After returning back from a 4-week tour with the Coldplay crew, I found Oxfam House awash with activity. It seems October is one of the biggest moments in the GROW campaign globally and homes are at the centre of it.
Why homes?
From my many nights sleeping in my bunk on the tour bus it was a slight relief to return home to my own bed and lovely housemates in London. I suddenly realised how much I loved having home comforts around me, you know the deal, your favourite blanket, chair and spot in the garden to read your favourite book. But what if this wasn’t the case? What if I came home and found that my house had been destroyed without any consideration for the things, memories and livelihood that it held? This is a reality for many people living in developing countries due to ‘land grabbing’.
Eh? What’s land grabbing?
A land grab is when companies buy up huge amounts of land to make equally as large profits. When the use of this land violates human rights, disregards the social and environmental impact of the sale and doesn’t allow for meaningful participation of the community in the use of the land then this land sale is dubbed a ‘land grab’.
Often the land that is sold is home for many thousands of people, and without any consideration, these people are thrown off the land – sometimes violently. The investors are then able to use the land to create produce and profits, whilst people are left destitute without the belongings, home or land to live off that have been grabbed from underneath them, hence the term land grabbing.
But what about little old you sat watching this from your own home?
Well guys, you are the key. The World Bank are at the heart of such investments as they are one of the biggest investors, lenders and advisors in land sales. But they are also the ones that hold the most power in this situation. If they can introduce stricter, more transparent land sales, where land investment is fairer and ensures that the people living on the land are considered, then they can create a sustainable move forward in investment and fighting poverty.
How can you help?
Help out through signing our petition and telling the World Bank you want them to stop all land sales for six months to create a fairer way in land investments.
Then what? Tell everyone!
You are a global network of Coldplay fans united by the fact we need to create change. We’ve created change in the US and UK governments in just five months, now let’s do it globally. Share this blog and petition link, tweet, change your Facebook status, email your neighbour, be creative and let’s put some pressure on the World Bank!
OxfamGB got active in London and took over the city through land grabs, depicting how land grabs are effecting developing countries.
Here’s how land grabs are having human effects in Guatemala.
Be part of our latest campaign and take action with Oxfam on Tour
Posted by Rachel Edwards on 08 October 2012 in GROW campaign, land grabbing, oxfam actions, world bank
After returning back from a 4-week tour with the Coldplay crew, I found Oxfam House awash with activity. It seems October is one of the biggest moments in the GROW campaign globally and homes are at the centre of it.
Why homes?
From my many nights sleeping in my bunk on the tour bus it was a slight relief to return home to my own bed and lovely housemates in London. I suddenly realised how much I loved having home comforts around me, you know the deal, your favourite blanket, chair and spot in the garden to read your favourite book. But what if this wasn’t the case? What if I came home and found that my house had been destroyed without any consideration for the things, memories and livelihood that it held? This is a reality for many people living in developing countries due to ‘land grabbing’.
Eh? What’s land grabbing?
A land grab is when companies buy up huge amounts of land to make equally as large profits. When the use of this land violates human rights, disregards the social and environmental impact of the sale and doesn’t allow for meaningful participation of the community in the use of the land then this land sale is dubbed a ‘land grab’.
Often the land that is sold is home for many thousands of people, and without any consideration, these people are thrown off the land – sometimes violently. The investors are then able to use the land to create produce and profits, whilst people are left destitute without the belongings, home or land to live off that have been grabbed from underneath them, hence the term land grabbing.
But what about little old you sat watching this from your own home?
Well guys, you are the key. The World Bank are at the heart of such investments as they are one of the biggest investors, lenders and advisors in land sales. But they are also the ones that hold the most power in this situation. If they can introduce stricter, more transparent land sales, where land investment is fairer and ensures that the people living on the land are considered, then they can create a sustainable move forward in investment and fighting poverty.
How can you help?
Help out through signing our petition and telling the World Bank you want them to stop all land sales for six months to create a fairer way in land investments.
Then what? Tell everyone!
You are a global network of Coldplay fans united by the fact we need to create change. We’ve created change in the US and UK governments in just five months, now let’s do it globally. Share this blog and petition link, tweet, change your Facebook status, email your neighbour, be creative and let’s put some pressure on the World Bank!
OxfamGB got active in London and took over the city through land grabs, depicting how land grabs are effecting developing countries.
Here’s how land grabs are having human effects in Guatemala.
To find out more about how land sales are pushing people into poverty, download Our Land, Our Lives: Time out on the global land rush‘