An acoustic version of the Coldplay song “In My Place” has been donated to Oxfam to create a new unique campaign video that will be used to bring awareness to the problem of land grabs all over the world.

Land grabs occur when people have pushed off a tract of land without consultation or compensation because corporations, governments, and banks buy up the land to generate large profits. People are in effect moved off the places they call home. Since 2001, at least 80 million hectares of land deals have occurred forcing many families to find somewhere else to stay. The project is part of the GROW campaign which is working to create a more just and more sustainable world.

Working on the music video is award-winning director Mat Whitecross. Whitecross, using video clips and photos donated by fans and friends of Oxfam, will create a video that very uniquely sends the message of what these land grabs do to poor families all over the world.

“The concept is really simple,” says Whitecross. “I want you to take a room in your house and move it somewhere else, somewhere unexpected.”

Land grabs exacerbate the problem of poverty and hunger by denying people the homes they live in and the land they use to grow their food. With the video, Oxfam hopes to send a message that action must be taken to prevent land grabs and put people before profit.

– Rafael Panlilio
Source: Oxfam