Some would call them agitators. Some would call them naive. But the students of four south County Dublin schools will not be deterred from their plan of action. They want to change the world.
They mean to collect signatures, help to form a human chain in the centre of Dublin and argue with capitalists 'til the cows come home. They want to shake society's complacency and highlight a need for action. They want the world's seven main economic powers, the so-called G7, to cancel the debts owed to them by developing countries. The G7 are the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Canada.
The ambitious young visionaries are the students of St Andrew's College, Newpark Comprehensive, Colaiste Eoin and Dominican College, Sion Hill. They have already attended an inter-schools conference at St Andrew's where they were addressed by Caoimhe de Barra, of Trocaire, and Jean Somers, of the Debt and Development Coalition.
Over 200 students attended the conference, organised by Hugh Barford, a teacher of English at St Andrew's. They learned about the debts owed by the world's poorest countries to the richest countries. It was a forum for them to consider ways of campaigning for the cancellation of "the unpayable debts," as Jean Somers explains.
The assembled pupils joined actively in discussion and group work, they listened and they were shown slides. "I got involved through the interest of the students," says Barford. "We want to be part of the Jubliee 2000 campaign which is running in countries all over the world. They are collecting signatures and will present a petition to the G7 countries in June to persuade them to write off the debt owed by developing countries."
The theme of the day, he says, was to "explore the background to this unpayable debt" and to consider ways of campaigning for cancellation.
At the conference, Somers said: "It's great to see young people in Ireland in solidarity with the young people in the Third World whose futures are being mortgaged by unpayable debt."
De Barra said that "the students were very aware of the issues. They asked some perceptive and challenging questions."
The students are now planning to raise awareness about poverty in development countries. On Sunday, March 7th, - 300 days before the start of the new millennium - they will join hands with others to form the Human Chain to Break the Chains of Debt demonstration, which is being organised by Trocaire. This will take place at the Central Bank, Dame Street, Dublin, starting at 1.30 p.m.
The following day they will gather for workshops and talks on the debt crisis at the Dominican College, Sion Hill. Then, on the Wednesday of that week, they will collect signatures in shopping centres - they will urge people to think about " the lives of 21 million children who could be saved if the unpayable debts of the world's poorest countries were cancelled."
The signatures are being gathered as part of the Jubilee 2,000 Petition which aims to gather 22 million signatures around the world. The plan is to sail up the Rhine to Cologne and, on Saturday, June 19th - 200 days before the start of the millennium - present the signatures to the German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroder. The G7 leaders will be in the city at this time for a summit meeting.
Schools interested in taking part should contact Trocaire at (01) 288 5385. Students may wish to make posters, banners or t-shirts, for the event. For those who want to gather signatures, the Debt and Development Coalition can be contacted at (01) 857 1828.
