Bread of justice

"Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
And you that have no money, come, buy and eat!"
Isaiah 55:1-2 The Bible

Each human life has equal worth and value. We live in a very unfair world.

In 1992 Nike paid Michael Jordon more for endorsing its trainers ($20million) than the company paid its entire 30,000 strong Indonesian workforce.

Compare the hourly salary of Michael Eisner, CEO of Disney ($9,783) with that of a Haitian worker who stitches Disney merchandise (28 cents).

In 1998 it was calculated that Bill Gates, Helen Walton and Warren Buffet – the world's three richest people – had a combined wealth of $132 billion. Between them they are richer than 48 of the world's countries. Add up every penny you can find from Afghanistan and Angola to Madagascar and Malawi to Uganda and Zimbabwe and you still won't find as much as this loaded American threesome.

In Canada people can expect to live until they are 79.
In Malawi people can expect to live until they are 41.

In the UK 78 in 100 people have their own television.
In Bangladesh it is 1 in 100.

84 people in our world have combined fortunes worth more than everyone in China which has 1.2 billion people and a gross domestic product of £700 billion.

A child born in Britain, America or France this year will consume, waste and pollute more in a lifetime than 50 children born in developing nations.

The richest fifth of the world's population will consume nearly half of the world's meat and fish, use 58% of the energy and 84% of all paper. This richest fifth has three-quarters of all telephone lines and 87% of the world's vehicles.

In France everyone has access to sanitation – in Malawi only 6% of people do.

70% of the world's population has never made a phone call.

Every 8 minutes of every day of every week of every year an Iraqi child dies as a consequence of US and Western sanctions.

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Place a star on the map on a place in the world where you think there is a particular need for justice. Reflect on your life in relation to life in the place where you have placed your star. Pray for all those who hunger for the bread of justice.

We hunger for you in a hungry world.