Last night, the Northwest Fair Trade Coalition met to discuss future plans and events and how to build momentum for the fair trade movement in Portland. We were especially lucky to have guests from Jubilee Oregon and Oregonians Against Trafficking Humans (OATH) with us. Jubilee is a global debt relief movement and OATH mobilizes Oregonians to eradicate human trafficking in the state.
Some may wonder what these two seemingly different organizations would be doing at a meeting about the fair trade movement. However, as the meeting began, the conversation drifted to the broad issue each organization exists to address: economic injustice.
More and more we see the value of working together with like minded organizations to bring awareness to global economic justice issues on a large scale here in Portland.
All organizations present have recognized the inequality in the global economic system and are making efforts to change it. Fair trade groups such as AWAZ and Equal Exchange are working at the grassroots level – incorporating justice throughout the supply chain, starting from the bottom up at the level of individual purchases and improving the way those purchases impact producers.
Jubilee Oregon is working on the macro level, by focusing on relieving the unjust debt of impoverished nations. The debt that is often caused by corrupt governments, usurious interest rates and unfair requirements and systems are not allowing countries to be independent and take care of the needs of their people, keeping them endlessly in poverty without food, clean water and education, much less infrastructure.
Then there are organizations like OATH. OATH is dealing with the reality that economic injustice creates. When these impoverished nations have so little recourse and so few opportunities for advancement, the people’s desperation can create a powerful slavery. At its root, much of human trafficking is caused by severe poverty that traffickers take advantage of.
Creating partnerships like these, between social, justice, fair trade and other organizations will help grow not just a movement but a whole new global social system that empowers communities to be economically secure and culturally strong, thereby accomplishing justice and the goals of each organization.
We at AWAZ are excited to have these new partners on board and are grateful for the insights and wisdom they have already contributed. We look forward to our future working together.
To learn more about Jubilee and debt relief, visit http://www.jubileeusa.org/truth-about-debt/why-drop-the-debt.html for clear and compelling information.
OATH has an excellent explanation of human trafficking locally and globally and what Oregonians can do about it: http://www.mcso.us/public/human_trafficking/what_is.asp. Be sure to take their pledge on the home page too.
No comments:
Post a Comment