De wereld op z’n kop

Betty de Keizer |

Afgelopen week ontving ik een kreet om hulp van SumOfUs.org, een wereldwijde organisatie die zich in zet voor een betere wereld door mens en natuur boven profit te plaatsen. Leest u even mee?

Costa Rica’s rainforests are some of the most amazing places on earth. So when a Canadian mining company wanted to put an open pit, cyanide-leach gold mine in the middle of its most pristine forest, Costa Rica didn’t just say no. They said hell, no. So what did the mining company do? They sued Costa Rica for $100 million lost profits.

Huh? Hoe dat zo? Kan dat zo maar? Lees verder en huiver mee.

It’s the latest strategy in corporate bullying: If a country won’t let you do whatever you want, then sue them for violating “free trade.” Shortly after Infinito Gold proposed its mine, Costa Rica banned the kind of destructive open pit mining they wanted to do. And you’d think that would be the end of it — but because of a so-called free trade agreement between Canada and Costa Rica, many experts think Infinito Gold will win its lawsuit. If it do, Costa Rica will have to pay a huge sum of money just because they decided to protect their forests.

Hoe ziek, egoïstisch en blind moet je zijn om op deze manier je business in de wereld te willen zetten?

Costa Rica is the tip of the iceberg. Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly sued Canada to increase drug prices. Philip Morris has sued Australia over cigarette warning labels. The list goes on and on — and under proposed trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership, we’ll see an explostion of these kinds of lawsuits.

De wereld op z’n kop.

— and it could get a lot worse because of similar trade deals like the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) or the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) that could affect virtually all of Europe, Australia, Asia, and North and South America.

Laten we dit zomaar gebeuren? Is er iets dat we kunnen doen om deze idiote praktijken tegen te gaan? Kunnen we misschien samen een vuist maken? Samen kunnen we het tij misschien nog keren.

Ja dat kan. Want gelukkig zijn er organisaties als SumOfUs die zich hard maken om dit soort praktijken te stoppen. Dat doen ze zo:

So we’re fighting back. First, we’re blowing the whistle every time a corporation tries to bully a nation like Costa Rica. Second, we’re organizing to block new trade deals like the TPP and TTIP.

Meer hierover en over andere zaken op de site van SumOfUs

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