"It goes on one at a time, it starts when you care to act, it starts when you do it again after they said no, it starts when you say "we" and know who you mean, and each day you mean one more," - Marge Piercy.

Njoki Njoroge Njehu, 50 Years Is Enough

It has been a remarkable year, marked by many moments of saying "WE!" and the 'We' growing by the thousands. In September 1999, at the conclusion of the "No Debt, No Sweat" conference, 300 people gathered in front of the White House before marching to the IMF/World Bank headquarters just as the annual meetings were getting underway. In April 2000 an estimated 30,000 people came to Washington, DC to protest these institutions while in dozens other countries solidarity protests also took place.

However, "We" must recognize that our greatest challenges are ahead of us. With the broad and growing support for debt relief it appears that serious, out-of-the-box analysis of the root causes and systemic solutions to poverty, the debt crisis, structural adjustment, growing inequality within and between countries, environmental destruction, sweatshop economies, and other markers of corporate-led globalization is also diminishing. There are too many organizations, institutions, and individuals who are willing to espouse support for Jubilee 2000, debt relief, or debt cancellation (which mean the same thing to many people) without embracing the radical solidarity, moral, and theological principals that undergird the call for debt cancellation.

Consider for instance, the recent announcement of support for debt relief, specifically the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, by 42 U.S. corporations (businesses they call themselves). What I wondered, would prompt Motorola, Caterpillar, Barrick Goldstrike Mines, Inc., Goldman, Sachs & Co., Bechtel, etc. to come out in support of debt relief? Or for that matter the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank? I wondered if the world had changed while I was not looking, but I read way too many emails and follow the news closely to have missed such a development. On reading the statement issued by Motorola & Co., it confirmed my worst fears. This was no selfless act. This was not out of concern for the 19,000 African children who perish everyday because they lack access to clean water, basic nutrition, and medical care.

This is a proverbial gift horse which is too important and carrying too much for campaigners for debt cancellation and global justice not to take a hard look at its proverbial mouth. By their own words, in a statement titled "Open Statement U.S. Business Support Debt Relief for Poor Countries", the motives of Motorola & Co. are revealed. It is the bottom line - ". . .the poorest, heavily indebted nations in the world, mostly in Africa remain a largely undeveloped market for U.S. goods. They represent only one percent of our exports. . . . The benefits of trade and direct assistance, however, cannot be fully realized when so many resources from poor countries are sent back to official and private creditors." They go on to make the arguments about resources being needed for health education, poverty reduction, and that U.S. contributions would leverage funds from other creditors. These types of would-be-allies are why I believe that our greatest challenges are ahead of us yet. The current and past track record (apartheid, colonialism, neo-colonialism, privatization, etc) and the lessons learned and roles revealed of these and other U.S. "businesses" through out the Global South demand that we keep our distance.

I believe it is telling that so many people "agree" about the need for debt relief. Of course there are profound differences between what the G-7, World Bank President James Wolfensohn, or the U.S. Treasury on one hand mean by "debt relief" compared to what the Archbishop Ndungane of Cape Town, Jubilee South, or Jubilee 2000 Haiti mean by "debt relief" (should their tongues slip to that instead of debt cancellation). That the Pope, TV evangelist Pat Robertson, U2 lead singer Bono, Senator Jesse Helms, 42 U.S. corporations, and over 21 million people who signed the Jubilee 2000 petition are all calling for the "same thing" suggests that quality control is very weak. And herein lies the danger because we are not always clear on who our true allies are and who is just joining a bandwagon because this is the one in vogue.

The Motorola & Co. statement praises the Cologne Initiative (aka Enhanced HIPC) because among other things ". . .it supports market-led growth . . ." and they " .. . recognize the importance of creating opportunities for the poorest countries to join the global economy through enhanced trade, private foreign investment and sustainable development policies."

I ended my August 2000 column with the following words: "We must not underestimate the cunning of the architects, the drivers, and the beneficiaries of the global economy. We must not accept anything less than what we have put forth as our demand: debt cancellation, not debt relief; poverty eradication, not poverty reduction or alleviation; fair trade not free trade; living wages, not minimum wages; peace, not just the absence of war; justice for all, not justice for some."

I believe that this is still true, perhaps even more true than before. Everyone likes to be on the winning team, and the debt cancellation team is moving in that direction (NOTE I did not say has won or is winning), as with Woodstock, Seattle, and April 16^th there are those who might claim feats, participation, and roles they never played. And worse still, they might even take us backwards. "We" have been fighting hard, but "We" have to fight harder still.

"We" in the 50 Years Is Enough Network are committed to this fight and to ensuring the our demands and positions don‚t get compromised or diluted. Many of you have let us know what you think about our work and that you are in the "We". We are deeply grateful and greatly heartened by your commitment and solidarity in the quest for global justice.