I just signed a petition and sent an email to the Managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a quick but hopefully valuable attempt at a better world::
http://www.one.org/international/gold/?rc=goldtaf
At the G20 summit in London, the IMF was tasked with coming up for a plan to sell some of their gold reserves to provide emergency funding for developing countries struggling through the financial crisis. I sent a letter to the IMF, because I want them to provide as much funding as they can, and provide it in way that won't create debt for developing countries, which may find their economic recovery cut short if they have to take high interest loans.
The issue of debt is an important one, and we need to let the IMF know that people care about it so they do the right thing. Please join me in taking action to let them know here:
http://www.one.org/international/gold/?rc=goldtaf
A ton of work has been done to try to get the world's rich nations to forgive the debilitating debts from loans 'given' to the worlds poorest nations to supposedly help them rebuild after years of exploitation and often tyrannical rule by the colonial powers. Cynics would say that these loans were just a new form of colonialism because they came with conditionalities which fundamentally undermined the recipient countries' economies and societies (called structural adjustment programs or SAPs). The interest rates on some of these former loans led to the vast majority of government's budgets going towards servicing the debt while the countries citizens went without basic necessities. Some of these debts were forgiven in the last decades, freeing up sorely needed funds for things like providing antiretrovirals to people suffering from aids, and providing primary schooling. To renew the debt burdens when claiming to be helping countries overcome the effects of the financial crisis would be incredibly ironic, unjust, and disappointing. So I emailed my buddy IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, to share my opinion that I think its great that we are providing some capital to help poor countries cope with the financial crisis, but it should not be a loan. It should be stimulus.
Dear Justin,
ReplyDeleteYou—and over 45,000 other ONE members—have signed our petition to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, asking him to sell a small amount of IMF gold reserves to provide funding to developing countries in ways that won’t create debt. But as the meeting approaches, it’s becoming clear that we’ll need more than Strauss-Kahn on our side to make this happen.
I’m emailing you in particular because Michael Horgan of Canada is one of the Executive Directors of the IMF, and one of the key votes in decisions at the IMF’s spring meeting later this week. Can you take a moment to send him an email reiterating our request that the IMF not create new debts?
http://www.one.org/international/goldemails/ca/?id=925-4080965-URZS5Ex&t=2
We’ve written up a template email for you to use, and prepared some key points that you may want to mention or just write your own.
We know the IMF will listen to these emails. In 2007, ONE members sent the IMF tens of thousands of emails calling for debt relief for Liberia. A few days later, the IMF moved forward with Liberian debt relief, and cited the public outcry as one of the main motivators for getting things moving. It’s time for the IMF to hear us again, so they won’t waste this chance to give developing countries the resources needed to steer out of the financial crisis.
Thank you to taking part,
Roxane Philson, ONE.org