Black Gold and Fairtrade

Today is the last day of Fairtrade Fortnight. Bournemouth University has organised a series of activities. Over the past two weeks, owners of fairtrade shops were invited and Poole Council representative said hopefully Poole can become a fairtrade town in a few weeks. What impressed me most of those activities was the movie, Black Gold, shown on campus. It's a documentary about the plight of Ethiopian coffee farmers and how fairtrade can help them. Here are some stunning statistics and information I jotted down while watching the film:

*20 billion cups of coffee are drunk everyday.

*Before Oromia Union (a co-operative system formed by Ethiopian coffee farmers) was in place, Ethiopian coffee will have to go through 6 chains to the hands of end consumers. The union helped remove 60% of the chain.

*Women working 8 hours picking coffee beans in Ethiopia earn less than one dollar a day.

*But "$0.57 a day would change our lives beyond recognition," a coffee farmer said.

*"Chat" or "khat" is a small shrub used to make narcotic drugs with a better price than coffee beans. Many coffee farmers in Ethiopia are forced to grow chat on their coffee farms to sustain their families.

* "We want to avoid death," said a coffee farmer who was forced to grow chat.

*Part of the unfair trade problem is caused by no subsidies to farmers in poor countries and subsidies to those in many developed countries.

*"Trade is more important than aide," an African representative emphasised in the Doha round WTO meeting.

*7 million people in Ethiopia depend on emergency food aide every year.

*Over the last 20 years, Africa's trade share in the world has fallen to only 1%.

Eastern Elements Revisited

A recent feature I wrote is about how eastern culture, philosophy, religion, martial arts, etc (called eastern elements for short) influenced western people's lifestyle. All of my interviewees are western people from different backgrounds. They made me re-examine my own culture, my religious beliefs and the philosophy involved as if I have also undergone a process of mental catharsis. The following are two excerpts of my own reflection:

“This concept is similar to a hidden atheist view of the universe in Daoism, of which Wu Wei (non-action) is an important part. Wu Wei, is often confused with, but is never the same as, inaction: it means unintentional behaviour without any deliberate attempt. It is believed that any purposeful behaviour would lead to deviation from nature. Thus Wu Wei is often associated with concepts such as de-materialism, anti-commercialism, “letting nature taking its course”, harmony, and flexibility, on which the philosophy of martial art Tai-Ji is based."

…

"Buddhism emphasises that everyone can reach enlightenment, or Nirvana, through following the Noble Eightfold Path (the way to cease suffering) spontaneously. The concept of reincarnation illustrates the understanding of life as a continuum---previous life, present life, and afterlife, thus the importance of seizing the moment, not to indulge, but to uproot the stems of suffering. In this regard, Mr Mercel-Sanca's proactive determination to enlightenment is closely aligned with Buddhism.”

When the West Meets the East

Last week National Qualifications Board AQA (The Assessment and Qualifications Alliance) announced that it will launch Chinese GCSE teaching in September 2009 and Chinese GCSE exam in June 20011, subject to the approval of QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority). Mr Graham Watson, Lib Dem MEP for the South West and Gibraltar, also welcomed this initiative in promoting the Chinese language and understanding of Chinese culture. In fact, Bournemouth Chinese School has been offering Chinese and Cantonese lessons since 2000 and more than 60 students are learning Chinese every Sunday in Moordown Community Centre. A lot of them are children but there are some adults as well. A Chinese teacher told me these adults are mostly people from Hong Kong. They moved to the UK before the 1997 handover and did not really have the chance to pick up Mandarin Chinese. Now they can learn Chinese with their children in the Chinese School, which has been dedicated to cultural awareness and exchange.


The Chinese Lantern Festival Celebration tomorrow (February 17) is a good example. Although the actual date of Lantern Festival on the Chinese calendar is February 21, it is celebrated on Sunday to attract more parents and children. Around 340 school children from 5 local schools in Bournemouth are involved in the Chinese Lantern Competition, which was held for the first time last year. Hopefully there will be more events like this in the future.


Large scale festivities of different ethnic groups, including ethnic Chinese, in Bournemouth would be an interesting idea for this seaside tourist resort. According to the 2001 census for Bournemouth, the total population was 163,444, of which 'Chinese and other ethnic Chinese' was the fourth largest group after white British, other White and White Irish. Celebrations of different cultural festivals not only foster understanding of cultural diversities but also contribute positively to the image and economy of Bournemouth.


Hopefully people can see this positive change to Bournemouth in the near future.