WORLD—SOCIAL—FORUM:—Different—Continents,—Similar—Problems
Sebastian—Rodrigues—|—Sun—Mar—26—10:53:00—UCT—2006—
JOHANNESBURG,—Mar—26—(IPS)—-—There—is—much—that—separates—Africa—and—Asia,—not—least—ethnicity,—culture—and—language.—But,—as—the—third—and—final—leg—of—this—year's—World—Social—Forum—(WSF)—gathers—momentum—in—the—Pakistani—financial—centre—of—Karachi,—the—hope—is—that—civic—groups—will—build—on—common—aspirations—for—the—two—continents.
"I—have—confidence—that—the—participants—at—the—Karachi—forum—will—refer—to—Africa—a—lot—in—their—deliberations.—They—will—set—a—firm—foundation—for—our—next—meeting—in—Nairobi—in—January—2007,"—Thomas—Deve—of—the—Harare-based—Mwelekeo—wa—NGO—(MWENGO)—told—IPS—in—an—interview—from—the—Zimbabwean—capital.—("Mwelekeo—wa—NGO"—is—a—Kiswahili—term—meaning—"direction"—or—"vision"—of—NGOs——non-governmental—organisations.—MWENGO—seeks—to—strengthen—NGOs—working—in—the—Southern—and—East—Africa—regions.)
The—gathering—in—the—Kenyan—capital—of—Nairobi—will—mark—the—second—instance—in—which—a—WSF—is—being—held—in—Africa;—a—forum—that—took—place—earlier—this—year—(Jan.—19—to—23)—in—Bamako,—capital—of—Mali,—was—the—first.
Now—in—its—sixth—year,—the—WSF—has—most—often—been—held—in—the—Brazilian—town—of—Porto—Alegre.—However,—the—2006—forum——described—by—organisers—as—"polycentric"——is—taking—place—across—three—venues:—Bamako,—the—Venezuelan—capital—of—Caracas—(Jan.—24—to—29),—and—now—Karachi—(Mar.—24—to—29).
The—Karachi—WSF—was—initially—scheduled—to—be—held—at—the—same—time—as—the—Caracas—gathering;—however,—it—was—postponed—after—an—earthquake—that—took—place—in—Pakistan—on—Oct.—8,—2005,—killed—about—90,000—people——and—left—3.5million—homeless.
According—to—Deve,—there—is—no—shortage—of—problems—and—debates—where—Africa—and—Asia—can—speak—with—one—voice.
"Asia—and—Africa—have—the—same—structural—causes—of—poverty.—These—can—possibly—drive—them—to—come—up—with—similar—solutions,"—he—noted.—"Within—the—WSF,—we—share—the—same—big—constituency—of—poor—people—who,—when—brought—under—the—same—roof,—feel—equal."
Many—across—the—two—continents—are—distrustful—of—business,—and—fear—domination—by—wealthy—countries,—Deve—added.
"Their—views—towards—multinational—corporations—are—exactly—the—same.—Their—views—on—GM—(genetically—modified—food)—and—agriculture—coincide.—Their—views—on—delivering—basic—services—by—the—state—also—coincide."
Both—regions—are—grappling—with—AIDS—pandemics.
In—addition,—"Asia—and—Africa—also—share—the—same—experience—on—rural-urban—migration.—Given—these—(concerns),—Asia—and—Africa—naturally—gravitate—towards—each—other,"—said—Deve.
Zenele—Twala,—executive—director—of—the—South—African—NGO—Coalition—(SANGOCO),—based—in—the—commercial—hub—of—Johannesburg,—said—regional—cooperation—helped—in—addressing—these—common—problems.—Her—group—is—working—to—link—women's,—land—and—human—rights—organisations—with—their—counterparts—in—other—regions—such—as—Asia.
"When—people—have—structural—relations—with—other—NGOs—on—the—ground,—like—in—(the—troubled—western—Sudanese—region—of)—Darfur,—it—becomes—easier—to—understand—and—address—the—problems,"—Twala—told—IPS.
As—part—of—its—campaign—to—promote—inter-regional—solidarity,—SANGOCO—hosted—six—members—of—Palestinian—civic—groups—in—Johannesburg—earlier—this—month,—for—three—days.—The—event—also—had—the—benefit—of—strengthening—Palestinian—civil—society.
"We—realised—that—these—Palestinian—NGOs—had—not—met—physically.—They—used—to—meet—through—video—links—because—some—of—them—live—in—the—West—Bank—and—others—in—Jerusalem,—and—could—not—travel—easily—and—interact—with—each—other,"—said—Twala.
"So—for—the—first—time,—they—met—face-to-face—in—Johannesburg."
The—West—Bank,—an—area—that—forms—part—of—the—Palestinian—territories,—is—currently—under—under—Israeli—occupation.—Authorities—impose—strict—controls—on—movement—within—the—West—Bank,—and—on—those—who—seek—to—enter—or—leave—this—region—for—Israel—and—Jerusalem——a—city—claimed—by—both—Israel—and—the—Palestinians.
The—visitors—also—traveled—to—the—coastal—city—of—Cape—Town—to—share—ideas—with—their—counterparts,—and—faith—groups.—"This—is—one—way—how—civil—societies—from—different—regions—of—the—world—can—co-operate—among—themselves,"—noted—Twala.
However,—the—steep—cost—of—air—travel—ensures—that—many——if—not—most——cash-strapped—NGOs—cannot—afford—the—luxury—of—direct—interactions—with—groups—from—another—continent.
Deve—argues—that—inter-regional—links—can—still—be—established—in—other—ways:—"We—can—interact—throughpublications—and—e-mails."
Between—30,000—and—40,000—activists—from—around—the—world,—particularly—India,—are—expected—to—attend—the—Karachi—forum.
The—WSF—began—in—opposition—to—the—World—Economic—Forum,—which—takes—place—annually—in—the—Swiss—town—of—Davos,—and—is—attended—by—heads—of—state,—political—leaders,—and—other—members—of—the—global—elite.
By—contrast,—the—WSF—attracts—mainly—civil—society—groups—that—seek—an—alternative—to—the—current—political—and—economic—order.—(END/2006)
karachi –—wsf—2006—–—wsf—–—www.agp.org—–—www.all4all.org