BOMBAY MIX
"This forum will blow up the myth that there is no alternative. It will also explode the myth that this model of globalisation has universal acceptance." - Varada Rajan, Indian trade union leader
It was the sort of conference where you couldn’t grab yourself a McDonalds and Coke or use a computer run by Microsoft. But the 100,000 people from 132 different countries representing over two and a half thousand different organizations didn’t seem to mind. For this was the 4th World Social Forum (WSF) which took place at Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India, and ended on Wednesday. The WSF is the grassroots answer to the annual World Economic Forum. Western politicians, corporate bigwigs and other power brokers schmooze it up at the Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, protected from protestors by thousands of riot cops, while the Social Forum brings activist groups together to develop alternatives to the economic policies pursued by wealthy nations.
It’s the first time that the WSF has been held outside Porto Alegre, Brazil, in a place described as "the most hyper-capitalist, fast-paced city in India, a grimier version of the Bladerunner megapolis." A Forum statement said Mumbai has borne the brunt of India’s economic liberalisation policies with millions losing their jobs. Glitzy shopping centres have replaced mills and factories that have been torn down over the last decade. Despite the ‘benefits’ of such globalisation, 300 million Indians subsist on less than a dollar a day, many living in roadside shantytowns similar to the ones outside the Forum conference grounds. 100 million Indian families live without domestic water and hundreds of thousands of children work in cottonseed production and sweatshops. The WSF catered for these children with a special conference of 2,000 children’s representatives.
India has become part of globalisation’s ‘race to the bottom’ in which corporations move around the globe looking for the lowest paid workforces. Jobs from America and Europe’s call centres are being relocated here and, according to Business Week, there may now be more IT engineers in Bangalore than in the Silicon Valley. That is why the American Jobs with Justice delegation met with their Indian counterparts to organise against the new tech outsourcing. Some 50,000 young Indians are employed in call centres in Mumbai. Stress and physiological problems are rampant among these workers, who earn a mere $160 per month on all-night shifts.
There was also a strong Dalit presence at WSF. Dalits are India’s untouchables. They make up 25% of the country’s population and are usually condemned to the most boring and menial work. "This gathering gives me hope that we will be able to live our lives in dignity and peace someday," said Vidi Thillana, a Dalit woman attending the forum. "It might not happen in my lifetime, but if we continue to stand in solidarity and gain inspiration from everyone else, my children will have the opportunities that I am fighting for."
Can-Can't
The WSF is also about what one delegate called "an international alliance to battle the multinationals." Take last Sunday, when over 500 protesters marched under the banner of the People’s Forum against Coca-Cola to condemn the company’s operations in India. Three communities in India - Plachimada in Kerala, Wada in Maharashtra and Mehdiganj in Uttar Pradesh - are experiencing severe water shortages as a result of Coca-Cola’s mining of common groundwater resources around its factories; 150 residents who live in these villages joined the rally. The Dalits and indigenous peoples are playing a key role in leading protests. Unlike top-down activism, their campaigns are primarily village-organised, with national globalisation activists providing access to press and linkages with other affected villages. "Coca-Cola’s actions are symbolic of the vulgar arrogance and criminal power of corporations that are looting people of their basic needs, water in this case," said Medha Patkar, coordinator of the National Alliance of People’s Movements. But people are fighting back. Last April Coca-Cola was targeted for boycott in protest against the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. As a result of that protest, sales dropped 50 percent in the state of Kerala and elsewhere.
In the Orissa region it’s bauxite (aluminium ore) that the corporations are looting. The region has millions of tonnes of the stuff which is used for making missiles, bombs, planes, food packaging and, of course, Coke cans. For the past decade, the people of Kashipur have been resisting, using tactics such as road blockades and sabotage, to stop one of these mines being built on their land. In December 2000, the protests came to a head when three people were killed. A Commission set up to look into the deaths published its report last weekend blaming the police. But no recommendations to prosecute were made and instead the report stated that the mine should go ahead because it would not have an adverse effect on the environment. As one of the tribal groups pointed out, "They use ‘development’ as a pretext to hide their real intentions. If any one is really interested in our development, why are they not proposing a sustainable package to improve our agriculture, our health, our education and our forest resources? What they are trying to promote in the name of development is in fact a manipulation, which would benefit multinational companies. The Dalits and tribals have been destined to pay a price, as if they have taken birth just to be sacrificed at the altar of modern development."
The WSF isn’t of course without its problems or critics. One complaint is that some of the groups involved are just papering over the cracks. Even those inside the halls voice disquiet. Indian author Arundhati Roy told the crowds, "It is no good just saying jeetenge, bhai jeetenge ["we will win, we will win"]. It is time we did something."
The problem is not just getting people to listen - but to make sure that rather than trusting leaders who once they get in power forget all their good words, we instead work together in our communities to take control together.
* For more on the WSF see:
http://www.india.indymedia.org
* The Kashipur struggle http://www.saanet.org/kashipur
* For background information on Coca-Cola http://www.IndiaResource.org and http://www.colombiasolidarity.co.uk
"This forum will blow up the myth that there is no alternative. It will also explode the myth that this model of globalisation has universal acceptance." - Varada Rajan, Indian trade union leader
It was the sort of conference where you couldn’t grab yourself a McDonalds and Coke or use a computer run by Microsoft. But the 100,000 people from 132 different countries representing over two and a half thousand different organizations didn’t seem to mind. For this was the 4th World Social Forum (WSF) which took place at Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India, and ended on Wednesday. The WSF is the grassroots answer to the annual World Economic Forum. Western politicians, corporate bigwigs and other power brokers schmooze it up at the Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, protected from protestors by thousands of riot cops, while the Social Forum brings activist groups together to develop alternatives to the economic policies pursued by wealthy nations.
It’s the first time that the WSF has been held outside Porto Alegre, Brazil, in a place described as "the most hyper-capitalist, fast-paced city in India, a grimier version of the Bladerunner megapolis." A Forum statement said Mumbai has borne the brunt of India’s economic liberalisation policies with millions losing their jobs. Glitzy shopping centres have replaced mills and factories that have been torn down over the last decade. Despite the ‘benefits’ of such globalisation, 300 million Indians subsist on less than a dollar a day, many living in roadside shantytowns similar to the ones outside the Forum conference grounds. 100 million Indian families live without domestic water and hundreds of thousands of children work in cottonseed production and sweatshops. The WSF catered for these children with a special conference of 2,000 children’s representatives.
India has become part of globalisation’s ‘race to the bottom’ in which corporations move around the globe looking for the lowest paid workforces. Jobs from America and Europe’s call centres are being relocated here and, according to Business Week, there may now be more IT engineers in Bangalore than in the Silicon Valley. That is why the American Jobs with Justice delegation met with their Indian counterparts to organise against the new tech outsourcing. Some 50,000 young Indians are employed in call centres in Mumbai. Stress and physiological problems are rampant among these workers, who earn a mere $160 per month on all-night shifts.
There was also a strong Dalit presence at WSF. Dalits are India’s untouchables. They make up 25% of the country’s population and are usually condemned to the most boring and menial work. "This gathering gives me hope that we will be able to live our lives in dignity and peace someday," said Vidi Thillana, a Dalit woman attending the forum. "It might not happen in my lifetime, but if we continue to stand in solidarity and gain inspiration from everyone else, my children will have the opportunities that I am fighting for."
Can-Can't
The WSF is also about what one delegate called "an international alliance to battle the multinationals." Take last Sunday, when over 500 protesters marched under the banner of the People’s Forum against Coca-Cola to condemn the company’s operations in India. Three communities in India - Plachimada in Kerala, Wada in Maharashtra and Mehdiganj in Uttar Pradesh - are experiencing severe water shortages as a result of Coca-Cola’s mining of common groundwater resources around its factories; 150 residents who live in these villages joined the rally. The Dalits and indigenous peoples are playing a key role in leading protests. Unlike top-down activism, their campaigns are primarily village-organised, with national globalisation activists providing access to press and linkages with other affected villages. "Coca-Cola’s actions are symbolic of the vulgar arrogance and criminal power of corporations that are looting people of their basic needs, water in this case," said Medha Patkar, coordinator of the National Alliance of People’s Movements. But people are fighting back. Last April Coca-Cola was targeted for boycott in protest against the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. As a result of that protest, sales dropped 50 percent in the state of Kerala and elsewhere.
In the Orissa region it’s bauxite (aluminium ore) that the corporations are looting. The region has millions of tonnes of the stuff which is used for making missiles, bombs, planes, food packaging and, of course, Coke cans. For the past decade, the people of Kashipur have been resisting, using tactics such as road blockades and sabotage, to stop one of these mines being built on their land. In December 2000, the protests came to a head when three people were killed. A Commission set up to look into the deaths published its report last weekend blaming the police. But no recommendations to prosecute were made and instead the report stated that the mine should go ahead because it would not have an adverse effect on the environment. As one of the tribal groups pointed out, "They use ‘development’ as a pretext to hide their real intentions. If any one is really interested in our development, why are they not proposing a sustainable package to improve our agriculture, our health, our education and our forest resources? What they are trying to promote in the name of development is in fact a manipulation, which would benefit multinational companies. The Dalits and tribals have been destined to pay a price, as if they have taken birth just to be sacrificed at the altar of modern development."
The WSF isn’t of course without its problems or critics. One complaint is that some of the groups involved are just papering over the cracks. Even those inside the halls voice disquiet. Indian author Arundhati Roy told the crowds, "It is no good just saying jeetenge, bhai jeetenge ["we will win, we will win"]. It is time we did something."
The problem is not just getting people to listen - but to make sure that rather than trusting leaders who once they get in power forget all their good words, we instead work together in our communities to take control together.
* For more on the WSF see:
http://www.india.indymedia.org * The Kashipur struggle
http://www.saanet.org/kashipur * For background information on Coca-Cola
http://www.IndiaResource.org and http://www.colombiasolidarity.co.uk 
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