ctrp359 Fiji Water vs Fiji Government
Photo by Flickr Member: storm2k

Just over a year ago Anna Lenzer’s exposé on Fiji Water rocked the carefully crafted eco-friendly image the bottled water company once had.  From the political, to the environmental, to human rights issues, the piece featured in Mother Jones Magazine showed that Fiji Water was not the company it claimed to be.

One year later Fiji Water is once again making waves, this time by their own initiatives; announcing the closing of their operation in Fiji followed by a re-opening less then 2 days later.

Anna Lenzer returns to the podcast to talk about what is behind these activities, and what else has been going on over the course of the year since her article was published.

The original piece in Mother Jones: Spin the Bottle
You can also read Anna Lenzer’s recent work on the Mother Jones Blog
We also mentioned Fiji’s announcements on their blog.

Fiji Water Closed?

Photo of Fiji Military by Flickr Member JSA_NZMore than a year since the great investigative reporter Anna Lenzer published her article on the story behind Fiji water (also appearing as a guest on this podcast), the company announced this week it is closing its operation in Fiji.  After a long relationship with the ruling military junta, the company announced on their blog on Nov 29:

In Friday’s budget (11.26.10), the Fiji government announced that it will impose a 15-cent per liter tax on bottled water at locations where more than 3.5M liters per month are extracted.  FIJI Water, which currently pays 1/3 of a cent per liter, is the only bottled water producer in Fiji affected by the increased tax; bottlers who extract less than this monthly limit will continue to pay about 1/10 of a cent, or 10,000% less tax than FIJI Water.

This new tax is untenable and, as a consequence, FIJI Water is left with no choice but to close our facility in Fiji, effective Monday, Nov. 29, 2010. We are saddened that we have been forced to make a business decision that will result in hardship to hundreds of Fijians who will now be without work.

They went on to refer to the government of Fiji and the terrible state the country is in:

The country is increasingly unstable, and is becoming a very risky place in which to invest.

24 Hours later the company makes a new announcement explaining that after discussions with the government, its factory will reopen:

Through our discussions, we have also agreed to comply with Fiji’s new water tax law……Moving forward, FIJI Water is committed to working with the Fijian government,  and remains dedicated to helping the country’s economy and its people.

An odd turn of events, first that they decide yesterday, after more than a year of dealing with an undemocratic government with a questionable human rights record, that they had finally reached their breaking point. Then that after one day of discussions, the government is not as bad as they explained the day before, and that all is fine.  It actually impressive they didn’t delete the post from the 29th altogether, pretending it never happened. Perhaps the heavy amount of proof scattered around the internet would have been difficult to take back.

There is much to ask of both the Fiji government, the water company, and drinkers of Fiji water to understand what is going on here.  Unfortunately in what has long been an unsustainable operation, doing more harm then self-proclaimed good on this planet, it looks like business as usual.  Not that Fiji water drinkers ever really asked anything about the bottle they continue to hold in their hands.

More on this and hopefully some answers to these questions: soon.

ACTA Marches On

It has been some time since I mentioned the quiet yet highly dangerous global agreement on copyright that is being drafted and adopted with little public consultation, knowledge or understanding.  Where once I had hoped out of all the global players sitting behind closed doors, that the European Union would put a stop to policies and principles that would help to stifle anyone who creates or shares content online. This week we found out that the EU is in fact, going along with ACTA.

For a better idea of just what is going on with this agreement, you can either consult my podcast on this topic, from earlier this year, or more recently I recommend last week’s On the Media program where you can listen to the OTM crew explain ACTA up to the present.  It is, as always, very informative and a great listen.

ctrp358 Examining an African Election

It was a political campaign and a presidential election upon which not only the future of a nation rested but also the inspiration and example for much of the continent.  Packed with emotion, with great highs and great lows, throughout the Ghanaian presidential election of 2008,  Jarreth Merz was there. In the streets, in the party offices, at the ralleys, on the road, and finally in the strong room, he takes us along to witness a very special and important democratic process.

During the film’s premier at the Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival, I had the chance to sit down with Jarreth and record this interview. Together we get into not only the idea behind the film but also the real characters and issues raised during the course of this film.

For more info go to the website anafricanelection.com? and make sure to watch the fantastic trailer.

Slavery in Western Sahara

War Museum set up by the PolisarioIn the quest to learn more about Western Sahara and how people in that region are living, I have begun reading through human rights reports from refugee camps.  Specifically the camps in Tindouf Province, Algeria, where Human Rights Watch did extensive interviewing and research into the living conditions for Sahrawi refugees living there.  The total amount of people living in the Tindouf camp is disputed between the various stake holders and the UN, but most numbers hover around 100,000 people.

The particular section that caused controversy and anger when it was released back in 2008, is the one focused on slavery. Although authorities  vehemently deny that there is any sort of slavery going on at the camp, Human Rights Watch interviews featured in that document indicate that in fact there were cases where black skinned Sahrawis were owned by other Sahrawis.  This ownership is not the kind where one has to work for the owner (although forced domestic labor only ended in 1978), but it does involve all females having to get permission for their owners in order to marry. Without this permission no judge or marriage efficient will marry them, regardless if there is permission from the actual father or mother.

There were also reports that slave families have, in some cases, been able to obtain an official agreement or document confirming an end to the relationship to their owner. A sort of officially recognized end to their slavery.  Again, in response to such testimony back in 2008, authorities (known as the Polisario) deny such a document exists, and repeatedly deny any modern day forms of slavery in the refugee camps.

Another piece of the Western Sahara puzzle. Although the report is already for than 2 years old, it barely saw the light of day in the major media outlets.

Restoring and Reconnecting: The Legacy of Sousa Mendes

Gerald Mendes was born in Canada and raised with the story of his grandfather Aristides de Sousa Mendes. As he grew up he came to learn not only about the history of his family, but also about those that the actions of his grandfather during WWII helped to save. At a restaurant in Paris we sat down recently to talk about his family, his life experiences, and his activities related to the legacy of his grandfather.

We mention:

The Sousa Mendes Committee in France

As well as the book: Aristides de Sousa Mendes, héros “rebelle”, juin 1940 – Souvenirs et témoignages by Manuel Dias Vaz