A member of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army overlooks the Panguna mine.

To re-open the notorious Panguna mine or not. This is the question for the people of Bougainville. Are the prospective financial benefits of the mine enough for the people to want it opened? Will the islanders be able to keep control of the mine or will it open the doors for the mining companies to dominate and operate unaccountably as they have done in the past?

In the late 1980’s and 1990’s what was described as the first eco- revolution took place on the Pacific Island of Bougainville. The story was similar to so many places on earth, exploitative multinational company takes the resources of a land without any regard for the local inhabitants or their environment.

In Bougainville’s case it was copper and in their case they decided they had had enough of the mine and starting with homemade weapons they forcibly closed the mine and defeated first the Papua New Guinean army then the Australian army brought in to take the mine back for BCL a subsidiary of the British company Rio Tinto.

After the Bouganvillians had taken control of their island Papua New Guinea imposed a naval blockade on the island to make the people there suffer with hope that they would turn against the revolutionaries. It had the opposite effect, reinforcing the peoples will, and creating fertile ground for human ingenuity, creativity and resourcefulness. Forcing the population to live at one with their land, making use only of what they had with no imported goods.

Remarkably they managed to create their own electricity and found a way to drive cars with coconut oil. The result was a small example of people effectively being forced to live in a sustainable way. Unable to aqquire imported goods they resorted to their imagination, creativity and hard work to rebuild their society in harmony with their environment. They proved that a society with creativity can make plenty of electricty with water and can fuel essential vehicles with renewable oil.

The mine was closed in 1989. On several occasions the re-opening of the mine has been raised. Recently an article appeared on the Australian network, ABC, suggesting that the mine might be re-opened. The islanders belived that the income would help finance their moves for full political independance. The former president of Bouganville, Joseph Kabui, stated back in 2005 that if they re-opened the mine Bouganville could become the ‘Kuwait of the Pacific.’ Whether the mine is reopened or not, it will rightfully be the desicion of the islanders and not the trans-national  companies.

All over the world from Chile to Africa to Papua, indigenous people, the ones who know how to manage their land wisely, are shamefully brushed aside and treated as an obstacle for development (a common pseudonym for natural resource theft). That the people of Bouganville are considering re opening the Panguna mine shows that people are not per se against the use of their environment for their benefit. It’s a matter of the overall control of the resource and fair distribution of the benefits that is at the root of natural resource conflicts such as that which ignited the revolution in Bouganville. Precisely two points which are in direct conflict with the accepted norms of the shareholder demands that drive international business.

If those in power in transnational business do not change the way they operate then people all over the world are entitled to follow in the footsteps of the people of Bouganville and take their land back.

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In 2009, environmental activists hit the headlines possibly more than in any other year. From the seminal G20 protests to the street mobilisations at the Copenhagen climate conference, the press were fascinated with the dynamism of a growing movement which was able to articulate its ideas in new and exciting ways.

Yet, inevitably, the mainstream media barely told half the story; sadly, violence sells. The rioting protester has always been a key image for the press, a narrative supported by both the police and corporations targeted by protest groups, like e.on and BAA. Emily James‘ incredible film released after the G20, went quite some way toward redressing the balance, giving hard evidence the extent of police violence during the Climate Camp in the City and arguably forcing journalists to tell a different story.

However, the G20 was only the beginning for Emily, who followed activists from Climate Rush, Climate Camp and Plane Stupid through a year jam-packed with inspiring events; recording their plotting and planning, capturing actions as diverse as the Climate Rush bike rush and aeroplane lock-ons, secreting film tapes in safe houses and releasing short films left, right and centre. Just Do It, now in production and set for release in early 2011, is the culmination of these 250 hours of raw footage and is now being concocted into a feature-length documentary by a diverse and committed team.

Just Do It seeks to tell the human story of activism in 2009 - a story frequently ignored by the mass media; one in which the protesters are not faceless and incomprehensible vandals, but ordinary men and women who feel that to do nothing in the face of injustice and destruction is no longer tenable; in which that decision is not an impulsive reaction, but a gradual thought process; in which activism involves both inspiration and disillusionment, joy and sacrifice. Most importantly, it seeks to show that anyone can ‘just do it’ and moreover, inspire and even incite people into taking action.

In many ways, making Just Do It is in itself activism, although of a less obviously racy kind (as is so much of the behind the scenes work that goes into movements). In the Just Do It HQ in east London, Emily James and her team have been pursuing an innovative method of film-making, challenging corporate profit-driven models and suggesting a grass-roots vision of both fundraising and distribution.

The crowd-funding model, successfully used by films like the Age of Stupid, whereby many people donate a little bit each to raise the money to make the film rather than being tied to a corporate sponsor, is essential in enabling the Just Do It team to put forward an alternative narrative to the Murdoch-dominated press. Arguably, Just Do It also takes this model one step further than the Age of Stupid, which still relied on a commercial distribution system to pay back investors. Emily aims to eliminate the profit motive all together by making the film free at the point of distribution and encouraging guerrilla screenings, free downloads and ‘pirate’ DVDs of the documentary.

As Emily says; “It’s precisely the kind of film that wouldn’t get made within the existing profit and ratings-driven funding structures. Crowd-funding through donation enables us, as creative artists, to be supported by our audience in a more direct way, without the involvement of cultural gatekeepers. This is another nail in the coffin for traditional media.”

In this way, Just Do It promises to push boundaries and inspire, both in the story it tells and the way in which the film is made.

***

Please donate to make this film happen: http://just-do-it.org.uk/fund-this-film

Without big billboards, Just Do It are depending on word of mouth, so join the facebook group here: www.facebook.com/jdi.thefilm and invite your friends.

You can also find Just Do It online in these places:

www.just-do-it.org.uk

www.twitter.com/justdoitfilm

www.youtube.com/justdoitfilm

In 2007 People & Planet and Platform launched a campaign for the Royal Bank of Scotland to stop funding fossil fuel extraction and “ditch dirty development”, with groups across the country putting on talks, asking difficult questions at careers fairs, protesting at branches. Various activists including those from the Rising Tide network held a day of action that autumn hitting local press, plastering cash machines, and shutting down several branches. Back then, climate denial was a still valid currency for the bank and that familiar green-wash sheen was only just being cooked up.

Within months they has closed their website “www.oilandgasbank.com”, changed their stance on global warming, signs went up in their branches proclaiming their sustainable policies, and careers fair staff were given lines to say to respond to criticism.

The campaign gathered steam at the 2008 RBS AGM, as Student Unions started changing bank accounts, removing RBS advertising from their premises, and calling for disinvestment.

When the Government bailed out the bank in late 2008 they asked no questions about their investments, and Westminster MPs, prompted by constituent People & Planet and World Development Movement members, started to ask why Government money was going into a bank that was directly eroding Government policies. The UK Treasury was now under the spotlight. A legal challenge was launched about their takeover with backing from Leigh Day & Co solicitors, and during the aftermath of the G20 meeting in London, Pandas made national news “cleaning up” the 2009 AGM, and later the Treasury during the London Climate Camp.

By then, the primarily public owned bank had poured billions into coal and tar sands exploitation, and the campaign was growing. The World Development Movement, Platform and People & Planet were still asking questions about front-line fossil fuel extraction, but Amnesty International was also was calling on the bank to own up to investing in companies causing human rights abuses, and Friends of the Earth Scotland wanted an explanation for its links with companies like Conoco Phillips, poisoning First Nation communities in Canada.

People & Planet joined by scores of others at the RBS Week of Action

This week, standing together with indigenous people of Athabasca, that coalition has become a truly powerful force for change.

Everyone can be proud of their part in this campaign which has taken finance from being a disregarded industry into the spotlight as a true root cause of social and environmental injustice. We look to the summer, with a Climate Camp focused on the bank’s activities, with eager anticipation. This aint over yet.

Our friends in the US from United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS) have begun a new campaign demanding the infamous worker right abuser Nike ‘Just Pay It’. Nike currently owe 1,800 workers $2.2 million in severance payments and without jobs these workers are in need of food and money. Associated Press also report that owners of the factory pocketed payments to the Honduras’s national health care system, costing workers their health insurance.

However the student fightback in the US has already had a small but significant success with the Worker Rights Consortium affiliated University of Wisconsin ending contracts with Nike in solidarity with workers. This makes the university the first in history to stand up to Nike and make a clear demand that human rights are respected, an action which USAS hope will echo throughout the sector and encourage other universities to cut.

This small victory highlights the importance of the Worker Rights Consortium and the power a affiliated university can have in protecting human rights within its supply chain. Find out more about the Worker Rights Consortium and how you can get your university to affiliate.

The Worker Rights Consortium have also recently created a UK specific Q&A document to help answer any questions

Workers Rights means Liberation not just for workers but for all groups! A sentiment shared by The Workers’ Rights Consortium, which states it is against all forms of discrimination; gender, race, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, nationality, political opinion, or social or ethnic origin.

Why women’s day??? well studies show that women are amongst the three most vulnerable groups in the work place along with ethnic minorities and foreign born. Not mention 90% of the workers in sweatshops are women.

And there are some outstanding abuses of women’s rights goings such as companies requiring pregnancy tests upon applying for employment, forcing workers to take contraceptives, paying women less, demoting or firing for maternity leave.

The worker rights consortium pushes this code of conduct regarding women’ rights

“Women’s Rights:

1. Women workers will receive equal remuneration, including benefits, equal treatment, equal evaluation of the quality of their work, and equal opportunity to fill all positions as male workers.

1. Pregnancy tests will not be a condition of employment, nor will they be demanded of employees.
2. Workers who take maternity leave will not face dismissal nor threat of dismissal, loss of seniority or deduction of wages, and will be able to return to their former employment at the same rate of pay and benefits.
3. Workers will not be forced or pressured to use contraception.
4. Workers will not be exposed to hazards, including glues and solvents, that may endanger their safety, including their reproductive health.
5. Licensees shall provide appropriate services and accommodation to women workers in connection with pregnancy.

The Workers Rights Consortium protects and aids women’s liberation movements. Take a look at the story of these five women who formed Bangladesh’s first non-politically-aligned, women-led, trade union and where imprisoned for it. http://www.workersrights.org/freports/Sunman.asp

Yes the Workers Rights Consortium is not perfect; it doesn’t give a direct voice to Women activists… however compared other models, which take funding from the companies causing the abuse, who don’t always act on complaints, it’s certainly a positive step. If you had been pressured into an abortion by your employer would you go an organisation you didn’t trust to be on your side? The Workers Rights Consortium Fosters close ties to independent labour organizations and its independence puts it in a position to win the trust of all groups in a community.

Birmingham People and Planet has teamed up with Women’s Rights activists on campus to fight for equal rights in the supply chain, on March the 8^th international Women’s day. We delivered our massive petition, which was symbolically written on T-shirts, to the Vice chancellor to protect women and women’s rights in our supply chain.

Only this rather bad photo unfortunately….

There is no doubt that power is held in the hands of the few rather than the many; it is also beyond doubt that this power is largely held by large corporations fuelling their wealth and power at the expense of those poorer. Yet as a lowly campaigner who wishes to seek international justice, there can either seem to be no way in which to pull these companies into ethical rein, or there can be too many. Since I seem to have stumbled across the latter, I thought I might make a little comparison between those that I can think of:

1. Fairtrade  (Bottom-Up)
2. Worker Rights Consortium (Top-Down)
3. The Forest Trust (Cleaning the System)
4. RBS and Ditch Dirty Development  (Legal & Financial Pressure)

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Between the 1st & 7th March students from across the UK and US are taking action against sweatshops as part of the International Week of Student Action Against Sweatshops.

Students at University College London are planning to host a Global Supply Chain exhibition to lay bare the exploitation within the supply chains of two different product categories. (more…)

Last Sunday (the 31st)9pm GMT, 4pm Washington DC and 1pm in LA.  25 Students from all over North America and from the United Kingdom, came together to plan an international day of action to raise awareness and pressure more universities into signing up to the WRC.

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In November 2009 Reyna Dominguez, a Honduran union activist from the closed Jerzees de Honduras Fruit of the Loom factory toured the UK speaking at various events as part of Boycott Fruit of the Loom campaign. The ‘Stitched-up in Honduras’ tour was also joined by Rod and Shaun from United Students against Sweatshops, the pioneering student anti-sweatshop organisation who kicked of the campaign in the US and Canada. This blog is the collective diary of that hectic and tiring tour, enjoy! (more…)

It’s a positive moment when you ask a school chapel full of students to raise their hand if they know what the Fairtrade organization does, and the response is a jungle of arms reaching into the air. Even more positive when you consider that the students present are the youngest in the school - if every child in years seven and eight knows about the work of Fairtrade, surely theirs will be a generation more roundly educated in the responsibilities of young people in a world which needs responsible and accountable activists. (more…)