing countries the space to decid e their own development plans. Services: or ents which po The commitm en up their op to e ak m countries ational stries to intern services indu e the ov m re t ust no competition m e ac pl freedom to host country’s rms to fo n ig re fo on requirements or l economy. N link to the loca liberalise to d se es pr should they be n land by foreig ownership of . companies

ing eth f m o S of ng falli

The negotiations process: the mandate of the WTO needs to be amended and its working procedures revised so that international trade rules will foster poverty reduction. Specifically – at negotiations decisions must not be made in the exclusive ʻGreen Roomsʼ, and the chair personʼs role must be to facilitate, not decide. All policies must be ʻproofedʼ to assess their impact upon development, gender relations, labour and the environment.

WTO Talks Timeline 1995 Uruguay Round of trade negotiations concludes and WTO comes into being.

1999 Seattle: Developing countries refuse to start a new round of trade negotiations.

2001 Doha: countries agree the agenda for a new round of trade talks, to be a ‘Development Round’. Detailed negotiations begin in Geneva.

2003 Cancun: trade talks break down – rich countries were trying to widen the agenda, developing countries were not receiving enough to agree.

2005 Hong Kong: Trade Ministers meet to give new momentum to the Geneva talks.

2006 WTO hopes the Development Round will have concluded and begin to come into force.

Meanwhile: the EU and the US are holding other negotiations (eg EPAs) so as to establish trade agreements with regional groups of developing countries.

The dis-United Nations Will the UN ever solve its problems? Vincent Durac considers the likelihood of successful UN reform. he end of the Cold War saw a surge of optimism that the United Nations would play a re-energised role in international politics. With a thaw in the the East/West stalemate that characterised the UN’s first four decades of existence, some optimists would point to UN ‘successes’ in the early 1990s. The enforced withdrawal of Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991 was one, authorised by the UN Security Council. This was followed by peace-making and peace-building in Cambodia and Central America and other successes in conflict prevention. A less benign analysis would focus on a series of failures which many see as characteristic of the UN’s inability to deal with post-Cold War challenges or to fulfil its duties under its Charter to maintain global peace and security. The debacle of UN intervention in Somalia in 1992 is one such failure. Its failure to intervene in the Balkans in Rwanda are two more. Most recently, there is the bankruptcy of UN decision-making processes vis-à-vis Iraq in 2003. It has failed to deal adequately with nuclear issues, the whiff of corruption has reached its upper levels at the very top and there remains the question of the dysfunctionality of its Commission on Human Rights. With the public perception of the UN being that of a bloated, overexpensive and impotent bureaucracy, the case for reform of the UN seems readymade.

However, making the case for reform and securing broad international agreement on the shape that reform should take are two very different things. Optimists have hailed as a partial success the September 2005 UN summit of Heads of State. For the first time, world leaders endorsed the concept of an ‘international responsibility to protect’ - an expression of willingness to act to prevent massive human rights abuses

As ‘a club of 191 egoists’, the UN will never succeed if each member uses it for its own benefits when national governments are unable or unwilling to do so. A UN Peacebuilding Commission is to be established to assist countries to make a successful transition from conflict to sustainable peace. There is to be a new Human Rights Council to redress to absurdities of the current body which has Saudi Arabia and Sudan as members and Libya as its chair. Finally, a new Democracy Fund is to provide a source of funding for the UN’s work in support of democracy. However, few details of these have been agreed, and too many key questions have been left unanswered by the Summit.

For instance, little progress was made on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. Nothing of significance was agreed in relation to global development issues despite the fact that sub-Saharan Africa will not reach the Millennium Development Goals for another one hundred years, at current rates. No agreement was made on curbing the arms trade. Finally, the summit made no progress on Security Council reform , an issue which is seen by many, (perhaps erroneously), as the key to transforming the UN. Failure on such a grand scale demands explanation. The obvious culprit here is the usual one - the USA. The last minute intervention of John Bolton, US Ambassador to the UN, in which he tabled 750 suggested amendments to the final summit document, is viewed by many as US hostility to a meaningful and effective UN. There is truth in this. However, the US is not the only state that bears responsibility for the UN. China, Russia, India, Pakistan and others contributed to impasse. The real difficulty is that there is no ‘united’ nations. As ‘a club of 191 egoists’, it will never succeed if each member uses it for its own benefits and puts up barriers when others stand to benefit. Vincent Durac is lecturer at the Centre for Development Studies, University College Dublin

Focus {7}

{ Integrating Ireland }

P+L+U+S (Please Let Us Stay) Ireland gave a home to unaccompanied child refugees, but now that they have turned 18 they face deportation. A new campaign wants the Government to know how much it stands to gain from by letting them stay. Words and photos by Ian Oliver.

Towards a city of equals together Miren Miailen-Samper spoke with Ernest Bishop, co-ordinator of the Galway City Anti-Racism Strategy, about his plans to transform the City of Tribes into a City of Equals.

nder the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, refugee children possess the same rights as all other children. No unaccom-panied child refugee can be forced back to his or her original country, unless it is in the child’s best interests. However, in Ireland, once these child refugees have “aged-out” - turned 18 - they lose the rights they had as a child, regardless of how long it has been since they started calling this country home. Over the past 5 years a number of separated children have arrived in Ireland seeking asylum. As separated children, they had certain unique rights to protection rights which disappeared once they turned 18. They lost their entitlements to care by the health boards and their futures fell into the hands of the Department of Justice. The total number of aged-out minors in Ireland is somewhere between 150 and 250. At present, the majority face daily threat of deportation. For those who have lived here for up to 5 years, deportation means leaving the only home they know anymore for a very uncertain future. As one aged out

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asylum seeker points out, “We have no remaining family members in our birth countries and, if returned to these countries, we fear for our safety.” Even though these aged-out asylum seekers no longer receive any special treatment, their situations have not changed. Being a bit older does not mean that they should not continue to warrant special consideration. Their applications for asylum were all made when they were under 18. As recently as June 2005, the UN committee on the Rights of the Child referred to the need for child sensitive assessment of all protection needs, taking into account persecution of a child specific nature. The grim realities of childhood in many developing countries plays a part in the stories of all of these young adults. Amnesty International has documented human rights abuses against children that include executions, disappearances, torture, trafficking and forced genital mutilation. The risks and the aftermath of these abuses do not disappear when an asylum seeker has turned 18.

Now, a number of these young adults have mounted a campaign, Please Let Us Stay, which asks the Government to let them work and live in Ireland. They are looking for the opportunity to repay the investment the State made in them when they were minors by contributing to the economy and society of this country. The Government is actively seeking additional workers from other states to make up the shortfalls in the labour market. Yet the same Government threatens to deport a group of people who are already educated in Ireland, are eager to work, know the Irish system, the Irish way of life and also speak the language. In granting them leave to stay the Government would be giving these people the right to decide their futures for the first time in their young lives. As the members of PLUS say, “We are willing and anxious to work. We will repay the investment made in us by the Irish State and Irish people. Please Let Us Stay and build our future here.” For more information on the campaign contact: dunlaoghairerefugee@ireland.com

While Galway, the City of Tribes, has a historic reputation for welcoming strangers, new waves of immigrants are making the city more diverse than ever. In 2002, ten percent of Galway’s population were nonnationals. Now, over 90 nationalities from Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America make Galway their homes. With this new diversity, Galway’s citizens are aware of the importance of avoiding racism and nurturing a multicultural society. Focus Action spoke with Ernest Bishop, co-ordinator of the Galway City Anti-Racism Strategy, about his plans to work with the people of Galway to transform the City of Tribes into a City of Equals. Galway is the first Irish city to introduce an anti-racism strategy, which involves a positive action programme to address the problems associated with racism and to promote the social inclusion of ethnic minorities in community development. Ernest, who is originally from Sierra Leone, has been working for the Galway City Partnership for over two months. Before coming to Galway, he was chairperson of Integrating Ireland and worked with Doras Luimní in Limerick city, where he won a 2004 World Refugee Day award in arts and culture. His background makes him ideally suited to his current job, equipping him with, he says, “experience of

Clockwise from top left: Sharon Murphy (Galway One World Centre), Foley Sarumi (Galway One World Centre), Catherine Connolly Mayor of Galway City, and Fran Fahey TD Minister for State at Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform at the launch of the Galway Anti-Racism Strategy (Photographs courtesy of Ernest Bishop).

working with ethnic minority groups, making collective strategic decisions and working in an environment that promotes social inclusion of ethnic minority groups and migrants.” Ernest is convinced that Galway's antiracism strategy will make a difference by increasing awareness about racism issues and promoting the recognition, protection and participation of minority groups living in the city, including Travellers. The Galway City Anti-Racism Strategy does not merely seek to shield newcomers from the barbs of racism, but to include them in Galway's community in ways that can prevent the opportunity for racism to grow. The strategy seeks to enhance economic and social opportunities for minority groups in the hope that by creating such opportunities, new communities will have the potential to enrich Galway society. The strategy receives support from the Galway Development Board and the involvement of local businesses, as well as funding from the National Action Plan Against Racism. However, Ernest is very proud of the fact that strategy is at heart a grassroots initiative - “The steering committee is composed of representatives from ethnic minorities including Travellers and locals. It is a perfect mix of both culture and gender”.

An exciting series of cultural and sporting events is planned, including concerts, exhibitions and soccer tournaments to bring people together in a positive and lively atmosphere. Upcoming events include an inter-cultural festival, Sonas In Salthill in September and the dispatch of two Galway inter-cultural soccer teams to Dublin for the SARI Cup. The importance of these events lies in the opportunities they present to introduce different cultures at local and individual levels. Another vital task will be to provide economic and business opportunities for minority groups. Ernest stresses the need for programmes to train people in setting up their own businesses, which can provide opportunities to otherwise disadvantaged groups. The strategy aims to create a city where all its people are treated with equal respect. By turning the City of Tribes into a City of Equals, Galway stands to be enriched by its growing diversity. If they are ready to follow, the path is being set out for the rest of Ireland's cities and towns to move towards places of equals. Let's do it! For more on the Galway City Anti-Racism Strategy go to: http://www.gcp.ie/antiRacismStrategy.html

Focus {9}

{ Aid }

{ Human Rights }

Putting Palestine on Limerick's Agenda.

Putting our money where our mouths are

From a conversation in a pub to international recognition, the Limerick branch of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign has developed into a impressive public awareness outfit. Stephen Rigney finds out how they did it.

Second time lucky, as Bertie Ahern commits to a new target on Ireland’s overseas development aid spending. But, Stephen Rigney asks, are voters prepared to ensure the promise is kept this time around? s they listened to Bertie Ahern solemnly promise the UN General Assembly that Ireland would spend 0.7% of GNP on overseas development assistance by 2012, the question on many Irish peoples’ lips was whether the commitment will be kept this time. Considering that five years ago, the Taoiseach pledged to meet the same target by 2007, it is not surprising the announcement was greeted with a lot of scepticism alongside a few guarded welcomes. For the opposition, Bertie’s slippery promises are ammunition in the next election battle. Ireland’s overseas aid programme receives strong public support – and the perception that the Government is failing to live up to its international obligations does not go down well with the electorate. But when the time comes to tax voters for the aid funds, will the governing parties of 2012 be brave enough to live up to the commitment? And will the public be prepared to put its money where its sympathies lie? Whether the glass of Governmental intentions is seen as half full or half empty has a lot to do with the intentions of the beholder. Organisations such as Trócaire and Concern, which want to put the aid money to use on the ground, welcome that the target will at least be reached three years ahead of the agreed EU deadline of 2015. Concern Deputy Chief Executive Paddy Maguinness declared the announcement “a victory for the people – the people who are living in grinding poverty in the developing world and the people of Ireland who put pressure on the government to deliver this pledge.” Justin Kilcullen of Trócaire also spoke positively, believing that “Bertie Ahern and his Government have the firm backing of the

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Irish public for its positive move on spending today.” All the same, he hoped for legislation to keep the Government on track this time around. The announcement presented the opposition a welcome opportunity to slag off the Government by lobbing a few missiles at what Labour’s Michael D. Higgins called “nothing more than a camouflage that cannot be trusted.” Fine Gael’s spokesman on foreign affairs, Bernard Allen, castigated the Government for what he called a “betrayal of the world’s hungry and poor” and demanded legislation which would ensure that aid pledges are fulfilled. Labour has already published draft legislation which would commit the Government to spending 0.7% of GNP by 2007, and to 0.6% by 2006, although the party has committed elsewhere to reaching the target by 2010. Calls for laws to keep the Government from sliding on its promises is an effective vote-winning tactic. Fine Gael and Labour would dearly like to be planted on Government benches by 2007 and would probably like to stay there through 2012. When in power, however, will they themselves be bound to the straight and narrow of aid commitments? The 2007 deadline slipped away because the Government decided that voters would express less outrage over skimping on overseas aid then they would at having to pay more taxes to cover the costs. One of the problems with democratic nations is that voters’ wallets concern politicians far more than non-voters in foreign places, no matter how poverty stricken they may be. And those wallets are already shaping up to play a starring role in the next election. If Ireland is ever to reach the 0.7% target, more will be needed than claims by our leaders that the Irish public cares for the

world’s poor. It will require voters to tell their representatives that we are committed to doing what it takes to meet our promises. The question is, though, are we prepared to pay? If you want to talk to your local TD about Ireland’s ODA commitments or any other development issues, find your local representatives through party websites: www.fiannafail.ie www.finegael.ie www.greenparty.ie www.labour.ie www.progressivedemocrats.ie www.sinnfein.ie

Good Aid, Bad Aid According to Foreign Affairs Minister, Dermot Ahern, “we are regarded as one of the paragons of the world for our aid.” But are our aid programmes as good as they could be? Much has been made about Action Aid’s report which found that Ireland provides one of the highest quality foreign aid programmes. However, the recently published Commitment to Development Index paints a different picture. It ranked Ireland 18th out of 21 countries, behind leader Denmark and considerably behind the USA. According to the report, Ireland had improved marginally but fell behind because of a poor record in sharing technology, promoting enterprise and because we make client governments deal with too many small projects. But the index did give us credit for our unwillingness to sell arms to undemocratic governments and our relatively low coffee consumption.

Photograph courtesy of IPSC

t’s great what can come out of few hours spent in the pub. Take the Limerick branch of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC), for instance. Sean Clinton and his friend Paudy Power were having a few pints in Limerick's Locke Bar and got around to talking about the Israeli occupation of Palestine. “We never knew before that we shared each other's interest in Palestine and that we were both upset about what was happening there,” says Sean of that night. “We decided to do something and once we discovered the IPSC in Dublin, we set up a branch here straight away. We hadn't really a clue what we were doing, but we took it from there!” From “there”, the Limerick branch evolved into an impressive political awareness campaign. Since its 2003 establishment, it has twice built and flattened houses in the centre of Limerick; received international attention for its campaign to declare Limerick a “Caterpillar Free Zone”; handed leaflets out to visitors at the National Ploughing Championships and to trainloads of rugby supporters on the way to Dublin matches; and featured on two local radio programmes, not to mention hosting regular visits by international activists and running weekly

stalls in Limerick. And then there’s the visit by President Bush in 2004, when members hung a ten foot banner hung from King John’s Castle, urging the president to end his support for the Israeli occupation of Palestine, a stunt which featured on TG4's evening news. The group's motivation is to ensure that Palestine remains on the agenda in Limerick. “We want the Palestinians to know that they are not alone,” says Sean Clinton “We are constantly putting the issue [of Palestine] before the public. It can be hard to know how effective any one action may be, but people gradually become informed and the awareness sinks in sooner or later.” Of course, it helps if you come up with the odd audacious event. Like having carpenter Paudy build a house on Limerick’s O’Connell Street on a busy Saturday afternoon and then get what Sean calls “the most ginormous bulldozer” to pulverise it, meanwhile telling passing shoppers that Caterpillar D9 bulldozers operated by the Israeli army were inflicting similar destruction on the homes of Palestinians in Rafah and other refugee settlements in Gaza and the West Bank. The campaign to declare Limerick a Caterpillar free zone owes its inception to the memory of Rachel Corrie, a young

American peace activist who was killed by an Israeli D9 as she tried to protect a Palestinian home from demolition. In an effort to force Caterpillar to quit supplying these destructive machines to the Israeli army, the branch asked Limerick City Council to pass a motion boycotting Caterpillar equipment. Although a vote on the motion is being held up by legal issues, the campaign received a lot of support from individual councillors, thanks in no small part to the network of personal contacts members of the branch have built up with the City Council. For branch chairman Sean O’Connell, the value of the campaign lay in the publicity it generated, both locally and abroad. “The campaign went worldwide and put Limerick on the map as a place concerned about human rights,” he says. Similar campaigns are being repeated across the US which look to Limerick “as a model and as an example of a city taking a stand.” The Caterpillar campaign resonated with locals too. “People would come up to our stalls and say ‘you’re the Caterpillar lads. What's that about?’” says Sean O'Connell. According to the group, the public sympathy for the campaign was such that the council’s e-mail system was overwhelmed by messages of support. One problem which faces any group working on issues with high media profiles is the way in which the coverage of events can affect the public’s response. Lack of media coverage often means that events fade quickly from the public consciousness. For Sean O’Connell, “it’s up to solidarity groups to keep plugging the issues so people don’t forget. On the other hand we have to be ready to respond quickly when something big happens.” The end of the Palestinian occupation and the time when the Limerick IPSC can allow the issue to fade from public consciousness, remains tragically far away. Until then however, the group is determined to keep plugging away to keep Palestine on Limerick’s agenda. To get involved with the IPSC go to www.ipsc.ie

Focus {11}

{ Campaigning Artists }

{ Action 1: EPAs }

‘Down there’ for dancing (how art can help change the world) tating that art can help change the world might strike some as a little arrogant. Art, the picture-on-awall variety, is certainly capable of stirring emotions. Photography, properly executed, can capture the greater resonance of a moment and be used as a tool to awaken people to hidden realities. Poetry and lyrics have long been used as a vehicle for vitriolic political expression, and their creators can be among the most revolutionary and visible figures in society. But modern dance? Surely it’s a little abstract to make a tangible difference, a little contrived to say that it can bring about any effective change? John Scott would disagree. John Scott is the artistic director of the Irish Modern Dance Theatre. In May 2003 he began working with groups of aspiring dancers from Spirasi. The group had asked him to establish art therapies for asylum seekers who had been victims of torture in their home countries. What began as a means of therapy ended up as a source of inspiration for Scott, and by integrating some of the dancers in the group into his own professional company highlyregarded pieces of dance theatre came about which have, quite literally, moved audiences to tears. ‘Fall and Recover’, ‘Like Silver’ and ‘The White Piece’ have all featured Sebastiaõ Mpembele Kamalandua, an Angolan-born asylum seeker currently going through the appeals process here in Ireland. Sebastiaõ was an army conscript, and suffered through five months of

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torture in jail before escaping to Ireland. On one particularly inhospitable winter night, Sebastiao was the only one from the dance therapy group to arrive, and despite suggesting initially that they call off that night’s session, John worked alone with Sebastiao for two hours that night. “I realised that night that he had an extraordinary potential, an extraordinary performance manner.” Scott then convinced the Centre for the Care of Survivors of Torture (CCST) to obtain the Arts Council grant that would allow them develop ‘Fall and Recover’ with a dance group made up of torture victims from 13 countries. But Scott was also mindful that this was not to become ‘victim art’. “I don’t want people to come and pity people on stage, I don’t want people to come and say ‘Oh, wow these are torture survivors’ in a voyeuristic way. They (the CCST clients) have brought a depth and richness to my work, a sort of ‘gravity’ that you can’t be flippant about… there’s no place for exploitation”. Fall and Recover was meant to honour the members of the group, and Scott feels that just as the audience is moved by the performances of those he works with, so are the lives of the performers enriched by having a creative outlet. “I knew that their life and their journey to be in the room with me had been a very hard one and I respected that. I’ve been moved to tears and beyond to know that the little things that I do with them help in some way.”

Thinking about Working for a Better World? Are you thinking about volunteering in a developing country? If so, Comhlámh has published just the book for you. Working for a Better World: A Guide to Volunteering in Global Development, launched in October, is the first comprehensive guide to overseas volunteering opportunities for Irish people and is packed full of invaluable tips drawn from research conducted with former volunteers, volunteer placement organisations, and host communities. Working for a Better World is designed to help a volunteer along every step of the overseas experience. It puts international volunteering within the wider context of development, giving the volunteering experience more impact. Its detailed directory, which sets out comprehensive information on over 110 organisations involved in arranging international volunteer placements, allows prospective volunteers to choose the best volunteering placement. Other volunteers who have paved the way in developing countries offer the benefit of their experiences through a wealth of testimonials and advice. Finally, the guide’s invaluable travel resources let new volunteers plan the practical details of an

Predicting the Rain. One prediction about South Asian monsoons is easy - most years, summer rains will bring floods and cause tragedy somewhere. It is far less easy, however, to predict where exactly the tragedy will strike. Part of the problem is an unwillingness among the regions' governments to share information on the rivers which rush from the Himalayas through Nepal, India and Bangladesh. A new project offers hope for those at risk, through a pilot project which will share real time water level and rainfall data. These tentative first steps are too late for the 2,000 who died in floods last year, but may help millions more predict where and when the flood will strike.

Flatulent

Rice? Scientists have long recognised the contribution that flatulent cows make to global warming. Now it emerges that Asian rice fields emit even more methane than cattle. Researchers have discovered that microbes which live near the roots of rice plants are responsible for the release of up to 100 million tonnes of methane each year, compared to around 60 - 70 million tonnes from domestic livestock. While that represents a significant contribution to global warming, the amount is pretty puny compared with, for example, the 5.8 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted each year in the US.

overseas trip.Unlike many guides, Working for a Better World also gives advice on what to do when volunteers come home, making sure that a volunteering placement is a rewarding lifetime experience and does not end on touchdown in Ireland. The guide is accompanied by a website, www.volunteeringoptions.org. Both of these resources form part of Comhlámh's Volunteering Options programme, which concentrates exclusively on the area of volunteering in developing countries. Copies of the book are available for purchase from Comhlámh's Dublin office, price €10, and from bookshops nationwide (€13). For more information, please contact Barry Cannon (barry@comhlamh.org or Tel: (01) 478-3490).

IN! WIN! WIN! W pies of Working For a 5 co To win one of extremely , answer this Better World tion: difficult ques is book? authors of th Who are the to l the answer Please emai g or h. am focus@comhl

Beijing Platform for Action: Beijing+10 2005 The 10-year review of the Beijing Platform for Action took place at the annual meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in New York in March. In spite of US opposition, the BPFA was reaffirmed in its entirety by the UN, and remains a core human rights document, committing governments to policies and programmes of radical, transformative actions aimed at bringing about substantive equality between women and men.

Flood or Drought Cholera Loves Both! Not only does climate change threaten unpredictable droughts and storms but the new weather patterns may help spread cholera and other diseases. Studies of Bangladeshis’ medical records reveal a link between floods, droughts and the transmission of cholera.

Words by Markham Nolan

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For 30 years, Comhlámh (Irish for ‘solidarity’ and pronounced ‘colaw-ve’) has been educating and campaigning for global justice in solidarity with the developing world. Our members and volunteers challenge the root causes of injustice and inequality - globally and locally. You can join in campaigns: ● ● ●

But these breakthroughs only happen because people - like you make justice matter and demand change.

for trade justice, against racism, for aid that makes a difference.

Comhlámh can also offer advice on overseas volunteering.

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