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Special Report |
LAST UPDATE March 13, 2007
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| December 20, 2006 |
Friends of the Earth (Gibraltar) Boards Peace Boat |
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| Members of Friends of the Earth board Peace Boat |
Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is a global environmental organization that has a number of chapters in the Mediterranean. When Peace Boat called in Gibraltar on December 20, members of the Gibraltar chapter visited the ship and spent an evening learning more about the organization's efforts on behalf of the environment, and speaking about their own. |
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| FoE members share a meal and a chat on Peace Boat |
“We focus on world environmental issues, while also cooperating with two environmental organizations that do activities in Gibraltar,” said a coordinator. One of these local organizations focuses on the flora and fauna of Gibraltar, while the other focuses on pollution from an oil refinery in nearby Spain that has been linked with cancer and respiratory ailments. “In this region, one in three people can expect to get cancer. I lost two members of my family to cancer this year,” said one FoEI member. Ships, too, sometimes heavily pollute the water near Gibraltar, she said. “I went swimming one morning not knowing that a ship had just dumped a huge load of chemicals in the water, and I got skin burns all over my body. I looked like a mummy.” |
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| FoE members learn about Peace Boat's environmental projects |
Members of FoEI took a great interest in two environmental projects that Peace Boat is currently working on. One is the designation of Patagonia as a world heritage site, which will help the region's glaciers from being bought up by multinationals that aim to gain control over freshwater supplies and monopolize the right to water. The other is the establishment of an organic farm in Japan that helps to periodically supply the ship with rice. “The work you are doing is so important,” FoEI members said. “How can we help you – what can we do?” |
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| Peace Boat receives an exquisite illustration of the Rock of Gibraltar from FoE |
Before disembarking, FoEI Gibraltar members and Peace Boat participants expressed delight in their chance to meet and learn from one another. Both organizations share the goal of creating peaceful, sustainable societies, and hope to continue meeting and supporting one another in the future. FoEI Gibraltar can be reached at 33 Marina Court, Gibraltar, Europe, and their web site can be accessed at – www.froegib.motime.com. |
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