MARY ROBINSON on HUMAN RIGHTS FUNCTIONAL LITERACY in WEST AFRICA SAVING the FAMILY FARM W V Boston, MA021 We 26 MAIN OFFICE ©2003 Oxfamamerica

Oxfam ExchangeWINTER 2003

MARY ROBINSON ON HUMAN RIGHTS FUNCTIONAL LITERACY IN WEST AFRICA SAVING THE FAMILY FARM W V Boston, MA021 We 26 MAIN OFFICE ©2003 OxfamAmerica. three times annually. Allmaterial Oxfam Exchange Graphic Designer JEFF DEUTSCH A KEVIN PEPPER Editor JENNIFER WILDER OX 1 W [email protected] 8 Union, Local285. by Oxfam employees are represented hunger, andsocialinjustice. creating lasting solutionsto poverty, Oxfam Americaiscommitted to Magdalena Villarreal Kitt Sawitsky John Riggan Mary Racelis Pe Janet McKinley Jennifer Leaning W Gr Kate Bradley J.Greenwald Bennett Freeman David Doniger Susan Clare Michael Carter John Calmore David Bryer L. David Brown Chester Atkins Akwasi Aidoo President Ra Chair Barbara D.Fiorito BOARD OFDIRECTORS OXF o Wa 1 olume 3,Number1 [email protected] 00/77-OXFAM ssociate Editor 12 endy Johnson ASHINGTON OFFICE inter 2003

te ymond C.Offenheiser Service EmployeesService International shington, DC20036 USA F r C.Munson

AM AMERICA AM EXCHANGE 1 6th St.NW st Street esw old 1 is published 1-1206 USA JENNIFER WILDER/OXFAM AMERICA Children inTheGambia Cover photo:

8 contents 14 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 10 TO W MARY ROBINSON ONHUMANRIGHTS EMERGENCIES GLOBAL PEACE PRIZE OX LETTERS TO THEEDITOR RIGHT NOW –OXFAM ONIRAQ IN THEBOLIVIANANDES CULTURE ANDDEVELOPMENT NEWS SHORTS THE POWER OFREADING ORKING TOGETHER

F SA AM INTERNATIONAL WINS 6 VE THEFAMILY FARM Iraq Dear Friends and Supporters,

December 20, 2002 – As I write to you, the US government is asking the UN Security Council for authorization to use force against Iraq. I want to share with you, our supporters, Oxfam’s concerns and our work in anticipation of a possible war. As an international humanitarian organization, Oxfam represents the rights and needs of innocent civilians and non-combatants caught up in human conflicts. We remind the world of moral and legal responsibilities to protect human life. These are some of our current concerns: right now • Two-thirds of the Iraqi population depend on a fragile food distribution system that relies on the exchange of oil revenues for imported goods. The destruction of roads and communications will cut millions off from all sources of food. • Malnutrition is widespread. Since Gulf War sanctions were imposed in 1990, nearly one quarter of all children suffer from chronic malnutrition. More than one child in ten dies before the age of five (up 160 percent in the last decade). • Sixty-five percent of Iraq’s urban water is untreated. Half a million tons of sewage flow daily into the Tigris River, the country’s main source of water. If bombing destroys the electrical system, sewage will back up into the streets – a cholera epidemic in the making.

In a private meeting with senior leaders from the US State Department, Pentagon, National Security Council, Office of the Vice President, and US Agency for International Development, Oxfam staff asserted important humanitarian principles grounded in international law (especially the Geneva Conventions), insisting on a clear and effective role for humanitarian agencies in Iraq. Oxfam has begun preparations to provide water and sanitation for possible refugee camps in Syria, Jordan, and Iran. We will have offices in Amman, Jordan and in Syria to oversee relief operations, if needed. Our water and sanitation expert has already conducted a preliminary assessment of Baghdad as a contingency preparation. Oxfam maintains that unilateral war would be harmful to world peace. Leadership through the United Nations is the very surest way to guarantee a future of diminished rather than heightened international conflict. We will continue to press the Bush administration on the importance of planning and budgeting for humanitarian aid and rehabilitation. I want to thank our many friends who support our role in this extremely difficult situation. Human rights and international legal agreements must never be sidelined, and we will advocate for them vigorously in the months ahead. I wish all of us a year and a decade of increasing peace and international cooper- ation focused on human rights and dignity for every person in every land. Sincerely, AM EXCHANGE Raymond C. Offenheiser, President F OX

3 4 OXFAM EXCHANGE run ourlives.” livelihood andto have asay inhow we food, water, ourability to gainourown all equalandthat we allhave rights to the world: therecognition that we are Oxfam stands forare truly in important “brings recognition that thethingsthat “This peaceprize,”saidStocking, ra $200,000, adiplomaandcommemo- Borders (1996). Theaward consists of and themedicalcharity, Doctors Without the UNHighCommission forRefugees; Sadaka Ogata, HighCommissioner of Secretary-General Kofi Annan(1998); Previous winners oftheprizeincludeUN tion between nations. harmony ofmankindandthe reconcilia- have madegreat contributionsto the the Peace Prizeto recognize thosewho F The SeoulPeace PrizeCultural to re South Korea. OxfamInternational was Seoul Peace Prizeat aspecialceremony in Great Britain, accepted theacclaimed Barbara Stocking, Director ofOxfam Global Peace Prize Oxfam International Wins udto,established in1992, awardsoundation, cognized for our efforts tocognized forourefforts findsolutions tive plaque.

poverty, hungerandsocialinjustice. letters and clarity. re as to [email protected] orfax 02 26 Oxfam Exchange and address andmailto Editor, and ideas. Please includeyour name We serve therighttoserve editforspace

61 11 many letters as possible,but

w We 1-1206 USA. Sendemailto elcome reader’s comments 7-728-2596. We willprint st Street, Boston, MA , OxfamAmerica, Oxfam doingaboutthis? G blame mustbeonthepeopleof trips toGuatemala…some ofthe onmany and asamedicalmissionary child duringtheGreat Depression opportunity. Iknow poverty, asa to “hammerthishome” at every corporations. Your publicationseems of affluentnationsandlarge the worldare duesolelybecause I wonderifalltheproblems of full picture? problem, thenwhynotincludethe look forcausationtoendthe atissue.If you planto the country in problem isoutrageouscorruption capitalist countries.Some ofthe OXFAM We by probably elsewhere isnotallcaused poverty andhungerinAfrica underline thefactthatalotof confused. It nopurposeto serves “Exchange” leftmealittle newsletter principles butyour recent Oxfamand I dosuport R Barbara Stocking isgreeted by membersofthewomen's weaving group (UMBVS) in ajistan, India,duringhervisitin2002. uatemala-mainly themen. What is

the environment ordeveloped disagree onmanypoints… J ames L. Scruggs Jr.ames L.Scruggs MARION, AL J anet Tullo involving meinthiswork. nutritional value. Thank you for alternative crops, oneswith families istoshiftgrowing advice tothesecoffeegrowing system,thesmartest our nervous effects oflong-termcaffeineuseon more aboutthenumerous harmful caffeine from theirdiets.Aswe learn educate mypatientstoeliminate r the United States are muchtoo the otherendofthisexchange, we in just onecrop andjustonebuyer. On r have beenobvious toall,istheover course, thedanger, whichshould inhumane effectsonmarkets. Of capitalism canhave suddenand interesting tomeintermsofhow The Fair Trade Coffeecampaignis eliant oncoffee.Asachiropractor, I eliance of a country orregion on eliance ofacountry D BLOWING ROCK, NC avid B.Dauphine emergencies r tinue torely ontraditionalmeansofcoping–untilall water. Women andyounger children remain homeandcon- child takestherest oftheherd inanotherdirection seeking up; thehusbandtakessomecattleinonedirection; anolder H begins,” saysMichael Delaney, Director ofOxfamAmerica’s deaths from contaminatedwater. iswhenfamine “This normally r time-tested copingstrategies:familiesusewatersources Communities exposedtofrequent resort to watershortages them – edible roots andgrasses.Herders watchtheiranimalsdieslowly infront of spread. familieshuntfor Longlinesforbasicstaplesspringupincities,whilerural crops have graduallywithered orfailedtoappear. Food pricessoarasshortages The warningsignsoffamineare alwaysthesame:regular rainfallhasceasedand to meetbasicfoodneeds. to fightthedisease,andillnesstakesaheavytollincommunitystruggling to thenextgeneration.Men andwomenweakened by AIDSneedextranutrition produce foodand earnmoney, thepeoplewithskillsneededtobepassedon percent ofthe population. Most oftheseare working adults–thepeoplewho presence ofHIV/AIDS.In southernAfrica,infectionratesrangefrom 20to38 There have beenfaminesbefore, butthisisthefirstcompoundedby thewidespread have promised lessthanhalfofwhatisneededtoprevent widespread famine. by Africa. Nearly 38millionAfricanswillrequire outsidefooddonations Wi Disaster inAfrica F inevitable water shortages thatlieahead. inevitable watershortages create sustainablewatersour potatoes. We African growing Enset, orfalsebananas,astaplefoodresistant todrought. In southern for plantingwhenrainsreturn. In Ethiopia, we have helpedcommunitiesstart O They are well-positioned toknow whichcommunitiesandfamilies are theneediest. organizations. bring infoodanddistributeitthrough ourexistingpartner by Oxfam hasaworking presence inallofthecountriesaffected OX esources run out.” esources run amine –TheSignsofanApproaching umanitarian Response program. “Families begintobreak ur nextfocusisonlong-termrecovery, providing seedsandtoolstobeready

despread drought haswithered crops from Ethiopia tosouthern early in 2003 – or they will face starvation. Donating countries early in2003–ortheywillfacestarvation. F drought across Africa.Our firstresponse hasbeento AM’S RESPONSE countries, we have takensimilarstepstointroduce drought-resistant sweet their savings,really, as animalsrepresent accumulatedwealth. eserved foranimals.Result: illnesses andsome eserved continue ourlong-termprojects toshore upirrigationsystemsand ces thatcanhelpcommunities withstandthe to Rift Valley, Ethiopia–These women losttheircrops andanimals

the drought andare now livingwithrelatives.

5 OXFAM EXCHANGE OUTSIDE VOICE

MARYROBINSON EGI ON HUMAN RIGHTS

Her Excellency Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland from 1990-97, served as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 1997 to 2002. Widely recognized as one of the world’s most eloquent and courageous defenders of human rights, she was recently appointed Honorary President of Oxfam International. As High Commissioner, Mary Robinson pursued accountability for violations of economic and social rights, as well as civil and political rights. Her term helped increase the visibility of human rights violations associated with the spread of HIV/AIDS and helped highlight the connection between institutionalized discrimination and poverty. She is now Director of the Ethical Globalization Initiative based in New York City. The following remarks were given by Mary Robinson on Human Rights Day in Moscow, Russia. AM EXCHANGE F OX

6 tries oftheformerSoviet Union. pieceof Apopularnew challenges ofdemocracysuch asthePhilippines orcoun- from totalitariansystemsandexploring the confusing The Declaration alsooffersguidanceforsocieties emerging networks, orenvironmental protection. of globalneighborhoods,whetherintermstrade,computer Africa. It provides amoralunderpinningforthedevelopment east Asiaandthestrong senseofcommunityfoundthroughout The Declaration distilsthewisdomofgreat traditionsof ing incompleteorunbalancedintheUniversal Declaration. “ rights. Neither shouldtheserightsbenegatively considered This isnoinvitationtoanarchy orunbridled individual in ademocraticsociety. r guarantee freedoms shallsometimesbelimitedby lawssolelyto recognizesThe 29tharticle –explicitlythatrightsand free andfulldevelopment ofhisorher personalityispossible. has dutiestotheircommunityinwhichalonethe everyone individual personinthecommunity, recognizing that thenplacethe The Declaration's 28thand29tharticles adequate standard ofliving,toeducation. ingovernment,tion, totakepart towork andtorest, toan believe, toown property, freedom ofassemblyandassocia- v and security, toequalitybefore thelaw, tonationality, topri- human rights–tolife,liberty out the U ofthe The 30articles for thepastfiftyyears. and economicdevelopment approach tohuman rights fundamental totheUN's of people. This hasbeen development and well-being society. Ratherwe askhow toorganize societytoensure the should treat humanbeingsinorder tohave awell ordered The focusisontheindividual. We donotaskhow we spirit ofbrotherhood.”… andIwouldaddsisterhood. and conscienceshouldacttowards oneanotherina equal indignityandrights. They are endowed withreason One saysitall–“allArticle humanbeingsare bornfree and oftheindividualhumanbeing. it isthedignityandworth many covenants andconventions whichhave followed from pointoftheUniversalThe starting Declaration andofthe equirements ofmorality, publicorder, andthegeneralwelfare entitlements” inthewelfare senseoftheword. There isnoth- acy,mov tofreedom of niversal Declaration set rights we now call the rightsandfreedoms ofothersandthe ement, freedom toworshipornot I would addsisterhood. another inaspiritofbrotherhood.”… and towardsconscience andshouldact one rights. They are endowed withreason and are bornfree andequalindignity and OnesaysArticle itall–“allhuman beings a lightondistanthill… bring outthebestinusall.But formostpeople,itremains personontheplanet;itinspires andcan soul ofevery documents ofhumanhistory. It and speakstotheheart in theUniversal oneofthegreat Declaration –truly …These 50years leave merathersomber. The faultisnot for more thantwoyears. We couldalladdourown stories… not helpthepeopleofSarajevo, who endured theirown hell in CambodiaandRwanda. The lessonsofLeningrad did H Leningrad. But what lessonshave we learned? The and theendofsiegegreat Russian cityof ed thisdecadewere theliberation of Birkenau-Auschwitz r cause tocelebrate50years oftheUniversal Declaration. The tion. However, thesituationofhuman rightstodaygives no of economicandpoliticalrights;we seeitinNigeria, where of Suharto, afterhispeopledemandedafairer distribution fight forsocialjusticeinLatinAmerica;we seeitinthefall demand forrightsintheflowering ofdemocracyandthe rights. Only the rightsthemselves are universal. We seethe There isnouniversal modelforimplementinghuman civil andpoliticalrights. encompassing economic,socialandculturalrights, application offundamentalhumanrightsprinciples– jargon –“good governance” –isreally acommonsense easons are obvious. Two ofthe50thanniversaries celebrat- olocaust inEurope didnotteachustoavoid thegenocides congratulation andcelebra- panied by atendencyfor this decadehasbeenaccom- A rashof50thanniversaries against exploitation. indigenous peoplestruggle throughout the worldas andwe seeit so few; and wealth are for reserved people wonderwhypower

7 OXFAM EXCHANGE WORKING TOGETHER TO SAVE THE FAMILY FARM

by Kristina Cañizares

Why would anyone want to be a farmer? Seven days a week you get up before the sun, the roosters already going crazy in the yard. All day long you work, planting, plowing, rounding up the hog that tunneled under the fence during the night. If it’s sunny, you sweat. If its snowy, you freeze. If its rainy, you get wet.

Yet farmers across the country are A cooperative can also work together fighting with their whole souls to keep to create new markets. Key’s coopera- on farming. They are men and women tive, the Flint River Farmer’s Coop, with farming in their blood, who can bought a building and turned it into a trace cultivation back through their farmer’s market where they can sell families to the days of ox and plow. their produce directly to consumers. Now they find their livelihoods Patchwork Family Farms, a cooperative endangered, and the only way they can of hog farmers in Missouri, quickly survive is together. found that they had to create their own The family farm has been in decline markets because direct competition ever since the 1930s, when 25 percent with big business was impossible. of the US population were family They did this by establishing relation- farmers. Now only 2 percent remain; ships with local businesses, everyone the rest have been pushed out as farms from restaurants and independent KRISTINA CAÑIZARES KRISTINA Above: The Patchwork Family Farms Cooperative allows grow bigger and more of them are grocery stores to soup kitchens and dedicated hog farmers like Karl Weilhardt to stay in the business owned by massive corporations rather church groups. and raise hogs using healthy, sustainable practices. than individuals. These corporations Rhonda Perry is one of the founders of Facing left: Thong Le and his family are members of the have deep pockets and tremendous Patchwork and a lifelong hog farmer. Hmong American Community Cooperative, which helps them political clout, against which no one market their vegetables to buyers throughout California. “We aren’t just out to sell a few hams,” farmer can compete. Facing right: Johnnie and Ulysses Marabel grew their farm from says Perry. “We are working to build a 60 to 650 acres over the last 50 years. They were able to pro- But farmers have found a way to beat community around food justice and vide college educations for all ten of their children, and during the odds; they are forming cooperatives. food systems. Our consumers are our the peanut harvest they provide jobs to the local community. While each farmer continues to work allies, and the more they know about his land individually, they organize as a what we do the more they value us.” collective and find strength in numbers. A growing number of consumers do Cornelius Key is a farmer and organizer recognize the advantages of family for the Federation of Southern farms. Numerous studies have found Cooperatives, an organization that small farms to be more efficient and supports black family farmers across productive and better for the environ- the southeast. He believes that cooper- ment because the farmer is more atives are the future of family farming. invested in the long-term health of the land. Besides, the quality of the product “The thing about a coop is that we can far exceeds anything a factory farm buy and sell together,” explains Key. could produce – one bite of a Patchwork “Together we pay less for what we buy porkchop and you can taste the effort and get a higher price for what we sell and care that went into its production. because we have more to negotiate with. On our own we’re too small.” AM EXCHANGE F OX

8 KRISTINA CAÑIZARES KRISTINA KRISTINA CAÑIZARES KRISTINA

“You’ve got more pride in something ing farmers through its cooperative and their future, their homes and their you own yourself,” claims Karl and training center. jobs. Oxfam supports cooperatives like Weihardt, another Patchwork member the Federation, Patchwork, and the “The Hmong people have always and a dedicated hog farmer. “I take HAC because without them, many of farmed,” says Chouko Thao, director good care of my farm because it’s all I their members would already be con- of the HAC. “They are not familiar have, and I care about what the demned to poverty, struggling to with the technology and markets here. American people eat. I wouldn’t sell afford the food they once produced. The cooperative and training center anything that I wouldn’t put on the give them a place to turn for informa- “Farmers are part of the foundation of table for my family.” tion and a way to learn from each America,” says Weilhardt, scratching Cooperatives also provide important other’s knowledge.” his favorite sow behind the ears. “We’re technical and financial support. It is far independent, but not so independent The cooperative helps farmers with harder for family farms to find farm that we can’t work together.” marketing and access to land and credit, loans and extension agents appropriate while the training center educates Kristina Cañizares is a freelance writer to their size. Most of them just service farmers about appropriate technology based in the San Francisco Bay area. large farms. and safe use of agrichemicals. Many cooperatives work with training “We are preserving the Hmong way of centers, like the one established by the life,” says Thao. “Farming gives us a Hmong American Community in sense of pride and accomplishment. Fresno, California. The Hmong are an For many Hmong it is the only way indigenous people from Laos who they know to make a living.” arrived as refugees in the 1960s and are one of the poorest ethnic minorities in It is the same story for farmers across the country. The HAC works to the country: farming is their way of life improve their lives, mainly by support- and their only job skill. When they lose their land, they lose their history AM EXCHANGE F OX

9 THE POWER OF AMERICA JENNIFE WILDER/OXFAM READING by Jennifer Wilder

If you are very poor, you don’t save for a rainy day. You eat whatever you can get. In isolated rural villages of The Gambia such as Ndrameh Jooka, food availability is tied to the seasons. Relative plenty during the dry season gives way to the rainy or “hungry” season. But, there is never abundance, and saving is a foreign concept. AM EXCHANGE F

OX Right: Each member of the group now has her own green savings passbook from a bank in a town several miles away. One woman has even opened a savings 10 account for her daughter – the first ever in their knowledge. The daily toil of the women of By linking literacy classes with Ndrameh Jooka has changed little for opportunities to earn money, ADWAC The difference made by centuries. Long days include seven or provides a powerful incentive for the literacy and making money, eight hours pounding millet, and women to attend classes and, crucially, in the women’s own words: many more drawing and carrying for their husbands to allow them water, farming, cooking, and other to participate. chores. The Gambia is one of the “I used to take my baby to the clinic and Women in dozens of villages are poorest countries in the world, with know nothing about what the doctor organized into classes or “kafos,” low agricultural output, crude did. Now I know how much my baby which become supportive cooperatives technology, and poor community weighs and I can take a part in my child’s in which literacy is applied to income- organizational networks. health care.” generating projects and to some But just nine months ago, an Oxfam- reflection on how life is organized “I can remember my children’s birthdays.” funded organization, ADWAC (Agency and how it might be improved. for the Development of Women and In Ndrameh Jooka, kafo members creat- “When I get on the bus, I can make sure Children) began training women in ed a graph of the amount of money the driver doesn’t cheat me and charge Ndrameh Jooka in reading, basic and food they have available according me too much for my trip.” math, and skills needed to start small to the season. The “analysis” was eye- businesses. Health and nutrition are opening, as they realized the significant “I don’t have to beg my husband for key elements as well. ADWAC and difference and considered the idea of money to pay for the children’s lunches another Oxfam-funded organization, saving for harder times. As a result, vil- in school. Before, they often did not AFET (Association of Farmers, lagers weathered the most recent rainy have lunch, and that made it harder for Educators, and Traders), have started season with far less suffering than in them to learn.” variants on these training programs in earlier “hungry” seasons. hundreds of small villages throughout “My husband is happy because I don’t “This means taking charge of your life,” The Gambia, reaching thousands of pester him for money for soap.” says one member. It couldn’t happen isolated people – the majority of whom without the reflection that comes with are women. “Now I can make sure I bring the correct the power of organizing information health card with me when I take one of These women are literally transforming through reading. my children to the clinic. I never knew their lives. ADWAC asks each woman in the kafo which one to bring before.” to invest $10 Dallasis (about 50 cents US) in a community loan fund. “Before, the work of women was not ADWAC contributes three times this considered valuable. Now it is, because they are contributing to the welfare of amount. The women learn skills in the family.” soap making, tie-dying fabric, and food preservation as opportunities for “At first, the men never thought that making money for the first time in women had the capacity to read, so this their lives. With small loans, they buy has impressed them. The changes have ingredients to get started or expand a reduced some of the conflict between successful enterprise. the women and men because the The amounts of money earned so far women have their own money and don’t may be small, but the changes in have to ask for it.” women’s lives are monumental. Independence transforms their status “The kafos enable women to solve in family and community, and they problems together. We learned that become voices of authority in the village. malaria was caused by mosquitoes, so Their commitment to educating their we went to the village leader and asked that all pot holes and dumping areas be children is a promise for permanent cleared to remove the mosquitoes.” progress that one can see in their smiles and hear in their songs that celebrate education and reading. JENNIFER WILDER/OXFAM AMERICA JENNIFER WILDER/OXFAM NEWS SHORTS

“There is no doubt in my mind that Oxfam, in pursuit of its humanitarian goals, has saved countless lives and alleviated the suffering of many others.” – His Excellency Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia

Progress on Coffee Campaign The worldwide slump in the price of coffee beans that has slashed the income of more than 25 million coffee farmers around the world is the focus of Oxfam International’s “What’s That In Your Coffee” campaign. Oxfam calls on consumers, corporate and government leaders to support our Global Coffee Rescue Plan and promote the marketing of Fair Trade Certified coffee. AM AMERICA F OX His Excellency Meles Zenawi (left), Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of In just a few short months, Oxfam and collaborating Ethiopia, and Abera Tola (right), Oxfam America’s representative in Ethiopia, organizations have achieved major progress in addressing at the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa during the coffee crisis. Most recently, we were instrumental in a conference recently held by Oxfam on the global coffee crisis. lobbying both houses of Congress to unanimously pass resolutions calling for the government to adopt a global strategy “to respond to the coffee crisis with coordinated Another America is Possible activities in Latin America, Africa, and Asia to address the short-term coffee crisis and long-term rural development Many South Americans are concerned about the Free Trade needs of countries adversely affected by the collapse of Area of the Americas (FTAA), a trade agreement designed to coffee prices.” institute free trade from Canada to Chile. Numerous citizen On another front, Oxfam has generated over 120,000 organizations gathered at the site of the latest closed-door emails and postcards from consumers calling on the four meeting between trade ministers in Quito, Ecuador last major coffee companies to support the Global Coffee October. Many Oxfam partners joined to voice their oppo- Rescue Plan and pay a decent price for their coffee. In the sition to FTAA, and share insights on how trade should U.S., more than 12,000 emails were sent to Procter & work to help the poor. Alarmed by the problems experi- Gamble, makers of Folgers and Millstone coffee. These enced by workers and farmers since the North American emails generated a slight shift in P & G’s response since the Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was instituted, and con- first day of the action. cerned that the FTAA would extend these problems farther south, Oxfam’s partners across the hemisphere shared their Visit our website at www.oxfamamerica.org/coffee and join our vision for a more inclusive trade system that would protect e-community. If you help, it will make a difference in the the rights and culture of indigenous people, safeguard the lives of coffee farmers who are struggling to feed their families environment, and put people ahead of corporations. and keep their children in school. For more on the FTAA and Oxfam’s positions, visit our website at www.oxfamamerica.org.

TAKE ACTION FOR ETHIOPIA – Join Oxfam’s action to stop Nestlé, the world’s largest coffee company, from demanding $6 million from a country where 11 million people are facing famine. Go to www.maketradefair.com. A Voice for CHANGE The CHANGE Initiative is the youth leadership and advocacy component of Oxfam America’s Public Education Program, created to train and empower college students to become actively engaged in global social justice issues. Theng Xiong, a Hmong-American originally from Thailand, is a senior at St. Norbert College in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and one of many CHANGE participants com- mitted to raising awareness on his college campus about Oxfam America’s Food and Farm campaign. The main goals of the campaign are to address injustices in the U.S. food and farms system and issues facing small and minor- ity farming communities. A drawing of the Mekong River by Laotian students who participated in the We caught up with Theng and asked him about his expe- Oxfam-supported My Mekong project rience with CHANGE: A Grand Finish in Phnom Penh “These issues [food and farm] are important to me, being a refugee from Thailand and Hmong. The only way my people The 10th largest river in the world, and in Asia third only could survive was to farm. Even though my family has been to the Yangtze in China and Ganges in India, the Mekong living in America for 13 years, both my parents still farm. River sustains over 65 million people. Today, rapid economic There are about 200,000 Hmong in the United States. Many of development and conflict threaten the Mekong’s rich and my people live below the poverty level. In order to save money, diverse environment, peoples’ cultures and relationships many of the families farm in the summer so that they can eat the with other communities, and the livelihoods of the millions crops that they grew during the summer time when winter comes. who depend on the river for food, water, transport, and power. As Southeast Asia continues to develop its rich and “One important thing that I would want people to know is that diverse natural resources, the human settlements and waters I was born in a country where I was living in extreme poverty, of the Mekong River come under increasing pressure. The was denied citizenship as well as many of my human rights. I am challenge to Mekong river communities is to develop grateful that I was given a second chance in the United States. enough political strength to defend their communities from “I became a human rights activist because I was put into a overdevelopment and exploitation. situation where many of my rights as a human being were Oxfam America’s My Mekong project encouraged people to denied. I started a Human Dignity Celebration on my campus articulate their experience of Mekong development through in April of 2000. The day is reserved for people who have dealt the use of popular and creative media. My Mekong culminated with human rights issues, and we [annually] honor a member in an exhibition last October 30-November 3, 2002 in of the campus or community that has made a difference on Phnom Penh, Cambodia. behalf of human dignity. The six-month project produced a collection of photos, “Right now, I am helping my community distribute information posters, illustrations, traditional pictographs, woodcarvings, about more productive ways to farm. We have a farmer's market publications, videos and local theater productions that in Green Bay. There are a lot of Hmong families who sell their conveyed compelling messages about the damaging impact produce at the market during the summer and fall, but the of river development on their communities. families have not been doing so well because the economy is not doing well. I was surprised to see that even though there was a Participating partners of My Mekong will take their exhibitions farmers’ market, the college did not make any attempt to buy to various campaigning, public education, and environmental fresh produce from the farmers. I want my college to agree to awareness events throughout the Mekong countries, seeking help the farmers in the local area by purchasing their produce for to broaden awareness and support for more careful manage- our college cafeteria.” ment of this essential international resource.

For information about how you can connect local farms to For more information about My Mekong, visit the East your campus or communities, visit us at www.oxfamamerica.org, Asia Regional Office issues section of the OA website and download our Food and Farm toolkit. http://www.oxfamamerica.org. AM EXCHANGE F OX

13 CULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE BOLIVIAN ANDES by Kevin Pepper

As dawn creeps into the Bolivian Andes, the village malku and mama t’ halla seminars about issues such as indige- begin their journey. As elected male and female leaders of their community, nous rights and community organization, and provide training workshops to they will complete a two-month circuit of dozens of villages like their own, teach people how to petition the seeing to peoples’ needs and checking in on every aspect of their lives, Bolivian government to reform laws from ensuring that their potatoes are protected from the ensuing frost to and government programs that affect offering marital and childrearing advice. their communities. Many communities are seeing the divi- At 13,000 feet above sea level there are result, indigenous peoples are not dends of such valuable access to local no trees, only groves of rocks and spiny granted the same rights as mainstream government. In one case, a municipal vegetation that cling stubbornly to the Bolivians. Native peoples occupy the public works program had ordered rou- mountain surface to avoid the whip- lowest paying positions in society and tine repairs for the only road leading to ping winds. The villagers have adapted are consistently threatened by economic, a high-altitude indigenous community. over thousands of years, constructing social and legal discrimination. Ethnic A legal representative for the ayllus their homes with adobe and mud, and discrimination in Bolivia and neighbor- protested that this construction project cultivating hardy strains of potatoes ing countries translates into a lack of would blockade the road during the and livestock to feed their families and basic services: bad roads, inadequate peak of the harvest season, when count- bring in some desperately needed cash. health care and poor education. less villages would be transporting their goods to market. Their voice was heard, and the project timeline was altered to “To the indigenous people of the Andes,” says Oxfam account for their needs. Senior Program Officer Igidio Naveda, “culture is the root The movement to resurrect the ayllus which permeates all aspects of life. Everything relates back in the Bolivian highlands preserves an to culture – people’s knowledge, language, technology, the ancient culture, and seeks to reverse the discrimination that has impeded way they work, dress, cook, make music, how they organize local development. In the Bolivian their communities, even how they think.” Andes, the ayllu culture is the most effective structure to mobilize people to defend their rights, and strengthen The malku and mama t’halla are leaders of In 1997, Oxfam America supported their communities. their ayllu, an ancient form of commu- an initiative to bring hundreds of nity organization that predates the ayllus together under one umbrella Incan empire. Ayllus are villages organization, CONAMAQ, which brought together by ties of kinship and works through the ayllu structure to governed by community members who empower communities to organize take turns leading committees, super- themselves as a single political body vising agriculture, livestock, housing and develop a voice to articulate and construction, water distribution, and defend their rights. other community needs. CONAMAQ lends legal assistance to Indigenous peoples comprise over 76 people who need help against mining percent of the Bolivian population, and and oil operations which threaten to enjoy strong popular support in the rob them of their farming land and rural highlands and tropical lowlands. water sources. They offer legal and LILIAM LANDEO/OXFAM AMERICA LILIAM LANDEO/OXFAM However, ayllus are not formally recog- technical assistance to the ayllus A CONAMAQ-facilitated workshop to train ayllu leaders in nized by the Bolivian government. As a through professional advisors, organize the highlands provinces of Bolivia. AM EXCHANGE F OX

14 AM AMERICA F OX

Actress Jane Krakowski, known for her work on Broadway and role on the hit TV series Ally McBeal, recently visited Oxfam partners in Guatemala to draw attention to the humanitarian toll of the global coffee crisis. Join the Oxfam Pledge Partner Program, today!

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