Offenheiser: Debt relief is essential to developing world
LAURA SELLINGER
News Writer
Debt relief and world hunger were tied together as students shared "A Simple Meal" with Oxfam America president Ray Offenheiser on Thursday night.
Students gathered in the Center for Social Concerns with Offenheiser, a 1971 Notre Dame graduate, for a meal of beans and rice and a discussion of global poverty. Offenheiser leads Oxfam America, an international non-profit organization that promotes progress and growth around the globe.
"We are a development organization with a human rights perspective. From a social and economic point of view, Oxfam America seeks to find sustainable solutions to the global issue of poverty," Offenheiser said.
Debt is also a serious problem plaguing many third-world developing countries today, he said.
"After unscrupulous political leaders have died or been overthrown, many developing countries discover they have enormous debt burdens to repay," Offenheiser said.
As a result, he said, the countries are forced to pay off their debts, and continue to pay them, regardless of expenses for agriculture, education, health and other public services. Because these public services become virtually extinct, the citizens of these countries are subjected to severe injustices.
At the same time, these troubled nations are unable to receive additional loans to pay off their debts. Because the debts remain unpaid, they also face a harsher punishment — the inability to participate in globalization and advancement.
"This was the preoccupation which concerned Oxfam America because it had economic and moral issues," Offenheiser said. "Something needed to be done to assist these countries but the question was what."
Currently, representatives from Oxfam America, religious leaders and debt relief supporters have been working hard to establish a debt relief program. A key victory was achieved in the past few days of the Congressional session when the Clinton administration agreed to a deal that would provide tens of billions of dollars to the world's poorest countries, Offenheiser said.
Entitled the "Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative," the agreement should enable the international debt relief program to start this year. But Offenheiser stressed the importance of continuing the battle against world debt and poverty.
"We take solace in the acceptance of this proposal because it is a considerable victory," he said, although he cautioned that more needs to be done.
The international agreement is based on having wealthy countries including Great Britain, Germany and France, to make contributions to a Trust Fund. This Trust Fund will help cover costs of debt relief from some of the small banks that loaned money to these underdeveloped nations. But Congress must approve our share if these poor countries are to receive the debt relief they desperately need he said.
As a result, it is crucial for Congress to return next year and allocate the full amount of money necessary to maintain the debt relief program, according to Offenheiser.
Students can also contribute to the debt relief movement in many ways. According to Offenheiser, "This is a social battle to which we all must be committed to get results. Students can influence Congress and aid the efforts by writing letters, staying engaged and keeping in touch to keep this global issue moving forward."
All News Stories for Friday, November 19, 1999
