Sea of White Covers Edinburgh, Calls Against Poverty
Hundreds of thousands of people marched through the streets of Edinburgh Saturday to calling for action on African poverty at next week’s Group of Eight summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.
Edinburgh was covered in a sea of white Saturday as hundreds of thousands marched against African poverty ahead of next week’s Group of Eight summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.
Religious leaders joined hands with musicians and humanitarian activists in the Make Poverty History rally, which formed a walking band of white around the heart of the Scottish capital.
Their goal?
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To put pressure on the G8 leaders to agree on a package of aid, debt relief and trade reform that would help lift African nations out of poverty.
In central Edinburgh, the energetic crowd blew whistles and beat drums in a show of unity against poverty, drawing attention to the thousands of unnecessary hunger-related deaths in Africa. A vast majority was wearing white – the signature color of the global campaign against extreme poverty.
Final figures for the massive rally varied. Local official estimated the crowd at over 100,000, while organizers said 225,000 came out. Either way, it was one of Scotland’s biggest-ever demonstrations.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England, said the march hoped to send a clear message to the G8 leaders, meeting from July 6-8.
"The leaders of the G8 will see this on television, and see that these are ordinary, good people that want change, that want them to act," he told reporters as the march prepared to set off.
Make Poverty History has three core demands: debt relief for Africa's poorest countries, significantly more and better aid from the West, and trade justice to enable Africa to sell more exports to rich countries.
The campaign is organized and supported by dozens of groups that have rallied for African aid and relief for decades, including a host of churches and church-related organizations. The 3-million-member Micah Challenge, a joint effort by the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and the Micah Network, is just one of the major international anti-poverty groups backing the campaign.
Several days before Saturday’s rally, heads of several Christian groups traveled to London for a Transatlantic Forum on Global Poverty, where they address the same issue from a Christian perspective.
“Measures to fund anti-poverty budgets, cancel debt or set trade rules right, are only half measures or less,” said Geoff Tunnicliff, International Director of the WEA. “If the full measure is within the World’s ability to provide, it is still not up to the standard of Christ and the Scriptures. Only the Church, whom God has charged with the mandate to care for the poor, can help to complete the healing process.”
The Make Poverty History organizers are planning one “final push” on July 6 – the day global political leaders are set to fly into Scotland for the G8 summit.
The final rally, dubbed “Edinburgh 50,000,” will be held at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium to signal the end of the “Long Walk to Justice” and the beginning of the G8 summit.
