Comercio Justo and "A Deeper Shade of Green"

FAIR TRADE

For those of you interested in buying Fair Trade products or just want to find out more about it, I found some good webpages online for Spain, the US, and the UK. The concept originated in Europe in the 1960s, and it is a movement to help:

·promote sustainable development

·alleviate poverty

·create transparency and accountability

·develop the producers' independence, eliminating the "middle-man"

·payment of a fair price, enabling a production that is socially just and environmentally sound

·gender equity

·safe and healthy working conditions

·children's rights

·encourage better environmental practices

WEBSITES:

Equi Mercado

Global Exchange: Fair Trade

Traidcraft Shop


"A DEEPER SHADE OF GREEN"

In my family I've always been picked on as being a "tree hugger". Now, I'm no Julia "Butterfly" Hill who spends two years of her life living in a California Redwood, and I am strongly against radical or violent activism, but I would consider myself an environmentalist in the sense that I think conservation and sustainability are extremely important. I'll also be the first to admit that I don't do all I should. I hate taking the bus and it's so much easier to go to the grocery store below my house rather than walk to the local Farmer's Market in the old city. But we are slowly destroying our natural environment and we,the world, need to change our practices and our way of life.

If you are suscribers to the National Geographic, there's a great article in the August issue by Bill McKibben (author of the best seller, The End of Nature) called, "A Deeper Shade of Green". He talks about the need for a new cultural environmentalism. The need for a new frame of mind and way of living and thinking. He deals with fossil fuel, energy costs, urban sprawl, farmer's markets, etc. Here are few exerpts:

"The old paradigm works like this: We judge just about every issue by asking the question, Will this make the economy larger? But endless economic growth is built on the use of cheap fossil fuel...We need to stop asking, Will this make the economy larger? Instead, we need to start asking, Will this pour more carbon into the atmosphere?"

"We've gotten used to eating across great distances. Because it's always summer somewhere, we've accustomed ourselves to a food system that delivers us fresh produce 365 days a year. The energy cost is incredible--growing and transporting a single calorie of iceberg lettuce from California to the eastern U.S. takes 36 calories of energy. What would it take to get us back to eating more locally, to accepting what the seasons and smaller scale local farmers provide?"

"What would it take to make us consider smaller homes, closer to the center of town, where we could use the bus or a bike for daily transportation?"

"Standard economic theory has long assured us that we're insatiable bundles of desires. That may be true, but more and more it feels like our greatest wish is for more contact with other people...We don't need to erase individualism; it is one of the glories of the American character. But environmentalists desperately need to celebrate community, too."

Medieval Serfdom?

Ok, I know it's a stretch, but this came on the news the other day here in Galicia, and it blew me away. Things like this are part of the reason why youth in Spain reject the Catholic Church so much, making it hard for them to believe in anything. The article's in Spanish so I'll give a synopsis.

A humble elderly couple (89 years old, to be exact) in Portomouro, Galicia had to pay 8,000 kg of corn and 320 kg of beans to the church (that's right, not the government, but...the church) yesterday or they would be evicted from the land they've lived and worked on all their life.

It all dates back to a legal contract made between the family and an Ederly Home run by the church in 1926, stating that the family could live and work on the land but they would have to pay rent, either in the form of money or spices/crops. The family payed diligently each month until the Home closed 35 years ago. For thirty-five years no one has ever demanded the rent until last week when the priest came forward.

The couple chose to pay in the form of crops (abiding by the 80 year old contract), something that the priest thought was "ridiculous" (I'm sure he would have prefered the money). Of course they didn't have 8,000 kg of corn nor 320 kg of beans, so they had to buy it, costing them more than 3,000 Euros. The priest stated that the church was going to sell the crops and give the money to the poor. Ironic.

Many young people in Spain consider themselves either atheist or agnostic, precisely because of what they see in the Catholic Church. And if I didn't know what it means to have a personal relationship with and have freedom in Jesus, I might have been one too.

My intention isn't to bash the Catholic Church or praise the Protestant Church, because niether are perfect. But I think there is something terribly wrong when the Church seeks power over truth. In my opinion, the Catholic Church represents everything that Jesus is not. It's this hipocrisy and hunger for power that has disillusioned many of the Spanish youth. The church shouldn't be a man-made, powerful institution, but a God-made, humble family.

(Courtney jumps down off of her soap box.)

The first time I've ever been disappointed with the National Geographic

Last night I started reading my latest issue of the National Geographic, and under the Geographica section they have a map showing legal marrying ages all over the world. On the map they showed Spain as being able to marry at the age of 14.

"What! that can't be true. But, NG is a good source, maybe it is true", I thought. I asked Jose what the legal age was, and he told me it was 18. So I looked online. And sure enough, Jose was right. Legal age to get married in Spain is 18...not 14. I think I'm going to write National Geographic a letter.

Strike Happy

Over the years I've come to learn that the people in Spain like to go on strike and have protests a lot. Protests include everything from solidarity with the Palestinian nation to increases in University tuition. At first I didn't really understand why the people protested so much, because nothing ever changed. But now I realize they are just excercising their right and they want to be heard.

However the strikes really drive me crazy. This summer there were numerous strikes with the garbage collectors. You never really pay much attention to their job until one day they up and decide to stop collecting the garbage. The smell is not pleasant, especially in 95 degree weather. They were on strike because of low pay...I felt bad for them until I realized they earn DOUBLE what I earn! What are they complaining about?!

These past couple of weeks the delivery trucks all over Spain decided to go on strike because of the taxes they have to pay and the high gas prices. The supermarkets have been EMPTY. You would think we were expecting a hurricane or something. No milk, no yoghurt, no bread, no fruit, no veggies, no fish, no nothing. Factory production has completely frozen. Pretty much everything that requires a truck has been on stand still.

As inconvenient as it is...it does add a little spice to your life, I guess.

Mar Adentro

The Sea Inside



Living in Spain for such a long time has made it a part of me. Especially Galicia and the Galician people. I feel like a part of me is Galician...I even have their accent. So when I see a film about Galicia win the Oscar for Best Foreign Film, I get somewhat of a lump in my throat and at the same time excited knowing that many will go out and see the film and get to experience a place that I have the honor to live in and call my home.

The film is a true story about the life of Ramón Sampedro, who was left paralyzed from the neck down after diving into shallow water at the beach, and his 30 year long fight for the right to end his life with dignity.



Whether you agree or not with euthanasia, it's a beautiful story that will leave you questioning a lot of things.

The film takes place in the town Porto do Son, just 45 minutes from Santiago and 5 minutes from Portosin,the village Jose and I go to in the summer.

The Sea Inside

Paye

Lately Jose and I have been having this feeling of conviction. It's been nagging me constantly. A feeling that's been telling me to take action in some way or another. But at the same time a sick feeling in my stomach reminding me that I'm trapped in a world that requires money. We've toyed with the idea of just leaving everything and going to a third world country as volunteers, but reality always sets in. There's a car commercial here in Spain that says, "We have an illusion of freedom, but we're tied to our jobs, our cars, our house, etc. Freedom isn't easy, it's going to be tough." Yes, I know, it's just a car commercial, but it's got some truth behind it.

So realizing that going to Africa was not feasible at the moment. We made the joint decision to meet Africa halfway. We thought long and hard and decided to sponsor a little girl in Segou, Malí. Her name is Paye Coulibaly and she's 9 years old.

After filling out the forms and clicking send, I felt like dirt. I'm not quite sure why, though. Maybe it was just seeing how easy it was and how ridiculously cheap it was. I thought I was going to have a feel good moment and pat myself on the back, but I didn't. I felt like a jerk. I don't want to do this type of thing out of pity or to just make myself feel good. I don't want to give 20 bucks and say, "Ok, I did my good deed for the day." I want it to be who I am.

The only thing that makes me happy is to know that Paye might have a chance to be a kid and go to school, be vaccinated, and have a full stomach. We've committed to give her that until she finishes school. I pray God will change Paye's life and that He'll change my heart.

Meet Paye.

What would the world look like?

A few days ago Jose and I got on a deep spiritual discussion. He brought up two questions, that I didn't think much of at the time, but later was troubled by. I emailed Julie with the same two questions, to see her view. Here's mine...

What would the world be like if EVERYONE were a true follower of Christ who earnestly tried to carry out his teachings? When the Bible says, 'love your brother', what's the definition of brother? The original question used the expression 'true Christian', but there seems to be discrepancies over what that means, so the questioned been changed to 'believing that Christ died for our sins and following his teachings'. Doing what Jesus taught. It seems that people talk too much and need to start really doing what He came to teach. That's where the second question comes in, "What does it mean to love your brother?" More specifically, what's the definition of "brother"? If everyone generally (because we're all sinners) carried out the teachings of Jesus (not just saying that they believe in Him, but actually doing what Jesus called us to do) , would there be hunger and epidemics, would there be wars, would politics exist?

It's an interesting question. I've been thinking about it a lot over the past few days. I don't think that it would be a perfect world by any means, because we are sinners. But isn't it also true that so many of us Christians just aren't doing what Jesus called us to do? Being forgiven isn't enough. I think a lot of Christians are too comfortable with the fact that we are forgiven. We also have to repent, and turn from our sins. (Wow, I just sounded like a southern Baptist preacher! "REPENT!!"...didn't mean to.) We should be constantly praying and trying to be more like Christ, not just content with knowing that we're forgiven. I think a lot of us fall into that rut and we aren't growing. Jose's question was more hypothetical I guess. What would the world look like if everyone dropped everything and followed Jesus? What would we see on the 10 o'clock news? Would people need to steal? Would prostitutes need to sell themselves...would they even have clients? I don't have a clear answer, but I have a feeling things would be different...not wonderful or perfect, but different.

I makes me realize that I'm nothing without God. I'm not good. But even with God, as a Christian believer, I don't think I'm following Him fully. We desperately need grace and mercy. But I believe there comes a time when faith isn't enough...we have to be like Simon Peter, leave everything, and follow him. I don't mean that we are ALL called to be missionaries or to go to Africa or India, but yes we are called to love one another in brotherly love, to love our neighbor as ourselves, to be living sacrifices, to love our enemies, to give to the needy, to turn the other cheek, etc. Things that don't involve travelling to far off lands. It's easy to follow when you consider your "brother" your family or friends, but isn't our brother also our co-worker, our boss, the tough kid from Halifax court, the annoying brat from inside the Beltline, the persistant gypsy begging on the street, and the slimy politician on TV?

What should my response be to the begging gypsies I see everyday? My normal response is nothing...walk on by. By sometimes I think, after-the-fact, what if I had asked the woman what she really needed instead of giving her 50 cents or had stopped to talk to the silent old man sitting on the corner. What if everyone did? It's a difficult situation because most of the gypsies are dishonest and use their babies and old clothes for pity, but as the old cheesy bracelet says...what would Jesus do? My normal response wouldn't be his, I'm sure.

I guess Jose's question was more of a wake up call than anything else. Am I willing to do what Jesus calls me to do? "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Am I willing to follow him wherever he goes? I would like to say yes, but my selfishness holds me back.

These are all things that everyone knows, we all know what Jesus says about it, but so few actually follow. Why is it so hard for us to follow him? I guess that's why we need him as much as we do.