The lives of most of the world’s citizens would instantly improve with one simple economic action - canceling the international debt of impoverished countries. To make this happen the citizens of the world need to speak out. Jubilee is a worldwide movement working to cancel the exorbitant international debts paid by impoverished nations to international financial institutions such as the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were created at the close of World War II supposedly to improve the economies of impoverished countries by rebuilding their infrastructures and stabilizing their currencies. According to the World Bank, their mission is to "fight poverty and improve living standards of people in the developing world." But after 60 years of WB/IMF "development," the economies and people of more than 60 impoverished countries remain crushed by staggering, un-payable debt.
The world mobilizes when disasters strike as evidenced by the Tsunami. However, the poverty caused by debt kills almost 30,000 people a day – mainly children – this is equal to a silent tsunami a week, every week. The deaths are mainly due to bad water and hunger. People need to understand the debt disaster - and we as a caring people of the world must respond.
The WB/IMF push "free market, neo–liberal" economic models as the path to prosperity for developing countries of the Global South (Africa, Asia, Latin America, Caribbean). The WB pushes huge loans for massive development projects–dams, mines, and export agriculture. As conditions for receiving loans, the IMF inspired "Structural Adjustment Programs" (SAPs), require governments to cut spending on education and health care, privatize basic services like water and electricity, and open their economies and resources to multinational corporations. Corporations get rich but developing countries get poorer and further in debt–requiring more loans to pay off endless and escalating interest on past debt. These factors have made repayment virtually impossible.
Many nations have already paid back their debt time and time again. In one example, Nigeria, one of the world’s most resource–rich countries with large exports of oil, cocoa, and rubber, received $5 billion in loans in the early 1980’s. After 20 years of "development," Nigeria has paid back $16 billion but, with exorbitant interest and loan rollovers, is still $32 billion in debt. Most Nigerians live in extreme poverty.
After 60 years of WB/IMF loans, people in nearly 60 impoverished countries live without education, health care or even clean water as corporations take their wealth and their governments pay for unsustainable debt. African nations pay $1.51 in debt service for every $1 received in foreign aid. Many African nations pay more in debt service than for education or health care. Global corporations extract the resources of the Global South. Corporations extract their minerals, trees, agricultural land and water with little or no compensation to local people or local economies.
Unconditional debt cancellation is the simplest and most effective measure to immediately create a more equitable, and peaceful, world. But debt cancellation will not happen without a broad public outcry, especially from the American public. To succeed we must influence Congress and the US Treasury. They have the authority to pressure the IMF/WB to cancel these debts.
Jubilee USA, a network of more than 70 organizations in 20 states, acts in partnership with organizations in more than 60 countries around the world. The Jubilee movement works to break the vicious cycle of poverty. Jubilee works to cancel, unconditionally, the debts of impoverished countries. Jubilee works to give people the chance to begin again.
With your action we can overcome this great obstacle to global social and economic justice.
Write your Congressperson and tell the Treasury to break the chains and set the people free!