FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT
6TH – 19TH MARCH, 2006
Stephen is a maize farmer in Ghana. Talking about the problems he experiences with the advent of cheap imported maize, he says that ‘even a cow abroad is given more money than the money I receive. It is very painful. If I had an alternative, to earn a living I would finish being a farmer. We have to feed ourselves and we are suffering.’
Fairtrade fortnight will take place from 6th – 19th March. This is a vitally important time in the Christian year and it is perhaps no coincidence that it falls within the season of Lent when we are traditionally called to fasting and repentance.
For most of us in the developed world fasting is a choice – we can choose whether we give up non-essential luxuries. To stand in solidarity with those who have no choice, who do not know whether they will have to fast or not, is to stand in true solidarity with Christ.
Fairtrade is the system based on standards set by the Fairtrade Foundation. It offers ethical alternative rules, guaranteeing small-scale farmers in the developing world a minimum price for their products. When we buy fair-trade products we are directly helping those individuals and communities involved in Fairtrade, and at the same time, are sending a powerful message to our governments that international trading systems as they stand are biased in favour of the developed world.
Fairtrade means that the products we buy benefit our planet and all of its people rather than the wealthy world exclusively. It means that we value God’s people for what they are rather than what they possess. It means that we recognise the limits of power and take a step towards the love, compassion and mutual interdependence of God’s kingdom that is at the heart of Christian teaching.
There are crucial things that we can do to support Fairtrade fortnight; we can pray and campaign for trade justice; resources are available from Christian Aid and provide a concrete introduction to the issues at stake. A number of events will be taking place during fair-trade fortnight – look out for these in your area. As a practical demonstration of our support, we can buy fairly traded produce for our congregational and individual use.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of apathy: the scale of the problem is so huge that it’s tempting to think that we can do nothing about it, so it’s not worth even trying.
Fairtrade runs counter to the quick-fix consumerism that surrounds us: as we watch supermarkets engaged in price wars, food becomes cheaper and we become ever more indignant that we should have to spend more than an absolute bare minimum on basic commodities. But there is no such thing as a true bargain. Someone, somewhere is paying the price.
We live in a world where three rich individuals command more wealth than the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. The gospels teach us about the values of justice, fairness and hope and the Christian vision is one where all people are loved and valued in God’s sight. If this vision is to extend to all people it is up to each one of us to make a difference by calling for trade justice and offering an alternative to people like Stephen.
Courtesy
of the
Christian
Aid Website