“Every person has a name –

       Someone’s son,

       Someone’s daughter,

       Someone’s husband,

       Someone’s wife

Someone’s friend,

       Someone’s lover,

       Someone’s hope,

       Someone’s life”

Artist Geoff Hocking says he started 1 Million Human Beings, 1 Million Bombs began as a response to the number of American soldiers being killed in Iraq.

"I thought, how can you visualise this? So I've created a book with a million small human beings in it, and it represents a million people killed in war - and on the floor of the gallery, there are 140 books which represents the total number killed in the 20th century," he says.

The books are accompanied by some of the iconic photographs of war; Robert Capa's photograph of the Battle of Normandy, Eddie Adams' photograph of the execution of a VC prisoner by Lt Colonel Nguyen Ngoc Loan, the photograph of Kim Phuc, the young Vietnamese girl running down the road after being burned by napalm.

"Amazingly enough, a lot of people win awards for taking photographs of people in terrible trauma," Mr Hocking says.

Photographers in war serve a purpose, he says, but does conscience pinch?

"I guess these people [the photographers] are doing a service to all of us in one way, of saying 'this is the reality of humankind' - but in another way, they must feel like I feel with this exhibition. You've got to remove yourself from that and say, 'I'm an observer, but not an innocent observer. So much of this is done in my name, regardless of whether I approve of it or not…in a way, this is a protest against what is happening, because I actually don't agree that I want it to be done in my name any more."

Mr Hocking says he was of an age to face conscription in the Vietnam War; he says he can see comparisons between Vietnam and Iraq.

"They're both very similar excursions, I think; they've been done for the wrong reasons.

"Vietnam was done to prevent old colonies from falling to nationals, and in fact Ho Chi Minh was a popularly elected communist leader of Vietnam. But the British were scared that, if Vietnam stayed communist that the rest of Asia would go communist, and the British had lots of interests in Asia at the time…we see the same thing in Iraq."

Despite the similarities he sees in the causes of the two wars, Mr Hocking says he sees a difference in the treatment of soldiers between Vietnam and Iraq.

"I think our attitude to the soldiers [today] is a bit different; we see them as pawns in someone else's game, and I…certainly don't regard them as doing the wrong thing because they're doing their job.

"Whether we need people to do that job is something I don't necessarily agree with."

While he was of an age to go to Vietnam, Mr Hocking wasn't called up, something he says he's thankful for.

"I would have been useless anyway, and I don't know that I would have had the strength to conscientiously object - that's a powerful thing to do...I can remember having to fill out the National Service forms, and I wrote all around the edges, 'I do not want to go, I'm an artist, I'll be useless, I've never handled a gun, please don't send me, I've no interest in this whatsoever.'

"Nothing about actually objecting, but it was trembling with fear.

"My father had been in the Second World War, he'd been in New Guinea, and he never spoke of it. But I know there were things that he did that his beliefs said he should not have done…but they had to go."

http://www.abc.net.au/centralvic/stories/s1886463.htm?backyard

The exhibition is at the Castlemaine State Festival

http://www.castlemainefestival.com.au/07/1million.html

The latest news from NikeWatch - Challenging Sports Brands to Respect Workers' Rights

1. Adidas failing to take strong action to support workers' rights in Indonesia

2. Are you a student? Want to help pressure Adidas to clean up its act?

3. Job ad: work on NikeWatch campaign in Sydney

4. Enter the World of Sweatshops - New on-line Game

5. Esprit, Giordano and other Hong Kong clothing companies falling short on Labour Standards reporting

6. Success! Legal Rights of Australian Clothing Workers protected

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1. Adidas failing to take strong action to support workers' rights in Indonesia

Regular readers of this Newsletter will be aware of our campaign to support improved conditions for the 10,000 workers at the Panarub factory in Indonesia and more recently for the reinstatement of 33 dismissed union leaders. Panarub produces top line football boots almost exclusively for adidas.

As a result of campaign pressure, conditions for workers at Panarub did improve during 2004/05 when adidas, management and the two unions began working together. However conditions at the factory deteriorated in 2006 after the union leaders were dismissed. In mid 2006 more than 9,000 e-mails sent from Oxfam America and Oxfam Australia supporters saw the 33 dismissed union leaders paid a monthly hardship allowance while their case was being resolved. This meant that they weren't starved into accepting an inferior payout.

We still need to push Adidas to take a stronger stand on this case and insist that the union leaders are reinstated. Planned campaign actions on university campuses will help push Adidas to get serious about supporting workers' rights at Panarub and other factories.

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2. Are you a student? Want to help pressure adidas to clean up its act?

A series of university actions through March and April will pressure adidas to change its ways.  Adidas needs to stop putting pressure on factories to deliver so quickly, and start paying more per shoe produced, because factory management is forced to choose between workers' rights and meeting orders - and it's the workers who lose out.  Every day of protest against adidas will have this same message, but a different form, a different look, a different date, because we're leaving it up to the students to find the best way to raise awareness and get others to participate.  But we need more student organisers.  If you want to help out or even lead the organisation of an adidas day of protest on your campus, contact Tom Tanhchareun in Australia on 0403 075357 or tomt@oxfam.org.au In the US actions are being organised by United Students Against Sweatshops - contact Zack Knorr zack@usasnet.org

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3. Job ad: work on NikeWatch in Sydney

This is a 17 month contract position and applications close on 8 March.

Eligibility to work in Australia is a requirement of this position

(please visit www.immi.gov.au if you are unsure of your eligibility).

We need your people-focused research and communication skills to

contribute to our campaign supporting sportswear workers in Asia.  You

will have:

*    experience organising advocacy campaigns

*    knowledge of labour rights issues and campaigns

*    experience with internet-based advocacy techniques and

strategies

Please visit www.oxfam.org.au/jobs for a position description and

application form or contact Claire Busse via claireb@oxfam.org.au or 03

9289 9441.  4 day/week contract to September 2008 based in our Sydney

office.  Salary $38,688 plus benefits and access to salary packaging.

Applications close 8 March.  EEO Employer.

Oxfam Australia works with communities around the world to find

solutions to poverty and injustice.

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4. Enter the World of Sweatshops - New on-line Game

This new free on-line interactive game invites you to enter the world of the sports shoe worker. Work hard and you will be paid your full wage. Make a mistake and you will be punished accordingly http://www.simsweatshop.com/game/

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5. Esprit, Giordano and other Hong Kong clothing companies falling short on Labour Standards reporting

In November, 2006 Oxfam Hong Kong launched a report titled: Transparency Report: How Hong Kong Garment Companies Can Improve Reporting on Labour Standards. This report assesses and rates how well 16 Hong Kong garment factories are reporting on their labour standards in the supply chain. Only 4 companies received above zero. Companies surveyed include Esprit, Giordano and Chickeeduck (baby and childrens wear).

Click this link to learn more about the report: http://www.oxfam.org.hk/public/contents/press?ha=transparency%2breport&wc

=1&hb=&hc=&revision%5fid=41592&item%5fid=41564

Click this link to take action relating to the report: http://www.maketradefair.org.hk/trad_06/petition_eng.asp

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6. Success! Legal Rights of Australian Clothing Workers protected

Most clothing made in Australia is made by women who work from home (outworkers) - usually migrant women with limited English and hence limited job opportunities. Last year the Independent Contractors Bill threatened outworkers' right to the same minimum entitlements as other employees.

Fairwear organised a big campaign to get amendments made to the law so that outworkers legal rights would be protected. FairWear, outworkers themselves, the TCFUA and other organisations, including several church bodies, made submissions to the government.

The government accepted that amendments were needed and the legislation was amended before it became law. While this represents a success for outworkers, FairWear recognises that other aspects of the commonwealth's industrial relations framework are bad for working families.

Congratulations to FairWear and many thanks to all who responded (last year) to our request to write to the Australian government about this issue.

If you would like to receive this newsletter go to:

 www.oxfam.org.au/campaigns/labour/index.html

Feb. 19:

Two messages I received that I want to share it with you. Sarcastic messages became quite common, it is kind of funny and sometimes draw a wide smile on our faces...

“Good News for all Iraqis… Iraq2 will be opened soon in Mars, all those who wants to travel should go to the nearest Iraqi embassy. Re-send this and you will get a free Visa from NASA agency to Iraq2. Please Notice: The agency prepared all types of road side bombs, car bombs, pistols and machine guns so Iraqis won’t feel homesick”.

and the second one ...

“Recent studies proved that Iraqis are the most romantic people on the globe for the following reasons: 1. They are used to have dinner using candle lights (because there is no electricity). 2. They sit in front of a wooden stove (no electricity or fuel, no other alternative). 3. When the husband is late for more than 5 minutes the wife will call repeatedly (he might get kidnapped). 4. A wife will sell all her golden possessions (to pay the ransom). 5. All men are back home by 5 p.m. for their wives (because of the curfew)”