Day six: Interviews galore26 February 2007
Paul Nicholson from the Basque Country's farmers' trade union and Via Campesina explains how unfair trade actually hurts farmers in Europe as well as in developing countries.
Paul Nicholson from Via Campesina
Wealthy agri-businesses get subsidies to overproduce and then dump their products in the South, whilst small-scale producers are neglected.
The UK and other EU members not only force their own small-scale farmers out of work, but they're also destroying livelihoods and sustainable farming on a massive scale in poor countries.
Unfair trade deals in Africa
Ex-university lecturer turned organic farmer Victor Nzuzi from the Congo (DRC) is furious how the EU is treating his people by not consulting with civil society and making them sign up to unfair trade deals.
In the Congo people have always sung - and now they do that about products flooding their markets. They are singing about others taking the best products, the best chicken and leaving the scraps - the bones.
Victor Nzuzi - organic farmer
Victor believes food sovereignty captures their struggle for the right to consume their own healthy, locally produced food.
This means challenging the root causes of why they are being forced to eat poor processed meat from the EU whilst their quality, fresh meat is being exported to the EU.
He passionately explains how Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) pose a massive threat to Africa.
African NGOs, farmers' organisations and trade unions are calling for a moratorium on these grossly unfair deals being pushed by the EU to an end of 2007 deadline.
Signing these deals is getting the poor to sign away their lives and natural resources.
The Koreans' song
Tonight it is the turn of the South Korean peasant workers to take part in the mistica.
The peasant farmer and women's movements have been at the forefront of protests against the WTO.
They begin their performance with "Down Down WTO!" and then break into a beautiful song.
South Korean peasant workers take part in the mistica
Listening to them sing I couldn't help thinking of Lee Kyung Hae, a Korean farmer and activist, who plunged a knife into his heart during the WTO protests in Cancun.
His last words were:
It's better for one man to die to save ten than for ten to die every day.
The Koreans in Mali are continuing Lee's struggle against unfair trade and for a better deal for farmers worldwide.
It's been an emotional day - hearing all of these fascinating stories has been both sad and inspiring.
Joe Zacune, our Trade Campaigner, is sending daily updates from the World Forum for Food Sovereignty in Sélingué, Mali.
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