Living out the Accra
ConfessionPresbyterian Church in Cameroon takes lead in the
struggle for justice – social, economic and environmental
[10-3-07]
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Valéry Nodem |
Following the presentation of the Accra Confession by
Clifton Kirkpatrick and Setri Nyomi, we had a chance to hear very directly
about one expression of the commitments made by those who shared in the
Covenanting for Justice in the Economy and the Earth.
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Christi Boyd |
Valéry Nodem, the coordinator of the
Presbyterian-supported Joining Hands Network in Cameroon, along with Christi
Boyd, a PC(USA) mission co-worker serving as the companionship facilitator
for the "Joining Hands" program in Cameroon, described the work of
RELUFA, the Network for the Fight
Against Hunger. It is a national network of Cameroonian churches, along with
ecumenical and secular non-profit organizations, working since 2001 to take
common action against hunger, poverty, and social, economic, and
environmental injustice.
For more on
RELUFA, see the PCUSA website >>
One of their strong programs provides micro-credit loans
to many poor people in remote areas of the country, providing training to
equip people – many of them women, often without basic literacy and business
skills – to start and manage small businesses of their own.
Confronting the oil industry for justice
A major effort has been to deal with the great damage
being caused by extractive industries – specifically the construction of an
oil pipeline running some 1000 miles through Cameroon, to carry oil and gas
from Chad, where it is mined, to the Atlantic coast for shipment. Said Nodem,
"this is the first time for the people of Chad and Cameroon to have a say in
the use of the natural resources in our own countries."
This has meant confronting the giant oil corporations –
Exxon, Chevron, and Petronas (Malaysia) – to fulfill their promises and
agreements by compensating people and communities for land that has been
taken for the pipeline, environmental damage. The companies have promised
that the construction would benefit the communities around it, but RELUFA
has become aware of at least 500 people who have not received the
compensation that they were promised. "After three years," said Nodem, "they
[the companies] are still denying their responsibilities." Whatever they
claim about the benefits they will offer, "the companies are just doing
business."
Nodem talked about how much the group has learned through
their struggle for justice. They have seen, for instance, how many of the
countries with rich natural resources are among the poorest nations in the
world, suffering from civil wars, hunger, environmental devastation and much
more.
As part of this struggle, Nodem has encouraged a number of
churches in Cameroon to in a "Covenant of Cameroonian Churches on Social,
Economic and Environmental Justice." Many of the church leaders were uneasy
about this, he said, feeling that "it’s too political, too sensitive." But
finally representatives of many of the churches gathered, and Nodem took
them to visit some of the people who are being affected by the pipeline
project. Then they sat down to talk about possible responses, and finally
"we wrote a covenant, saying we have seen the suffering of the people, we
want our churches to respond, and we want our government to help." It
apparently took some time and some encouragement, but he said finally top
leaders of all the churches – including the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon
– did sign the covenant.
The text of the Covenant >>
Tracing where the money
goes
On an even wider stage, the struggle against multinational
extractive industries has led some 300 non-governmental organizations into a
new effort to trace where the money goes in the operations of these
giant corporations, so that more just compensation can be claimed for the
people whose lives are so deeply affected by their operations.
The worldwide
Publish What You Pay
campaign, according to its website, "aims to help citizens of
resource-rich developing countries hold their governments accountable for
the management of revenues from the oil, gas and mining industries. Natural
resource revenues are an important source of income for governments of over
50 developing countries, including Angola, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria
and Venezuela. When properly managed these revenues should serve as a basis
for poverty reduction, economic growth and development rather than
exacerbating corruption, conflict and social divisiveness."
This coalition of over 300 NGOs is calling for "the
mandatory disclosure of the payments made by oil, gas and mining companies
to all governments for the extraction of natural resources. The coalition
also calls on resource-rich developing country governments to publish full
details on revenues. This is a necessary first step towards a more
accountable system for the management of natural resource revenues."
What can we do?
Valéry Nodem and Christi Boyd were asked about how the
Presbyterian Church (USA) might be involved in their efforts for justice in
Cameroon.
First, they said, we can help by simply making people
aware of what’s happening in their part of the world as the giants of
extractive industry impact their people and countries, often without much
concern for the effects of their operations.
And second, they urged us to
endorse and join the worldwide Publish What You Pay campaign, as a
way of making the operations of these industries (and the governments
involved) more transparent, and thus more accountable to the people.
And finally they suggested that we might support an
overture being sent to the General Assembly by the presbyteries of Chicago
and the Twin Cities Area – both partners with the Presbyterian Church of
Cameroon – by which the PC(USA) would become a signatory of the Publish What
You Pay Campaign.
Board member Peter Barnes-Davies offered this comment
on the Publish What You Pay campaign
I'm glad to learn about the Publish What You Pay
campaign, a worldwide grassroots effort that works for corporate
responsibility and economic justice. I pray that the Presbyterian Church
( U.S.A.) will join the campaign - by responding positively to an
overture to the 2008 General Assembly. I give thanks for Chicago
Presbytery and their bringing this overture forward. I give thanks for
the Joining Hands Against Hunger network in Cameroon, Chicago
presbytery's partner in this project. And I give thanks to the God of
Justice who encourages every human effort towards peace, honesty, and
integrity.
| Another report from Christi Boyd:
From treating symptoms to changing systems
Cameroon mission co-worker Christi Boyd
tells of efforts to fight hunger, injustice
[10-22-07]
Presbyterian News Service reports on Christi
Boyd’s recent presentation in Frankfort, KY, where she described
the shift over the past few years from relief efforts to work
for systemic change, largely through
RELUFA,
a network of 20 rural organizations with common needs —
agricultural training, micro-credit, educational and health
opportunities for women and children and environmental
protections.
RELUFA is working on four basic goals, which
Boyd described food "sovereignty," self-development, economic
justice, and opposing political corruption with transparency.
The PNS
report on her talk in Frankfort >> |
