Categories: uncategorized
Date: 03 July 2005 15:21:01
The Assembly Room of the Church of Scotland (see part three for mistake on venue) played host to the Christian Aid Rally. This was an event you had to pre-register for & we were lucky enough to get tickets.
The event began with West African music from a Ganahian band, which involved some drumming and wonderful singing.
The moderator of the Church of Scotland then started the event in prayer & talked about the march, making the point that as people we know that what we're calling for will be personally costly, but politicians need to be aware we are willing to pay.
Next up was Rev. Aboagye-Mensah who is the top Methodist in Ganah. He gave an inspiring talk, which was biblically based, but also made some very important political points and explained the real price of suffering as a result of poverty. The following is based on the notes I made of his talk:
He said that there tends to be a fear of the poor and a fear of the consequence of indifference. Make Poverty History is about seeing the human in each other. It is for mutual benefit, rather than fear that we must demand the whole equation of Trade Justice + More and Better Aid + Debt Cancellation.
Trade is vital. Rice farmers in Ganah are losing out. They eat alot of rice, but most comes from US or Asia, although Ganahian farmers are growing enough to feed their markets. The reasons for this is they cannot afford to compete with the mass production of more industrialised countries or the advertising which the foreign imports give.
Farmers in Ganah are left with unsold rice and so their kids are taken out of school, because they can't afford the fees &, even if they can pull them together, they can't afford the uniforms. If they fall ill they can't afford to go to hospital. There is no welfare state if they lose their jobs, & in a community based on extended family the whole community then has to make sacrifice (& they do).
Ganah is like David in a David and Goliath contest with the industrialised world. They need the flexibility to choose their policies.
Africa wants to fight for freedom with us, not us trying to fight their battles without them. However if the whole package were put in place (trade, in addition to the debt relief and increased aid already promised) then they could succeed in the same way as David did against Goliath.
Just as the anti-slavery movement did, we can also make a difference. The state of the human family lies in the hands of the G8 leaders.