Thousands to Gather in Washington to Support Debt Relief

Bread for the World
Wednesday, 5 April 2000

WASHINGTON — Ten thousand people are expected to gather on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, April 9, to call for debt relief for the world's poorest countries. At the peaceful rally, participants will form a human chain from the Capitol to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund buildings, symbolizing how unpayable debt chains people to poverty.

"Developing countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia stagger under the increasing burden of international debt," said Archbishop Desmond Tutu. "Countries burdened by unpayable debt deserve a new beginning. Children deserve to be free from malnutrition, to have basic health care, to have a chance at education. Their shoulders cannot and should not carry their country's burdens of debt."

Many poor countries with large international debts divert important resources away from social programs like health care and education in order to service the debt. In Tanzania, for example, the government spends nine times more on foreign debt payments than on health care.

Sunday's legal, non-violent event is part of the international Jubilee 2000 movement calling for the cancellation of poor country debt. A wide array of public figures like Pope John Paul II, President Bill Clinton and Bono of the rock group U2 have called for debt relief during the Jubilee year 2000. This Jubilee event has also garnered broad support from the AFL-CIO, most major religious groups, and organizations like Bread for the World and World Vision.

On Monday, April 10, more than 800 debt relief supporters will visit Capitol Hill to urge their members of Congress to take action. At the close of the 1999 legislative session, Congress passed some provisions for debt relief, but more remains to be done. Mozambique, for example, still pays $1.5 million in debt payments to foreign creditors every week while struggling to recover from devastating floods.

For more information, or to contact Bread for the World, see their website at: www.bread.org