Accents
The other globalization
Oakland, California -- I write in praise of globalization. Before you raise your hackles, read on because globalization, as I write it here, is not what you think. It's not globalization as a byword of the "corporate evil-doers." There is only condemnation for that kind. This is about globalization as the folks at the Panay Fair Trade Center (written in a previous column) practice, live by, and manage to keep going.
(The foregoing was scribbled in Uncle Sam's territory. Had to rush up, click save, turn off, and pack up the laptop before getting my feet planted in this ever beloved country of mine that is just as dear to millions of Juans and Juanas who haven't lost hope for the motherland.)
Rudy and I were on our last days at Oakland when my daughter Rose handed me the Spring 2006 newsletter of GLOBAL EXCHANGE, the worldwide organization working for "social justice and democracy through viable social, economic and environmental alternatives." The newsletter's catch line could never be more appropriate: building people-to-people ties. With outlets in several US states, Global Exchange is the umbrella organization of about fifty countries.
Catching my attention in the newsletter was the name Chie Abad. She was the central figure in the article about creating a sweatshop-free university. Let me quote: "On February 10, Global Exchange Chie Abad spoke to a rowdy crowd of 400 students rallying outside the University of California President's Office in Oakland, CA. The students were denied access to the president's office, so a few weeks later they upped the ante: they held a naked protest on the UC Berkeley campus to send the message that students would rather go without clothes than wear clothing made in sweatshops." The article mentioned other universities where similar student anti-sweatshop protests were held.
Labels in clothing apparel -- Made in China, Made in Bangladesh, Vietnam, the Philippines, too, and in many Latin American countries -- are a-plenty in the U.S. of A. It is no news that "corporate evil-doers" rake in huge profits with the exploitation of cheap labor in these countries. I say, provide jobs all right, but please pay just wages that would make the workers rise above sub-standard existence. I can only hope that student activists in Philippine universities will push what Chie Abad, a Filipina, has started.
I met Chie Abad last December at the Global Exchange Fair Trade store in Berkeley. She said she was a veteran of the Seattle Demo, the global protest against WTO's corporate-driven globalization or the World Trade Organization's policies that erode sovereignty and labor and environmental standards. Chie Abad is a Global Exchange organizer, and as she spoke, I could feel strength and commitment exuding through her words. How I would have wanted to meet her again, but the following day, we were scheduled to leave for the homeland.
Rose and her husband Timothy Yee are GEMS, acronym for Global Exchange Monthly Sustainers. Thus they are sent copies of the Global Exchange newsletter, and whenever possible, Rose and Timothy buy from Global Exchange which has an array of products from affiliates in member countries. For instance, they buy Fair Trade chocolates because "Fair Trade farms are certified to ensure that cocoa farmers receive a fair price for their harvest, and slave labor is strictly prohibited." Relevant to quote at this point what I have written earlier on the Panay Fair Trade Center, an FTF member: "The Fair Trade Federation (FTF), an association of fair trade wholesalers, retailers and producers, is committed to providing fair wages and good employment opportunities to economically disadvantaged artisans and farmers worldwide." That said, consumers could help by buying Panay Fair Trade products. More about these in a subsequent column.
Protesters and activists must not leave unchecked the exploitative, oppressive, hardnosed practices of Big Business. Down with the globalization of the corporate elite! Long live the other globalization! Hoist the placards!
(Comments to lagoc@hargray.com)