You shall make this year your year of jubilee.
In the year of this jubilee ye shall return every man unto his possession.
Leviticus, Ch. XXV
The year 2000 has been declared a year of jubilee by the churches worldwide, to focus the attention of the rich nations on the scandal of world debt
Many of the world's poorest countries are paying the rich nations, huge amounts of money in interest payments on debts taken out in a different age by their grandparents. They are being drained of money which would be better spent on health and education. Any aid sent to these countries by the wealthy nations is only a fraction of the money which is traveling the other way.
Much hard work has gone into the jubilee campaign with large events ,such as the demonstrations at the G8 summits in Birmingham and Cologne attracting much publicity, as well as lots of patient 'beavering away' behind the scenes. The campaign has also been very successful with the cancellation of large amounts of debt, notably supported by Gordon Brown, but the target of the complete cancellation of all debt has not yet been achieved.
The slogan of the campaign is,
Break the chain: cancel the debt
and many people wear little lapel chains to show their support.
For more information, and figures, contact Christian Aid.
Margaret Healey
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