DO NOT TIPTOE
Join us to clean up the tax system (Stencil included!)
Craftivism unpicked:
discover a movement with a radical thread
My rhymes and reasons: slam poet Harry Baker tells all
‘ All around you, people will be tiptoeing through life, just to arrive at death safely. But dear children, do not tiptoe. Run, hop, skip or dance, just don’t tiptoe.’ Shane Claiborne To find out more about Christian Aid Collective go to christianaidcollective.org
GUEST CONTRIBUTORS
Dan Etheridge is a writer and designer who’s still hoping the world can be a better place. See page 24 and chunkfunk.co.uk
Hannah Wheeler is a freelance illustrator based in Chesterfield. See page 30 and hannahtwheeler.com
Sally Foxall is part of the Student Christian Movement, an organisation we work with closely. Visit movement.org.uk
Joanna Callender is a Christian Aid Collective intern. She’s from Belfast, but is currently based in London working on our website and events.
CONTACT US AT: Tel: 020 7620 2209 Email: collective@christian-aid.org Online at: christianaidcollective.org Twitter: @TheCACollective Facebook: facebook.com/ChristianAidCollective For regional offices’ contact information go to christianaidcollective.org/office-contact-information Do Not Tiptoe will be available every six months. To find out when the next issue is on its way, sign up to our newsletter list at christianaidcollective.org UK registered charity no.1105851 Company no. 5171525 Scotland charity no. SC039150 NI charity no. XR94639 Company no. NI059154 ROI charity no. CHY 6998 Company no. 426928 The Christian Aid name and logo are trademarks of Christian Aid; Poverty Over is a trademark of Christian Aid. Christian Aid Collective is a mark of Christian Aid. © Christian Aid September 2012. Do Not Tiptoe is printed on 100 per cent recycled paper 13-421-J628 Front and inside cover © iStockphoto
CONTENTS
The tax issue 12 Tax stats 14 Your take on tax 16 Paying the price Stories from Guatemala and Zambia on the human cost of tax loss. 18 Help us trace the tax! Discover whether Fake Corporation pays its dues. 20 Tax can change the world! Help make it happen. 26 This is tax justice Tax pays for education and pensions in Bolivia. 28 Get involved Shout out for tax justice!
Upfront and personal 4-11 Rebecca Baron on living sustainably; Sarah Corbett shares with us how to campaign the crafty way; Raquel Rodrigues Ferreira takes on the Brazilian authorities.
Life and faith 34-39 Sarah Rowe is aiming for a life well lived; Joanna Callender is embarking on a journey for the soul; and award-winning wordsmith Harry Baker tells us why poetry rocks.
See, hear, pray, do 40-47 Things we want to share, including a blessing, a hearty recipe, gems from the interweb and a china charity shop challenge.
* UPFRONT AND PERSONAL
Why bother? From our latest fashion bargain to the online petition we linked to from our Facebook page, every decision we make has consequences that reach far beyond our own lives. But in a culture set up to demand more, cheaper, now, do we really need to worry? Christian Aid Collective’s Rebecca Baron tells us why she’s bothered.
I
t’s easy to despair of this world sometimes. One in seven people go to bed hungry every night. Almost half the world live on less than US$2.50 a day. Here in Europe, the financial and political worlds seem to be in tatters, with no sense of hope or a direction for restoring them. Our hugely intricate global economic systems favour the rich and discriminate against the poor. On an individual level, the consumerist systems that our society’s built on make it very hard to live an ethical life. We often have to choose between the lesser of two evils. Do you buy the free-range, organic eggs that have come from happy, flappy chickens, or the eggs from caged hens that seem crueller but have a lower carbon footprint? Do you give money to a homeless person because of your
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compassion for them, or do you hold back because it might make their situation worse in the long term? Do you buy ethically made jeans that might put you into debt, or the jeans you can afford that might be made under poor working conditions?
It’s very difficult to live in an ethical and sustainable way when it feels like our world isn’t set up to help us. How do we play our part in this world with consideration for the environment and for our brothers and sisters in the developing world, when our culture is founded on the values of bigger, better, faster, more? When everything seems so totally broken, why even bother trying?
The simple answer is: we have to. We just have to. This can’t go on indefinitely; we can’t keep living beyond the means of the resources available to us; we can’t go on making our life choices with total disregard to other people – especially those who are living in extreme poverty. We need to stand up and challenge these systems. We need to realise that every choice we make – from the clothes we wear and the food we eat to the
people we vote into government and the charities we donate to – has a far-reaching effect on the environment and, moreover, on people living in poverty all across the globe. We have to find out how to make these choices well and then make them. It’s a gospel imperative. It’s a moral imperative. We have to keep going until things change. As Nelson Mandela once said: ‘It always seems impossible until it’s done.’
Christian Aid Collective presents… the fight for tax justice At Christian Aid Collective we’re not claiming to have all the answers, that we can fix these things tomorrow, or that we’ve never felt a little overwhelmed at the scale of the problem. But we believe passionately that the world can be transformed by ordinary people; that together we can end poverty.
world. Find out more about the potential of tax to become part of the solution for a better world, and get all fired up to do something about it.
We’d love you to join us on the journey as we try to work out how best we can love mercy, act justly and walk humbly with God.
We also meet some great people who are already being part of the change that they want to see in the world. Find out what motivated Sarah Corbett to start another thought-provoking collective (page 6) and grab 10 minutes with Harry Baker, officially the best poetry slammer in the world (page 38).
In this issue, we’re looking at international tax dodging – one of the big barriers to ending poverty. If we change the rules surrounding tax, we really will change the
Plus there are all our regulars including a spicy seasonal way to eat your greens (page 43), and a fun way to get hold of some new tea-time mugs (page 47).
Don’t forget you can check out our most up-to-date news at christianaidcollective.org
ISSUE 2 Do not tiptoe 5
* UPFRONT AND PERSONAL
Collective meets...
Robin Prime
Sarah Corbett 6 Do not tiptoe ISSUE 2
Sarah Corbett started the Craftivist Collective, a group whose manifesto is to expose the scandal of global poverty and human rights injustices through the power of craft and public art. We caught up with her over a cup of tea and got inspired about collectives changing the world. What is craftivism? Craftivism = craft + activism. It’s a term coined by a woman called Betsy Greer in 2003. She saw that knitting was a safe space for women to talk about issues. Although the things people were knitting weren’t necessarily political, she saw how the act in itself was political, because it created a space for women to talk openly. It’s very much about doing something quiet that has quite a loud noise because it’s visual and handmade. It’s using your creativity in a non-threatening way to talk about issues you care about. How did you start the Craftivist Collective? When I moved to London I wanted to get involved in something. I tried some activist groups but I felt like I didn’t fit in. Life was a bit chaotic and cross-stitching calmed me down. I came up with the mini protest banner, started blogging about it and called myself the Lonely Craftivist. People around the world got in touch and now we’ve got groups of people doing craftivism everywhere. Do you think craft and activism fit together naturally? In my opinion they do! With craft you’re physically doing things whereas a lot of activism is now online. You’re automatically being political because you’re creating something permanent which is your voice – that’s what activism is about.
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* UPFRONT AND PERSONAL We caught up with her over a cup of tea and got inspired about collectives changing the ‘As Christians we should be taking our gifts world. and using them for good’
Robin Prime
Do you think that craftivism can make a difference to the world? We’re not going to change the world through craftivism alone. It needs to be part of a bigger picture of activism. Craftivism can make a difference to people who come across our projects because they are not being told what to do in an aggressive way, but provoked in a positive and encouraging way to think about an issue. For example, I stitched my MP a hankie saying ‘Don’t blow it, use your influence for good’. Because I went in with something I’d made for her personally, it broke down the stereotypes she had about me, and we chatted about issues she cared about, which broke down my stereotypes of her! I’ve built up a relationship with her through a hankie, which I wouldn’t have been able to do through a petition.
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Which projects are you most proud of? I like the fact that we’ve got people lobbying their MP without realising it. People are scared of lobbying. I’m proud that we’ve created a way for people to engage with their MPs in a non-threatening way. The Craftivist Collective has grown, which is great because it means we’ve managed to get politics into places where politics wouldn’t normally be. I want it to be part of my lifestyle – being political shouldn’t be a separate thing. I want it to be part of everything we do and who we are.
‘It’s using your creativity in a non-threatening way to talk about issues you care about’ What role does faith play in your craftivism? Everything! The whole Bible is about treating people the way you want to be treated, it’s saying everyone’s equal so let’s treat people like that. As Christians we should be taking our gifts and using them for good. Sometimes I get angry about injustice, but my faith allows me to stay positive and know that God has a different plan for the world – a better plan. My faith also reminds me that everything I’m doing is about serving, so it keeps me in check sometimes!
Mark Loudon
What advice would you give to someone who sees these words in the Bible about being a voice for the voiceless, but doesn’t know where to start? I often feel the same! You have to remind yourself not to drown in doing too many things. It’s finding the balance between keeping your passion, but remembering that you’re just one person. The best place to start is to think about that thing that you love doing and find a way of using it to talk about injustice. For me that’s craft, but for you it could be fashion and using your passion to consider what you buy and where it’s made. It’s finding what you love doing and doing it in a way that isn’t harmful but that’s helpful.
What do you say to people who don’t see themselves as ‘crafty’? If what the Craftivist Collective is doing is helpful to you then that’s great, but if not then take the message and do it in your own way. I’m always trying to be a catalyst for people to do their own thing. Being positive, encouraging people and starting a dialogue is something you can do in any medium. Become who you are – whether that’s a craftivist, or whether you talk about injustice in writing, or whether you are passionate about working with young people. What’s your vocation? Your joy? Because if you use that then it’s sustainable and you won’t feel like a burnt-out activist and give up.
Find out more about the different projects the Craftivists have created by visiting their website craftivist-collective.com Plus check out how to make the Craftivist Collective’s mini protest banner on page 40 and take part in our competition to win your very own kit.
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* UPFRONT AND PERSONAL
R
aquel Rodrigues Ferreira lives on the outskirts of Brasilia, Brazil. She lives in a slum on the edge of a rubbish tip, where her parents make a living sorting what is recyclable from the waste. The family are among the 16 million people in Brazil – the equivalent of the entire population of the Netherlands – who live in absolute poverty. Yet Brazil isn’t ‘poor’. Brazil is classed as a ‘middleincome’ country because the average wealth of its citizens is higher than in the world’s poorest countries. However, 20 per cent of the population still live below the national poverty line. But poverty isn’t just about money – it’s also about power. India might have 10 Do not tiptoe ISSUE 2
Christian Ai
Being poor often means you don’t have the power to influence the policies and decisions that affect your life. But when the roof of her school fell in, Raquel Rodrigues Ferreira decided to make a stand.
d/Sian Curry
Poverty, power and politics
its own space programme, but it also has more malnourished children in just eight of its states than there are in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. One of the ways that Christian Aid and our partners are helping people in poverty get out of poverty – for good – is by making sure that people know the rights they are entitled to, and how they can achieve them for themselves. Take Raquel. Her community had virtually no political influence and no power. As a result, the school that Raquel attended hadn’t had any maintenance work done for more than 30 years. When part of the roof fell in during class, Raquel decided she was going to do something about it.
‘ The government says, in the media, that all the roads here are tarred. It’s a big lie, they’ve only tarred some parts. But now people are planning to get organised and claim their rights, at least the basics – tarred roads, drains, and more schools in our communities, because we all deserve good-quality schooling.’ Raquel
After receiving training from INESC (an organisation supported by Christian Aid) about budgets and political lobbying, Raquel and her friends went to a public council meeting, took the microphone and made their case for more money. The next year, an extra US$1m was allocated in the city council’s budget for school maintenance and improvements.
INESC shows how, with the right knowledge, citizens can ensure that government money – raised through taxes – can be spent supporting those who need it most. Raquel spoke up for a community that didn’t know it could make itself heard. If Raquel can achieve that with her voice, what are you going to do with yours?
Visit christianaidcollective.org to find ways to use your voice whether you’ve got one minute, one hour or longer. ISSUE 2 Do not tiptoe 11
* TAX
£1 On average, you pay £1 in tax on every pint you buy in the pub.1
Corporate tax dodging deprives developing nations of at least US$160bn each year: that’s more than the annual global aid budget.
£126bn The UK government spent £126bn on health in 2011.2 The Irish government healthcare budget for 2012 is €3,040 per person.3
1 camra.org.uk/beertax 2 hm-treasury.gov.uk/2011budget_easyread.htm 3 budget.gov.ie/Budgets/2012/Documents/CER%20-%20 Estimates%20Final%20Part%202.pdf
£25
£2,000
Zambia allocates about £25 for healthcare per person per year, compared to more than £2,000 per person per year in the UK.4 4. lusakatimes.com/2011/11/11/2012-full-budget-addressspeech-finance-minster-alexander-chikwanda/ ambia budget = £339m, divided by population Z of Zambia (approximately 13.5 million) = £25.1 K budget = £125.5bn, divided by population of the U UK (approximately 61 million) = £2,049.
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75% of people questioned in a recent UK poll believe that the tax authorities treat multinational companies more leniently than they do individual people.5
75%
‘ Some of these schemes we have seen are, quite frankly, morally wrong.’ David Cameron referring to the news that comedian Jimmy Carr was using a tax avoidance scheme to reduce the amount of tax he paid.
It costs the state up to £9,000 a year to put a child through school in the UK.7
Only 38% of people interviewed feel that the UK government is genuine in wanting to tackle tax avoidance.6 5 christianaid.org.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/ august-2012/british-adults-tax-avoidance-morally-wrong. aspx
6 See point 5. 7 bbc.co.uk/news/education-12175480
ethodological note: ComRes surveyed 2,026 British M adults online from 8-9 August 2012. Data were weighted to be demographically representative of all British adults. ISSUE 2 Do not tiptoe 13
* TAX ‘ Life wouldn’t be the same without tax. It’s so important because it provides all the services we need.’ Eleri, Wrexham
‘ I always thought tax was massively complicated, but the more I realise the injustice of the current system, the more I want to do something about it.’ Lisa, Ballymena
‘ Tax is great! I’ve never paid any, but it’s great.’ Oli, Dorset ( We did break it to Oli that he does in fact pay tax on most of the things he buys. Sorry Oli!)
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‘ Tax is a contribution to everyone’s basic services. If you don’t pay it, you’re telling other people that your greed is more important than their welfare.’ Paul, Oxford
‘ When coupled with power and greed, tax becomes yet another tool of oppression.’ Syntiche, London
‘ When I think of the word tax, I automatically think of people that are older and more important than me. However, I’m learning that it’s something we need to be educated about.’ Joanna, London
YOUR TAKE
ON TAX ISSUE 2 Do not tiptoe 15
* TAX
THE ‘WORST KIND OF POVERTY’ ‘ To have a malnourished child, that’s the worst kind of poverty there is.’ Cresencia Hernandez
C
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Christian Aid/Hannah Richards
resencia Hernandez’s daughter was hospitalised with malnutrition more than 15 years ago. Recently she saw her grandson suffer the same fate. In the Guatemalan highlands where Cresencia and her family live, 70 per cent of children under five are chronically malnourished. That doesn’t just mean that children are hungry. Without enough of the right foods, children’s physical and mental growth suffers, meaning many will never reach their full potential and
are therefore more likely to be stuck in poverty as adults. But Guatemala is not one of the poorest countries in the world. It has industry, and some very wealthy people. But it also has one of the lowest tax rates in the world. Tax dodging is a huge problem and big businesses are given tax breaks, supported by lobbying that currently blocks any attempts to change the system. That means the government doesn’t have the resources it needs to tackle the country’s problems, such as making sure its children get enough to eat. Until that changes, Crescencia’s descendants will keep coming up against the same barriers.
‘I CANNOT SIT BACK AND WATCH MY COMMUNITY SUFFER’
P
of tax that Zambia is able to collect from the industry. Tax rates on the mineral industry are low and tax dodging is high. The Zambian government estimates tax dodging has cost it around US$1bn in lost revenue.
‘ As a Christian I have a Godgiven duty to fulfil the law “love your neighbour as you love yourself”. I feel obliged to be part of this campaign. I cannot sit back and watch my community suffer.’ Paris Mushimbwe The life expectancy in Zambia is 49 years, one of the lowest in southern Africa. Health services are stretched and Zambians are paying the price. But if the system was changed and the US$1bn in lost tax revenue could be collected, life could start to change for ordinary Zambians.
Christian Aid/Charlotte Marshall
aris Mushimbwe lives close to a copper mine in Mufulira, Zambia and campaigns against the negative impacts of its operations. He sees the side effects of the mine; the pollution, the fumes, the acid sprays. He doesn’t see where the money it makes ends up. One thing is certain: it doesn’t end up being ploughed back into the local community. As he puts it: ‘The mining companies are not paying enough tax…. The contribution of the mining company to the community is minimal or, may I say, zero.’ Zambia is incredibly wealthy in terms of natural resources that are in high demand: it is ranked as the seventhhighest producer of copper globally, and the second-highest producer of cobalt (used in mobile phones). In the 1990s, the copper industry was privatised and since then more than 420 companies (many of them international) have started mining operations in the country. But right now, ordinary Zambians are not benefiting from their country’s assets, because of the shockingly low amount
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* TAX
HELP US TRACE THE TAX! Tax dodging: it’s all a bit confusing with its ‘off-shore funds’ and secret dealings and legal loopholes. Well, we’ve decided to get to the bottom of what goes on when a company dodges tax. Help us work out how much tax Fake Corporation pays.
Sub Company 1
Based: Diamond-mining territory Tax rate: 30%
? Sub Company 2
Based: Tax haven isles Tax rate: 0%
FAKE CORPORATION LTD. 18 Do not tiptoe ISSUE 2
Sub Company 3 Based: Europe Tax rate: 30%
Sub Company 1 mines a diamond. It costs Sub Company 1 £50.
Profit m (£50-£5ade by Sub Co mpany 0) = 1 Tax paid b y Sub (on pro fits) = Company 1
It sells the diamond to Sub Company 2 for £50.
Sub Company 2 claims to do financial services for Sub Company 1 (but the costs are minimal if any).
Profit m (£150-£ade by Sub Com 50) = pany 2 Tax paid (at loca by Sub Compa l rate) = ny 2
Sub Company 2 sells the diamond to Sub Company 3 for £150.
Diamond arrives in Europe (on paper from tax haven isles, in reality direct from the diamond-mining territory). Sub Company 3 sells the diamond to a customer for £150.
Fake Corporation Ltd's total tax bill
£
Profit m (£150-£ade by Sub Co mpany 3 150) = Tax paid (on pro by Sub Comp fits) = any 3
T
his is obviously a very simplified version of what is a fairly complicated global financial system. But while tax havens are able to operate in complete secrecy, we won’t be able to know for sure what legal, and what fairly dodgy, dealings are taking place. We believe if a company benefits from being based in a country – for example mining its natural resources – then the company should pay the taxes that the country asks of it. ISSUE 2 Do not tiptoe 19
ANSWER: Nothing
* TAX
ax can change T the world! Taking on the global financial system might not be the sort of thing you pictured yourself doing this weekend. Think it sounds a bit dull? Or too complicated? Well read on – we think we can change your mind. In just four pages, you’ll be ready to turn the tables on tax.
B
arack Obama once spoke of a building The silent money movement in the Cayman Islands that, supposedly, Many international businesses operate houses 12,000 US corporations. in poor countries – particularly those countries rich in minerals, oil and other ‘So what?’ you might say. raw materials. In theory, poor countries Well, when you pause to think about it, it’s have lots to gain – new business can bring job opportunities, infrastructure not that easy to fit 12,000 companies in your average building, which suggests that and tax revenue. But, in practice, Christian Aid reckons that poor countries those companies are not actually based lose out – massively. It’s believed they there. It suggests, in fact, that everything those companies create, buy or sell takes lose out by US$160bn every single year because of some unscrupulous place somewhere else. multinational corporations not paying taxes in the countries where they make Now that might be strange, their money, but instead shifting that but why does it matter? money to tax havens and elsewhere. It matters for one very short, but very important reason: tax. The Cayman Islands are a tax haven. Which generally means two things for businesses using them: very high levels of financial secrecy and very low levels of tax. And that matters to us because financial secrecy – or, rather, ending it – has world-changing potential.
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HOW TO ... save money in a tax haven
... keep information vague in a tax haven
Sixty per cent of all global trade actually takes place within multinational corporations – that’s between different small companies that are part of the same large parent company. And a single multinational company may have so-called ‘subsidiary companies’ in lots of countries around the world, including tax havens. One practice, by some unscrupulous multinationals, is to set up subsidiary companies in tax havens and then shift their profits to these tax havens, so that they pay little or no tax on the profits they make.
Right now multinational companies’ annual reports only have to declare their total global profits and total global tax paid, so it’s difficult to see where companies make a load of money, and where they pay any tax. The secrecy in tax havens makes it doubly difficult to detect profits made and taxes paid.
... avoid the law in a tax haven Some of this money-shifting is illegal, some of it is technically legal, and some of it falls into a grey area in-between. Arguably, all of it is dodgy
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* TAX
For poor countries to be able to make their own way out of poverty for good, they need to be able to fund essential services like healthcare. That costs money. So just where could that money come from? Tax is a reliable source of income; it means countries can decide for themselves how to meet their needs and it means they are not dependent on outside sources forever more. The World Bank estimates that reaching the millennium development goals (targets set by world leaders in
2000 to reduce poverty) would cost an extra US$40-60bn a year. That means if we could stop the US$160bn that is currently going missing from poor countries in dodged tax, we could reach those targets and more. But the important thing is we’re not really talking about targets. We’re talking about real people in real communities. Tax dodging doesn’t just mean money lost from poor countries. It means children without a school to go to. Communities without a clinic. Cities with unpaved roads. Neighbourhoods without piped water.
Tax can be an exit route from poverty; join us as we help make it happen.
What about... ... aid?
Yes, aid is important in the short to medium term to save lives and to help support essential services when there is no other means of paying for them. But aid, especially government aid, isn’t a long-term solution and aid can easily dry up if and when the donating countries decide to cut it or divert it elsewhere.
... loans?
Well, loans require countries to pay interest and these interest payments can be a huge burden on public finances. Many countries end up spending more on interest payments
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than on health or education, for example. Loans can also come with certain rules that stipulate what a country can use the money for, thereby undermining countries’ abilities to set their own policies for reducing poverty. Without tax justice, developing countries will continue to rely on aid and loans. For years these have been used to bring some relief, but they are just not radical enough to bring about the change that is needed to allow these countries to work their way out of poverty.
We just can’t keep quiet about the enormous potential of tax to change the world. And the good news is that there are some fairly simple solutions, and many people with the power to change things. Over the past couple of years or so, tax has gone from something only accountants want to talk about to being the cause of celebrities making front page news. People are starting to realise that at home, and abroad, tax could be the solution to some of our problems. The secrecy that surrounds tax havens is the key to the problem. So changing it is key to the solution. There are two things we want to see: country-by-country reporting and automatic information exchange. Publish the profits Country-by-country reporting would mean that every company has to publish how much profit it makes, and how much tax it pays, in each country in which it does business (rather than a single figure for global profits made and global tax paid). This would make it harder for companies to shift money out of poor countries like Zambia into rich tax havens like Switzerland in order to dodge tax.
No more secrets Automatic information exchange means that tax authorities in different countries would be able to get information from each other about the wealth being held in their countries by companies and individuals. The key thing here is to ensure that tax havens automatically exchange information with other countries. That way, tax authorities in poor countries could more easily detect if a company or individual was moving profits to a tax haven in order to dodge tax. The tax authorities can then challenge the culprits with hard evidence.
Find out more at christianaidcollective.org
Your world-changing weekend starts here Governments, as part of international bodies such as the G20, have the power to make these changes happen. They need to hear from us that it’s necessary. So get your pen out (or typing fingers at the ready) and turn to page 28 to find out how you can speak out for justice.
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Dan Etheridge
* TAX
This is tax justice 26 Do not tiptoe ISSUE 2
Do you ever feel like life is constantly demanding you make decisions: which course to apply for, which driving school to learn with, which job site to subscribe to, which campaign to support…?
B
Christian Aid/Hannah Richards
eing able to make decisions can be a good thing; it means we have some power over our own lives, the ability to choose our path for ourselves. But making decisions can be tough. Faced with the choice between sending your child to school to get an education and have a better chance in later life or feeding your family today, which would you choose? In Bolivia, it was a decision Eugenia struggled to make. Her son Omar is nine. Omar’s day starts pretty early at 6am; he has to get a shift in at his shoe-shine business before he goes to school. Omar aims for 15 customers before he heads home at lunchtime, so that he can earn £1/€1.25 if he’s lucky. After a quick stop for lunch, he goes to school.
‘ Sometimes he needed shoes or clothes and I didn’t have enough, but now there’s enough for things for school.’ Eugenia, Omar’s mum Eugenia used to have to decide whether to send Omar to school with
the books that he needs or to buy food for the family. ‘If we struggled to buy the school things, we couldn’t buy food,’ she explains. But then something changed in Bolivia: ordinary people demanded changes to an unfair tax system, which led to the shake up of an industry and eventually to changes in the law. Christian Aid partners were part of the movement that encouraged and mobilised people to demand a fairer tax system for Bolivia from the oil and gas industry. Companies used to pay 18 per cent tax on the profits they were making, but new laws brought in because of the protests mean they now pay 50 per cent. As a result 2.4 million people – 20 per cent of the population – are now benefiting from the increased money the government earns in tax. Parents like Eugenia now receive a grant for school essentials, meaning they no longer have to make that agonising decision between sending their children to school or buying food for their family. It also means that elderly people now receive a pension. For 77-year-old Emitilla Paucara Choque, the state pension means she can pay the rent and buy food even when she can’t find either the strength or the jobs to meet her needs. ‘If it wasn’t for the pension what would become of us grandparents?’ she says. ‘This pension has saved us.’ Omar’s and Emitilla’s stories show us what a fair and just tax system means on a human level: more kids in school and dignity in old age.
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* TAX
Get involved So, we’ve given you the lowdown on tax. How tax dodging hurts us all. How it robs countries of the money they need to spend on essential services such as schools and health. But how can you change something as huge as a global, powerful, wealthy, established system? Well, you have a voice. And you can use it. Here’s how.
R
ight now, tax dodging is an injustice that keeps some people poor while others get richer. Financial secrecy is at the heart of the tax-dodging problem – especially the secrecy in tax havens. David Cameron has already called for a fairer, better-governed world economy and now we need him to push for action that will make it happen: tax dodgers must have nowhere to hide. We need you to write to the Prime Minister in Britain, or Taoiseach in Ireland, to remind them that it’s time to take action. Use the following points to shape your letter: • O utline why you believe tax is so important and why you care enough to write the letter. • U rge them to push for measures that will require: - companies to report on the profits they make and the taxes they pay in every country in which they operate - all countries, including tax havens, to automatically share information about the money flowing through them with all other countries.
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• T hank them for reading your letter and point out that you will be supporting any actions they take towards tax justice at home and abroad. • D on’t forget to include your contact details at the top of your letter so that they can reply to you. You can write to the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street, London SW1A 2AA Or the Taoiseach at Department of the Taoiseach, Government Buildings, Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2. (We suggest you start with ‘Dear Prime Minister’/ ‘Dear Taoiseach’.)
Got a e? minut
You can get in touch with us at collective@christian-aid.org for some ready-made campaign postcards for you and your group. Happy world changing!
Got a hou
t ger?
How to...
CLEAN UP THE TAX SYSTEM
WE NEED AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE TO GET ON BOARD WITH OUR TAX CAMPAIGN, SO LET’S GET THE MESSAGE OUT THERE.
HELP TO CLEAN UP THE TAX SYSTEM BY SCRUBBING AWAY THE DIRT WITH OUR CLEAN-GRAFFITI STENCIL.
T ear off the stencil from the back page of this magazine and carefully pop out the letters.
Take a photo of your newly cleaned-up graffiti and send us the picture so that we can show them off on twitter #cleanuptax or facebook.com/ christianaidcollective
Got other creative ways of getting the message across? Get in touch and we’ll share the ideas around collective@ christian-aid.org After all, sharing is caring.
Take an old toothbrush (one that you don’t want to clean your teeth with again!) and a small tub of hot water containing a drop of washing-up liquid.
Place your stencil against a dirty wall. Dip your toothbrush in the water and scrub over the gaps in your stencil. (You may need to shake the water off the toothbrush gently first so that it is not dripping .)
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Please ask the owner before you use your stencil on their property, and be sensible about where you use it – you know, no law-breaking or trespassing or that sort of thing…
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* LIFE AND FAITH
Radical life, Radical love Gandhi reportedly once said: ‘You Christians are so unlike your Christ.’ It’s a feeling that Collective’s Sarah Rowe has recently found hard to shake. She’s working out how tax – somehow always associated with the bad guy – is really part of a life lived in love.
Greenbelt festival fans putting their faith into action on board Christian Aid’s Tax Justice Bus
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T
he church isn’t exactly known for being radical. Which I find a bit odd, since the more I think about it, the more radical I think Jesus is. In a society that believed that wealth was a blessing from God, Jesus said that the kingdom of God belonged to the poor. In a society that didn’t always value women, Jesus made the effort to stop to talk to them. In a society based on an eye for an eye, Jesus taught forgiveness, not revenge.
You could say that Jesus came to shake things up a bit, if not turn things completely on their head. More than 2,000 years later, most of it is just as radical as it was then. In a society that seems to encourage us to get ahead whatever the consequences, the call to love your neighbour as you love yourself still has the power to turn things upside down. I know that sometimes I’m guilty of believing that I already do love my neighbour. After all, I smile at them when I see them and I’ll give them a hand if they need any help. I try to look after my friends. I call my mum as often as I should. I give money to charities that I believe in and buy The Big Issue when I can, because I hope I’m coming to understand that my neighbours aren’t just the people in the flat next door, but also the guy living on the pavement outside my nearest train station. But there’s still this thought
that increasingly pricks my conscience telling me that these are the easy ways to love my neighbours. Daily life now brings us into contact with all sorts of people who therefore become part of our community too. Sometimes I find it harder to love them; to value their happiness as much my own. If I really believe that the person who grows my coffee is as important as me, I won’t buy it unless I know that they get paid properly. If I really believe that farmers in Kenya are as important as me, I won’t add to the climate change that is destroying their livelihoods. If I really believe that communities in Zambia are as important as me, I will fight for a global tax system that doesn’t deny them their own resources. The problem with love is it’s easy to say and much harder to live. So I’m setting this challenge to myself; to live and love radically. To think about how I spend my money, but more importantly how I’m spending my time and using my voice. It’s not as immediately heart-warming as baking a cake for Amy next door, but speaking out against injustice is part of the radical love that we are called to reveal.
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* LIFE AND FAITH
12 months to change the world It was a homeless family in India who inspired Joanna Callender to embark on a journey to challenge injustice and stand up for those without a voice. She describes how her passion to end poverty brought her to Christian Aid to become an agitator for change.
s meles o a ho ove, a t g in t st hat nt to a rner, c K eet co sions amou They live on e r t s a n y’r s. ses yself o nd the lanket ly pos I find m hose world and some b protection a f w s family king utensil no means o is real. ging is o e h o v t c a d h w n of beg y e f t, the is pover ty a stead they e In e r . t e s se km the his becau s shoc able. T action e their food vulner t s r fi ir hem, them. er, the offer m ak to t Howev oney, they ending with e p s ld m o p ou used t me for e time I’m s one w hy any ain. They’re th w e d lu n a a it v derst ne from Br o on’t un They d lly not some ce, li ia o c p e e p s h e om t r f use g a c in runn em be ome h t t a e who b ’t afford a h en as e an they c . They are s and in y, t e ie v c li so to at est in ept th w c c lo a e y h il t d a n e r a c do o they to nothing they tion; a there’s ge their situ ality. rm n to cha ept it as no c c a e y e th akes m ent m inequality m o m This ty of er ty in e reali see th truth of pov e and th ld. r o w our
y a , Jul olkat
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2011
Durham, Januar
y 2012
During my time at university I slowly sta rt to realise that a nine-to-five job isn’t normal the right step for me , but that I need to involved in trying to get change the world a bit. My particular pass ion is communicatio n, and showing peop that there is a world le beyond Britain where injustice is rife, wh governments are co ere rrupt and where pe ople are dying from diseases that are ea sily preventable. The Christian Aid Co llective states on its website: ‘We are a network of young pe ople and students who believe the wo doesn’t have to be rld the way it is. We’re not content to tiptoe through life.’ These sentences rea lly sum up why I am applying to be part the Collective intern of ship next year. I be lieve that everyone something to give in has the fight against wo rld poverty, big or sm Working together, the all. re is the possibility that poverty can be eradicated. It’s an ambitious goal but one to keep striving towards.
London, July 2012
I am just about to sta rt my journey as an intern with Christian Aid Collecti ve. For the next year I’m going to be exploring how I can be part of a moveme nt that might change something. The Collective is excit ing because it’s not just telling us to give some mone y and move on. Rathe r, it’s challenging us to ca re about the world and its people, and encoura ging us to play our part in the long term. I love the idea of inv olving younger generations in the Christian Aid family alongside those who have been supporters for years . Age is no boundary: young pe ople and students ca n make a huge difference. I’m taking part in the Christian Aid Collecti ve to be part of a movement that aim s to eradicate poverty , forever. It’s a journey I’m excited to embark on.
* LIFE AND FAITH
10 minutes with Harry Baker World Cup Poetry Slam winner Harry Baker takes some time to wax poetic with us about Palestine, Pixar and paper people. So, you’re the world’s best poet?! Er... yeah! I took a year out to do poetry and went on this poetry pilgrimage to Chicago; the home of poetry slam, which someone started as basically a way to trick people into coming to listen to poetry! [For those of us not in the know, poetry slams are events where poets have three minutes to perform, and then particular members of the audience give them a score out of 10. Often poets are knocked out as rounds progress until a winner is found.] I eventually got involved in the European-wide slam and it was just one of the most inspiring weeks of my life – the international element of it and the opportunity to travel and meet new people was amazing. Poetry
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was something we had in common and although we wouldn’t have been there without the competition, it wasn’t really about the competition. [It seems Harry won’t boast about it, but this year he went on to win the World Cup Poetry Slam.] How did you get into doing poetry? I started as a rapper. There was this battle of the bands at school and I couldn’t play an instrument so I wrote this rap with a friend called 99 problems but maths ain’t one. I love playing with words and crafting language. At first I think it was pretty awful and people didn’t really get it, but I love that you don’t need anything else to do it – you don’t need a band, it’s just you and a microphone… and sometimes not even that!
Jonny Baker
I didn’t really know how to deal with what I was seeing so I turned it into poetry
You’ve recorded your poem Proper Pop-up Purple Paper People for our new podcast, and it touches on some big issues. Is that something that you’d like to do more of in your poetry? Paper People is my first more political poem. Poets who’ve inspired me have been people who always seem to have incredible stories to tell. At first, I didn’t put that much of myself into my poems because I didn’t think I had that much to go in; I haven’t had a dramatic home life and I’m very aware that I’m still young so still developing my own style. But then I realised that everyone has something to say about themselves that other people can connect with, even if that’s something about crying at Pixar films. I went to Palestine recently and it was life changing. I didn’t really know how to deal with what I was seeing so I turned it into poetry – some of the people I met had amazing stories to tell. I like people – that’s about as fundamental as it gets.
Can you tell us a bit more about the people who have inspired you? People around me inspire me all the time. I just recently found out that my grandparents take time out every single morning to pray for me and my cousins. That’s amazing to know that every day someone has taken the time to think about us. I’ve got friends who are brilliant at being themselves and not pretending to be something they’re not, and an aunt who does drama work with people in prison. Those people who do ordinary things to put other people first – that’s inspirational.
We heard Harry at the Greenbelt festival and know his world title is well deserved. Check him out on our podcast at christianaidcollective.org and follow Harry on Twitter to get his latest news @harrybakerpoet ISSUE 2 Do not tiptoe 39
* SEE, HEAR, PRAY, DO
Needles at the ready! Sarah Corbett from the Craftivist Collective shows us an ingenious way to get our world-changing messages across using a needle and thread. Step 1
Step 2
Step 3 You’ll need: • Cotton aida (open weave fabric which is perfect for embroidery; available from any good craft shop or haberdashery) (approx 8x13cm) • A needle and thread • A scrap piece of material (approx 13x18cm) • Two cable ties • A thought-provoking and positive message! (Or a mini protest banner kit: see orange box) 40 Do not tiptoe ISSUE 2
Step 1. First choose the message you want to put on your protest banner. You might find it useful to write your message on to your cotton aida in pencil or biro (this makes it easier to sew). Step 2. Cut your thread approx 30cm long and split it in half so you have three strands. Thread your needle and follow the grid to sew your message. Step 3. Once you’ve stitched your message, trim your cotton aida leaving a 1cm space around the words. Cut your scrap of pretty material so that you can see at least 2cm of the pattern around the edge of your aida. Sew your cotton
aida on top of your scrap material. Step 4. Punch holes in the top corners of your fabric (if you buy a Craftivist kit it comes already punched). Step 5. Now you’re ready to put your mini protest banner up in a public place! Use your cable ties to put your banner up where it will get noticed. Take a photo and send it to collective@christian-aid.org so that we can show them off on our website (christianaidcollective.org)
Step 5
Step 4
You can buy mini protest banner kits from craftivistcollective.com that come with everything you need. We also have kits to give to the first 10 people to get in touch – just send an email to us at collective@christian-aid.org telling us what message you’d put on your banner.
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* SEE, HEAR, PRAY, DO
May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be confident knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us. St ThÊrèse of Lisieux
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E
ating food that is friendly to the environment can be complicated and confusing. A meal’s carbon footprint depends on where the food comes from, how it is processed, packaged, stored and cooked. Generally though, you can reduce your carbon footprint by eating less meat and dairy, shopping at local shops and markets, and trying to eat in-season, locally grown food wherever possible. Buy Fairtrade when it’s an option, and remember that climate change and unfair trade affects the poorest communities the most – by doing your bit for the environment and supporting Fairtrade farming cooperatives, you’re making a difference to people living in poverty. Try this simple seasonal recipe, using local ingredients where possible. It’s adaptable enough to add whatever is currently in season. Red Lentil Curry Ingredients: Fairtrade olive oil, onion (finely sliced), garlic (crushed), butternut squash (peeled and cut into small chunks) (optional), carrots (peeled and chopped) (optional), red or green chilli
(deseeded and finely diced), ginger (grated), red lentils (check if they need soaking prior to use), spices (eg cumin, coriander, cinnamon), tomatoes/seasonal greens (eg spinach, beans: chopped/ sliced), salt, pepper, juice of a lime. • H eat some olive oil in a pan and throw in the onion and garlic. Add the squash, carrots and any other hard veg you’re using, and fry until they’re all soft and tender. • T hrow in the chilli and ginger. Stir around a bit. • Add the lentils and any spices you fancy, and give that a mix. • Add water (so that the lentils are covered) and let it simmer for a while, stirring occasionally and topping up with water as needed. • W hen the lentils are tender and all the water has been absorbed, add a dash of olive oil and some of the tomatoes/ seasonal greens and heat gently until they are soft and warm. • A dd seasoning and the lime juice to taste. • Serve with some lovely local (or even better – homemade) bread. What’s best when? Spring: spring greens, cabbage, cauliflower, rhubarb, asparagus. Summer: peas, strawberries, cucumber, lettuce, cherries, raspberries, plums. Autumn: courgettes, blackberries, runner beans, sweetcorn, apples, potatoes, red cabbage. Winter: white cabbage, sprouts, carrots, leeks, kale, savoy cabbage.
For more help on what’s good when, visit whats-in-season.com
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* SEE, HEAR, PRAY, DO
The Lorax (2012) Sally Foxall got involved in the Student Christian Movement because she loved its heart for justice, fairness and equality for all. Recently she found inspiration in the cinema, courtesy of The Lorax.
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ritten in 1972 as a book by Dr Seuss, The Lorax was adapted into a film in 2012. Although primarily written for a young audience, the film appeals to the whole family and can be understood on a variety of levels; offering a prophetic message to our society. The film begins in the town of Thneedville, where everything is artificial, and it describes the story of a boy who endeavours to find a living tree – a Truffula tree. Encouraged by his grandmother, he goes on a journey to meet the Once-ler who tells him his story. In his youth, the Once-ler makes a famous invention that leads to him chopping down all the Truffula trees. He encounters the Lorax, the protector of the trees, who warns him against his actions.
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But the Once-ler is too consumed by greed and success, and his failure to listen results in massive deforestation and environmental destruction.
Only when the last tree falls does he understand the dangers of making progress without thinking of the consequences. The film’s themes include corporate greed and capitalism, deforestation and pollution, land grabbing and eviction, consumerism and sustainability. It finally ends with a message of hope that reminds us to take practical environmental action ourselves, for as the Lorax reminds us: ‘unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better’.
We love... Gadgets, films, music, jokes, food, ideas, technology and, above all, justice: we love it all. Here we bring you nuggets of brilliance from the web and the real world. Check out christianaidcollective.org/we-love for more. Something to watch: bit.ly/watchdnt This excellent little video brilliantly sums up why Christian Aid and numerous other sister organisations are campaigning for tax justice. Brought to you by naturalresourcecharter.org
Something to listen to: soundcloud.com/fold/so-it-goes Based in Leeds, live electronica group Fold integrates speech into music in experimental ways in order to throw our troubled times into stark relief. The group tries to do so without being preachy, pretentious, or conceited. We love it, see what you think...
Something to inspire: freesetglobal.com Freeset is a Fairtrade business offering employment to women trapped in India’s sex trade. They make quality jute bags and organic cotton t-shirts. Read their story on the website and then browse some of the amazing products they produce and sell.
Something to remember: Pray as if everything depended on God; work as if everything depended on you. St Ignatius of Loyola
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Go h
* SEE, HEAR, PRAY, DO Do not tiptoe around ... SH ‘ TIL OP Y DRO OU P!
Plastic bags
It’s one of life’s great mysteries. You know you have a cupboard stuffed full of them at home and yet not a single one when you need it. So when the ‘do you need a bag?’ question inevitably comes along, more often than not we find ourselves saying ‘yes please’.
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s products go, the rise of the plastic bag is a phenomenal success story. In 40 years they’ve gone from non-existent to integral to our everyday life. In 2011, businesses in Britain issued 254 plastic bags a second and, as a nation, Britain consumed 8 billion of them.
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But like any addiction, our dependence on plastic has some fairly nasty side effects. On average, we use a plastic bag for less than half an hour. But once it’s dumped, it takes up to 1,000 years to degrade. Plastic bags were only introduced in the 1970s, yet already make up a big chunk of the waste floating around in our oceans; littering beaches and threatening marine life. The majority are made from oil-based plastic – non-renewable sources that add to our carbon footprint.
Estimates suggest that producing 1kg of plastic results in 6kg of carbon being released. Although in England businesses are encouraged to try to reduce their plastic bag usage, there are no limits on companies issuing them or information about what that actually means. The Republic of Ireland, on the other hand, introduced a plastic bag tax in 2002 and increased it in 2007. As a result, plastic bag usage has dropped by 90 per cent. Maybe life without the plastic bag is possible after all…
What a lovely mug! As the nights start drawing in and kettles click back into full-time use, we’ve decided to diversify our mug collection with a little charity shop challenge.
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hether you’re starting uni and realising you have no crockery, or just like making people smile with the offer of hot water and caffeine, mugs are one of life’s daily essentials. From old-time teacup classics, like your great-gran cherished, to cutesy cartoon creations and super-cool retro styles, we are sure there is a mug just waiting for you in your nearest charity shop. Revel in the browsing, knowing that whatever you buy you’re saving it from landfill, and grab yourself a bargain for less than the price of a choca-mocha-chino. Second hand is the new brand new…
Send us a photo of your favourite charity shop mug
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We are a movement of young people and students who believe the world doesn’t have to be the way it is. We’re not content to tiptoe through life. We want to shout out against injustice and challenge the systems that keep people poor. We want to run towards a new world – a better world. To be love in action. Together we can be the generation that ends poverty.
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DNT ISSUE 2 • CHRISTIANAIDCOLLECTIVE.ORG
Together we are Collective.