[WSF-Discuss] post it if you want on your websites

Fri Sep 19 06:05:29 UCT 2008

>From Malmö, Sweden, September 19 2008

Dear America, and everyone, hi

After posting your / America Vera-Zavala's message on various lists
yesterday, and even though appreciating very much, America, your responding
so fully to my request that you give us all this background, I feel I need
to comment on one aspect of what you have said.

In short, I think we need a much more critical engagement with what each one
of us says and does.

Yes, Vandana Shiva's speech at the opening of the ESF here was full of hope,
and we need hope – but not, I feel, such uncritical hope, and certainly not
the kind of populist hope that she expressed, where she almost – in my
understanding – dumbed down to the audience.  Which is partly what populism
is about.

Is it enough to simply say that The Giants are falling, and that we, The
People, will forever carry on ?  (Which is what she said !)

Is it enough to suggest / imply that somehow, in some unspecified ways, the
resistances that are, yes, taking place around the world to the greed of
corporations have themselves led to the collapse of the sub-prime market in
the US, and in turn of Lehman Brothers ?

Vandana gave a very similar, rousing, speech at Rostock last year, in June
2007 (where again, she was the star speaker) – only adding in Lehman
Brothers this time, and maybe subtracting some corporations – Cargill, I
think.  Is it enough to simply put the collapse of Enron and the Lehman
Brothers in the same category, and to suggest that both are victories for
The People and of people's  movements ?

Yes, everything interconnected, but I think that the Social Fora are
contexts where a much deeper, more nuanced engagement is required.  Where we
all need to struggle for this – and where we should not let each other off
so lightly.  My feeling anyway, is that speeches like this only play to the
gallery, and hugely simplify the complexity of capitalism and neoliberalism
and of movement and resistance… I personally felt that it was a very
disappointing speech (though not without amusement; as usual, she punched
her punch lines, and waited for applause, and in one or two cases, there was
an embarrassing absence of applause).  I do not think that speeches like
this should have space at social fora, and would like to urge organisers of
events like the Social Fora and of anti G8 demos to choose their speakers
more carefully, less for populism and star quality (and after all is said
and done, these two often go together) and more for engagement.

And it was towards this deeper engagement and understanding that I requested
you, America, and before you, friends at Fronesis who referred me to you, to
locate the ESF in the rich social and political history of this part of the
world.  Thanks for doing so.  I hope you do not mind this rejoinder on
another part of your blog, and would like to urge you to, please, post more,
and root the ESF even more deeply in struggles in Sweden and Europe for
social justice !

For instance, is it a fact that – as I have understood from others – the
area where the Forum is taking place is a working class and immigrant area ?
 In which case, how has the ESF attempted to actively relate to this very
local history ?   The Mumbai Forum in 2004, for instance, absolutely did
not; it did not relate at all to the fact that Mumbai has one of the largest
Muslim populations among Indian cities (they were absent from the Forum),
and despite the presence of large numbers of Dalits, which outsiders
celebrated so much,  failed totally to consciously relate to mainstream
movements in the city… Or to the city's role as being the gateway to India
for global markets…

Jai

On 9/18/08, America <america at americavz.com> wrote:
>
> http://americavz.com/blogg/
>
> ESF day 1
>
>
>
> I meet my wonderful friend Jai Sen at Nya Tröls <http://www.nyatrols.se/>and
> he tells me to blog, the first thing he does. We haven´t met for at least a
> couple of years since the last social forum in Mumbai or maybe the
> globalisation conference in Oslo. Jai Sen is an activist from India, Delhi
> and he is the editor, along with Peter Waterman of the book Challenging
> Empires <http://www.blackrosebooks.net/wsf.htm>.  A new edition of the
> book will be launched tomorrow at one o´clock at Babels, Jerico café, the
> same place where the seminar <http://fronesis.nu/seminarium/>will be
> Friday morning.
>
> Jai wants to know where he is. He is in Malmö, Sweden, and it is day one of
> the European Social Forum, but that is not enough for him and I can see what
> he means, what is the political mapping today of Malmö and what is the
> history.
>
> I tell him that one thing I know is that at the famous Möllevångstorget,
> there was riots during the spring of 1917. That spring was the closest
> Sweden ever came to a revolution. There was hunger and protests, riots and
> marches all over the country. At Möllevången there was riots, women were
> asking for bread.
>
> Same evening, same bar. I am talking to my friend Tan Mogul, from Istanbul,
> urban activist. He will be speaking at a seminar tomorrow morning at <
> http://www.esf2008.org/program>9.30 <http://www.esf2008.org/program>in
> Rosengård. So I ask him, do you know Rosengård, yes yes he tells me and
> points it out at the map. No, the history? He has no clue he will be
> speaking at the Swedish Saint-Denis. The suburb, centre for problems,
> immigrant problems, social problems, unemployment problems, all kind of
> problems. The place where Zlatan is from. They all get impressed when I tell
> them that. No one from Istanbul asks me if it is dangerous to go.
>
> I have been on stage for hours this evening.
>
> It is the opening evening of the Euro Social Forum and I have been the
> facilitator of the inauguration <
> http://www.esf2008.org/news/inauguration-of-the-fifth-european-social-forum>
> program. I am happy that it has started. Speakers have made their visions
> come through. Vandana Shiva gave a fantastic speech about the hope, Enron
> gone, Monsanto will go and by saying those words she made anti-capitalist
> struggle real.
>
> Folkets Park was filled with people. And when the first part of the
> inauguration program was over I ran to inaugurate the Latinamerican park a
> few blocks away. Maybe 500 persons listening to me, Ignacio Ramonet and
> latinamerican music. Back to Folkets Park and the artists. Friends ask me
> who is singing.
>
> Who is Mikael Wiehe, well he is the Swedish Bob Dylan.
>
> I think this is the way to explain things to our activists guest from
> around the world.
>
> If you want to make it short.
>

-- 
______________________________

Jai Sen
jai.sen at cacim.net
www.cacim.net
CACIM, A-3 Defence Colony, New Delhi 110 024, India
Ph : +91-11-4155 1521, 2433 2451

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