Hmm. Looks like the http://www.debtweek.org/ is unavailable (unless it's just me?). So instead, here's my "Spotlight On..." debt, with thanks to the Jubilee Debt Campaign, whose website makes great sense of a tangled subject.
What is the key message?
The kind of debt we're dealing with here is debt held by countries in the developing world, where there is either no chance of the country ever being able to repay it, or where to do so is impossible without sending its people into a spiral of poverty.
Isn't that their problem, not ours?
It would be if the debt was part of a fair process, but most of the debt in question either has impossible conditions attached (such as unfairly high interest rates), was provided illegitimately (such as to dictators to buy arms to oppress their own people) or removes the ability of the debtor country to support its own people.
So who's making a fuss about this?
Lots of people - there are campaigns all over the world to get this debt cancelled, but often as the first step towards a fairer and more equitable world for all of us, rich and poor, in the developing or the developed world. Third World debt is seen as a touchstone issue by many - as a clear and visible illustration for the way in which we treat each other in ways that are often unfair. Any internet search will throw up many organisations dedicated to this work. Or see some of the other posts on this blog.
http://www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk/ is, in my opinion, the best place to start.
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