given. The more
new year, the biggest, longest holiday
poetic, the better.
of the year.
Huge peach trees fill
A time to shine the home. Everything
the downstairs lobby with
BOOKS – Four Oxfam books
ASIA – Up in Smoke
CHINA – A factory worker’s voice
CAMBODIA – Urban and Rural Poverty
08 20
INDIA – A photographer in the Himalayas
ry ua br Fe
Here in Hong Kong, it is the lunar
Over on the
in Cambodia who, fed up with the
save the goodness in what they have.
mainland, it is also
poverty in the rural areas, are trying
They know the limitations of life, but
th e majo r h oliday,
life in the city. The photo-essay from
they smile. That’s what I want to share.
and millions of people
the Himalayas is contributed by a Hong
I always feel we city people are doing
must be clean. Narcissus and other
wide arms of pink blossoms.
have about t wo week s of f.
Kong photographer who says, “I feel
too little in life. We don’t respect life
flowers go on a central table. We
Walk around it three times, tradition
Anyone working away from their
as a city person, I never knew how
enough.”
paste both sides of the doorway with
says, and you will find love.
hometown tries to return for the family
chickens and eggs can be so important,
a couplet-blessing on two rectangular
The streets are temporary gardens.
togetherness, and the worst snowstorm
especially in the village we visited. I feel
He signs his email, “peace and
red papers. Children get new clothing,
Tangerine and kumquat trees line
in 50 years is keeping many families
we city people take so many things for
usually red. Unmarried people receive
sidewalks, along with potted chrysan-
apart.
granted, we rarely think about where
gifts of money tucked in red envelopes.
themum, bunches of pussy willow, and
This issue of O.N.E features a factory
things come from, and we waste a lot.
Madeleine Marie Slavick
Here in the office, colleagues also
other festive plants. Many businesses
worker in China who cannot afford
But the people I met in India – these
Editor, Oxfam News E-magazine
receive money from their supervisors,
shut down for the period, so the city is
the train fare home to her village for
people far away from my everyday life
Oxfam Hong Kong
but only after verbal blessings are
the quietest it will ever be.
the holiday. We hear from farmers
– they value life so much and try to
emagazine@oxfam.org.hk
calm.” I would like to end the same way.
TIM’s EYE Images by Tim Liu
Soil erosion, water shortages, and deforestation are problems for many
in India
villages in northern India: people have to walk farther and farther for their water, firewood and fodder. This work has always been for girls and women, and now even more so: many village men are migrating to the city for work. Stress is an everyday reality for the women, as is discrimination: only 10-20 per cent of the village girls go to school, literacy for adult women is 30 per cent Bimla (left), 55, and her family joined a poultry project. Eggs sell for about 3 Rupees each, enough to buy half of the family’s food.
lower than for men, girls are married off or sent off to work at a younger age than boys are, and female feticide is not uncommon. Villagers are now raising goats and chickens, planting orchards and greenhouses, and forming women’s groups that manage revolving funds. Instead of walking so far for water,
in India
simple storage systems have been built right in the village. Instead of collecting fodder, they are now growing grass. Women attend training in midwifery, first aid, hygiene and reproductive health, and 200 girls and women have passed a literacy test in nine new education centres in the area. This three-year project is coordinated through Gram Niyojan Kendra, a nation-wide organisation that works on many issues, such as those facing girls and women in the rural and urban context. Oxfam Hong Kong thanks the photographer Tim Liu who volunteered his time and skills to document this project. The agency has been supporting projects in India for 15 years.
1
3
2
4
Here are a few moments from the Himalayan village, seen in the eyes of a photographer from Hong Kong. 1 Goat-raising is new to the village. 2 Women have the work of collecting firewood. 3 They also have the work to collect fodder. 4 Rainwater travels from the roof into a new storage tank.
One out of three Cambodians lives
Other farmers are giving up on rural
The Thon’s home, like most in
Half of the families in Chamroeun
rate of one per cent every three months
on less than one US dollar a day, and
life altogether. The Thon family is one
Chamroeun, is made of palm leaves.
decided to join a loan project with
– so another family has been able to
rural people account for almost 90 per
of the thousands to do so. They had had
Their only furniture is two wooden
Oxfam. (The whole community has
benefit, too. Many families who joined
cent of all poor people. Most of the
too many bad harvests in a row on their
planks for beds, which serve as a table
benefited from various projects on
have also used the money to improve
rural poor try to make their living by
rented land in Svay Rieng, a province in
and desk too. One of the Thon children
health, disaster prevention and more.)
their homes.
farming or fishing, and they face many
the southeast. The family of seven has
had to stop studying to go to work, but
The Thon family used their loan to
Back in the rural areas, similar
challenges. Many do not own land, and
very few resources but a huge amount
the two youngest ones – Srouch and
purchase a cart which has made it easier
micro-credit projects are running. Like
if they do, it probably is not irrigated.
of hope: they moved to Phnom Penh,
Peakdei – now attend three or four
to collect the plastic. Their income has
the Thon family, the Chengs have had
(Less than ten per cent of all arable land
determined to make a better life.
classes a week for migrant children. The
increased to such an extent that they
access to a modest loan, using it to
is irrigated.) Forests, farmland and lakes
In the cit y, the only place the
rest of the time, the two work with their
have been able to rebuild their home.
repair their boat and purchase a better
are often not sustainably managed.
Thons could afford to rent is a small
parents as wastepickers. Every day is a
They repaid the loan – at a low interest
net. This project in Kampong Chhnang
Dependency on the weather is another
windowless home in Chamroeun, a
workday. From 8am to 5pm, the parents
works a little differently in that each
difficulty, especially in today’s changing
squatter area in Phnom Penh where
go in search of discarded plastic, trying
participant contributes regularly to a
climate. The past few rainy seasons in
more than 300 families live, many of
to find enough to support the whole
community fund, from which other
central Cambodia, for instance, have
whom also migrated from Svay Rieng.
family on. (Another common job for
families can borrow. The amount is
lasted too long, and have led to farmers
There is no sewage system and no
migrants is factory work.)
small, but when pooled together, it
giving up on their crops. The planting
real public facilities. This becomes
can finance a new start (such as a new
and growing season has been too short,
a huge problem when the rains
net, or a new plough) or get a family
and harvests too small.
come twice a year: it easily
through a difficult time (such as a bad
turns into a flood. Water
harvest or an illness). Oxfam has also
fishing. The Cheng family is one of
Some farmers now rely more on
seeps in, floors become
assisted in establishing a conservation
these farmer-turned-fisher families.
p o ol s , s o m e tim e s
area in Kampong Chhnang, so there
With limited resources – an old boat
reaching as high as
is now an element of sustainability to
and a substandard net – they fish a river
the roof.
the fishing.
in the central province of Kampong Chhnang, but have only able to earn enough income to last eight or nine months of the year. For the other three or four months, their hardship has been severe.
Cambodia – Rural and Urban Poverty
Oxfam Hong Kong has supported projects in Cambodia since the 1970s. The current focus is on community-based resource management, disaster management, gender equity, reducing violence against women, and reducing human trafficking. Oxfam thanks the photographer Dick Lau who volunteered to document Oxfam's work.
I WANT TO RETURN HOME TO COOK
in China
Xiao-qing, age 26 Electronic Parts Product Inspector A migrant worker from Jiangxi Province for two years Working in Shenzhen Special Economic Zone
Workers get two sets of this uniform.
My source of entertainment.
think that is pretty good! And there is no overtime on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The only problem is that this job requires very good eyesight, and I am afraid I will become short-sighted. The other day, I visited some co-workers who had been hurt at the factory. Their fingers were squashed by machines, and although their injuries were not very serious, I was upset, and too uncomfortable to say anything. My family are farmers. When I finished junior college, I did not want to Enjoying leisure time after a bath.
I will not go home this Lunar New
I have been in Shenzhen for over
stay home and do that. Coincidentally,
Year because the train fare has increased
a year, and have worked at four
someone in my hometown told me that
so much. Normally it is 60 yuan, but
different factories. My first job was at
some factories were recruiting workers,
during the New Year, it jumps to 300.
an electronics factory, but the pay was
so I left home, thinking I would learn a
So, I will stay in my dormitory for the
far too low. Then I switched to another
skill. Only when I arrived in Shenzhen did
holiday.
electronics factory, where the pay was
I know that it was not that interesting
better, but I had to work 18 hours every
at all: low pay, long working hours and
day. It was really too tiring! I changed
no holiday on Sundays.
Exterior of a factory dormitory.
Two brothers (the older one is a Year 4 student) begging on a street. Who gives them mercy!
me of This fruit stall reminds . I hope the longan in my hometown est and my family gets a good harv year. leads a happy life every
my job because I could not take it any-
I really want to return home. What
more. Now I work at an electronic
will I do? I will cook! I am pretty good at
parts factory where I use a screwdriver
pork ribs. Now I have no time to cook,
and tweezers to insert thin sheets. The
and I eat all my meals in the canteen, so I
factory has set a target: each production
am not sure whether I will still be able to
line must make 1,200 products each
make my ribs that well anymore.
day or about 160 each hour. The pay
This story is excerpted from PHOTOVOICES – Shenzhen Workers Speak, published by Oxfam Hong Kong, ISBN 962664023-5.
is not better than my last job, but we have a canteen, hot water supply, and a washing machine in the dormitory. I
It is available online: http://www.oxfam.org.hk/public/bookstore/list?pa ge=2&lang=iso-8859-1
CLIMATE CRISIS in ASIA Asia will be warmer this century.
being able to read the weather to
of malaria have increased by over
More than two billion people – over
change is affecting people’s food and
M o r e wa r mi n g m e a n s m o r e
know when to plant, but with a
300 per cent in just one year’s time.
half of Asia’s population – live near
water supply, health, access to energy
hunger. An increase of just 1°C in
changing climate, they are facing huge
Leishmaniasis, the second largest
the coast, and as a nation, Vietnam
sources, and migration trends; it
night-time temperatures during the
problems. Cyclones are stronger and
parasitic killer, is another concern:
is considered to be at particular risk,
looks at the needs of women, farmers
growing season may reduce Asian rice
more frequent. Monsoon cycles are
in Bangladesh, the disease has been
with almost 3,500 kilometres of
and fishers; it considers disasters,
yields by 10 per cent and wheat by 32
irregular. Rainfall patterns are more
prevalent in 14 northern districts but
coastline.
biodiversity and the environment.
per cent. Farmers in China could suffer
extreme: in general, dry seasons are
it is moving south to new areas. Cholera
Hunger, disease, a loss of income,
Up in Smoke also reveals some of the
a 37 per cent loss of rice, wheat and
longer and longer.
will also occur more frequently, as
a loss of land: together, this means
positive measures being undertaken
corn. Asia is home to almost 90 per
M o r e wa r mi n g m e a n s m o r e
there is an established link between
more poverty.
in the region, and outlines the actions
cent of the world’s known 400 million
disease, such as malaria – already the
outbreaks of cholera and blooms of
small farms, so as many as 350 million
leading parasitic killer in the world.
blue-green algae.
farmers in Asia may have smaller
The incubation period of mosquitoes
More warming means a loss of
harvests and less income.
shortens in higher temperatures, and
coastline. The sea level is rising too fast.
by more than 35 development and
More warming means unpredic-
off-season rainfall increases breeding.
Entire islands are already disappearing,
environmental groups, including
table weather. Farmers depend on
In parts of Cambodia, reported cases
such as in Vanuatu, Kiribati and Tuvalu.
Oxfam. The report looks at how climate
This climate poverty in Asia is discussed in the recent report, Up S moke : A sia
and the
in
Pacific , compiled
that the international community must also take. To read the full report, visit the Oxfam International blog: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/applica tions/blogs/climatechange/ Photos from Vietnam: a drought, and a national forum on drought-management.
FOUR BOOKS by OXFAM HONG KONG Available through www.oxfam.org.hk
PHOTOVOICES Shenzhen Workers Speak 144 pages ISBN: 962-664-023-5
A World of Children in Hong Kong 142 pages In English and Traditional Chinese
A book on the lives of young migrant workers in
Ethnic minority people in Hong Kong face dis-
Shenzhen, the special economic zone that borders
crimination every day, at schools, in jobs, and in
Hong Kong.
finding housing.
factory workers themselves, who are in their teens and
Please tell us at: http://forum.oxfam.org.hk/?c_lang=eng
KIDS ALIKE ISBN: 962-664-022-7
Each story is written and photographed by the
Climate Change and Poverty?
This book shows the lives of the children at home and at school.
OXFAM HONG KONG WEBSITE www.oxfam.org.hk
OXFAM BOOKS Oxfam Hong Kong has created more than 30 books, some in Hong Kong, some in Taiwan, some on the Mainland, some in
twenties. By recording their own lives and preparing
Photographs by Tsang Wing-kai.
Chinese, some in English, some bilingual,
the images and captions to be used in the book, there
Drawings by ethnic minority children.
and some mostly with images, which cross
is no interviewee and interviewer.
Essays by activists.
all languages. Through publishing the voices of poor people around the world, we want to change the way people think about poverty. We want justice. Oxfam’s most recently supported supported the publication of 西部．希望 大山里的孩子們 (a book on education in western China, in Simplified Chinese). To order books: www.oxfam.org.hk/public/bookstore/list?lang=iso-8859-1
E-NEWS Issued every month in English and Chinese, this e-bulletin provides the latest from Oxfam Hong Kong, with bite-sized news on emergencies, campaigns, community projects, public education and fundraising. Oxfam e-News is emailed to more than 80,000 volunteers, campaigners, donors, Oxfam Trailwalkers, council members and subscribers. The Editor is Vivian Leung. To subscribe: www.oxfam.org.hk/public/contents/16830 (English version)
MY FAVOURITE THING 160 pages In English and Traditional Chinese ISBN: 957-693-640-3
THE POSSIBLE
www.oxfam.org.hk/public/contents/7263 (Traditional Chinese)
www.oxfam.org.hk/public/contents/7265 (Simplified Chinese)
30 Stories
220 pages In English and Traditional Chinese ISBN: 962-664-027-8
MOKUNG Ox fam Hong Kong publishes this quarterly magazine in Traditional Chinese.
This book began with two simple questions: What is your favourite thing, and why. Here are 70 answers from people young and old, in the city and the village, in China and around the world.
A girl in Zambia defies her mother’s plan to marry
Mokung, which means both “no poverty”
her off young, and continues with her schooling
and “infinity”, highlights a different
instead.
aspect of development in each issue. The
Scrap-collectors in India group together to get
Editor is Tung Tsz-kwan. The January 2008
health insurance, life insurance, access to credit, and
edition looks at Migration issues.
This is the second edition, published in Taiwan.
more, and win an international prize along the way.
To subscribe: www.oxfam.org.hk/public/
The first edition, published in Beijing, was a bestseller
Exploited migrant workers in Cambodia and Hong
and is sold out.
Kong become labour activists.
Voted among the “100 recommended books for
Over the past 30 years, Oxfam Hong Kong has
youth” by the National News and Publishing Bureau
worked alongside some of the world's poorest people
in mainland China and listed in the "good books chart
to find ways to make positive changes in society.
for secondary school students" in Hong Kong.
This book collects 30 of our favourite stories.
bookstore/?lang=big5 Mokung is online at www.oxfam.org.hk/pub lic/contents/category?cid=1017&lang=big5
ONE O.N.E – Oxfam News E-magazine – is uploaded at the beginning of every month at www.oxfam.org.hk/one. To receive a copy in your inbox, please subscribe – it is free.
Hong Kong
Look out for our next book CHINA VOICES, available in summer 2008. Oxfam books are available online: http://www.oxfam.org.hk/public/bookstore/list?page=2&lang=iso-8859-1
17th Floor, 28 Marble Road, Northpoint, Hong Kong O. N .E, published in the middle of each month, is also online:
www.oxfam.org.hk/one//
COVER: Tim Liu
What can people do about