Many of us remember fondly the Jubilee 2000 campaign; the ring surrounding the conference centre in Birmingham; perhaps Cologne, or Genoa; getting strangers to sign your petition; wearing the chain; and many many more events, actions and protests. The success of Jubilee 2000, wasn’t by any means total, but the effects are starting to be felt in certain developing countries. Uganda for example can offer free education again. But this campaign has now wound up, so many people are asking, “Where do we go from here?”

My answer is the Trade Justice Movement, incorporating Christian Aid’s Trade for Life campaign. The Trade Justice Movement, like the Jubilee 2000 coalition is made up of many different organisations, ranging from People and Planet (a student campaigning group) to Save the Children, from Friends of the Earth to Globalize Resistance.

So what’s wrong with trade? Trade in itself is not that bad. We’ve all heard of ‘Fair trade’ and so know that trade can be beneficial to poorer communities. The problem lies with big business and its attitude to trade. Big business has become so big, that it is now unaccountable to most governments. The result is that big business more or less writes the trade rules and hence they write them in their favour. The last set of global trade negotiations in 1994 left Africa between $300–600 million a year worse off.

So how are these rules made? Why can’t the poorer countries get heard? Well half the world’s poorest members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO, where these rules are made) are so poor that they can’t even afford to send representatives to Geneva, the headquarters of the WTO. In contrast the USA has 250 trade negotiators permanently based there.

The first major protest by the Trade Justice Movement was held on Saturday 4th November in London, when an estimated 8000 people turned up and walked, marched and even danced through the streets of London in a carnival style parade. The organisers were saying it was ‘the start of something big’ and it certainly felt like it. The atmosphere was amazingly jovial and friendly, as we proceeded past many of London’s landmarks; Downing Street, Westminster, Whitehall and we ended up in Trafalgar Square. It was brilliant to see the power that many vastly differing organisations and people could have when they pulled together.

So you’ve missed out on the first action, but how can you join the campaign? Like the chains for Jubilee 2000, Trade for Life also has a pin badge which you can buy and wear to show you support the campaign. This time the logo is a pair of unbalanced scales, which symbolises the unfair trade in the world today. Also watch out for more protests around the country and get involved.

I believe as Christians we are called to fight injustice and to help the poor. We probably all give some money to charities which work in the developing world each year, but the total amount of money given by everyone in Britain is a pittance compared with the effect that this campaign could have if successful. I’m not saying don’t give, just act as well.

Rachel Cavill

For more information see: www.fish.co.uk/campaign/trade/trade.html