I has been said that to every difficult and complex problem there is always a simple solution.  It is always and inevitably wrong.  That calls to mind the ongoing discussion on the issues of China, the Olympics and Tibet.

The Olympic Games to be held in Beijing in August have been a constant news item for some time.  And with that, as a sub-theme, is the story of Tibet.  Tibet, because of its location and the status of its exiled leader, the Dalai Lama, carries a special fascination for many Western people.

Tibet, occupied and ruled by China, has featured in the news because of protests there which were suppressed by the military, apparently with a number of deaths. As a result the Olympic torch relay has been disrupted by protesters who seek to highlight the situation of the Tibetan people.   Some of these protests have been violent.

Some people have advocated that there should be a boycott of the Beijing games because of Chinese policy in regard to Tibet.  That sounds like a simple solution to this complex and disturbing matter.

These events have had me thinking – about dealing with people and cultures of which we know little, of how we find accurate information, of what kinds of protest and valid and useful. 

Despite that in recent years China has been opened up to tourists most of us know almost nothing of Chinese history and the various regional cultures that make up this nation.  It is close to impossible to comprehend a population of over 1.3 billion people.

What we can hopefully appreciate is that the history and development of China has taken place free from many of the ideas and movements that have shaped our history.  This also applies to Tibet.  Of that country most know very little other than that the Tibetans are Buddhists and that Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, lives in exile in India.

These differences between the West and China are important when we come to the question of human rights.  Our understanding of what constitutes human rights has been built up over centuries going back to the Magna Carta in England in 1215.  We think of individual political rights; the freedom from arbitrary arrest, the right to vote, freedom of assembly.   The Chinese leadership considers the effort they have made to feed, house and educated the huge population as a massive contribution to basic human rights for their people.  When we step back a little it is not difficult to understand why the Chinese are offended when they are hectored by foreigners who present Western views as the norm.

So should the games in Beijing go ahead?  If our objections are on behalf of the people of Tibet it is important to note that the Dalai Lama is not calling for a boycott. 

Boycotts in the past have not been effective.  In 1980 some nations, led by the USA boycotted the Moscow games because of the invasion of Afghanistan.  There was no Soviet withdrawal because of the boycott but only a tit-for tat boycott of the Los Angeles Olympics four years later. 

And if we are concerned about violence in Tibet the violent disruption of the torch relay in some countries seems a little contradictory.  In Canberra the torch relay became a massive security issue and so something to be avoided. Perhaps it is time to make the relay, introduced by Hitler for the 1936 Berlin Games, a thing of the past.

In awarding the games to Beijing there was a hope that this would further open up China and provide a basis for dialogue and understanding.  And that, of course, is always a two way process.   Australia, with a Prime Minister who has a knowledge and appreciation of Chinese language, history and culture, is well placed to be part of the respectful dialogue that is required.

Protest is important as it affirms the hope that there is a name for the nameless, a face for the lost: good news for the poor.  For all people we hope for a responsible identity, the capacity to be self aware agents of their own history.     To achieve that for the people of Tibet (and Zimbabwe, Burma, Palestine or West Papua) calls for a well informed long haul.

Unfortunately there no simple answers in many situations where we see a lack of freedom and identity.  Only history will tell if the protests around the Beijing Olympics  have achieved anything for the people of Tibet.

©Kathleen Luchetti, rsj “Justice Matters” Catholic Observer 2008

The shock was real enough to stop me in my tracks.   I was in the supermarket and encountered $5 cauliflowers.   It seemed a totally unreal price for such a prosaic vegetable, only marginally more desirable than brussel sprouts or pumpkin.

When I voiced my amazement I was reminded that this was an effect of the drought and so I shouldn’t be surprised.

Sometimes we need to personally experience an issue before it becomes real.  The $5 caulie was not a threat to my well-being but it has made me take notice of headlines such as “New threat to food system” or “Scarcity in an age of plenty”. While we are conscious of the damaging effects of rising oil prices we may be less aware of the serious changes evolving in the global food supply system. 

There are a number of causes for these changes.   Climate change and drought are factors which we have experienced in our own state.  Catastrophic weather events, such as cyclone Nargis, will greatly reduce Burma’s rice production.  The recent flooding of the Mississippi River will seriously effect grain production in the US. 

Political instability can also be a significant factor.   Zimbabwe, formally a rich agricultural country, is currently faced with famine.  That has touched us indirectly as the Bathurst Diocese was to host twenty-five WYD pilgrims from Zimbabwe; their travel was cancelled as the sponsoring organization needed to use the funds to support feeding programs.

Just as changing patterns of supply and demand have caused the rise in the price of oil so the same factors have seen the price of grains increase in the twelve months to March this year with corn up 31%, rice 74%, and wheat 130%.

The rising oil prices also have directly affected food supply and price.   The move to substitute biofuels for oil has resulted in some land being taken out of food production.  With transport costs rising we are reminded that this will in turn add to the price of goods, especially those that are transported great distances.   No wonder the slogan “Eat locally, survive globally”.   Out of season produce, transported half-way around the world, seems an inappropriate indulgence.

Rising oil prices have added to the price of fertilizer because of the energy involved in the production of fertilizes such as nitrogen.   In parts of the Philippines some farmers are finding the cost of fertilizer has increased by 80% in the past year.  China, to ensure supplies, has recently paid more than triple what they did a year ago for potash.

While we recognise that “fresh is best” there is a growing dependence on highly processed foods – many that would not be recognised by our grandparents – that are energy dependent in their production, packaging and transport.

Behind the more obvious causes of the food shortages are an unfair world trade system, speculation and waste.  It has been estimated that Australians throw away more than 3 million tonnes of food a year, worth more than $5 billon, mostly because of over shopping and waste. 

The rising price of oil and the rising price of food, particularly grain crops are ‘signs of the times’ that urgently confront the international community.

While we may feel powerless, any action for change can only begin with awareness.  Increasing awareness of the urgent issues will hopefully  result in changes of policy in international trade and the required increase in the proportion of development aid that goes to assist agriculture in poor countries.

My personal challenge is to buy only what I need, to minimize the quantity of processed and packaged foods and to only purchase  fruit and vegetables that are in season.  In our global interconnected world our own habits of consumption are challenged by those whose primary right to food is not being met.

Some of you, in the larger centers, may have had the opportunity to see the film Amazing Grace.  The film highlights the role of William Wilberforce who led a twenty year parliamentary campaign to end the British slave trade between West Africa and North America.   That victory was just two hundred years ago, in 1807.

For me William Wilberforce was a name vaguely remembered from long-past history classes.   The film, and a little reading, has been a reminder of some learnings we can take from those events which have relevance for our times.

The title of the film Amazing Grace comes from the well known hymn which was written by John Newton, a former slave-ship captain.  Newton had a profound conversion experience in realizing the evil of the slave trade so the words of his hymn are profoundly strong and personal:

Newton, whose conversion led him to renounce his involvement with slave-trading, became a Christian minister.  However he realised that the slave-trade would only end with political action.  Newton became a mentor to Wilberforce persuading him to remain in parliament to work for the legislative changes that were needed.

The film shows the small group that gathered around Wilberforce and the struggle that ensued to achieve the legislative changes needed.  What the film doesn’t make clear is the significant role played by others such as Thomas Clarkson.

Clarkson accidentally came across the issue of slavery at Cambridge University when he entered a Latin  essay competition on the legality of making people slaves against their will. He won the competition but his research shocked him into devoting the remainder of his life to ending what he recognized as a great human calamity.

What Clarkson added to the anti-slavery movement was a genius for organization and a flair for publicity.  He knew that parliament would not abolish slavery without massive public pressure for there were significant economic benefits to Britain from the slave trade.  Clarkson was the one who did the research that was used by Wilberforce in his parliamentary campaign and mobilized support across the nation.

John Newton died in December 1807 having lived to see the British slave-trade outlawed. The campaign of Wilberforce and Clarkson did not end with that anti-slavery legislation of 1807 but they continued the campaign until slavery was outlawed across all of the British Empire in 1833.   What was achieved by the leadership of these men would never have been possible without the strong moral commitment to see the end slavery that had been uncritically accepted for centuries.

For Australians it is worth remembering that this country was settled by Britain at a time when slavery was common, legal and profitable.  It perhaps explains something of the mind-set that was brought to this land and much of the subsequent tragic history of indigenous Australians.

We may think slavery is an evil of the past.  Another film The Jammed is a revelation of another form of slavery, sexual trafficking.  This Australian film tells of a Chinese mother’s search for her daughter forced into prostitution in Melbourne.  The truth that this film depicts makes it not just a very good film but an important one.  It is estimated that over 100 women are trafficked into prostitution in Australia each year, and while the numbers may look small each case is a massive human tragedy in which people are abused for the profit of others.

The campaign of Newton, Clarkson and Wilberforce reflects the components of successful social justice action; strong moral conviction, research and organization that educates people about the issue and leads to a change in public opinion, and then,

appropriate legislation.  Very rarely will governments act ahead of public opinion.

No one, not even a William Wilberforce, is able to bring about change on their own.  If there is an issue that is of concern to you find those who are like minded, do your research, educate others and be ready for the long haul.  

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