Oxfam America

OXFAMExchange Winter 2003

mborum — 2009-04-30T20:38:40Z

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. In this issue of EXCHANGE, we reproduce the remarks given by Ms. Robinson on Human Rights Day in Moscow, Russia.

Also in this issue, working together to save the family farm, the power of reading empowers women in The Gambia, and updates on Oxfam's work in Bolivia and in eastern and southern Africa.

Mugged: Poverty in Your Coffee Cup

mborum — 2009-06-30T22:18:49Z

Over the past five years, the price of coffee has fallen almost 70 percent from a high in 1997, to a 30-year low, in many cases, forcing coffee farming families out of business. Small coffee farmers in developing countries sell their beans for less than they cost to produce. Meanwhile, the largest coffee corporations continue to reap enormous profits.

In this report, Oxfam calls for the major players in the coffee industry to support a Coffee Rescue Plan to overcome the current crisis and create a more stable market. The report analyzes the origins and effects of collapsed coffee prices and urges American consumers to join Oxfam in bringing relief to farmers and a change to the system.

OXFAMExchange Spring 2002

mborum — 2009-04-30T21:11:13Z

On April 11, in a noise heard far beyond the borders of the Hong Kong harbor, Oxfam crushed a shipping container emblazoned with various trade injustices that Oxfam is fighting to abolish.

Amid cheers from a throng of enthusiastic supporters and international media, Make Trade Fair won the day.

Oxfam's trade campaign was launched.

Within hours of the Hong Kong debut, events were held in 25 cities including Brussels, Dublin, Geneva, Mexico City, San Salvador, and Washington, D.C. These events ranged from press conferences and symposiums to a rock concert in London’s Trafalgar Square.

Oxfam's trade campaign seeks to unite concerned citizens around the world in calling for fair trade policies that will help move millions of people out of poverty.

Nobel Prize Professor Amartya Sen, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and musician and social activist Bono were among those who endorsed the campaign. "Oxfam has got it right," said Bono. "It wouldn't cost much to change the rules of trade so that poor countries can work their way out of poverty. But the world's leaders won't act unless they hear enough people telling them."

Also in this issue of EXCHANGE, writers Frances and Anna Lappé discuss their book Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet, and we bring you updates on Oxfam's work with water and sanitation, drought in Ethiopia, and indigenous women in the highlands of Peru who are speaking out after decades of violence.

A Proposed Mine in Tambogrande, Peru: An Alternative Look

mborum — 2009-04-30T22:08:36Z

The proposed Tambo Grande mining project in northern Peru offers a stark illustration of the problems associated with large-scale mining operations in an era of deregulation and globalization. The town of Tambogrande is poor, isolated and in the heart of Peru's "El Niño" zone. It sits directly atop a major gold, zinc and copper deposit that Manhattan Minerals, a small Canadian mining multinational, is seeking to develop into an open-pit mine. Projected impacts of the mine could be severe. Construction of the mine would require the relocation of an estimated 8,000 inhabitants of a total population of between 14,000 and 16,000 people and the diversion of a local river. The project could also have significant impacts on agricultural production in the area. Tambogrande farmers are Peru's principal mango exporters and the area has become one of Peru's leading agricultural centers thanks to major investment in irrigation systems, some of it provided by the World Bank.

Concerned by the proposed relocation and by threats to their agriculturally based livelihoods, local populations have mounted significant resistance to the project. On February 27 and 28, 2001, an estimated 10,000 people participated in blocking road access to the exploration site. A recent initiative collected approximately 28,000 notarized signatures of individuals in the Tambogrande district, of approximately 37,000 eligible voters, who are opposed to the mine. Tambogrande's Mayor and local Archbishop have called for the project not to go forward, citing not only the potential environmental impacts, but the mine's
disruptive social impacts, already evident in the exploration phase due to the tense environment of distrust and conflict that exists in the area. The archbishop has called the project "socially unviable." These actions represent significant opposition to the proposed mine by affected citizens and community leaders.

Manhattan Minerals, a mining "junior" with no previous experience operating a mine of this size, and no other current projects, rode into Peru on the wave of the country’s recent mining boom. With the privatization of Peru's mining sector in the early 1990s, foreign investment in the sector has exploded over the past decade. From 1992 to 1997, the volume of mining operations in Peru tripled from 30,000 to 100,000 metric tons of minerals per day. Land area devoted to exploration and extraction increased from 4 million to 18 million hectares between 1992 and 1998. According to the Financial Times, Peru has had South America's highest rate of exploration success in recent years, driving Latin America's emergence as the most popular continent for new mining projects. The Tambo Grande project is located in the department of Piura, a department that up until now has not been known for mining, but rather agriculture. Manhattan's operation may open the door to the exploitation of hundreds of thousands of hectares currently under concession in Piura. The impact on traditional agricultural livelihoods, from which the vast majority of Piurans draw sustenance and income, could be significant.

Oxfam: Peru Quake Reconstruction Effort Must Focus on Reducing Devastating Impact of Future Natural Disasters

lmcfarlane — 2009-02-08T07:43:03Z

PISCO, PERU—One month after a deadly earthquake struck western Peru, international aid agency Oxfam has called on the government of Peru to ensure that reconstruction leaves the area less vulnerable to future tragedy when natural disasters strike.

As the emergency response begins to shift to rebuilding destroyed towns and villages, Oxfam International urged national and local authorities to take measures to reduce risk in the earthquake-prone country.

Oxfam staff working in the districts of Pisco, Humay, and Independencia have already observed that some families in affected areas have begun rebuilding their homes. They are using the same fragile materials, such as mud bricks and bamboo, to construct their new homes as before, leaving them equally vulnerable to damage and collapse if another earthquake hits.

“Reconstructing the area in the same way, in the same places, using the same materials, is a recipe for a future disaster. Government authorities must ensure that communities are informed of the basic guidelines on how to rebuild their homes to make them more resistant to severe damage or collapse,” said Jacobo Ocharán, an Oxfam Disaster Risk Reduction Specialist. “As reconstruction begins, people must learn how to build affordable earthquake-resistant structures. Our work in risk reduction in El Salvador has shown us that taking these low-cost measures can help to prevent such destruction from happening again.”

Oxfam is currently carrying out its emergency response providing clean water, sanitation services and other assistance to people in urban and remote rural areas. Once it moves into the reconstruction phase, Oxfam will also take on disaster risk reduction in quake-affected areas, tapping into its experience helping local governments in northern Peru build their capacity to respond to increasingly frequent flash floods caused by El Niño.

The national government’s reconstruction fund, FORSUR, has recently announced that, over the next one to two years, it will be providing 6,000 earthquake-resistant houses for families who lost their homes during last month’s quake, and may be providing subsidies for others to help them rebuild their lives. According to figures released by the government, nearly 45,000 homes were destroyed in the quake, and more than 13,000 were damaged.

“Families who are unable to access government-provided, earthquake-resistant houses will require extra help in learning how to make their new homes much stronger than they were before. Authorities must communicate that simple measures can be taken such as reinforcing mud bricks with straw or other fibers, improving bricklaying techniques and using light-weight roofing materials”, said Ocharán. “Most importantly, seismic experts must evaluate the ground in the region to determine whether part of the population needs to be relocated to sturdier areas.”

Some recovery, but much remains to be done

Efforts to help the population recover have vastly improved over the last month. Most affected families now have access to temporary shelter and community kitchens. However, life remains far from normal. Electricity is gradually being restored in the affected area but water provision in the city is still inadequate. Also, many sewers were destroyed in the urban areas and have not yet been repaired. Students who attend schools that were damaged are waiting for temporary classrooms to be built so they can return to their studies.

Economic activity is resuming slowly. Some fishermen have returned to the seas after repairing their boats. Yet many people continue to hang in the balance. The cotton harvest, which usually starts in late August, has been postponed due to possible irrigation water and electricity shortages. Several other industries have been indefinitely interrupted leaving many people in the region without an income.

Although no major illnesses have been reported, sanitation breaks in affected areas continue to present great health risks. Additional latrines are needed to ensure that public health problems do not develop, as are improvements in hygiene facilities for families living in tent camps and other temporary homes without access to showers.

Oxfam International is working with EMA Pisco, the municipal water enterprise, to provide the population with clean water. Additionally, the agency is working in San Miguel, a shantytown near Pisco where 400 families live. Before the earthquake, they had running water in their homes for only 30 minutes each day. Oxfam is providing them with a 45,000-liter water tank that now allows these families access to water for most of the day. Oxfam has also distributed 200 tents and temporary shelter materials to Humay, Independencia, and Túpac Amaru.

“As the rebuilding begins, we must make sure that communities are better off than before by providing better water systems and ensuring that new homes are more structurally sound than they were in the past. It is essential that authorities involved in the reconstruction engage with the local population to avoid spontaneous rebuilding by families and individuals. People must be aware of how to prevent such a tragedy from happening again,” said Ocharán.