We'll be discussing plans for International Women's Day and our new petition about food aid. Stop by our meeting for more information or to get involved in any way you can!
What: Monthly Meeting
Date: Thursday, February 23, 2012
Time: 6:30 pm
Where: PIQ Berkeley (91 Shattuck Ave, across from Downtown Berkeley BART)
If you know you can come, please send us an RSVP so we know how much space to reserve. But feel free to join us even if you can't RSVP in advance.
What if you lived on just $2 a day, struggling to feed your family, keep your kids in school and merely survive – while down the road, oil and mining companies were making millions from selling your community's natural resources, the profits from which you might never see?
That's a daily reality for 1.5 billion people. They deserve better – and they just might get it.
Oxfam and supporters fought together for years for a new law that requires oil and mining companies to open their books and stop hiding secret payments to local governments. Thanks to people like you, the law mandating these new rules was passed by Congress in 2010. This law will help poor citizens in countries around the world combat corruption and ensure that oil payments go where they're needed most.
But right now, as the law is about to be implemented, big oil companies may sue to stop it. With enough public outcry, we can pressure these companies to stop fighting transparency, accept Congress's rules and open their books.
Tell big oil companies not to stand in the way of transparency rules!
Right now, oil and mining companies' contributions to local communities often include environmental damages, loss of land and human rights abuses. Living on top of valuable resources doesn't necessarily mean that communities living in poverty get a share of the wealth. Instead of going into the community, the profits too often go straight into the pockets of corrupt individuals.
Communities living in poverty don't need handouts. They just need simple access to information so they can fight for themselves, their families and the future of their communities. Putting the law into force could finally give them that chance.
We need to raise our voices NOW to let the big oil companies know that they can't fight progress. We'll show them we're watching, and make them think twice about how they handle this situation.
Oxfam has worked too hard and come too far to let companies like Chevron, Exxon and ConocoPhillips take this victory away from us now. Everyone has had their say and now the Securities and Exchange Commission is almost ready to enact the regulations. Oxfam has been fighting almost two years since the law was passed to see this change implemented – two years of polluted water, of destroyed homes, of government corruption. We can't wait another minute – there's too much at stake.
Will you add your voice today? Demand that oil companies stop fighting transparency.
Together, we can fight back against oil company influence, shine a light on corruption and set a new standard of openness and accountability.
More information on this topic is available here.
Oxfam America performed a stunt in Washington, DC recently to bring awareness to this transparency issue. Check out photos from the stunt.