Friday, April 22, 2005
The Earlham Word, Richmond, IN, USA
Students attend international conference,
feel call to action
Guest Writer
Last week students from five different countries gathered in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, to share past experiences and discuss future plans for a more just development of Latin America.
The four-day conference, which took place from April 11-14, combined formal presentations with powerful first-hand experiences that provoked much skepticism about development's current track, as well as optimism about the creative alternatives groups around the world are actively pursuing.
The conference began in an over-air-conditioned auditorium at the Institute of Technology in Santo Domingo. The seats were filled with children, students, and adults from Mexico, Venezuela, Haiti, the United States, Germany and all over the Dominican Republic.
Ingrid Luciano, a student in the DR, was at the podium introducing the first international conference of Movimiento Sin Aula (Beyond- the-Classroom Movement). MSA is a youth organization started by a group of students in the Dominican Republic who recognized their position of living in a developing country and actively began asking, "Development into what?"
MSA thinks youth need to actively question the decisions being made in their country and in the world. The group criticizes the complacency that traditional schooling inspires in a classroom where students just listen and do not have a voice.
In the face of pending free trade agreements, political corruption and learned disempowerment, Ingrid confidently stated, "No a los ojos cerrados, no a los brazos cruzados" (no to closed eyes and crossed arms). Since MSA's formation two years ago the group's work in los barrios and the countryside of the Dominican Republic has more than proved that their eyes are not closed and their arms are not crossed. The group has now expanded to the level of international activism.
MSA's first international conference focused on alternative forms of development for Latin America other than the free trade agreements that the United States promotes.
The conference featured German sociologist and economist Heinz Dieterich. Dieterich proposed that, "Only a post-capitalist participatory democracy - that is in this moment being played out in the Venezuelan and Cuban Revolutions - will move the human race forward."
Dieterich outlined a "Regional Power Bloc" plan for Latin America that he hopes will be headed by Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, Fidel Castro in Cuba, Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva in Brazil and Nestor Kirchner in Argentina as a specific alternative to the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA). Dietrich argued that these four progressive governments need mutual support to engage with the US, EU and World Bank.
The conference also included a visit to el barrio Simón Bolívar- calle Sucre, a neighborhood where outsiders say one shouldn't go out after dark, but our nighttime visit included being welcomed by a street full of people, children singing songs about solidarity, women sharing about the locally organized neighborhood health clinic that uses natural remedies, and everyone eating a traditional dish, mangú de plátano.
An especially powerful visit to la loma, the countryside, provided information that we never see in the United States media, information that couldn't even be duplicated within the walls of our progressive liberal arts classrooms. In an open air discotheque, representatives from more than twenty different campesino (peasant) groups shared ways that they are organizing in order to receive a fair price for their crops, eliminate domestic violence and provide better health care in their small and struggling villages.
Through their devotion to their communities it is plain to see that they are proud to be Dominicans, yet at the same time they feel exploited by their own government and the U.S. government as well. Fermix Brix Caballo Ramien, a campesino from Jamey, wanted outsiders to know that, "la República Dominicana es un país riquisísimo, pero mal mal administrado" (the Dominican Republic is a very rich country, but very badly administrated).
The meeting came to a close with the strong emphasis that everyone must dedicate at least one day a week to the cause. Forming a collective voice is critical. Their way of life depends on organizing as a group and demanding a fair price for their crops.
While CAFTA is a top priority for the Dominican Government, MSA members, residents of el barrio Simón Bolívar and these campesinos are looking for a different type of global connection.
Tim Shenk, U.S. coordinator for MSA and 2004 EC graduate said, "when neo-liberal globalization is falling down upon us, we must fight for another type of globalization: one of peace, justice and solidarity."
Resistance for many is defined as being against something. MSA, however, takes resistance and transforms the definition to mean working towards and for something. MSA is supporting alternatives to what their government and mainstream society propose. They are empowering local youth and their communities to take matters into their own hands, to not sit back and complain, but to stand up and be proactive in reshaping their society.
This first international MSA conference was an incredible experience, proving that sometimes going beyond the classroom is imperative to finding solutions outside of the system which can lead to a better today.
It facilitated the exchange of ideas and the sealing of commitments to global justice. We witnessed firsthand Tim Shenk's definition of globalization. Through making connections with different people from different parts of the world, we are more empowered to be able to resist by creating alternatives in our own societies.