O.N.E - January 2010

Oxfam News E-Magazine

2 O1 O

Jan uary

F r i d ay 星 期 五

己 丑 年 十 一 月 大

一月

十 七日

On this first day, we look back at 2OO9 Just back from the UN Summit in Copenhagen, Lot Felizco talks about life as an Oxfam campaigner in 2009…

What did Oxfam Hong Kong get done in 2009? O.N.E revisits the year, month by month.

Hope

By Lot Felizco

In the Philippines, where I am

50 per cent; and that nearly 400

the adaptation negotiations. We

a way that it has heightened even

from, the Feast of the Three Kings

million people, mostly in developing

supported projects in Bangladesh,

more the atmosphere of distrust and

is celebrated on the first Sunday of

countries, are likely to be affected by

Indonesia, and the Philippines on

divisiveness that plagues the climate

January. This Feast marks the end of

disasters such as floods, storms and

community-based adaptation. And in

negotiations.

the Christmas season; people start

drought.

Hong Kong, we organised many public

As Shorbanu Khatun, a climate

And so we set forth with various

events throughout the year, supported

migrant at the summit with Oxfam said:

directing their attention to the new year.

initiatives to raise awareness on

a motion debate in the Legislative

“I came all the way from a displaced

Yes, it is the beginning of another

climate change and poverty, and

Council, organised a celebrity visit to

persons camp on the flooded coast

new year, a time that lends itself

to urge people to lend their voice

Bangladesh to witness the impacts

of Bangladesh to see justice done for

well to reflection, to looking back

to the call for an agreement to be

of climate change there, and helped

the 45,000 people made homeless by

and planning ahead. We began

reached at the UN climate summit

establish the Coalition to Combat

cyclone Aila. How do I tell them their

the last year with a firm resolve to

held in Copenhagen in December

Climate Change. The Oxfam Trailwalker

misery has fallen on deaf ears?”

contribute to the global campaign for

2009. In Mainland China, we released

2009 also carried the theme of fighting

But we can help ensure that our

a fair, ambitious, and legally-binding

a pioneering report on how climate

climate change to fight poverty. We

leaders will eventually listen. The

climate deal that would see developed

change is affecting the country’s

highlighted how Hong Kong emits

past year was a landmark year for

countries dramatically reduce their

poor regions, and launched the ‘I Do’

twice the global per capita average

mobilisations on climate change – 18

greenhouse gas emissions as well as

campaign against climate and poverty,

of carbon dioxide, and therefore, how

million people have signed up to the

provide developing countries with

which was, incidentally, our first-ever

we, as a community, bear responsibility

call for a global deal; the 100,000-

the financing necessary to adapt to

public campaign in the Mainland.

for climate change.

strong march in Copenhagen was the

climate change impacts and to reduce

We supported national campaigns in

Given all these efforts, it is not

largest the country had ever seen. We

their own emissions. In the context of

the Philippines, Indonesia, as well as

without some heartache that I look

must say to our leaders: we are not

the painfully slow climate negotiations

in Bangladesh, and helped organise

back at how the Copenhagen summit

done yet. We must continue to act, so

that saw rich countries unwilling to

regional campaigns in southeast

failed to deliver an agreement ,

that we can continue to hope.

honour their commitments, Oxfam

A sia during key moments of the

ef fec tively pushing the timeline

said: delay kills. We warned that over

climate negotiations. We were invited

for a legally-binding deal to the

the next six years, the number of

into the official delegation of the

end of 2010. And not only that, in

people hit by climate-related disasters

Philippine s , where we provided

Copenhagen, developed countries

is expected to increase by more than

technical suppor t and advice on

tinkered with the process in such

Lot Felizco is the director of policy, campaigns and communications of Oxfam Hong Kong. In December 2009, she attended the Copenhagen summit as an adviser on the Philippine delegation. She has been based in Hong Kong with the agency since 2002.

“Climate Crisis” – a poster for a 30-second video about climate change and poverty

Lot Felizco (centre) with the team of Oxfam Hong Kong campaigners at the Copenhagen Summit (left to right): Wayne Law, Xiao Xin, Stanley So and Wang Binbin

O.N.E January 2O1O

JAN

O9

What will the year 2010 bring? This girl seems uncertain. A young student in Nghe An, Vietnam, she seems to want to know, to learn. The year 2009 marked the agency’s 20th year of working in Vietnam, and the breadth of experience was recorded in the book, Together for Change, in a Vietnamese and English edition. The agency has assisted almost 1,000,000 people in about 1,000 communities across the country.

It is the agency’s second largest programme, after mainland China.

Photo: Aidan Dockery

FEB

O9

The illustrator of this big, cuddly bear doesn't usually mark Valentine's Day. In 2009, he did, with this bear. He feels ‘the animal brings a feeling of warmth, peace and tolerance,’ and maybe that is what Fair Trade is all about. For Be My Fair Valentine, the bear featured on an Oxfam Fair Trade gift box full of chocolate, incense, giftcards and candles. www.fairtradehk.org Artist: Bigsoil

O.N.E January 2O1O

O9

MAR

These women star in Sisters on the Planet, an Oxfam film on climate change which premiered in Hong Kong on 8 March 2009, International Women's Day. www.oxfam.org.hk/climatechange

MELISSA TEACHER, LONDON, ENGLAND

SAHENA

My job is to make the

PRESIDENT, WOMEN’S COMMITTEE

children aware and empower

KUNDERTAR, BANGLADESH

them to do something. It's

There are ten disaster

not to make them think 'Oh,

committees in this area, and

this is awful', but to make

the women elected me to

them see they can have a

become the leader of ours…

voice, they can be powerful

The fact that we have united

and they can make a

to form this group is really

difference.

a matter of pride for us

Photo: Caroline/ Oxfam

women. We are not born to suffer. We are born to fight.

MURIEL

Photo: Amin/Oxfam

SENIOR MEMBER, ENVIRONMENT

MARTINA

MINISTRY, BRAZIL

FARMER, JIE, UGANDA

Women traditionally take

In the past, there were lots

care of agriculture. They

of trees and they used to

ensure the stability of the

give us lots of fruit. Now

family, they feed people, and

the land is bare… We're

they need to deal with many

experiencing extreme

things at the same time…

drought... Even the few

As supporters of their

livestock we still own aren't

families, they are the anchor

getting enough water…

of the territory. Break this

I get so anxious. There

stability, and all we'll have

aren't enough words to

left are shattered societies.

express the pain to you.

Photo: Tatiana Cardeal/ Oxfam

Photo: Geoff Sayer/Oxfam

APR

O9

In the game Make a Living, everyone has a lowpaid job. As in Monopoly, players can acquire assets, yet it is not easy: opportunities on offer may be expensive, and tax reductions may not apply. The Oxfam game is designed to be part of Hong Kong’s Liberal Studies curriculum.

To order: www.cyberschool.oxfam.org.hk/resources.php?cat=8&id=8

O.N.E January 2O1O

MAY

O9

12 May 2008 – the day of China’s massive earthquake. The agency response began within an hour. Within a month, the agency had assisted 300,000 survivors; within three months, about 600,000 people. By 12 May 2009, the agency’s HK$135 million reconstruction plan was in place. Throughout, the participatory approach remained: working together with poor people, especially with women, ethnic minorities and very remote villagers. These Qiang minority women in rural Sichuan (pictured) participate in project design.

Photo: Wang Binbin / Oxfam Hong Kong

JUN

O9

On the hot summer afternoon of 5 June, World Environment Day, we placed two human sculptures of ice in the middle of Hong Kong's Central District. Inside the ice, the words: Don't be cold-hearted and impassive – your emissions kill.

Hong Kong emits twice the global per capita average of carbon dioxide. www.oxfam.org.hk/climatechange Photo: Boogie Chiu

O.N.E January 2O1O

JUL

O9

July 2009 saw two publications: GOOD FASHION, a free guide on corporate social responsibility for Hong Kong’s huge garment industry, is available from Kwok Ho Wong (khwong @ www.oxfam.org.hk).

For the annual Hong Kong Book Fair in July, which drew about 900,000 visitors in 2009, we launched These are the Basics. Published in Chinese, the book demonstrates how hard it is for low-income countries to provide education, health care and other basic services.

To order Oxfam books: www.oxfam.org.hk/public/bookstore/list

AUG

O9

Disomenica Basanayake, 64, grows nutmeg and other spices in Sri Lanka. In the past, she sold to an intermediary, who would keep much of the profits and rarely paid on time. Nowadays, she sells directly to Fair Trade groups, and in August 2009, the spices were available at Oxfam’s FAIR TRADE PAVILION of the annual Hong Kong Food Expo. "Fair Trade has brought tremendous change to our family," she says.

"It has made our lives much more comfortable and brought smiles back to our faces… We are proud of our Fair Trade products.”

There are now over 100 Fair Trade outlets in Hong Kong: www.fairtradehk.org Photo: Au Sik Hung

O.N.E January 2O1O

SEP

O9

The last week of September 2009 was very busy for Oxfam. On the 26th, Typhoon Ketsana blasted through the Philippines and a few days later hit Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

On the 30th, two disasters hit: a massive tsunami flattened entire communities in Samoa, and a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck Sumatra. Here, Filipino families hit by Ketsana are happy to be soon receiving aid, and the Oxfam response is continuing.

To donate: www.oxfam.org.hk Photo: Oxfam

OCT

O9

Ten well-known public figures, such as Leung Man-tao (pictured), joined the call for a minimum wage. Hong Kong has one of the highest costs of living in the world, one of the largest income disparities, and a high poverty rate. In October 2008, the Hong Kong SAR Government announced that a minimum wage would be legislated.

In October 2009, the process is ongoing.

Photo: Tai Ngai Lung

O.N.E January 2O1O

NOV

O9

Oxfam Trailwalker, one of the world’s largest sports fundraising events, happens in 10 countries, but it started in Hong Kong, back in 1981, with the Gurkha soldiers. In 2009, the first two teams to finish the 100km challenge were also soldiers, this time from the Hong Kong Garrison of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. In all, 84.7% of the walkers /runners finished: the first team in 12 hours and 17 minutes and the final team in 47 hours and 53 minutes ( just seven minutes before the 48-hour cut-off). Congratulations and Thank You! www.oxfamtrailwalker.org.hk Photo: Walter Ding

DEC

O9

The Complaints Choir, a movement in about 25 cities in the world, took action in Hong Kong. A key performance was outside the Legislative Council building on 2 December, when ‘LegCo’ debated Hong Kong’s climate policy. This was just days before the UN conference in Copenhagen. Photo: (right to left) Legislator Audrey Eu, Oxfam campaigner Stanley So, and Legislator Gary Chan joined in. www.flickr.com/photos/oxfamhongkong Photo: Sam Wong

O.N.E January 2O1O

3

N e w PartnerOrganisations

Every day, Oxfam Hong Kong works alongside hundreds of groups around the world, from small NGOs to international bodies, from government departments of developing countries to community groups based in Hong Kong.

Here are 3 ‘partner organisations’ that we are supporting for the first time.

CAMBODIA CHINA

• Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee • Poverty Alleviation and Development Office of Wudu District, Gansu • Yi Hang Work Group, Yunnan International Human Rights Day, and the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee helped lead this march of participants, which included youth, labour unionists, ethnic minority people from the north-east, UN officials, government officials, members of parliament, and diplomats from the EU, France, Germany, UK and USA. The two main messages: “We All Need Freedom of Expression and Justice” and “Join Together to Embrace Diversity and End Discrimination.”

The event attracted significant attention, from the media and from the public. The Committee aims to mark the day annually with a national event, to raise awareness, to validate the call for human rights, to gain recognition in communities (among NGOs and the government) and to bring attention to emerging issues affecting people’s freedoms and livelihoods, such as the right to access land, water and other natural resources.

Founded in 1994, the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee currently has 19 NGO and association members, all of whom are independent, impartial,

10 December 2009, PHNOM PENH: About 5,000 people joined this event on the UN International Human Rights Day / Photo courtesy of Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee

non-political, non-profit, and operate in Cambodia. The Committee worked alongside 18 other coalitions, with a total participation of more than 200

In this edition of O.N.E, we highlight the Cambodian Human Rights Action

groups, to hold the event on Human Rights Day. This year was the largest

Committee, a coalition of civil society organisations, promoting human rights,

Human Rights Day March seen in Phnom Penh for many years and showed the

liberal democracy and development in the Kingdom of Cambodia.

growing concern from civil society about reductions in freedom of expression

At eight o’clock in the morning on 10 December 2009, about five thousand people walked through the streets of Phnom Penh. It was the United Nations

in Cambodia. Oxfam Hong Kong was one of 23 organisations to support the Committee.

Oxfam Books

EARTH, AIR, FIRE, WATER OX-Tales is a series of four paperback originals that highlight Oxfam’s work for the world: Earth (from land rights to farming), Air (campaigning to climate change), Fire (supporting survivors of conflict) and Water (safe water in emergencies).

OX-Tales features 38 authors – including Hanif Kureishi, Ian Rankin and Jeanette Winterson – who have donated their writing to Oxfam. In Hong Kong, the books are available at selected Dymocks, Metrobooks and Page One bookshops.

For more information, visit: www.oxfam.org.uk/books

MOKUNG

ONE

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