“In My Place” is a five-minute film from Oxfam, starring ordinary people from around the world, intended to raise awareness of the disruption and injustice of land deals between governments, banks and private investors.
Responding to a call from Oxfam, thousands of passionate people – many of them young – sent photos and videos of ordinary things out of place. These were then set to a special acoustic version of Coldplay’s song “In My Place” by the band’s video editor, Max Whitecross. The film depicts simple domestic tasks – such as cooking breakfast or brushing teeth – carried out in awkward public spaces, from supermarkets to railway tracks (there’s even some mid-air ironing). The jarring imagery is by turns funny and poignant, as people make beds and try to sleep in uncomfortable places, echoing the disruption caused by land grabs. TV monitors display messages to emphasise this point: “Big land deals are forcing families from their homes, lands and livelihoods…this is happening every day, all over the world”.
Oxfam’s proposed solution is to put popular pressure on the World Bank, which provides the finance for many big land deals and has global influence over how land is bought and sold. According to Oxfam, the bank has recently acknowledged they have a part to play in tackling land grabs, and has “committed to improve their standards”.
The bank’s spring meetings are fast approaching, so if you’re against the displacement that land grabs cause for thousands of ordinary families every year, the time is perfect to let them know: you can Tweet Oxfam’s message to @WorldBank here or write your own (but remember to use the campaign’s hashtag: #StopLandGrabs).
You can watch “In My Place” below or visit the campaign’s page at Oxfam here, and learn more about land grabs from Oxfam here.
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