In honor of MLK Day, ONE member Kyle Talkington of Dallas, Texas wrote a Letter to the Editor and it was printed today in the Dallas News!
-Kim Smith

Today our nation celebrates the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We recognize a man who not only believed in social justice, but a man who proved that when Americans believe in and truly desire something, we are willing to take great risks, share resources and spur each other on to reach that goal.

 Social justice works toward the realization of a world where all possess basic human rights and equal opportunity to access societal benefits such as clean water, proper health care, and education. As Dr. King said, “All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.”

I am one of over 100,000 Texans and 2.4 million Americans who have joined ONE, a grass-roots movement of people who believe in the opportunity to end extreme poverty in our own time. The birthday of Dr. King reminds me that much remains to be done both inside and outside of our nation’s borders.

    Kyle Talkington, Dallas

The case of anti-poverty activists Daniel Bekele and Netsanet Demissie was today not heard again as one of the three Judges in Ethiopia’s High Court was absent due to ill health. The case hearing is now postponed until November 30th, leaving Daniel and Netsanet in jail for at least another 8 days, as they were refused bail.

“Given that in April a senior judge said there was no case to answer, and that both men have been imprisoned for over 2 years, they should have been granted bail in the circumstances.’ said Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General of CIVICUS and Chair of Global Call Against Poverty sitting in the Addis Ababa court this morning. ‘Ethiopia is being deprived of the two people most committed to its progress, and in the context their skills and participation are very much needed.”

After more than 2 years of imprisonment Daniel and Netsanet, both coordinators of the Global Call to Action against Poverty in Ethiopia, are the last two accused in the high profile Ethiopian treason trial that originally charged 131 politicians, journalists, organisations and civil society leaders. They were due to hear the final verdict this morning at 9am GMT in Addis Ababa. They face charges of conspiracy to overthrow the government, specifically, “outrage against the constitution and constitutional order”.

Fellow GCAP campaigners in over 110 countries have been calling for their immediate release and sent messages of solidarity to the men. Amnesty International has declared both men prisoners of conscience.

In light of the enormous challenges facing the global community to eradicate poverty, the international development community in 2000 adopted specific targets for poverty reduction, now known as the MDGs. The eight MDGs seek to achieve a number of goals: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; fight HIV/Aids, malaria and other diseases; increase environmental sustainability; and forge a global partnership for development. The overarching goal is to halve income poverty worldwide by 2015.

Despite the commitments contained in the MDGs, poverty and hunger is on the increase resulting in an ever-growing disparity between rich and poor, between and within nations. Africa exemplifies these particular challenges: the challenge of peace, the struggle against poverty and the struggle for development. It is not enough merely to recognise the fact that there are problems and challenges. The bigger issue is what can be done to respond to all of these challenges.