The Jubilee Blog

Report from Haiti: “Clorox” hunger, the modern-day guillotine?

by Mark Schuller

July 14, 2008

It’s Bastille Day, the commemoration of the French Revolution, when the frustrated masses lopped off the heads of the callous and aloof monarchy who reportedly said “let them eat cake” in response to news of bread shortages.

The French bourgeoisie who took to arms were fed off of the backs of slave labor, particularly from a country that was to become the second free republic in the Americas forged by slaves who had the audacity to believe that the Revolution’s slogan of liberty, equality, and fraternity applied to them as well.

Digital Nun Blogs on the Convention for the Common Good

 By SISTER JUDY Posted on July 15, 2008

Hello Everyone.

I wanted to take some time to tell about my weekend at the Convention for the Common Good. This is what it was about: “Over 800 Catholics and faith leaders across the country gathered in Philadelphia this summer to engage with elected officials and develop a Platform for the Common Good. The Convention for the Common Good is only the beginning. We invite you to join the movement.”

I went there with Srs. Lisa Paffrath and Betty Sundry. Since I usually travel alone to these things, it was nice to have some people from my community with me. They were registered to attend the conference, but the reason I was there was to host a table to promote the Providence Companions in Mission program. So, as an exhibitor I did not get into all the talks, but I caught the spirit of the event, and got to meet some very dedicated people to the causes of faith based justice. I also got to hear a presentation by Sr. Helen Prejean, author of “Dead Man Walking” and two other books. She was as dynamic and captivating as she could be and if the only thing I did there was to hear her talk, the trip would have been worth it.

New loans are not the answer, G8 told

By The Jubilee Debt Campaign

July 4, 2008

Debt campaigners from around the world have called on G8 leaders to face up to their role in creating the food crisis and climate change, as they meet in Japan.

They call on the G8 to cancel the debts of those countries most seriously affected by the food crisis, and not to run up new debts in trying to solve the problems of food price rises and climate change.

Both the food crisis and climate change will feature heavily on the G8's agenda on Monday. But campaigners fear that World leaders may try to alleviate both challenges with fresh loans.

The World Bank will seek endorsement for its Climate Investment Funds - two funds which aim to give upfront money to poor countries for adaptation to "clean" technology and mitigation of the impacts of climate change. Both rely heavily on new lending, a position the UK Government is believed to support, but which has drawn heavy criticism from campaigners.

Vulture Culture: Campaign to Stop Vulture Funds From Preying on Small Impoverished Countries

By IAN HARTNER Beatitudes Fellow, Jubilee USA Posted on the Beatitudes Blog
June 25, 2008

Let's start at the beginning, why are these countries in debt to begin with and who do they owe the money to? Many highly impoverished poor countries ascertain debt through dictators and governments who greedily mismanaged the funds collected by the state from the people whom they serve. When a country runs out of money they have the option to borrow money from sources such as the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund. Later, after these governments have been removed from power, the country is left with large amounts of debt that can total hundreds of billions of dollars. The country can then apply for debt cancellation from their creditor, a practice that Jubilee supports in full.