Voice against injustice

The World Conference Against Racism recently concluded in Durban was a forum for the oppressed to raise their voices against the injustices that have been perpetrated on them for generations. For once, people did not mouth platitudes but spoke out against oppression, says MARI MARCEL THEKAEKARA.

DURBAN dared to be different. Rather untypically, the NGO forum opened with a clash of cymbals, gyrating dancers and frenzied Zulu drumming. The World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) venue, the Kingsmead Stadium, familiar to millions of cricket fans, vibrated to the incredible reverberating beat of Zulu drums and the rhythm of Africa. No one present could resist the pulsating energy of the Zulu dancers. Every single spectator was a part of the music. It was Africa alive and it spoke to your heart.

Dominating the NGO forum were the Dalits who were a striking sight. Around 160 Dalits had managed to come to Durban. They stood out because of their black, khadi waistcoats pleading "include Caste in the WCAR" and their Phoolan Devi type headbands also sporting the caste slogan. But it was the Dalit cultural troupe, a band of young men and women who stole the show. The troupe danced and drummed their way into the hearts of the onlookers, bringing everything else to a standstill at the Kingsmead Stadium. Each youngster seemed to personally carry the suffering and the anguish of generations as they proceeded in synchronised, stylised staccato movements through the stadium.

Then came the Palestinians. They were everywhere, distributing pamphlets and pleading their cause. Almost everday, there were angry exchanges as Jewish and Palestinian supporters clashed. Furious Palestinians attacked a Jewish peace group distributing flowers to Arabs. " You kill our children at home and dare to distribute flowers here!" the irate mob screamed. Police had to intervene often to separate the groups.

A bizarre spectacle which drew major media attention was an American group of Orthodox Rabbis against Zionism. Amazed by their placards which pronounced "World Jewry is not represented by Israel," I asked them what they meant. "God took us into exile because we sinned and He will take us out when the time is right," one of them explained. "We object to the killing of the Palestinians and to the State of Israel." Even as I interviewed them, an angry Jewish woman hissed, "You are traitors to your people. Go away from here!"

The next most vocal group were Afro Americans demanding "Reparation for the descendants of slaves." Dressed mostly in striking African clothes, they were a force to reckon with. There were many Jesse Jackson followers around waiting for him to arrive. For many, it was a pilgrimage back to their roots. An Afro Canadian woman emotionally announced "I am the first in my family to set foot on African shores 400 years after my ancestors were dragged away from here as captive slaves." The issue of Reparations has been taken up by many African States.

Not so large, but also centrestage were the Romas whose cause every important leader espoused vocally. They were not loud or aggressive, but their stories very simply told by people who were obviously not politically savvy, but plainly straight from their hearts, evoked immediate sympathy everywhere. These two issues, long dormant suddenly became the most talked about issues in the NGO forum.

From every corner of the earth were visible large numbers of indigenous people. From Hawaii, from South America, people of Mayan origin, Native Americans, aboriginal people of Canada, Australia and New Zealand, from South East Asia. In spite of this being the Decade of Indigenous People, little has happened to help their causes. The stakes are high and powerful vested interests unite to prevent an uncontrollable can of worms from being opened if these people's demands are met.

Globalisation was a big draw. They came from everywhere, human beings of all nationalities, languages and colours to join together in the big fight. Somehow, it was a sign of hope that so many people cared and saw the threat to humanity. The debates were not new but many speakers were powerful and exciting to listen to.

Far more interesting though, were the absolutely amazing minorities from different countries. People whose voices are rarely heard. Whose tragedies the world does not know. They live in places the media do not get to. There were Dalits from Nepal and Sri Lanka joining cause with the Indian Dalits. But with them were the Burakumin people of Japan who have joined the Dalit Caucus to focus attention on the discrimination they receive as a minority who perform menial tasks in Japan. Also facing castelike discrimination were the Osu people of Nigeria and minorities from Senegal and Mauritania.

There were groups protesting anti-Semitism and others fighting Islama-phobia. A few Sikhs brought up the demand to be allowed to protect their cultural and religious practices in foreign lands. Minorities in Pakistan pleaded for tolerance and for the first time Christians and Muslims from India protested against persecution, murder and rape, by the forces of Hindutva.

Ethnic minorities from every corner of the earth provided colour and vibrancy to the sea of faces. Rarely seen in NGO meetings before, were the Rastafarians sporting their distinctive dreadlocks. There were gay and lesbian groups fighting for the right to practice their sexuality freely and without persecution.

The Tibetans asked for the right to self determination. They were a sea of calm in a seething, throbbing crowd. Though small in number, they stood out with their calm, melodic chanting, the gentle glow of candles lighting up the area around them. People were drawn to their corner, where the soft light, the fragrance of joss sticks and the harmonious chanting had an almost mesmerising effect, a compelling force drawing you into their circle.

The NGO forum began with a morning of unforgettable speeches. I doubt if many people expected an opening ceremony to contain more than the usual polite platitudes. But right from the opening speech, Mercia Andrews, South African NGO coordinating committee (SANGOCO) President, started the ball rolling. Wearing the Dalit black jacket and head band, she thundered "We are going to break many silences. We are going to break protocol and so, we are going to speak about the caste system and the degradations caused by it. We are going to talk about Slavery and Debt and Reparation because these things are related to an iniquitous trading system that denies countries the ability to feed their own people," she proclaimed to thunderous applause.

Mary Robinson, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, was next. "It is not enough to listen and sympathise," she warned. "The voices of victims are calls to action - to greater efforts on behalf of those on the receiving end of racism, discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. That is the only way we can prove that we are serious about shaping a world where such abuses of human rights are eliminated forever." She singled out Dalits, Romas and the voiceless, displaced persons of the world, to an audience delighted with her departure from the UN convention of mouthing meaningless nothings. She ended her speech with a challenge to the thousands before her, "This is the beginning. You have to go back and monitor how the promises are kept. Every country that cares, must be here to participate. People have accused me of being too optimistic. Am I? Show me at the closing session what we can do!"

I thought two powerful speeches on the first morning was a lucky break. But it was bonanza time. Right on the heels of Ms. Robinson's straight-from-the-heart speech came South African President Thabo Mbeki. Mbeki was far more powerful than Mandela had ever been. Every line was packed with power in a scathing indictment of "the legacy of centuries of slavery, colonialism and racial domination which we are determined to eradicate and will eradicate, despite the resistance of those who have benefited from injustice for many centuries."

"It used to be," he continued, "that the superiority of those who are white and the inferiority of those who are black, was enforced, presented and justified as the natural order of things.

"As has been said, as long as the lions do not have their own historians, so long will the hunters emerge as heroic, mighty and right.

"As long as the poor and underdeveloped did not have a voice. So long did those who are prosperous and developed continue to present themselves as the select few, who succeeded because they dared to work for their success, while the rest served because they were predestined to serve.

"It used to be that prosperity and advancement of the few and the poverty and underdevelopment of many was enforced, presented and justified as the natural order of things.

"Today none but the dim-witted and those deranged by fanaticism dare stand up and openly hoist the racist and sexist standards of the past. We have gathered at Durban at the beginning of a century and a millennium because the studied silence of the apostles and practitioners of racism and sexism have not lulled us into the belief that what has not been proclaimed from the rooftops does not exist.

"If we are indeed, responsible leaders of the people we lead or claim to lead, it is imperative that we act to ensure that ideas and reality begin to coalesce.

"Whether we break through this barrier will depend on what you decide and what you decide to do, as you meet here on the shores of one of the great waterways that link all humanity everywhere, the Indian Ocean. The time is out of joint. You have the duty and the possibility to set it right. On behalf of the wretched of the earth, I wish you success in your important work."

It is doubtful if anyone expects a lot from a UN convention but the feeling of raw energy, of people power, of the world uniting to fight for justice makes for a heady combination. You feel, if so many care so much, surely the tide must turn.

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