The threat from the rightwing

A couple points missed by the Campaign for America's Future...

By Alan Maki
January 30, 2010 - 1:07pm GMT

First, you have ignored a very important development. John Birchers Ron and Rand Paul are involved in a movement that is really scary which brings together some Green Party people and even some misguided leftists who don't look beneath the surface to see what is going on and the connections these people have with outfits like the viciously racist and anti-Semitic John Birch Society whose influence is growing again across the country. This "movement," while still small, seems to be growing quite rapidly--- often working in league with the Tea Party movement.

Second, you people with the Campaign for America's Future are afraid to look for an alternative to the Democratic Party that works. The socialist Minnesota Farmer-Labor Party of Governors Floyd B. Olson, Elmer Benson and U.S. Congressman John Bernard was the most powerful and effective challenge, to date, to this two-party trap... and it worked in the interests of the common people--- workers, farmers, professionals and small business people.

The only way to fight the right-wing when they start attacking everything as socialist is to provide a truthful and honest explanation of what socialism is and what a socialist agenda and program really are.

We should begin by putting socialized healthcare on the table which would create tens of thousands of jobs while creating as many public healthcare centers as there are public libraries which would create for the American people a world-class healthcare system second to none along the lines of VA, the Indian Health Service and the National Public Health Service...

• No-fees/no premiums.
• Comprehensive.
• All-inclusive.
• Pre-natal to grave. 
• Universal. 
• A fully public healthcare system.
• Publicly financed.
• Publicly administered.
• Publicly delivered.

All financed by transfering funding from militarism and wars toward serving the public good.

This would require ending Obama's wars.

We need public healthcare centers spread out across our country instead of over 800 U.S. military bases on foreign soil dotting the globe protecting Wall Street's profits and interests.

We cannot talk in vague and simplistic terms about a "progressive populism;" we need to get specific. This is the only way to counter the growing rightwing movement that gets scarier and scarier as it moves to the "center" of the political spectrum... it is a progressive, anti-capitalist, pro-socialist progressive politics that needs to become the "center" of American politics if we are going to move forward--- away from war and militarism and towards an economy based on improving the livelihoods of everyone.

What we need is a "declaration of independence" from the Democratic and Republican parties which are both Wall Street parties; parties of war, racism and corruption.

For our country to go "green" it has to go "red" which requires the building of some kind of "people's front" on a much larger scale than what existed in the 1930's.

Alan L. Maki

Minnesota


Suggestion: A very good book to read, "The People's Front" by Earl Browder... available through your local public library.

The global economic crisis: An historic opportunity for transformation

The global economic crisis: An historic opportunity for transformation

An initial response from individuals, social movements and non-governmental Organisations in support of a transitional programme for radical economic transformation

Collective

15 October 2008

More informations on this website : To sign the statement

Beijing, 15 October 2008

Preamble

Taking advantage of the opportunity of so many people from movements gathering in Beijing during the Asia-Europe People’s Forum, the Transnational Institute and Focus on the Global South convened informal nightly meetings between 13 and 15 October 2008. We took stock of the meaning of the unfolding global economic crisis and the opportunity it presents for us to put into the public domain some of the inspiring and feasible alternatives many of us have been working on for decades. This statement represents the collective outcome of our Beijing nights. We, the initial signatories, mean this to be a contribution towards efforts to formulate proposals around which our movements can organise as the basis for a radically different kind of political and economic order. Please sign on to this statement at http://www.casinocrash.org.

The Crisis

The global financial system is unravelling at great speed. This is happening in the midst of a multiplicity of crises in relation to food, climate and energy. It severely weakens the power of the US and the EU, and the global institutions they dominate, particularly the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation. Not only is the legitimacy of the neo-liberal paradigm in question, but the very future of capitalism itself.

Such is the chaos in the global financial system that Northern governments have resorted to measures progressive movements have advocated for years, such as nationalisation of banks. These moves are intended, however, as short-term stabilisation measures and once the storm clears, they are likely to return the banks to the private sector. We have a short window of opportunity to mobilise so that they are not.
The challenge and the opportunity

We are entering uncharted terrain with this conjuncture of profound crises – the fall out from the financial crisis will be severe. People are being thrown into a deep sense of insecurity; misery and hardship will increase for many poorer people everywhere. We should not cede this moment to fascist, right wing populist, xenophobic groups, who will surely try to take advantage of people’s fear and anger for reactionary ends.

Powerful movements against neo-liberalism have been built over many decades. This will grow as critical coverage of the crisis enlightens more people, who are already angry at public funds being diverted to pay for problems they are not responsible for creating, and already concerned about the ecological crisis and rising prices – especially of food and energy. The movements will grow further as recession starts to bite and economies start sinking into depression.

There is a new openness to alternatives. To capture people’s attention and support, they must be practical and immediately feasible. We have convincing alternatives that are already underway, and we have many other good ideas attempted in the past, but defeated. Our alternatives put the well-being of people and the planet at their centre. For this, democratic control over financial and economic institutions are required. This is the “red thread” connecting up the proposals presented below.

Proposals for debate, elaboration and action

Finance
 
• Introduce full-scale socialisation of banks, not just nationalisation of bad assets.
• Create people-based banking institutions and strengthen existing popular forms of lending based on mutuality and solidarity.
• Institutionalise full transparency within the financial system through the opening of the books to the public, to be facilitated by citizen and worker organisations.
• Introduce parliamentary and citizens’ oversight of the existing banking system.
• Apply social ( including conditions of labour) and environmental criteria to all lending, including for business purposes.
• Prioritise lending, at minimum rates of interest, to meet social and environmental needs and to expand the already growing social economy.
• Overhaul central banks in line with democratically determined social, environmental and expansionary (to counter the recession) objectives, and make them publicly accountable institutions.
• Safeguard migrant remittances to their families and introduce legislation to restrict charges and taxes on transfers

Taxation
 
• Close all tax havens.
• End tax breaks for fossil fuel and nuclear energy companies.
• Apply stringent progressive tax systems.
• Introduce a global taxation system to prevent transfer pricing and tax evasion.
• Introduce a levy on nationalised bank profits with which to establish citizen investment funds (see below).
• Impose stringent progressive carbon taxes on those with the biggest carbon footprints.
• Adopt controls, such as Tobin taxes, on the movements of speculative capital.
• Re-introduce tariffs and duties on imports of luxury goods and other goods already produced locally as a means of increasing the state’s fiscal base, as well as a means to support local production and thereby reduce carbon emissions globally.

Public Spending and Investment
 
• Radically reduce military spending.
• Redirect government spending from bailing out bankers to guaranteeing basic incomes and social security, and providing universally accessible basic social services such as housing, water, electricity, health, education, child care, and access to the internet and other public communications facilities.
• Use citizen funds (see above) to support very poor communities.
• Ensure that people at risk of losing their homes due to defaults on mortgages caused by the crisis are offered renegotiated terms of payment.
• Stop privatisations of public services.
• Establish public enterprises under the control of parliaments, local communities and/or workers to increase employment.
• Improve the performance of public enterprises through democratizing management - encourage public service managers, staff, unions and consumer organisations to collaborate to this end.
• Introduce participatory budgeting over public finances at all feasible levels.
• Invest massively in improved energy efficiency, low carbon emitting public transport, renewable energy and environmental repair.
• Control or subsidise the prices of basic commodities.

International Trade and Finance
 
• Introduce a permanent global ban on short-selling of stock and shares.
• Ban on trade in derivatives.
• Ban all speculation on staple food commodities.
• Cancel the debt of all developing countries – debt is mounting as the crisis causes the value of Southern currencies to fall.
• Support the United Nations call to be involved in discussions about how the to resolve the crisis, which is going to have a much bigger impact on Southern economies than is currently being acknowledged.
• Phase out the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and World Trade Organisation.
• Phase out the US dollar as the international reserve currency.
• Establish a people’s inquiry into the mechanisms necessary for a just international monetary system.
• Ensure aid transfers do not fall as a result of the crisis.
• Abolish tied aid.
• Abolish neo-liberal aid conditionalities.
• Phase out the paradigm of export-led development, and refocus sustainable development on production for the local and regional market.
• Introduce incentives for products produced for sale closest to the local market.
• Cancel all negotiations for bilateral free trade and economic partnership agreements.
• Promote regional economic co-operation arrangements, such as UNASUR, the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), the Trade Treaty of the Peoples and others, that encourage genuine development and an end to poverty.

Environment
 
• Introduce a global system of compensation for countries which do not exploit fossil fuel reserves in the global interests of limiting effects on the climate, such as Ecuador has proposed.
• Pay reparations to Southern countries for the ecological destruction wrought by the North to assist peoples of the South to deal with climate change and other environmental crises.
• Strictly implement the “precautionary principle” of the UN Declaration on the Right to Development as a condition for all developmental and environmental projects.
• End lending for projects under the Kyoto Protocol’s “Clean Development Mechanism” that are environmentally destructive, such as monoculture plantations of eucalyptus, soya and palm oil.
• Stop the development of carbon trading and other environmentally counter-productive techno-fixes, such as carbon capture and sequestration, agrofuels, nuclear power and ‘clean coal’ technology.
• Adopt strategies to radically reduce consumption in the rich countries, while promoting sustainable development in poorer countries.
• Introduce democratic management of all international funding mechanisms for climate change mitigation, with strong participation from Southern countries and civil society.
Agriculture and Industry
• Phase out the pernicious paradigm of industry-led development, where the rural sector is squeezed to provide the resources necessary to support industrialisation and urbanisation.
• Promote agricultural strategies aimed at achieving food security, food sovereignty and sustainable farming.
• Promote land reforms and other measures which support small holder agriculture and sustain peasant and indigenous communities.
• Stop the spread of socially and environmentally destructive mono-cultural enterprises.
• Stop labour law reforms aimed at extending hours of work and making it easier for employers to fire or retrench workers.
• Secure jobs through outlawing precarious low paid work.
• Guarantee equal pay for equal work for women – as a basic principle and to help counter the coming recession by increasing workers’ capacity to consume.
• Protect the rights of migrant workers in the event of job losses, ensuring their safe return to and reintegration into their home countries. For those who cannot return, there should be no forced return, their security should be guaranteed, and they should be provided with employment or a basic minimum income.

Conclusion

These are all practical, common sense proposals. Some are initiatives already underway and demonstrably feasible. Their successes need to be publicised and popularised so as to inspire reproduction. Others are unlikely to be implemented on their objective merits alone. Political will is required. By implication, therefore, every proposal is a call to action.

We have written what we see as a living document to be developed and enriched by us all. Please sign on to this statement at http://www.casinocrash.org.

A future occasion to come together to work on the actions needed to make these ideas and others a reality will be the World Social Forum in Belem, Brazil at the end of January 2009.

We have the experience and the ideas - let’s meet the challenge of the present ruling disorder and keep the momentum towards an alternative rolling!!

Initial Signatories
Organisations
Transnational Institute, Netherlands
Focus on the Global South
Red Pepper magazine, United Kingdom
Institute for Global Research and Social Movements, Russia
Ecologistas en Acción, Spain
JS - Asia/Pacific Movement on Debt and Development (JS APMDD), Asia
RESPECT Network Europe, Europe
Commission for Filipino Migrant Workers (CFMW), Netherlands
The Movement for a Just World, Malaysia
Nord-Sud XXI, Switzerland
Europe solidaire sans frontières (ESSF), France
Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF), Inadi
Movimiento Madre Tierra, Honduras
Asian Bridge, South Korea/ Philippines
Center for Encounter and Active Non-Violence, Austria
The Alliance of Progressive Labor (APL)
Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER), Pakistan
Pambansang Katipunan ng Makabayang Magbubukid-PKMM (National Federation of Patriotic Peasant), Phillipines
Proresibong Alyansa ng mga Mangingisda-PANGISDA (Progresive Alliance of Fisher), Philippines
WomanHealth, Philippines
Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KPD), Philippines
Fisherfolk Movement Philippines
Democratic Socialist Perspective, Australia
Resistance & Alternative, Mauritius
Observatori del Deute en la Globalització, Spain
African Journalists on Trade and Development
Centre for Education and Communication (CEC), India
EQUATIONS, India
ESK-Basque Land, Basque Country
Common Frontiers, Canada
Alab-Katipunan, Philippines
Finnish Asiatic Society, Finland
Red Constantino, Philippines
Intercultural Resources, India
Women’s March Against Poverty and Globalization (WELGA)
FDC Women’s Committee
Bharatiya Krishak Samaj (Indian farmers organization)
Peace for All International Development Organization, Canada/Uganda
Foundation for Media Alternatives, Philippines
The Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement , Philippines
The Freedom from Debt Coalition-Iloilo, Philippines
Jubilee Eastern Cape, South Africa
SdL intercategoriale, Italy
Foro Ciudadano de Participación por la Justicia y los Derechos Humanos, Argentina
APRODEH (Asociacion Pro Derechos Humanos), Peru
Attac Spain, Spain
HealthWrights, Workgroup for People’s Health and Rights, US
Ander Europa, Netherlands
Enlightening Indonesia, Indonesia
SolidaritéS, Switzerland
ATTAC Hungary
AITEC (Association Internationale de Techniciens, Experts et Chercheurs), France
Red Venezolana Contra la Deuda/CADTM Venezuela Movimiento Unido Socialista Haitiano por el ALBA (MOUSHA), Venezuela
IPIAT (Instituto para la Investigación de la Agricultura Tropical), Venezuela
ECOPEACE Party South Africa
Jubilee Kansai Network, Japan
Ecuador Decide, Ecuador
ATTAC Japan
Transnationals Information Exchange (TIE) – Netherlands
Popular Education for Peoples’ Empowerment, Philipines
International Gender and Trade Network, Brazil
Committee for the Abolition of Third World Debt (CADTM), Begium
ATTAC Morocco
ATTAC-Denmark
Friends of the Earth Finland
European Left Party Network, UK
Center for the Study of Democratic Societies, USA
European Social Forum Activists News Agency.
Cymru Europa Press (Social Forum Cymru/Wales), UK
Initiative Colibri/Germany
Sudptt (SOLIDAIRES), France
Attac 44 France
International Debt Observatory, Belgium
Ligue communiste révolutionnaire (LCR), France
Attac France
Anti Debt Coalition (KAU), Indonesia
Africa Europe Faith and Justice Network
The Corner House, UK
Climate and Capitalism (Canada)
BanglaPraxis, Bangladesh
Centro Studi Monetari, Italy
The Network Institute for Global Democratisation (NIGD) , Finland
Project SafeCom
Justice and Peace Commision, Mexico
Theater of the Oppressed Laboratory (TOPLAB), US
Grasroots Policy Project, US
Habitat Net, Germany
Metta Center for Nonviolent Education, US
Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC/Friends of the Earth), Philippines
PODER, A.C.
ATTAC-Québec
Foundation for Gaia, UK
Alianza Social Continental, Americas
Red Colombiana de Acción Frente al Libre Comercio-RECALCA, Colombia
World Development Movement, UK
Confederación Latinoamericana de Cooperativas y Mutuales de Trabajadores - COLACOT
Fundacion Solon, Bolivia
War on Want, UK
Habitat International Coalition
Midwest Casino Workers Organizing Council
NEUE, Another Society is Possible
Berne Declaration, Switzerland
Individuals
Fiona Dove, South Africa
Walden Bello, Philippines/Thailand
Hilary Wainwright, United Kingdom
Boris Kagarlitsky, Russia
Achin Vanaik, India
Dot Keet, South Africa
Brid Brennan, Ireland
Pietje Vervest, Netherlands
Cecilia Olivet, Uruguay
Ramon Fernandez Duran, Spain
Tom Kucharz, Spain
Pierre Rousset, France
Rodney Bickerstaffe, United Kingdom
Von Francis C Mesina, Philippines
Al D. Senturias, Jr., Philippines
Sammy Gamboa, Philippines
Fe Jusay, Philippines
Nonoi Hacbang, Philippines
Lidy Nacpil, Philippines
Seema Mustafa, India
Kenneth Haar, Denmark
Wolfram Schaffar, Germany
Christa Wichterich, Germany
Isabelle Duquesne, France
Adhemar Mineiro, Brasil
Benny Kuruvilla, India
Aehwa Kim, South Korea
Manjette Lopez, Philippines
Bonn Juego, Philippines
Rasti Delizo, Philippines
James Miraflor, Philippines
Miquel Ortega Cerda, Spain
David Llistar, Spain
Alpo Ratia, Finland
Mira Kakonen, Finland
Hilary Chiew, Malasya
Celeste Fong, Malasya
Tatcee Macabuag, Philippines
Teodoro M. de Mesa, Philippines
Uwe Hoering, Germany
Asad Rehman, UK
Andy Rutherford, UK
Debbie Valencia, Greece
Petra Snelders, Netherlands
Etta P. Rosales, Philippines
Pete Pinlac, Philippines
Ute Hausrnann, Germany
Alain Baron, France
Hanneke van Eldik Thieme, Netherlands
Dorothy Guerrero, Philippines
Ric Reyes, Philippines
Herbert Docena, Philippines
Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, Malaysia
Ahmad Soueissi, Switzerland
Elias Davidsson, Germany
Juan Almendares, Honduras
Carlos Ruiz
Alexis Passadakis
Sally Rousset
D.W.Karuna
Hyowoo Na, South Korea
Sung-Hee Choi, Korea
Marko Ulvila, Finland
Matthias Reichl, Austria
Orsan Senalp, Turkey/The Netherlans
Tamra Gilbertson, Unites States
Prof. Kamal Mitra Chenoy, India
Prof Anuradha Chenoy, India
Gilbert Achcar, UK
Richel “Ching” M. Borres, Philippines
Helen Mendoza, Philippines
Sukla Sen, India
Olli-Pekka Haavisto, Finland
Amira Armenta, Colombia
William K. Carroll, United States
Gigi Francisco, Philippines
Sylvia Estrada Claudio, Philippines
Pablo Rosales, Philippines
Alice Raymundo, Philippines
Maris dela Cruz, Philippines
Terry Townsend, Australia
Ashok Subron, Mauritius
Ko Ko Thett
Einar Ólafsson, Iceland
Anjani Abella, Philippines
Gianni Alioti, Italy
Dr Michael Williams
Peter Lavina, Philippines
Gina Cantano-Dela Cruz, Philippines
Cecilia Jimenez, Philippines/Switzerland
Thierry De Coster
Sushovan Dhar, India
Krishan Bir Chaudhary, India
Dave Tucker
Bruno Ciccaglione, Italy/Austria
Haydi Zulfei , Asia
Adam Davidson-Harden, Canada
Al Alegre, Philippines
Tom Mertes
Elâabadila Chbihna, Morocco
John A. Fitzpatrick
Matyas Benyik
Roger Keyes
Ted Aldwin Ong, Philippines
Romero P. Gerochi, Philippines
C.P. Vinod, India
Laurence Schechtman
Berend Schuitema, South Africa
Francesco Martone, Italy
Asbjørn Wahl, Norway
Teodolita S. Lopez-Suano, Philippines
Hans Schäppi, Switzerland
Rasigan Maharajh
Anna Camposampiero, Italy
Lorenzo Pellegrini, Italy/Netherlands
Rashmi Shetty, India
Wahyu Susilo, Malaysia
Fabrizio Tomaselli, Italy
Rayhan Rashid, Bangladesh
Saskia Poldervaart, Netherlands
Pierluigi Tedeschi, Italy
Gladys Baldew, Netherlands
Francisco Soberon, Peru
Erik Eriksson, Sweden
Marco Cuevas-Hewitt
Luigia Pasi - Italy
Maximo Kinast Aviles
Paul R. Woods
Antonio Carlos Diegues, Brazil
Luis David Saraiva Grivol, Brazil
Nick Dearden, UK
David Werner, US
Håkan Danielsson, Sweden
Wouter F.A.Snip, Netherlands
Valdimar Jóhannsson, Iceland
Vida Viktor, Hungary
Edgardo Lander, Venezuela
Yvon Thea Young-Ang, Philippines
Khristine Alvarez, Philippines
Hayri Kozanoglu, Turkey
Manfred Schiess, Germany
Antonio Gomez Movellan, Spain
Enrique Baigorri Remirez, Spain
Gunilla Andersson, Sweden
Matyas Benyik, Hungary
Kathia Ridore, France
Willem Bos, Netherlands
Irendra Radjawali, Indonesia
Jean Batou, Switzerland
Hector de la Cueva, Mexico
Maurizio Casetta, Italy
Adriana Nicoleta Filip, Italy
Kathia Ridore, France
Susana Barria, Suiza
Julia de Souza, Brazil
Paulino Núñez, Venezuela
Borsos Dóra, Hungary
Geraldine McDonald,
Fco. Javier Benítez Morales, Spain
Diego Luís Castellanos
Daniel Kollmer, Netherlanda
Daniel Chavez, Uruguay
Jayatilleke de Silva, Sri Lanka
Ruben Joseph
Carolina Parada, Sweden
Filippo Incorvaia, Italy
Lilia Claudia Jaramillo-Guerra, Austria
Miguel Gamboa
Bram Büscher, The Netherlands
Luis Gonzalez
Ikrame Moucharik, Morocco
Oscar Revilla Alguacil, Spain
Adriano Garassino, Italy
Brissaud Jean-Bernard, Morocco
Franny Parren, The Netherlands
Lisa Clark, Italy
Donatella Biancardi, Italy
Davide Buoncristiani, Italy
Martin Pigeon, Brussels, Belgium
Jo Versteijnen, Netherands
Eric Toussaint, Belgium
Murray Smith
Daniel Gomez, Netherlands/Argentina
Panos Vlachakis, Greece
Natalia Sansón Moreno, Spain
Moustakbal Jawad , Morocco
Pablo Peredo
Albert Capella
Kristof Gal
Dr. Magdolna Csath, Hungary
Piero Stella, Italy
Ibarrola Aitor
Tamara Pearson, Venezuela
Mark Barrett, USA
Kenneth Haar, Denmark
Fred Moseley, USA
Bo Jansson, Sweden
Ingegerd Jansson / Sweden
Charles Quist-Adade, Canada
Marko Ulvila, Finland
Andrew Stevens, UK
Edlira Xhafa, Albania
Robley E. George, USA
Cristina Civale, Argentin
Sebastian Job .
Al Campbell, USA
Mirjana Joksimovic Bohlin, Serbia
Johannes Lauterbach, Germany
Carol Bergin, Germany
Alain Mouetaux, France
Gábor Vinnai, Hungary
Jorge Marchini, Argentina
Johannes Dragsbaek Schmidt, Denmark
Federico Lucero
Etienne Funck, France
Urantsooj Gombosuren, Mongolia
Erich Seifert
Jaume Francesch Subirana
Bernadette Huger
Djilali Benamrane, France
Eric Goujot, France
Brigitte Queck, Germany
Martial Denis
Heinrich Jacqueline
Bastiaan van Apeldoorn, Netherlands
Robert Jasmin, France
Jang, Seok-Joon, South Korea
Terence Osorio
Nathalie Lavallée
Gabor Vida, Hungary
Henri Dominici
Emanuela Donat-Cattin - Italy
Brian McDonough, Canada
Henry van Maasakker, The Netherlands
Susan Caldwell
Marc Torres Ciuró
Sean Thompson, UK
Richard Carruthers
Jaume Francesch i Subirana
Giovanny Colorado
Idoia LLano
Elvis Mori, Peru
Míriam Grande Vallugera
Maite Martínez
Marc Roux
Matteo Messori, Italy
Roberto Cortese, Italy
Lorenzo Palumb, Italy
Ján Lenc, Slovakia
Andrew Roche
Greg Gerritt, US
Gareth Dale
Jonathan Ensor
Peter Gelauff, Netherlands
Ulla Lötzer, Member of Parliament, DIE LINKE, Germany
Joana Ricart Sala, Barcelona
Concha Martinez, Spain
Boykin Reynolds, Germany
Bernadette Wagnleithner
Jose Luis Aguilar, Mexico
Alessandra Galie’, Italy
Sankara Saranam
Dr. Greg Kleis, New Zeeland
Bill Koehnlein
Marie-Claire Picher, US
Klaus Starke, Germany
Renau Marty, France
Gordon Jackman
Jerise Fogel, Germany
Knut Unger, Germany
Kathy Clark, US
M. Channa Basavaiah, India
Colleen Angove
Linda Provenza, US
Philippe Mühlstein, France
Stefano Puddu Crespellani, US
Richard Sheeler
Chris Brandt, US
Johanna Voß, Germany
Jesús Ortega Rodríguez,Mexico
Klaus Bosselmann, US
Barry K Gills, UK
Boyd Reimer, Canada
Germán Guillot, Germany
Pablo Guerra, Uruguay
Guillermo Díaz Muñoz, Mexico
Margaret Willig Crane, US
José Antonio Durand, Mexico
Mike Hall
Chamnan Yana, Thailand
Debra Evelyn Armet
Mertens Jean-Pierre, Belgium
Jiten Yumnam, India
Isabelle Perron, Canada
Michael Büsgen, China
Eduardo Arenas
Josep Just, Spain
Elizabeth Peredo, Bolivia
Guadalupe Méndez
Beatriz Romero
N.K.Jeet
Ben Leeman, Australia
Yu Xiaogang, China
Mechthild von Walter, Germany
Dipac Jaiantilal, Ph.D, Mozambique
Mike Nagler, Germany
Nadia Burza
Gemma Bone
Marie-Dominique Vernhes, Germany
Brigitte Holzner, Germany
Costa Constantinides, Cyprus
Jure Lesjak, Slovenia
Neil Osborne, Canada
Bridin Ashe, Ireland
Marion Flores
Martin Zeis, Germany
Ximena de la Barra, Chile
Suzanne Duarte
Hamid Hashtroudian, Germany
Guido Dalla Casa, Italy
Jashana Kippert
Hubert Pichler, Germany
Rachel Takats
Helene Vitre
Lucia Goldfarb, Argentina
Geoffrey Payne, UK
Kiersty Caesar, UK
Maite Martínez
Eduardo Arenas
Josep Just, España
Ana Sugranyes
Marisa Choguill
Charles Choguill
Kenneth Fernandes
Andrew Muller
Rosabel Agirregomezkorta
AngelL F. Furlan
Ma. Teresa Moreno
Tim Mavrič, Slovenia
Josnar Dionzon, Philippines
Martin Rožej, Slovenia
dr. alfred daniels, Germany
Nina Janßen-Deinzer
Rainer Grauer, Germany
Marie-Helene Bonin
Sue Bond
Tomaž Štumpfl, Slovenia
MR Iwuoha Chima Iwuo, Nigeria
Tomaž Flajs, Slovenia
Alan L. Maki
B. L. Wagner
Josephine Gre
Alexander Schmidt
Kirk Gibson
Denis Donoghue
Mohammed Zulfekhar Ahmed
Helene Kippert
Sabina Žulič
Suzana Abspoel-Djodjo
Jennifer Stewart
Dhinendra Lohmor, UK / India
Christine Pagnoulle, Belgium
Jakot Karrera
Christiane Salim
José Pérez-Oya
Agustin Antunez
Dag Seierstad
Gokarn Bhatt
Titia Roesems, Belgium

Collective

Congolese Women and Girls Suffering the Insufferable

Guest Blog:

by Emily Spence and Brian McAfee / January 12th, 2010

While in the eastern Congo last summer, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated, “With respect to companies that are responsible for what are now being called conflict minerals, I think the international community must start looking at steps we can take to try to prevent the mineral wealth from the DRC ending up in the hands of those who fund the violence here.”

In relation, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s UN supported armed assault against rebels in the eastern Congo has promoted widespread death, rape and other forms of brutality. Indeed, the decade long war has claimed at least 5.4 million lives — the most in any conflict since WWII. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of women and girls, including babies, have suffered rapes and sexual mutilation, often with weapons and tools used in the process. Further, it is thought that, in eastern portions of the Congo, up to seventy percent of Congolese women, along with children of all ages, have been sexually attacked, according to the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, a research center at Harvard University.

Moreover, some relief workers have estimated that up to twenty percent of new rapes have been instigated by police and civilians in urban rather than rural areas in that a culture of violence has set into much of the nation due to the long, drawn out conflict. At the same time, the attacks are so extremely violent that they have been described as sexual terrorism by medical workers at the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu at which thousands of survivors have been treated each year.

Overall, it has emerged that all major groups involved in the warfare have committed these and other serious war crimes, including looting peasants, purposefully destroying homes and forcing the mass dislocations of more than a million terrorized people from their neighborhoods. On account, countless families and whole communities have been forced to live with constant fear, repeated migrations and insurmountable social turmoil.

In a country with an annual income of $110 per capita and a life expectancy rate of 54.4 years, life is difficult enough as it is. However, individuals on the run can’t even have the assurance of this modest sum to support existence. As a result, massive food, medical and displacement aid is needed in the country at the very time that it is most dangerous to be there as an aid worker. Simultaneously, a shortage of donations negatively impact the quality of care delivered by various assistance organizations, including U.N. sponsored relief programs.

Meanwhile, a callous society ostracizes the victims, regardless of their ages, while showing leniency towards the rapists. Indeed, wounded sufferers are generally shunned by their spouses, other family members and former friends, particularly so if they have any children that resulted from periods of long term bondage accompanied by repeated rapes.

Simultaneously, assailants rarely receive proper trials. Therefore, the lack of punishment has increasingly emboldened Congolese men to find pleasure through physically violating women and children on a routine basis. Consequently, the number of assaults on women and children are increasing and spreading into new regions so as to include ever new groups, such as the Pigmies.

Even as the International Criminal Tribunal recognizes rape as a crime of genocide under international law, there is little by way of meaningful deterrence to the escalating aggression. In relation, this “pandemic of sexual violence,” indicates Stephen Lewis, the former United Nations special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, is “obscene,” “insanely savage,” and is nothing short of “femicide.”¹

Despite that social stigma is prevalent, the abandoned women and girls, of whom some are pictured at Congo/Women,² do sometimes receive substantial help. For example, it comes from groups like SOS AIDS, an organization that works with other relief agencies to get in touch with rural survivors so as to take them to treatment centers for psychological counseling and medical support.

The assistance often includes the successful repair of fistulas, debilitating ruptures of the urinary-genital tract that leave females incontinent and prone to infections for life. The helpers, also, try to provide housing, including for those in need of anti-retroviral and other drug treatments due to the attackers having infected their victims with assorted serious diseases. (The HIV prevalence includes approximately 4.2 percent of the population.) Meanwhile, the high number of injured women and girls makes it impossible to treat them all, aside from the fact that the majority of the assaults, apparently, go unreported.

Thankfully, there are a number of dedicated groups like SOS AIDS taking a stand for justice and human welfare even when it is dangerous for their staff to do so. Tragically, others try to increase the very same kinds of turmoil SOS AIDS is striving to remedy. They are doing so in order to gain control of four main minerals: tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold that garner an estimated $180 million in revenues each year.

The main reason that these minerals are in such high demand is because they are critical in the fabrication of digital cameras, laptops, cell phones, portable musical devices and video games. Yet, some of these battlefield minerals are not widely found over much of the world. Therefore, there is great competition for them in the Congo and some individuals will stop at nothing to get them.

All considered, people interested in supporting the necessary reforms in this war torn land can phone or write letters to Congressional representatives to urge them to ratify the Congo Conflict Minerals Act (S. 891) and the Conflict Minerals Trade Act (H.R. 4128), which are currently undergoing legislative review.³ They can, also, sign petitions directed to members of Congress.⁴ Additionally, they can contact their respective mobile phone manufacturers to indicate that they want the companies to ensure that cell phones are only made from certified conflict-free materials.

The women and girls of the Congo are our sisters and daughters in the larger sense of our all being part of one human family. Therefore, our love and concern for them, as it would be for any other cherished human being, must be present. In relation, I sort of decided to adopt the rest of the world as my family due to my having been orphaned at an early age. Besides, Congolese people deserve unreserved justice and compassion as much as any other people do, as our common welfare is inexorably linked. In fact, only a huge outpouring of care from around the world will help to bring about the kind of changes so desperately needed in this tragically destroyed nation.

Due to a shortage of funds and critical care supplies, the crisis in the Congo is inadequately addressed. Yet many charitable groups are striving their best to provide relief.

Thankfully, several of these agencies have excellent track records. A few of them that come highly recommended are the Women and Girls of the World, Stephen Lewis Foundation, SOS Medical Centres and Women for Women International in the event that any support of their projects might like to be undertaken.⁵ As Margaret Mead suggested, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

1. Ensler E, Lewis S (2008) The never ending war. Huffington Post. The Stephen Lewis Foundation (2007 September 13) Stephen Lewis calls for a new UN initiative to end sexual violence in the eastern region of the DRC. [↩]
2. Congo/Women, an exhibition featuring photographs by Lynsey Addario, Marcus Bleasdale, Ron Haviv and James Nachtwey. [↩]
3. GovTrack.us, 111th Congress, 2009-2010, S. 891: Congo Conflict Minerals Act of 2009. GovTrack.us, 111th Congress, 2009-2010,HR 4128: Conflict Minerals Trade Act. [↩]
4. Urge Your Senators to Cosponsor the Congo Conflict Minerals Act of 2009 (Raise Hope for Congo). Urge Your Representative to Cosponsor the Conflict Minerals Trade Act (Raise Hope for Congo). [↩]
5. Humanitarian relief organizations: Women and Girls of the World, Stephen Lewis Foundation, Medical Centres in Congo — SOS Medical Centres, and Women for Women International’s Congo initiative at Congo Women Need Your Help | Women For Women International. [↩]

Emily Spence and Brian McAfee are authors living respectively in Massachusetts and Michigan. They have spent many years involved in human rights, environmental and social services efforts.

They can be contacted at brimac6@hotmail.com. Read other articles by Emily Spence.