Saturday 1st July 2006 - Debt Freedom Day

In North East England, joyful celebrations mingle with a sombre reminder

Make Poverty History North East celebrated 1st July as 'Debt Freedom Day'. On that date, just one year after our great gathering in Edinburgh, 18 of the world's poorest countries had their debts to the World Bank cancelled. Surely a notable milestone for the tens of thousands of Jubilee 2000/Jubilee Debt Campaign supporters who have slogged away since 1996, often with nothing to encourage them for years on end! This development follows the write-off earlier this year of IMF debts to these countries and a major debt relief package for Nigeria.

A message received from Ann Pettifor, the Director of Jubilee 2000 from 1996 until 2000, and one of the British architects of the debt write-off for Nigeria earlier this year, stated: "I salute the campaigners of the North East. You have never wavered in your determination to press the leaders of the rich world to drop the unpayable debt of the poor world".

At Newcastle University, whose support for the debt campaign has been unrivalled anywhere in the world, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Christopher Edwards toasted the occasion with African students and representatives of the students' and staff unions - with fairtrade orange juice of course! A Thanksgiving Service in Brunswick Methodist Church attended by several church leaders was addressed by the Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Councillor Diane Packam, and Professor Edwards.

A family event at Newcastle Monument featured music, drama - and balloons galore!

The crowd cheered the announcement that Zambia is using this year's relief by scrapping the fees which for years have put basic health care beyond the reach of millions of its rural poor. It is also recruiting 4,500 extra teachers and building thousands of extra schools. Tanzania is allocating Ł30 million to its drought emergency, providing food for several million people, and is investing in new power generating equipment to alleviate electricity rationing.

David Golding pointed out that the day marked the 90th anniversary of the start of the Battle of the Somme and that 19,000 British soldiers had been slaughtered on that day, adding: "We salute their gallantry, honour their sacrifice and mourn their loss". However, he also reminded the crowd that 19,000 has another, even more chilling significance - according to the UN Human Development Report, it is the daily number of children in the poor countries whose tragic, early deaths result for the impact of international debt. "19,000 yesterday, 19,000 today, 19,000 tomorrow. Day in and day out; week after week, month after month and year after year", he told a now sobered audience. "If our troops were 'lions led by donkeys', those children are 'innocents doomed by indifference.'"

Labour MEP Stephen Hughes congratulated supporters on the success of their efforts, but told them that much more needed to be done - over 60 countries need total debt relief as a matter of urgency and they would be paying over $100 million per day even after Saturday's cancellation. Liberal Democrat MEP Fiona Hall attacked the deceit of developed countries in counting debt relief (ie, money not taken from poor countries) as aid (money given to them). [You couldn't make it up, could you?! DWG]

Concluding the occasion, David bitterly denounced the damaging and undemocratic strings attached to debt relief by the IMF and the assembled company showed their support for his motion that "We declare a vote of 'no confidence' in the IMF as the gatekeeper for debt relief. Our patience in seeking reform is exhausted. We insist that conditions for debt relief should be for the benefit of the people in the countries concerned, and with their consent."

For more photos of the day click here.