Trade Justice is currently a very important international issue and has been the subject of a series of meetings organised by Chiswick Churches Together, which culminated on the night of Wednesday the 10th November with talks from Ann Keen MP, who represents the constituency of Brentford and Isleworth and the Rt. Hon. Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for International Development and a Chiswick resident.

The event was originally scheduled to happen at the Our Lady of Grace parish centre, but had to be moved into the Church opposite due to overwhelming interest and the large numbers that attended.

Chiswick Churches Together is the united name for a group of core members of six Chiswick congregations – Christ Church, St. Michael and All Angels, Our Lady of Grace, the Methodist Church, St. Nicholas and St. Joseph. They want to further a long-term local commitment to Fair Trade and the recent series of talks was the planned first step in raising awareness of the cause.

Mrs Keen spoke not only about Trade Justice, but also another campaign she’s leading called ‘Make Poverty History’. This is another global issue of huge importance and she was trying to raise awareness and action from her constituents. One of the United Nations ‘Millennium Goals’, to be achieved by 2015, is to “eradicate poverty and hunger”, reducing the proportion of people living on less than a dollar per day and those who suffer from starvation.

The distinguished parliamentarians were joined last night by a representative from the Catholic Agency For Overseas Development (CAFOD) and there was an allotted section for questions. Although Ann Keen unfortunately had to leave early, the audience clearly enjoyed the opportunity to put their questions to a government minister of such importance.

Frederick Bernas

Member of the UK Youth Parliament (MYP) for Hounslow

November 11, 2004