LAUNCH OF A NEW BOOK BY OXFAM COMMUNITY AID ABROAD
"Breaking the Banks"
6pm, Monday 19th March 2001
New Internationalist Book Cooperative
Trades Hall, 54 Victoria St (cnr Lygon St), Carlton
Michael Simon and Jonathon Cornford,
Co-authors of "Breaking the Banks"
and
Rev. Tim Costello
will speak about the book at the launch
Around the world concern is rising about the growing power of
international financial institutions, and their impact on the world's
poorest people.
Oxfam Community Aid Abroad has produced a new book looking at one of
the most powerful, yet least known, institutions in the Asia- Pacific: the
Asian Development Bank (ADB). "Breaking the Banks" examines the ADB's
role in the Mekong region, and how its activities are threatening the
rights and livelihoods of millions. It also exposes the lines
of accountability leading back home to Australia, one of the Bank's
largest funders.
The book draws on the stories of women and men in rural Laos and
Cambodia to show the real human impact of rapid social and economic
change being driven by institutions like the ADB. It identifies
competition for natural resources - rivers, forests and land - as the
most important site of struggle between poor rural communities and the
new global forces.
'Breaking the Banks' is a metaphor for the annual cycles of the Mekong
river - massive rises and falls generated by the annual monsoon rains.
Millions of people live their entire lives on the Mekong's banks, tending
their gardens and fishing. The floods are a vital link in the chain of
life along the river's 4,800 km length, depositing fertile silt and
triggering fish migrations and spawnings. The ADB's activities threaten
subsistence communities reliant on this complex system.
As a major donor and shareholder of the ADB, Australia bears some
responsibility for the Bank's impact in our region. This book is a wake-up
call for Australia to look a the impact of its tax dollars in the
international arena.
To order copies of the book, see www.caa.org.au or call 1800 088 110
--
Jeff Sparrow
Co-ordinator
New International Bookshop
Trades Hall
54 Victoria St
Carlton Sth
tel 03 9662 3744
fax 03 9662 4755
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