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Name: Irene Banda

Age: 24

Country: Zambia

Organisation: Irene works for the organisation Development and Community Management Trust  in Zambia, campaigning to improve the situation of impoverished cotton farmers. She is also a member of Oxfam's International Youth Exchange for Trade Justice.

YP: Why are you here protesting against the WTO?

Irene: Zambia is leading the group of the world's least developed countries here at the WTO meeting, so I am here to support my government. I want to make sure that Zambia uses this opportunity to bring back positive results for our people.

With Oxfam, I have visited cotton-growing regions. I found out that a cotton farmer in Zambia is not able to buy clothing made from his own cotton. Why is this so? It's because of global forces. Look at subsidies: Zambia cannot afford to subsidise its own cotton farmers so how can we compete at a global level with countries like the United States that subsidise their farmers? Our farmers can't make a decent living from growing cotton. They can't afford medicine when they are sick; they can't afford education for their children; they can't afford food; they can't even afford clothing made from the cotton they grow.

I am here to help try and make sure that Zambia gets a fair chance to trade with other countries. Subsidies in rich countries are killing our production.

YP: Why should young people care about trade and the WTO?

Irene: This is a big opportunity for young people, especially young people living in Hong Kong, to get involved in something that will definitely affect their lives. Trade is a cross-cutting issue: whether it is local or international, trade affects us all.

Being in Hong Kong, you also have front-row seats to see what is going on. By taking part in the protests, you could get to be part of the decisions made here - decisions that will affect the rest of the world.

YP: What does it feel like taking part in the protests?

Irene: The support is overwhelming. There are so many people here from all over the globe willing to demonstrate their support for us.  It is really touching. The support, the chanting, the dancing - it makes one realise more and more that this is a global issue.

Name: Noppand Boonyai (nickname: Owen)

Age: 25

Country: Thailand

Organisation: Owen is a member of Action for Change, an ActionAid-supported campaign to encourage young people in Thailand to take an interest in issues affecting the country's rural areas, such as how cheap food imports are putting local farmers out of business and how people with HIV can't afford medicine.

YP: Why are you here protesting against the WTO?

Owen: I want to make people aware of what is happening in my country. I'm doing my part for Thailand. We went touring around the country recently to see how poor farmers are living. We met some garlic farmers who are suffering because of a free trade agreement with China. Cheap imports of garlic are coming into Thailand and have put our own farmers out of business. I met one farmer who said he can't make a profit any more. He said that he has stopped caring; his life is just about trying to survive. It seems very sad to me, that our farmers should suffer like this. We also met some people with HIV, mothers and sons, just ordinary people. They were coping; they were managing to survive. They wanted to live because of their families. But life was very hard because of the price of medicines. If the prices go up any more, I don't know how they will cope. I'm afraid that the drug companies won't care; that they will just put up the prices. There are up to 10,000 teenagers in Thailand suffering from HIV. We need to help them. They can't afford to be ill. Aids drugs need to be much cheaper.

YP: Why should young people care about trade and the WTO?

Owen: I am coming to Hong Kong to help make other young people in Asia aware of what's going on in my country. Together, there are enough young people in the world for us to make our voices heard. Decisions that affect our future shouldn't be made without  hearing what we have to say. I remember reading about the South Korean farmer who died at the last WTO meeting in Mexico. It really stuck in my mind. If his cause was so important to him that he died for it, then we should all make ourselves aware of what the issues are.

YP: What does it feel like to be here in Hong Kong?

Owen: This is the first time I have been to Hong Kong. The first thing that struck me about the city is that it is very commercial and consumer-oriented - the way of life, the buildings, the materialistic things - this is the WTO in full swing. I don't want my country to become like this.

Name: Lau Fong

Age: 21

Country: Hong Kong

Organisation: Fong is a law student at the University of Hong Kong and a member of the student union's executive committee.

YP: Why are you here protesting against the WTO?

Fong: I am here to campaign for global justice. In Hong Kong, we are not suffering from the consequences of WTO rules but we should still  empathise with people in developing countries and show that we care about what happens to them. Many of the trade agreements are unfair, especially those to do with agriculture and intellectual property rights.

I also think it is irresponsible of Pascal Lamy [the WTO's director-general] to say that the WTO is just for creating wealth. The WTO should also be making sure that the wealth created by trade is distributed equitably.

YP: Why should young people care about trade and the WTO?

Fong: We should care about these issues not just morally, but also for more practical reasons. The way that we are now going about creating wealth is not sustainable - we are using up too much of our natural resources and some of that damage to the environment is irreversible. Young people need to care about the future of our planet.

I also think that the inequality that is developing between richer countries and poorer countries - and between rich and poor people within countries - will eventually create unrest, if not war. We should all think more about these issues and do what we can to make things right.

YP: What does it feel like taking part in the protests?

Fong: The spirit of the march I went to was very high and the participants were well prepared. Their demands are clear and they know what they are asking for. There were people there from all over the world. Everyone was cheerful and laughing; the atmosphere was good. The people are really determined.

Name: Claudine Claridad

Age: 23

Country: Philippines

Organisation: Claudine is the secretary-general of Kabataan Kontra Kahirapan (Youth Against Poverty), which is a member of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty and the People's Caravan for Justice and Sovereignty.

YP: Why are you here protesting against the WTO?

Claudine: I think that by joining the events in Hong Kong I can help strengthen the voice of the world's poor people. I also want to forge unity with other protest groups from around the world so that our call for trade justice and an end  to  further negotiations will be heard as loudly as possible by the trade ministers.

One of the issues that I am particularly concerned about is the WTO's rules on services. The WTO's General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) could see the advent of the privatisation of education. If this happens, poor families will not be able to send their children to school as the costs would become very high. If this happens in the Philippines or anywhere else in the world, I think it would be disastrous for our future generations. How can we fight poverty without education? We need to educate to end poverty.

YP: Why should young people care about trade and the WTO?

Claudine: Young people - as the future leaders of any nation - will suffer the consequences of any bad deals made at the WTO meeting. In the Philippines, young people believe that some of the WTO's rules will kill our domestic economy and further worsen the poverty situation in our country.

The youth of Hong Kong should be aware that their city is perceived as the business capital of Asia. What transpires in Hong Kong is big news around the world. Hong Kong's young people can make use of this and broadcast to the world the ills of the WTO.

YP: What does it feel like taking part in the protests?

Claudine: I feel happy that so many people have come to Hong Kong. If we can come together as one voice with a collective action, I believe we can ensure that no further WTO agreements will be made.



Speaking Out