The Jubilee Blog

Singer-Activist Utah Phillips Dies Leaving a Legacy of Music & Justice

By monét cooper | Jubilee USA Network

Utah Phillips, activist and folk musician, died Friday May 23, 2008 of congestive heart failure. His daughter Morrigan was a fellow here at Jubilee. Jubilee board member Rita Jankowska-Bradley, in Missoula, Mont., remembers Utah as a man whose message of peace and justice was as big as his heart. Rita worked with Utah to get one of his songs on Jubilee USA’s Break the Chains! CD. Below is the message Rita sent to Nathan and I here at Jubilee:

I am announcing with a heavy heart that our dear friend for the poor and oppressed, Utah Phillips has passed. One of his songs graced the Break the Chains Album.

I just gave an introduction to Mark Ross, who Utah embraced and nurtured. Mark is a folksinger who came to Missoula for a May Day celebration, re-enactment of the free speech fight some 99 years later, which included past and current struggles. I was asked to speak and so I chose Global Empire and Debt as my first topic. I later introduced the Utah Phillips benefit concert. 

Not only did Utah give his song to the Break the Chains! CD but also stood against Gulf War I in Butte with all our folks who became the TAPS (Taking Action for Peaceful Solutions) group. I was blessed to know this soul—for the oppressed and those who disobeyed for justice.

Peace and love,
Rita Jankowska-Bradley

For more on Utah Phillips, check out the Sacramento Bee's remembrance of his 'colorful' legacy and a tribute website.

The Memorial Service for Utah Phillips will be held Sunday, June 1 at 10a.m. in Nevada City Little League Park in Pioneer, Nevada city, Utah.

Kenya's Debt Has Already Been Paid

(Thanks Daniel here at Jubilee and Thomas at AFSC for the post)

Questionable debt a more urgent crisis than others
By Dominic Odipo  Op-Ed in The Standard

There are many strange and ridiculous stories that have sprouted out of Kenya’s unholy experience with its public or national debt. One of the most ridiculous of these goes all the way back to 1953 at the height of the Mau Mau rebellion for Kenya’s independence.

During that year, the colonial government borrowed, on behalf of the Kenyan people, more than Sh500 million [Blog the Debt Note: 1 Dollar = 61 Kenyan Shillings, so a little more than $8 million]  to be repaid by us, with interest, in future. The money was borrowed to enable the colonial government to buy specialised military aircraft from Europe with which it would bomb the Aberdare Forest and kill or maim Mau Mau freedom fighters who were believed to be hiding there.

At Independence in December 1963, the Kenyatta-led government inherited all the loans that had been contracted by the colonial government, including this one. And so, over the years, we have been paying off — through our noses — a loan that was contracted to acquire the military capability to kill our own people!

Jubilee South Statement on Haiti

HAITIAN PEOPLE NEED DEBT CANCELLATION AND REPARATIONS NOW!

Jubilee South/Americas joins its voice to that of Congressional, religious, and social leaders and organizations from throughout the United States who are calling on the U.S. Congress and government to take urgent action to expedite unconditional debt cancellation and help return to the people of Haiti, control over their own destiny and the fundamental policy choices of their government.

We reject in particular the cynical response of U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Legislative Affairs, Kevin Fromer, who replied to a Congressional request for urgent cancellation or a debt service moratorium, in the wake of recent food-rioting in Haiti, by stating that “there is no provision in HIPC that would allow Haiti to come to Completion Point now.”  Perhaps unintentionally, Mr. Fromer pointed his finger straight at the heart of the matter:  more of the very same policies that the Haitian people have experienced for decades, will not solve the problem.

In Indonesia: Debt NGO Urges Debt Audits

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A non-governmental organization urged the government to conduct special audits on the management of Indonesia`s foreign debt in order to ascertain its effectiveness from the viewpoint of the government as its user and the creditors` responsibility.

"The use of foreign debt must be audited comprehensively and transparently so that the public will have an understanding of the government`s rationale in covering state budget deficits with foreign loans," Dani Setiawan, chairman of the Coalition against Debt (KAU), said here Monday.

The public needed to know not only the benefits of foreign debt but also that the indebtedness made Indonesia susceptible to creditor country policies that could have a negative impact on the nation`s social, economic, cultural and environmental conditions, he said.

From Tom Ricker at the Quixote Center

Dear friends:

As many of you know since May 2, I no longer work at the Quixote Center. It has been a joy working with you all!

Solidarity Cyclers 2008: Riding for self-determination, environmental sustainability and economic liberation in Central America and the Caribbean (plus some other stuff)

The 160 mile bit!  This is the main attraction - and yes the absurdly pretentious ride theme was my idea!  In a little less than two weeks, May 24-26 to be exact, Teams Quixote and CISPES will join forces for one more epic ride. 

If you missed it last year - here is the video of Solidarity Cyclers 2007! So once again I am putting my body on the line in an effort to encourage your support for some great work happening in Haiti. (So a little dramatic, but I'm really not getting any younger you know ?)

Specifically funds raised go to support reforestation in Gros Morne and human rights in Port au Prince, Haiti.

Many of you no doubt have heard that there is a food crisis in the world and that Haiti has been hit particularly hard.   The price of food in Haiti has risen 50% over the last few months and prices on some basic staples are twice what they were a year ago.  There are a lot of reasons why this is the case globally, and in Haiti.  There is some background on the Haiti Reborn web site. Solutions to this crisis will have to be global in nature, which means a long difficult road of reform. Within Haiti though part of the solution must be revitalizing domestic production. 

As Rising Food Prices Ignite Social Unrest in Haiti, Members of Congress, Faith Leaders, Development Advocates Urge Immediate Debt Cancellation

Today, Jubilee USA and partner organizations advocating for stopping payments Haiti must make to development banks released a press statement responding to U.S. Treasury's inaction on Haiti. Currently, Haiti remains the most impoverished country in the Western hemisphere and is in need of debt cancellation to address, among other things, the current food crisis in the country.

Leading Congressional Haiti Advocates Disappointed by Treasury Department’s Refusal to Support Accelerated Cancellation or Moratorium on Payments for Haiti

American Friends Service Committee * Foreign Policy in Focus*
Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti * Jubilee USA Network * Partners In Health * The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Contact: Neil Watkins, Jubilee USA, 202-421-1023

WASHINGTON – With food prices on the rise in Haiti and social unrest in the impoverished nation growing, today Members of Congress, religious and civil rights leaders, and prominent development advocates issued an urgent call to the U.S. Administration to support immediate debt cancellation for the struggling nation.

In February 2008, 54 Members of Congress signed a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, urging him to expedite debt cancellation for Haiti, or stop payments until such a time as the debt is written off. 

The letter was circulated by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), a senior Member of the Financial Services Committee and Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), the Republican Ranking Member. In a letter released today by Haiti advocacy groups, Kevin Fromer, the Assistant Secretary of Treasury for Legislative Affairs, rejected the Congressional request for expedited support or a moratorium, stating: “there is no provision in HIPC that would allow Haiti to come to Completion Point now.”

Chain Breaking On The 10th Anniversary of Jubilee

By Neil Watkins, Jubilee USA National Coordinator

May 18, 2008, BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND—I am writing from Birmingham, England, where I am for the 10th Anniversary celebration of the G-8 Summit held in this city. 

More than 70,000 Jubilee campaigners formed a human chain around the Birmingham Convention Center on May 16, 1998, foisting the global debt crisis onto the agenda of world leaders in a serious way. Today, I had the privilege to relive that moment and to demand further action on the unfinished agenda on debt with about 1,500 Jubilee UK supporters from all over the UK.

The day began, appropriately, in church. About a dozen churches across town held special Jubilee services this morning. I attended services at the Birmingham Christian Centre, a lively, big congregation in the Pentecostal tradition. More than 500 people were there — a beautiful multicultural mélange of people.

After about 30 minutes of joyous singing, praise, and prayer, the service started with Pastor Barry Killick reminding us all of the reason we were there this morning. “You can’t get nearer to the heart of God than when you are reaching out to those in need.” He then turned it over to Stephen Rand, our friend and the co-chair of Jubilee Debt Campaign UK, himself a Baptist preacher.

Stephen delivered a brilliant guest sermon on Jubilee. He reminded us that in the Bible, lending was meant to benefit the borrower, not the lender. He reflected on the themes of ownership, trust, fair dealing, redemption, new start, and freedom of Leviticus 25. He reminded us of the victories of the past decade: Thanks to debt relief, more than 9 million children are in school, who weren’t before. He also told us that with expanded debt cancellation, 3 million more children could live past their fifth birthday.

Coming out of that lively service, I was nearly filled up with Jubilee spirit. But there was much more to come.

Haiti Report & Discussion: Addressing Root Causes of Current Food Crisis

 Rainbow PUSH, Miami Dade County Community Relations Board , Jubilee USA, TransAfrica Forum, and The Institute for Policy Studies Present: A Briefing and Trip Report

Featuring Members of a recent Rainbow PUSH delegation to Haiti including:  Marlene Bastien (Haitian Women of Miami); Rev. Dr. Harold Vieux (Miami Dade County); and Emira Woods (FPIF/IPS).  Moderated by WPFW's Yves Dayiti.

WHEN: Tuesday,  May 20 @ 11:00am - 12 :30PM

WHERE: Institute for Policy Studies
1112 16th St. NW, Suite 600; Washington, DC 20036

Background
Haiti, the first country in the African world to defeat colonialism, grew rice and exported food 30 years ago.  Today, widespread hunger and political unrest have severely destabilized the Caribbean nation.

Reverend Jesse Jackson recently led a delegation of 23 religious, political, and Haitian-American leaders to bear witness to the crisis in Haiti and recommend action strategies for the U.S. and the international community.  Recommendations include the need for food and agricultural development as well as debt cancellation, fair trade, and immigration reform.

Speakers
Marleine Bastien is the founder and Executive Officer of Fanm Ayisyen Nan Miyami (FANM). 

Rev. Dr. Harold Vieux is Chair of the Miami Dade County Community Relations Board and Assistant Pastor of Trinity Church. 

Emira Woods is Co-Director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies.

Moderator
Jean Yves Point-du-Jour also known as Yves Dayiti  hosts a weekly bilingual Haitian show,  “Konbit Lakay” aired Saturday evenings on Pacifica's WPFW 89.3 FM.

For more than four decades, the Institute for Policy Studies has transformed ideas into action for peace, justice, and the environment. It is a progressive multi-issue think tank.

The RainbowPUSH Coalition is a progressive organization fighting for social change. As a mighty coalition of conscience; workers, women and people of color have the power to make the American Dream a Reality!

TransAfrica Forum is the oldest and largest African American human rights and social justice advocacy organization promoting diversity and equity in the foreign policy arena and justice for the African World.

Jubilee USA Network is an alliance of churches, diverse faith communities, and labor, environmental, solidarity, and community organizations. They aim to build a grassroots movement to achieve the complete cancellation of debt owed by countries with high levels of human need, the cancellation of odious debt, and an end to the imposition of economic policies as a condition for debt relief.

The Office of Community Advocacy (OCA) is charged with making Miami-Dade County a more unified community -- free from sectarianism and prejudice. OCA promotes equity, respect and diversity and works diligently toward that goal by encouraging positive interchanges and dialogue.

U.S. URGED TO REFORM FOREIGN AID

WASHINGTON, May 8 (OneWorld) - More than 800 development   and human rights activists are gathering here this week, developing  and calling on Congress to implement new strategies to tackle world poverty and hunger. READ FULL ARTICLE

REPORT: Food Crisis Reversing Rise of Middle Class in Latin America

The global food crisis is unraveling economic advances  made in recent years by large sections of the poor working classes of Latin America, reports the U.N.'s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. READ FULL ARTICLE