A group of researchers and activists from across Asia gathered during the first week of April in Thailand to discuss the impact of the pandemic on the regions marginalized communities and how peoples movements are putting forward an alternative model of development.
The gathering was organized by the Asia Pacific Research Network as part of its biennial research conference.
During the first day of the conference, keynote presentations provided a comprehensive historical background of the peoples engagement with key stakeholders and institutions like the UN on the measures adopted to mitigate the harmful impact of monopoly capitalism. The discussions highlighted that peoples resistance is the only path we should embark on if we want to truly make a difference in the lives of the people.
The panels and workshops during the succeeding days tackled how unfair trade agreements and imperialist funded projects were implemented to extract super profits while exacerbating the suffering of the working people. The workshops also identified the violent legacy of imperialism, how it remains the biggest threat to humanity and why the popular call for world peace is a futile appeal as long as imperialism is not defeated.
I was invited in the conference to give an input about the role of the peoples struggle in redefining development as the world continues to deal with the disruptions of the new normal.
I first talked about the social and political ramifications of what it really means to live in the so-called COVID-19 era.
At the global level, we are aware that recovery from COVID is uneven. The world is not flat, especially when it comes to vaccine distribution and recovery from the debilitating consequences of the two-year pandemic. Some suffered more because some were too greedy to hoard vaccines and other resources needed to deal with the pandemic.
Despite the differences in how we experienced real existing pandemic, we detected an alarming pattern of how repressive or authoritarian governments adopted even more repressive and authoritarian measures under the guise of addressing the pandemic.
The pandemic response of governments featured extreme restrictions which included militarized lockdowns and harsh punishment for quarantine violators. It allowed some governments to weaponize laws in the fight against COVID-19 misinformation but was in fact used to spread fear and persecute activists, journalists, and critics. Even if mass vaccine rollouts are already in place, the lingering devastating impact of the pandemic will remain a convenient excuse for authorities who seek to enforce strict social controls such as intensified technological surveillance, broader internet regulation, institutionalized media censorship, and faster prosecution and detention of individuals. After the surge and as citizens adjust to the new normal, authorities wont willingly give up the coercive powers they gained during the state of emergency. They will appropriate the language of the pandemic lockdown to demand uncritical compliance from citizens while tagging the efforts of the independent media, civil society, and other public institutions as potential threats to public safety
During the second part of my presentation, I talked about reclaiming the right to shape our future by challenging the dominance of imperialist powers and big corporations. We are not nave to believe that their actions are motivated by good and charitable intentions. When they invoke the new normal, they define it according to their selfish interest. For imperialist powers, it means the continuing right to exploit the resources of the world and meddle in the affairs of poor nations under a new set of circumstances caused by the pandemic. For big corporations, it is the inviolable right to demand reforms, concessions, and privileges for them to earn super profits even if the pandemic has caused unprecedented suffering for most of the working classes in the world. They want to continue shaping the world according to their self-serving agenda despite the wars, the mass famine and starvation, the wage slavery, and inequality they caused in the world. They have no credibility to talk about the new normal if they merely want to reinforce or boost the privileges they already enjoy.
Therefore, the task of shaping the new normal should come from the actions of the people; it should be the outcome of our political organizing. We should claim the narrative of the new normal in order to reclaim our right to enjoy a better future.
In pursuing this task, I cited several promising trends that peoples movements should endeavor to harness. For example, we have young people at the forefront of renewed climate activism. There is increasing public awareness of climate issues and the role of community resistance in putting a spotlight on climate issues. We saw the emergence of community care and citizen-led initiatives during the pandemic in response to the slow and inadequate relief efforts of incompetent governments. Despite the heightened state repression, citizen pushback achieved varying levels of success in building democracy movements and resisting authoritarian regimes. Finally, there is increasing realization that no less than a system change is needed today.
Group discussions were followed up by more enriching conversations during coffee breaks and informal meetings. We learned about how theories of development and social change are creatively applied by peoples organizations across the region. Most participants are not laptop researchers but members of civil society networks actively working in the grassroots. They shared valuable insight about how imperialism wreaks havoc in the lives of the communities they serve and how this engenders local resistance and political engagement. This kind of interaction and in-person solidarity is what we missed during the first two years of the pandemic.
The conference took place at a time when the regions civic space was recovering from the prolonged pandemic lockdowns. It also became a venue to explain the unfolding crisis in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the farmers protests in India, the democracy movements in Thailand and Indonesia, and the bewildering return to power of the Marcoses in the Philippines. We went back to our respective countries carrying not just a broader knowledge of the peoples struggles in Asia but also testimonies of solidarity from fellow activists and peoples researchers. Indeed, our local struggles are linked to the peoples movements in other countries as we build a stronger resistance against imperialism.
Mong Palatino is a Filipino activist and former legislator. Email: mongpalatino@gmail.com
Go here to read the rest:
Question Everything | Affirming solidarity and redefining development during the pandemic - Bulatlat
- Why Work? // Index [Last Updated On: March 26th, 2016] [Originally Added On: March 26th, 2016]
- Wage slavery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: March 26th, 2016] [Originally Added On: March 26th, 2016]
- Wage-Slavery and Republican Liberty | Jacobin [Last Updated On: June 12th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 12th, 2016]
- wage slavery - Why Work [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2016]
- Beyond Wage Slavery: Opening Ken Coates Archive ... [Last Updated On: June 16th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 16th, 2016]
- Wage slavery - Hermes Press [Last Updated On: June 19th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 19th, 2016]
- Wage-Slavery and Republican Liberty | Jacobin [Last Updated On: June 19th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 19th, 2016]
- wage slave - Why Work [Last Updated On: June 19th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 19th, 2016]
- What is Wage Slavery? (with pictures) - wiseGEEK [Last Updated On: July 31st, 2016] [Originally Added On: July 31st, 2016]
- ecology.iww.org | Abolish wage slavery AND live in harmony ... [Last Updated On: October 6th, 2016] [Originally Added On: October 6th, 2016]
- Wage labour - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: October 8th, 2016] [Originally Added On: October 8th, 2016]
- Pudzer isn't looking at the big picture - Las Vegas Sun [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- An interesting life through the eyes of a slave driver - Irish Independent [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Why Do We Take Pride in Working for a Paycheck? - JSTOR Daily [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Living off the grid: Neo-peasants in Daylesford, Victoria take on ... - NEWS.com.au [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Scheme for fishing crews is 'legitimising slavery' - Irish Times [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Attending College Doesn't Close Wage Gap and Other Myths Exposed in New Report - The Root [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- The Rule of Law and The Working Class - Anarkismo.net [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Wolf budget proposal calls for $12 minimum wage - Scranton Times-Tribune [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Post Slavery Feminist Thought and the Pan-African Struggle (1892-1927): From Anna J. Cooper to Addie W. Hunton - Center for Research on Globalization [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Where did capitalism come from? - Socialist Worker Online [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Believing is seeing - Arkansas Times [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- The Two Types of Campus Leftists - National Review [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Uncomfortable truths: The role of slavery and the slave trade in ... - Daily Kos [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- Gene Smith: Hard labor, funny money and Tennessee Ernie Ford - Fayetteville Observer [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- President Carter: 'We must cling to principles that never change' - Austin American-Statesman [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Point/Counterpoint: On Liberal Capitalism - The Free Weekly [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- To make Trump's America ungovernable, African American struggles are key - Green Left Weekly [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Congress of Progressive Filipino Canadians against fascism: Continuing the culture of resistance - Straight.com [Last Updated On: February 19th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 19th, 2017]
- 31 Life Lessons After 30 Years - The Good Men Project (blog) [Last Updated On: February 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 22nd, 2017]
- What Chaos? The Trump Steam Roller has it Under Control - AmmoLand Shooting Sports News [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Mayor Betsy Hodges says tip credits are bad for women - City Pages [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Washington State Rep Endorsed Slavery When Confronted by Voter - The Pacific Tribune [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Tesla warns that 'thousands' of Model 3 reservations holders will go outside of Connecticut to buy without direct sales - Electrek [Last Updated On: February 25th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 25th, 2017]
- National Prison Strike Exposes Need for Labor Rights Behind Bars - Toward Freedom [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- New: Berkeley's New Ideology: A critique of the Strategic Plan - Berkeley Daily Planet [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Gilbert letter: Bill Manahan - Idaho Statesman [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Forced to work? 60000 undocumented immigrants may sue detention center - Christian Science Monitor [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Dressing for a Funeral - Sojourners [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2017]
- The Confederacy was a con job on whites. And still is. - News & Observer [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2017]
- Slavery 'lieutenant' jailed for 'heinous offences' - Bradford Telegraph and Argus [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- VIDEO: Street cleaners fight for London Living Wage from Continental Landscapes - Your Local Guardian [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- VIDEO: Street cleaners fight for London Living Wage from ... - Wandsworth Guardian [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Restaurant-backed campaign enters minimum wage debate - Southwest Journal [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Erica Armstrong Dunbar Talks Never Caught, the True Story of George Washington's Runaway Slave - Paste Magazine [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Role of servers' tips fires up Minneapolis debate over $15-an-hour ... - Minneapolis Star Tribune [Last Updated On: March 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 5th, 2017]
- Wake Up Call: Harvard Confronts Slavery Ties After Law Students Protest - Bloomberg Big Law Business [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2017]
- Fountain pen prices 'write' out there - Sault Star [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2017]
- How the Confederacy conned Southern whites. And why some still fall for it today. - The Sun Herald [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2017]
- Wage labour - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2017]
- the fire this time. . . . - Frost Illustrated [Last Updated On: March 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 7th, 2017]
- The Confederacy was a con job on whites. And still is. - McClatchy Washington Bureau [Last Updated On: March 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 7th, 2017]
- Wash Post: At Least 60000 Immigrants Were Forced to Work for $1 or Less Per Day - Newsmax [Last Updated On: March 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 7th, 2017]
- Ben Carson Says Slaves In America Were Just Low Wage Immigrants - The Ring of Fire Network [Last Updated On: March 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 7th, 2017]
- Italian Nationalists Vent Fury Following Migrant Camp Fire - Breitbart News [Last Updated On: March 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 8th, 2017]
- ICE Private Prison Facing Lawsuit For Ignoring Anti-Slavery Law - Care2.com [Last Updated On: March 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 9th, 2017]
- Reese vs. Nicole vs. Bette vs. Joan? It's Not Too Early to Get Psyched for Best Actress at the Emmys - Decider [Last Updated On: March 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 9th, 2017]
- Thinking about women Sri Lanka Guardian - Sri Lanka Guardian [Last Updated On: March 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 9th, 2017]
- Child labor in Seattle: Mexican girl kept in near slavery - seattlepi.com [Last Updated On: March 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 9th, 2017]
- 10 Ways American Crime Season 3 Exposes Modern Slavery - Rotten Tomatoes [Last Updated On: March 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 10th, 2017]
- Daily Reads: Trump Fills Government with Lobbyists; It's Been a Hot Winter, Blame Climate Change - BillMoyers.com [Last Updated On: March 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 10th, 2017]
- How a Mini-Retirement Brought Meaning to My Life - Entrepreneur [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- Readers sound off on slavery, the CIA and Mike Francesa - New York Daily News [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- Gumtree pulls 'slave labour' domestic worker advert - Times LIVE [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- Capitalist Globalization of Labor is Modern Colonialism - Truth-Out [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- Raped, beaten, exploited: the 21st-century slavery propping up Sicilian farming - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 12th, 2017]
- Globalization Is Just a Contemporary Word for Financial Colonialism - Truth-Out [Last Updated On: March 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 12th, 2017]
- The pursuit of happiness - The Stringer [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2017]
- Community Voice: Straddling a line so fine it's nonexistent - The Bakersfield Californian [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2017]
- Ted Kennedy Jr. Proposes a State Bill That Would MANDATE Organ Harvesting - MRCTV (blog) [Last Updated On: March 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 17th, 2017]
- Who would replace immigrant workers? | Tim Rowland ... - Herald-Mail Media [Last Updated On: March 19th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 19th, 2017]
- We must all stand up to the world's richest nation and oppose its use ... - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 19th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 19th, 2017]
- The curious origins of the 'Irish slaves' myth - KERA News [Last Updated On: March 19th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 19th, 2017]
- The curious origins of the 'Irish slaves' myth | Public Radio ... - PRI [Last Updated On: March 19th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 19th, 2017]
- Cohen: Trump budget hurts African-Americans - The Commercial Appeal [Last Updated On: March 19th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 19th, 2017]
- Theresa May WILL back gig economy workers' rights changes, sources say - Business Grapevine [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2017]
- PPP rallies supporters in sugar belt to struggle against closure of estates - Demerara Waves [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2017]
- Theresa May to back radical overhaul of workers' rights - The Week UK [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2017]
- PM backs plans to overhaul workers' rights to reflect gig ecomomy ... - The Guardian [Last Updated On: March 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 21st, 2017]
- Important HR changes from 1st April - HR News (press release) (registration) (blog) [Last Updated On: March 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 23rd, 2017]