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
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