Meanwhile in Alnwick...

In the North East, we're just getting into the swing of the 'Roadshow' we're offering for the GCAP month of action, with a number of meetings throughout the region. In Alnwick on Monday, I tried to address the problem as to how we can "Stand up against poverty". I think people are exposed to two dangers.

First, there's the danger of hypocrisy. I can think of nothing more repellent than for a person with a reasonable income to have strong views on economic justice, whilst grudging more than the spare change in his pocket for the world's poor. "Hard hearted and tight fisted to the poor", as the Hebrew Scriptures put it, they belong to what I rudely call 'the skinflint brigade'. But perhaps a greater danger is that of sentimentality – a sentimentality which contributes personally, even sacrificially, but is content to remain silent whilst the monstrous injustices of inherited and illegitimate debt and unjust trade rules grind down entire generations, across whole continents. These people belong to 'the sticking plaster brigade'. Surely the way forward is to combine a faithful relationship to one of our great aid agencies, with a vigorous and persevering commitment to campaigning for justice for the poor.

David Golding
University of Newcastle, and
Development Coordinator, Make Poverty History North East