Ethiopia

Ethiopia is a country that I have had a keen interest in for some time now. In spite of the efforts of the present Government to address poverty and hunger, in 2003, a further 13 million people required international assistance, against an annual average of some 5 million, and GDP growth dropped 3.8%. Despite following an aggressive reform agenda, and establishing a Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction Program (SDPRP), levels of poverty and hunger remain almost unrivalled in Africa, and globally.

I think it is vitally important to support the government of Ethiopia in its attempts to improve the livelihood of its people. There are many excellent initiatives working in Ethiopia, some of which I visited recently (see below for details).

One of the reasons I entered into politics was my passion to do what I can for those less fortunate than myself. It never ceases to amaze me when I meet with people in Ethiopia how, with so little materially, they can be so rich in ways that we cannot understand.

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The Coffee Industry in Ethiopia

Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee and the industry remains vital to the many Ethiopian families whose livelihoods depend upon it.

The coffee industry is just one example of the way in which the world trading system is stacked up against poor countries and often serves only the rich. Workers co-operatives in Ethiopia are helping to challenge this and are making a positive difference in the lives of many Ethiopian coffee farmers.

BLACK GOLD TO HIT CINEMAS ON JUNE 8TH

The movie Black Gold is now being shown in cinemas across the UK, bringing to life the problems in the Ethiopian coffee industry.

Since the world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Black Gold has sent shockwaves through the global coffee industry, stirring up consumers into unprecedented action.

"A GALVANISING WAKE-UP CALL" - Dazed & Confused
"RIVETING & JAW-DROPPING" - Los Angeles Times
"REMARKABLE -A MOVING BUT SCANDALOUS STORY." - Daily Telegraph
"VISUALLY RAVISHING" - Variety

Black Gold is about to hit cinemas in the UK and Ireland on June 8th.

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Trip to Ethiopia October 2006

On the 10th of October 2006 I headed off to Ethiopia with a cross-party group of MPs. The trip really challenged me and, like so many aspects of a working visit like this, I was compelled to re-examine my own values. Ethiopia remains one of the poorest countries in Africa. There is a long way to go to help build an economy here to give the people the life they deserve.
When you encounter genuine poverty face to face you can never complain about much in Britain. We lead such comfortable lives.

When you meet Aids victims who want to give something back instead if feeling sorry for themselves; when you face a family that doesn't know where it will sleep or get its next meal from or whether they will all still be alive next week it is hard to understand what we moan about so often.

All of these things are deeply humbling. Working in Ethiopia gives me a reality check. Probably everybody should be given the opportunity to experience hard working people suffering genuine hardship.

Increasingly, I am convinced we in the UK have lost the plot on our values and what we want out of life. We seem to strive for economic success at the cost of our society and what matters most - relationship.

We stress ourselves on a lifestyle we don't need. We convince ourselves we need to work harder and harder to maintain a lifestyle we have chosen. It’s not much of a lifestyle if it stresses us so much.

Perhaps “Less is More” after all.