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Stanley So (right) at the United Nations Climate

Conference in Poznan. December 2008.

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Oxfam welcomed a step forward in

the negotiations that allows developing

countries direct access to the Adaptation

Fund, one of the most intractable issues

of this climate change conference.

This was an important decision on

the crucial issues of accountability,

effectiveness and control over the

money available to poor countries for

urgent adaptation needs.

The Adaptation Fund was established

under the UN Framework Convention on

Climate Change to support adaptation

programmes in developing countries.

The aim is to protect vulnerable

communities from the impact of climate

change and help them to adapt.

Reaching this decision to make

the Adaptation Fund accessible is an

important milestone, but it is a small

fraction of the progress that is needed

to help vulnerable communities adapt

to climate change and to ensure that an

ambitious climate change deal is agreed

in Copenhagen in 2009.

However, Oxfam denounced the

stonewalling by rich countries on

another decision that could have made

a real difference to those suffering

the impact of the climate crisis. The

"elephant in the room" is still where

the money for adaptation is going

to come from. We urgently needed a

decision on increased future funding

for adaptation, but we didn’t get there.

According to Oxfam's estimates, at

least US$50 billion a year is needed to

help poor people face the impact of a

changing climate, and far more will be

needed if emissions are not cut fast or

far enough.

Rich countries, which have caused the

crisis, must accept their responsibility to

help people who are suffering from the

climate crisis they have caused.

People will die as a result.

Delay is not an option

We can play a part in making sure

that rich countries make a commitment

to stop harming and start helping.

Stanley So is a Policy Officer at Oxfam Hong Kong.

That’s the message I want to tell the

world after participating in the United

Nations Climate Conference in Poznan

in December 2008.

The general publ i c tends to

be indif ferent to international

negotiations ; they probably see

international negotiations as distant

from people’s lives.

But climate talks are different. The

climate crisis is more serious than the

financial crisis, as many delegates at this

conference in Poznan stressed. Why? It

is costing lives, especially in the most

vulnerable countries. And it will cost

more if no immediate action is taken.

The poorest countries emit little but

suffer most from the climate crisis.

At the UN Climate Conference in Bali

in 2007, international leaders adopted

the ‘Bali Action Plan’, an ambitious

timeline for reaching an agreement to

tackle climate change. It set a deadline

for reaching a new global deal by the

end of 2009, in Copenhagen. It stated

that rich countries should commit to

deeper greenhouse gases emissions

cuts, and provide developing countries

the finance and technology needed so

that they can adapt to climate change as

well as take voluntary actions to reduce

their own emissions. The conference in

Poznan was the interim meeting on the

road to Copenhagen.

I participated as a member of the

Oxfam International delegation, which

was an observer organisation in the

two–week conference.

I was hugely disappointed with

how the rich countries, especially the

European Union, Japan, Australia, and

Canada, failed to commit to deeper

cuts in their emissions and to providing

funds developing countries needed for

adaptation.

However, I was deeply impressed by

the constructive efforts by developing

countries, despite the huge domestic

poverty and development challenges

they face. Mexico committed to halve

their emissions by 2050. South Africa

launched their national climate change

plan. China issued a National Climate

Change Programme in 2007, and

published a white paper on climate

change, just before the conference.

The G77 group of countries and China

submitted proposals on technology

and financial mechanisms in September

2008. All these show that developing

countries have been proactively

addressing climate change.

Rich countries must stop finger–

pointing at developing countries,

and commit to emission reductions

of at least 25-40% by 2020, as well as

to providing the resources urgently

needed in developing countries to take

further action.

Many non-government organi-

sations, including Oxfam, gathered

in Poznan. We organised exhibitions,

workshops, seminars, discussions,

protests and other events, all aimed at

highlighting the urgency of the crisis

and the human cost of inaction. Oxfam

used an ice sculpture to demonstrate

the urgency of the crisis and to ask for

immediate action by rich countries.

By Stanley So

Asia 2OO8 in pictures4

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1Reaching the 369 villages with supplies was not easy for Oxfam Hong Kong.

2The rope around this villager’s foot helps provide better traction through snow and ice.

3Warm quilts for the family

In ShIShan, the site of Oxfam Hong Kong’s first rehabilitation project, on pig-raising. (The woman

on the left is Zhai Fan, who heads Oxfam Hong Kong’s new office in Sichuan.)

Launched in August, the first phase is assisting 77 families. Oxfam Hong Kong allocation: 128,000

Yuan (almost US$19,000).

Makou, where survivors of the earthquake help each other rebuild.

Some families will be able to move into their new homes before the end of January, which is the

Chinese New Year. Oxfam Hong Kong’s 521,000 Yuan support (about US$76,000) is also going towards

a new 4.2km road through the mountains.

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Four huge disasters struck Asia in 2008, plus the

ongoing war in Mindanao.

First, just before the Lunar New Year last year, which

is China’s major holiday, the worst snowstorm in 50

years hit the country. This is the one time of the year

when many of the 200 million-plus migrant workers

return home to their families, but the snow and ice

halted transportation, and millions were stranded. The

crisis affected nearly 100 million people. Oxfam Hong

Kong has assisted people in 389 communities, urban

and rural, across six provinces, allocating US$775,000

to the effort.

Then, on May 2, a super-cyclone hit Myanmar –

whole communities in the delta were submerged or

battered, 2.4 million people were affected, and 130,000

people were killed or remain missing. Oxfam is working

alongside 24 organisations based in the country;

together, we are assisting over 800,000 people through

the crisis. The Oxfam network as a whole has allocated

US$5 million in the first five months, and plans to assist

with US$10 million in three years.

Ten days later, on 12 May, Buddha’s Birthday, a

massive earthquake hit Sichuan and environs in China,

killing 69,225 people and affecting 46 million people.

So far, Oxfam Hong Kong has helped people in 125

communities, often remote villages unassisted by either

the government or other NGOs. Priority has been to

meet the needs of women, ethnic minorities, elderly,

and people with disabilities. Relief and rehabilitation

projects are coordinated out of our new office in

Chengdu and in Hong Kong, our headquarters. Over

the next five years, the plan is to allocate almost

US$17million.

In the middle of August, heavy monsoon rains led

to the worst floods in India and Nepal in 50 years –

especially along the Kosi River near the border. When

the embankments broke open, the river changed its

course. In all, 3.5 million people have been affected

in the two countries, particularly in Bihar (India) and

Saptari and Sunsari (Nepal). Partially supported by the

Hong Kong SAR Government’s Disaster Relief Fund,

Oxfam Hong Kong responded with US$174,000 worth

of urgent supplies, such as food, shelter, lights, mats,

rope and firewood. Efforts are coordinated out of our

offices in New Delhi and Hong Kong.

Sichuan and the new Year

4Cyclone Nargis, with its 120 – 140 mph winds, struck just before the planting season, making hundreds of thousands of people homeless and affecting the food security of the entire country.

5A simple community latrine – one of Oxfam’s early responses for better sanitation, and less disease.

For a December 2008 update of Oxfam’s work, please visit: http://www.oxfam.org.hk/public/contents/45204

6In Bihar, India, river embankments broke from the force of the floods.

7Integrated Development Foundation, Oxfam Hong Kong’s partner organisation in Bihar, provided hand-operated pumps for better drinking water.

8A homeless Nepalese woman waiting for aid in the worst floods in 50 years.

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Asia 2OO8 in pictures

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In JIaShan, a Qiang ethnic minority village. (The woman on the right is Xue Jinling, an Oxfam

Hong Kong colleague based in Sichuan.)

Here, residents prioritise their needs, such as better irrigation, a new road, agricultural training, and

preserving cultural traditions. Xue Jinling is explaining the words to the villager, who can not read. In the

end, they voted that irrigation work should come first. Oxfam Hong Kong’s support includes financial

assistance and training in project management.

In JIalIng, the site of Oxfam Hong Kong’s first infrastructure project – a 4.1km road. Jialing is

remote – about 8 hours from Chengdu.

Here, Oxfam Hong Kong colleagues based in Sichuan (from left to right) Liu Sheng, Zhai Fan and

Nie Liangfei meet with survivors in a temporary shelter. It was after this meeting that Oxfam Hong

Kong decided to allocate 543,000 Yuan (about US$79,000) for the community. The road will reduce the

cost of rebuilding homes in the short term, and will help create more development opportunities for

the future.

Expected completion date: February 2009.

Women suffer the most during conflict. Here, a Maguindanaon mother with her child expressed her desire to live a normal and peaceful life. Photo by Glenn Maboloc / Oxfam Great Britain

W a r a g a i n s t W o m e nW o m e n a g a i n s t W a rRoy A. Dimayuga

Mylyn, a 38-year-old mother of two,

remembers leaving her village in central

Mindanao. “They torched a house. The fire

got so big… I ran fast… All I grabbed were the

wet clothes I had just washed. Then a minute

later, I realized that I had left my youngest

child sleeping inside the house. I threw away

the basin of newly washed clothes… and

rushed back to get my child.”

The armed conflict in Mindanao is not

merely a war among armed groups, but a war

against women, a war that women do not

want. “Although motherhood is a weapon a

woman can wield to protect everything she

holds dear, she knows, painfully, that it is not

enough in a time of war,” says Glenn Moboloc,

an Oxfam Media Officer, who interviewed

displaced people in central Mindanao.

At a recent forum in Davao City, also

on Mindanao Island, sixty women banded

together and made demands to the

government. “As women who have been

dreaming and working for peace, we hold

our woman president and this government

accountable. Instead of spending billions on

this war that cannot be won, [the government

should] provide basic services and implement

social justice reforms that are due to all

citizens.”

The women advocates from Luzon, Visayas,

and Mindanao pushed for a greater role of

women in peace processes and humanitarian

protection. They called for the protection

of civilians, for food assistance to reach all

including those in the hinterlands, for the

dignity of all persons to be upheld even in

armed conflicts, to ban the arming of civilians

to reduce violence and communal strife, and

for adequate rehabilitation projects to return

a sense of normalcy and security for displaced

families.

“Too many civilians have become collateral

damage of war,” they said. “More than half

a million women, children, elderly, and non-

combatant men have been displaced, caught

in the crossfire, and left without a way of

making a living.”

The group collectively resolved to continue

to take part in consultations and dialogues,

to lobby for better legislation, to support

activities of indigenous peoples, and to call

for the fulfillment of the UN Resolution 1325,

which aims to ensure security for women.

This article draws on the statement made in September 2008 at the War against Women, Women Against War Forum supported by Oxfam and Nisa Ul Haqq Fi Bangsamoro. Glenn Maboloc also contributed. Roy A. Dimayuga is Central Mindanao Programme Manager with the Joint Oxfam Mindanao Programme, to which Oxfam Hong Kong contributes.

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N e w PartnerOrganisations

Every day, Oxfam Hong Kong works alongside hundreds of groups around the world, from small NGOs to international bodies, from government departments of developing countries to community groups based in Hong Kong. Here are 6 ‘partner organisations’ that we are supporting for the first time.

CHINA (MAINLAND)BEIJIng •Institute of Contemporary Chinese Economy, School of Economics, Central University of Nationalities

ganSu •Longnan City Poverty Alleviation and Development Office •Wenxian County Poverty Alleviation and Development Office •WuDu Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development Leading Group, Longnan City

ShanDong •Shandong People's Publishing House

SIChuan •Qingchuan County Poverty Alleviation Office

In this edition of O.N.E, we highlight the Qingchuan County Poverty Alleviation Office. In Mainland China, every country has a government office which works to reduce the

poverty of its population. Qingchuan, a rural county in Sichuan Province, has been ranked as the

fifth hardest hit in the massive earthquake of May 2008. Many farmers are too poor to reconstruct

their homes, and the county government also does not have the funding to assist. As some

families in Qingchuan will still be living in temporary shelters for the winter, Oxfam is providing

US$82,000 worth of waterproof fabric and warm quilts to help 2,100 families in four poor and

remote communities. In the first phase after the earthquake, Oxfam already provided food, medical

supplies, sanitary supplies for women, and milk and Halal food for the Muslims in the area.

from the CONGO

1 Karo, 14, and her baby she named Happiness, even though Karo had been raped by soldiers.

2 Jean Mbehere, 30, a pregnant mother having 5 children.

3 Once a chef, Charles Kimanuka now relies on food aid in a refugee camp.

4 Banza Masamba and her 13 children walked for 4 days to reach a refugee camp.

5 Tumanini, 38, says, “This sewing machine feeds my family. If someone took this from me, they’d be taking my life.”

6 Antoinette wants the war over. Her husband was shot to death by a soldier.

OXFAM ACTION A global petition against climate change:

http://www.oxfam.org/en/campaigns/climatechange

OXFAM in the NEWSTHREE CONGRATULATIONS – ENvIRONmENT, HEALTH ANd SAfETy

Asia Monitor Resource Center, Asian Network for the Rights of

Occupational Accident Victims and China Labour Support Network

have been named as three of the most influential leaders in

environment, health and safety (EHS). Each organisation has been

supported by Oxfam Hong Kong.

Oxfam’s most recent collaboration with Asia Monitor Resource

Center was in 2005, when the WTO met in Hong Kong and AMRC

advocated for better trade policies in regards to labour practices.

Based in Hong Kong, AMRC focuses on labour issues across Asia.

Asian Network for the Rights of Occupational Accident Victims,

based in Bangkok, received support from Oxfam at the onset of its

founding in 1997, and then again in 2003, when we enabled better

links with labour groups in Hong Kong and Mainland China.

China Labour Support Network supports workers in southern

China on occupational health and safety issues. Oxfam has

supported some of these projects, and CLSN has shared their

experiences on corporate social responsibility with us, particularly

regarding China’s apparel industry.

For the full story, see: http://ehstoday.com/mag/50_influential_ehs_leaders/

vIETNAm: In December 2008, the government

of Vietnam, represented by its Union

of Friendship Organisations, awarded

Oxfam Hong Kong for its work on

poverty eradication over the past 20

years. Director General John Sayer

(left) and Van Thi Minh Chau (right),

our longest-serving employee in the

country, received the medals and

certificates.

MOKUNGOxfam Hong Kong publishes this

bi-monthly magazine in Traditional

Chinese. Mokung, which means both

“no poverty” and “infinity”, highlights

a different aspect of development in

each issue. The Editor is Tung Tsz-kwan.

The current edition focuses on Climate

Change.

To subscribe: www.oxfam.org.hk/public/bookstore/?lang=big5

Mokung is online at www.oxfam.org.hk/public/contents/category?cid=1017&lang=big5

ONEO.N .E – Ox fam New s E -

magazine – is uploaded monthly

at www.oxfam.org.hk/one.

To receive a copy in your inbox,

please subscribe – it is free.

To subscribe: www.oxfam.org.hk/one/subscribe.html

Hong Kong

17th Floor, 28 Marble Road, Northpoint, Hong Kong

O.N.E is also on-line: www.oxfam.org.hk/one

Editor: Madeleine Marie Slavick (emagazine@oxfam.org.hk)

www.oxfam.org.hk

The violence in the eastern Congo among many armed factions has killed about 5.4 million people over the past decade. Oxfam and other groups are urging world leaders to keep up the diplomatic pressure to find solutions to the conflict. As a short-term measure, Oxfam is providing aid for more than 100,000 people in four camps, and if safety allows, will further assist more people in other areas around Goma. Oxfam Hong Kong will be contributing to the effort.

just a boyFidel and Michel are former child

soldiers. Fidel is 14 years old, Michel 12.

(To protect identities, Oxfam has changed

the boys’ names and is not publishing their

photographs.)

Michel was abducted when he left his

house to get some milk. He was forced

to fight for four years, has shot at many

people, and saw a friend of his hanging

from a tree with blood pouring from the

ears and nose.

Fidel, a soldier for six months, remembers

being abducted, “The rebels said they’d

spare me if my mother paid US$100, but

we didn’t have it… One day, I saw 60 bodies

dead in the battlefield. I knew I needed to

escape or I’d end up dead myself.”

Fidel and Michel are now with Cajed,

a Congolese NGO which Oxfam supports.

Cajed helps children through the trauma,

they work to prevent the re-recruitment of

child soldiers, and they assist children adapt

to a civilian life again.

wake up alive?Armed men frequently raid the camps

in Kibati, demanding money, food and

mobile telephones. A few weeks ago, a

boy was shot in the arm and a girl was

killed with a bullet to the head during one

of these raids.

“It’s by the grace of God that we have

not yet been attacked,” says Ndayi, a parent

with four children. “But during the night

we can never be sure that we’re going to

wake up alive.”

The family fled their village over a year

ago, under a barrage of bullets, and have

been living in the camp ever since.

shinning with a white sheet

Rankin, a leading portrait and fashion

photographer, said he wanted to show

Congolese people as “real human beings”

during his volunteer assignment with

Oxfam. He brought people in front of his

white backdrop, where their individuality

does shine. “I didn’t really have a translator

but they all communicate in this brilliant

way by facial gesture... They all wanted

to be involved and do stuff and that kept

me talking to them.” Before leaving the

Congo, Rankin hung his pictures up in a

marketplace for everyone to come and see,

and then, for two months, the images were

also exhibited outside the National Theatre

in London.

All photos by Rankin

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