A message from Jubilee South
October 2007
On Wednesday 17 October, people around the world will Stand Up and Speak Out against poverty, as part of a world record attempt on World Poverty Day. Ahead of this event, Lidy Nacpil from the Philippines, co-ordinator of Jubilee South, has sent a message to campaigners in the UK, which is ideal for reading out at Stand Up events, or at other times in debt week.
One of the biggest challenges for the global debt movement today is to correct the perception that the debt problem has largely been solved by the debt relief programs offered by lenders in recent years – the Enhanced HIPC of 1999 to the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative of 2005.
The majority of the peoples of the South continue to suffer from the injustice and staggering burden of debt. It is a burden not only because of the huge amounts of debt payments in the face of poverty and deprivation. It is unjust not only because our people did not benefit from much of the debts they are forced to pay. The debt is also used as instrument to ensure that our economies generate profits for global corporations and meet the requirements of global markets instead of providing for our needs.
We continue to struggle for freedom from debt. We struggle not only to wipe out the outstanding debt claimed
from our countries but to transform the structures, the institutions, and the relations of power that has led to the accumulation of unjust and illegitimate debt. We must aim for lasting and truly meaningful victories - measured in terms of how people are truly liberated and empowered to pursue a better life.
Lidy Nacpil, Jubilee South
October 2007
Jubilee South is a network of jubilee and debt campaigns, social movements, people's organisations, communities, NGOs and political formations acros the global South. It is one of the co-ordinating groups for Global Debt Week.
More information:
Jubilee South:
www.jubileesouth.org
Global Debt Week international site:
www.debtweek.org
Stand Up and Speak Out:
www.standagainstpoverty.org
