The Subjects of American Empire Are Joining in Solidarity

World  

AlterNet / By Kevin Zeese, Margaret Flowers

The Subjects of American Empire Are Joining in Solidarity

 

The revolts in Turkey, Brazil, Europe, the Middle East and Asia – as well as in the United States – are all connected.

 

 

 

June 21, 2013  |  

 

 

We are all subjects of the American Empire.  Whether we live in North America, South America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East . . .  we are all under the thumb of neo-liberal capitalism that puts concentrated corporate power in control of our lives. For decades, American Empire and wealthy elite have forced privatization of resources in developing countries and austerity measures on public programs. Now, we are also experiencing these same policies in wealthier nations like the US and Europe.

All but the wealthiest are now members of the “Global South.” And, more and more people realize this. People from all over the world recognize that we must stand together in solidarity to challenge the tiny minority that dominates us.  The revolts in Turkey, Brazil, Europe, the Middle East and Asia – as well as in the United States – are all connected.

These struggles share common messages that people are more important than profit, that human rights must be respected and that we want to live in peace with dignity. We see that capitalism is failing and that the people must take control to create the kind of world in which we want to live. The Afghan Peace Volunteers said this clearly in their recent open letter: “accomplishing these actions hinges on us, on climate change citizens, Arab Spring citizens, Occupy citizens and the ‘awakening’ citizens of every country to free ourselves from the unequal dominance of corporate governments with their laws and weapons of self-interest.”

And it’s happening. People from around the world are working in solidarity and protesting on behalf of others. Across the US, people are taking action to stop the drone warfare that kills innocent Afghans, Pakistanis and others. In Maine, they are taking a legislative approach along with protest and in Iowa, people are walking 195 miles to the Capital, Des Moines.

The campaign to close Guantanamo stretches from the living rooms of US veterans to the Washington, DC to Yemen. Three veterans, Elliott Adams, Diane Wilson and Tarak Kauff are on a solidarity hunger strike with the prisoners. They are coming to Washington, DC next week to protest and invite you to join them. Codepink recently traveled to Yemen to learn from the families of the prisoners about the impact of Guantanamo on their families.

People in Hong Kong marched in support of Edward Snowden and to oppose his extradition. Japanese railroad workers in Tokyo protested a lockout in Oregon, nearly 5,000 miles away, of American dockworkers who load grain ships headed for Asia.

Before the G8 Leaders met this week in the UK, protesters held a Carnival Against Capitalism. Last year, we protested the G8 in the US with an Occupy G8 Peoples Summit. President Obama traveled to Germany after the G8. His visit was preceded by a large march that looked like it could have taken place in the US. Protest signs had messages around issues of mass incarceration, Guantanamo, Bradley Manning and illegal spying with a play on Obama’s campaign message, “Yes We Scan!”

In fact, thanks to the courage and sacrifice of Edward Snowden, we are learning more about the extent of spying by the National Security State and that we are subjected to it, in the US and around the world. Author, Nafeez Ahmed writes that this is part of preparation by the government for a citizen’s revolt in case of a climate and energy crisis as well as economic collapse. This includes new powers claimed by the DoD to use the military “to engage temporarily in activities that are necessary to quell large-scale, unexpected civil disturbances.”

What the security state doesn’t realize is that their extreme response to peaceful protests actually brings more people out. We’ve seen this recently in Turkey and Brazil. Though these protests seemed to be sparked by minor events, the development of a park and a rise in bus fare, they are actually caused by neo-liberal, capitalist policies similar to those in the US in which as wealth of the nation grows, so does the wealth divide.

The responses by the leaders of Turkey and Brazil are very different. The Turkish Prime Minister ordered violent attacks on protesters, the arrest of lawyers, journalists and a crackdown on health professionals who cared for the wounded. But this brought more people out including lawyers and health professionals who marched in the streets. When Gezi Park was violently cleared, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets. When marches were banned, people started holding standing protests.

Now there are community assemblies being held throughout the country, using the hand signals of the Indignados and Occupy; and the unions are calling for Erdogan to step down because he has lost legitimacy after his attacks have wounded thousands, critically injured 59 and killed 5 people. Erdogan continues on a destructive track and has ordered more tear gas and water cannons. Here is a petition asking the US not to supply more.

In Brazil, violent police attacks on peaceful protesters also brought hundreds of thousands into the streets night after night. The protests started in Sao Paulo and spread throughout the country. But in response, the President of Brazil expressed sympathy with the protesters and bus fares were lowered. The protests continued on Thursday in 100 cities and on Wednesday, some police joined the protesters and were welcomed with cheers. Police defections are a key step forward that greatly increase the chance of success.

Growing movements so that they become mass movements is also important for success and that is happening within the US in the fight against extraction of resources for energy. Front line environmental groups working to stop pipelines that will carry tar sands, mountain top removal of coal, offshore oil drilling and hydrofracking have joined together for “Fearless Summer.” Their kickoff event was a tree sit to protect an old forest in Oregon. Next week, they kick-off a week of nationwide protests.

More people understand that the extraction economy must end. Coalitions in New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois are calling for a ban on hydrofracking (not merely regulation) and are willing to engage in civil resistance to make that happen. Creativity is also important as artist-activist, Lopi LaRoe who comes out of Occupy, demonstrated with her Smokey the Bear stickers and posters saying “Only You Can Prevent Faucet Fires;” the Forest Service was not amused.

This struggle is also global. First Nation people in Canada are fighting the extraction of fossil fuels in “Sovereign Summer” and people from the Amazon protested at Chevron’s shareholder meeting.

Another global struggle that is uniting people across issues and across the world is the opposition to corporate power grabs through new ‘free trade’ agreements, the TransPacific Partnership (TTP) which is coming close to being completed and the TransAtlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) which is just beginning. This is a struggle that we can win.

The secrecy surrounding these talks shows the insecurity of the negotiators.  They know that, as former US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said, if people know what is in this agreement, it will not become law. People are taking action for transparency.

The negotiators so desperately want to avoid protests that would expose how the TPP will adversely affect people’s lives that last weekend they tried to hold secret negotiations in Vancouver.  But they failed because protesters learned of the meetings and were able to mobilize within a matter of hours with actions to “Break the Silence” on the TPP.

Groups, like the Green Shadow Cabinet, are calling for unity to stop these agreements. Solidarity is growing across continents and issues, with occupiers and traditional activists working together. Watch on PopularResistance.org in the coming weeks for the launch of a direct action campaign to stop the TPP.

Conditions are ripening in the US for a mass uprising. More and more people are protesting corruption and an unfair economy. There were actions this week for worker’s rights in Oakland and San Francisco. Students and parents occupied a public elementary school in Chicago that is being closed down. It was beautiful to see young children speaking out on behalf of their school and community.

And in addition to resistance, the climate crisis and unfair economy are creating opportunities to build the kind of world we want to see. Thousands of communities around the world have started the transition town process that is now spreading across the US. It puts in place a new sustainable, egalitarian community where for example people can break from corporate food and learn the benefits of community gardens. Strike Debt has a new manual focused on college student debt calling for free education as a public good.

People across the world are standing up and demanding that government be responsive to them, not to the rule of money; that the economy be re-made so it serves all in a democratic and egalitarian way.  Progress is being made toward the world we want, every day, by millions of people around the world. You are not alone, you are part of a worldwide movement.

This article is produced by PopularResistance.org in conjunction with AlterNet.  It is based on PopularResistance.org’s weekly newsletter reviewing the activities of the resistance movement.

 

Kevin Zeese, JD and Margaret Flowers, MD are participants in PopularResistance.org; they co-direct It’s Our Economy and co-host Clearing the FOG shown on UStream TV and heard on radio.

By Organizing, We Are Not Alone

The Solidarity Center

"By Organizing, We Are Not Alone"

Interview with an Indonesian domestic worker As a college student and union leader in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Sayuti may not be a typical domestic worker, but she is passionate about domestic worker rights. Working part-time to pay for her and her sister’s educations, she hopes to start her own business one day, but she says she will keep working with the union forever. At 21, Sayuti (like many Indonesians, she has only one name) has already been a domestic worker for three years. For her, it was a job, like any other. During the first year, she worked full-time, from 6:30 a.m. to 4 or 5 p.m., taking care of two children in a household where both parents worked. Now she studies English at a foreign language academy and works three hours a day on a flexible schedule for employers who treat her with respect. Sayuti knows that she is lucky. “I get paid IDR 400,000 (Indonesian rupiah, about $45) a month doing laundry, ironing, sweeping, and mopping the floor,” she told Willy Balawala, a program officer in the Solidarity Center’s Indonesia office. “By Yogya(karta) standards, the wage is relatively high. Some other domestic workers work full day and night, and stay at their employer’s house, earning only IDR 300,000 [$34] or even 200,000 [$30].” Sayuti does not receive health care, paid vacation, or other benefits, although her employer encourages her to take national holidays off and gives her money to buy books if she needs it. “If I get sick, my employer will give me some medication and take me to see a doctor,” she said. Every year, she takes a two-week trip to her hometown of Wonosuri, where her sister is in high school. In 2005, Sayuti read a newsletter produced by the Tunas Mulia Domestic Workers Union, which is headquartered in Yogyakarta with branches in a number of outlying districts. Struck by an article about a migrant domestic worker who was facing a death sentence, she contacted the organization to offer her assistance. She began attending meetings, some in remote areas late at night. She learned that organizing could be done by approaching domestic workers in street stalls. “The union’s mission and vision is to enable domestic workers to live in prosperity, away from violence, and for them to be proud of their job,” she said. “There should not be any violence against domestic workers. We want domestic workers to be regarded as regular workers who have bargaining power.” The Tunas Mulia Domestic Workers Union networks with many other local and national unions, union federations, and domestic worker rights coalitions, including JALA PRT (National Network for Domestic Workers Advocacy), a Solidarity Center partner. It also belongs to the Asian Domestic Workers Network, whose members are unions from India, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Korea, Nepal, and many other countries, and to its parent organization, the International Domestic Workers Network. Such partnerships build power, Sayuti believes. “When Yogya was going to pass provincial regulation on manpower, we advocated including articles regarding domestic workers,” she said. “Soon Sleman district will have similar regulation, which is also a result of the network’s advocacy.” She believes that freedom of association and other worker rights are crucial for domestic workers, but there are many challenges, from public perception to raising awareness among domestic workers themselves. A common perception is that domestic work lacks economic value. “Actually, domestic workers make many economic contributions,” said Sayuti. “By having a domestic worker in their home, people can go to work feeling safe because someone is taking care of their house and children. Domestic work also contributes to poverty reduction. The poverty rate here is very high and there are not many employment opportunities. “People have a notion that domestic workers are only servants with no place in society, who deserve only to work in the kitchen and backyard of a household doing all the dirty chores,” she said. “When they hear or see domestic workers staging a demonstration on the street or meeting with government representatives, they think, ‘How can they do that when they are only domestic workers?’ It is not easy to change such a paradigm.” Many domestic workers are also reluctant to change the status quo. But Sayuti is persistent. “I’ll put it this way,” she said. “We will not be able to make a move if we stay inside the employer’s home. Staying inside the house can make us feel depressed. By organizing, we can feel that we are not alone.” A major challenge for domestic workers is safe migration. Thousand of Indonesia’s 2.5 million domestic workers migrate internally, from small villages to big cities. Others migrate to other countries such as Malaysia, Hong Kong, and the Persian Gulf states. Isolated from legal protections, and often not knowing the language, they may become victims of violence. Sayuti’s union is pressing to hold governments in origin and destination countries accountable. “It is the government’s responsibility to protect its citizens, in the country or overseas,” she said. With the spread of domestic worker rights groups throughout Indonesia and increased media coverage, public perceptions have begun to shift. A national draft bill to protect domestic workers is under deliberation and expected to pass soon. And Sayuti is hopeful that the passage of an international convention on domestic workers will provide an important benchmark. “Participating in this process has made it clear to me that domestic worker issues occur in other countries too, not only in Indonesia,” she said. “We hope that the International Labor Organization convention will bring greater attention to our common issues.” The Solidarity Center supports domestic workers' efforts to win their rights on the job and develop long-term policies for promoting decent work. Solidarity Center programs have helped partner organizations develop organizing strategies, advocate for policy change, and support international efforts to promote a standard-setting international convention on domestic work.