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Special Report |
LAST UPDATE July 12, 2005
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| October 7 - 10, 2003 |
Mobilizing for the World Social Forum 2004 |
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| Organizers of the Chennai WSF process building activities from Japan, India, Brazil, Austria and Australia |
WSF India - Sri Lanka - Japan activities
Leading up to the ship's October 2003 visit to the South Asian countries of India and Sri Lanka, Peace Boat staff made contact with WSF-India Organizing Committee members as well as individuals from NGOs in Colombo and Chennai who are involved with the WSF process. In consultation with local organizers of the regional-level Social Forum of Tamil Nadu (the state in which Chennai is located), Peace Boat invited representatives of civil society groups in South India to join the voyage as the ship sailed from Chennai to Colombo.
This experience would provide the opportunity to exchange information about political and social issues of concern, and also act as mobilization activity to promote understanding of the WSF and build network of contacts and exchange for communities both onboard Peace Boat and in the ports of call. |
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INDIAN PARTICIPANTS
Seventeen men and women ranging in age from 25-60 from community-based organizations joined in Peace Boat's activities from October 7-10. They represented organizations and social movements, including:
- All India Democratic Women's Association;
- All India Progressive Writers' Association;
- All India Youth Federation;
- All India Trade Union Congress;
- Tamil Nadu Women's Collective;
- Education for Women's Education;
- Society for Women in Action for Total Empowerment;
- National Federation of Indian Women;
- Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (human rights organization).
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| Speaking to the press about the WSF process in Chenna |
JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE
While Peace Boat called to Chennai on October 7, members of civil society groups from Tamil Nadu joined Peace Boat staff to address the media in a press conference held onboard the ship. A key purpose of meeting the press was to disseminate more information to the public about how to get involved in the WSF process. The press was informed of the diverse range of community-organizing taking place at regional and local levels in the build-up towards the fourth round of the WSF process in Mombai, January 16-21, 2004. One of such activities was the traveling of a group of 17 activists from Chennai to Colombo to meet up with WSF organizing counter-partners in Sri Lanka. Press followed the embarking of the Indian group onboard and departure of the ship towards Sri Lanka. |
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| Reaching out to people at the WSF People's Forum at Madras University |
WSF PEOPLE'S FORUM
During the afternoon at the University of Chennai, approximately 200 Indian people, including the 17 civil society members who would board Peace Boat later the same day, came together to talk on a more local level about how "Another World Is Possible".
Issues raised by the local Indian speakers ranged from the need to overcome communal violence and caste-based discrimination, to minority and women's rights. In particular, the issues of discrimination against women and the inequality of the sexes in Indian society were raised by participants. Social injustice and inequality caused by the caste system was criticized by all those at the forum, who discussed economic alternatives for communities and better education as a way to overcome deep social divides in India. Members of Peace Boat spoke about the problem of militarization in Japan, as well as the arguably mass media and state-generated climate of fear and suspicion towards North Korea that has become more tangible in the past year. All parties stressed the importance of strengthening local and regional level cooperation, and showed their appreciation for the chance to listen and the talk about important challenges respective communities of Asia are facing. |
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| Presenting an anti-nuclear appeal at the WSF People's Forum |
ANTI-NUCLUEAR APPEAL AT MADRAS UNIVERSITY PEOPLE'S FORUM
Peace Boat and Indian NGO, Journalists Against Nuclear Weapons (JANW) co-organized a study tour in order for participants to learn about nuclear issues in South Asia. Rather than only being on the receptive end of the learning experience, the group of participants had the chance to actively communicate themselves. They made an appeal at the WSF People's Forum by using drawings to tell the true story of one Japanese man who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. Participants held up the large drawings and the story was translated from English into Tamil.
In addition to this skit, the young Japanese reminded people of the kind of terrible suffering caused by nuclear weapons by exhibiting photographs taken soon after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. It was inspiring to hear and watch the younger Japanese generation, who themselves have had no direct experience of nuclear weapons, make a concerted appeal against nuclear weapons. The local Chennai audience showed their appreciation and support for the Japanese anti-nuclear peace appeal with cheers and applause.
Despite needing to work in three languages: English, Tamil and Japanese, the People's Forum was a display of people from different countries organizing at the citizen's level to strengthen the bridge of understanding and friendship. Peace Boat looks forward with great anticipation to the opportunities that the WSF process will bring, especially cooperating with peace groups from many countries when we gather in Mumbai in January 2004 during our 44th Global Peace Voyage. |
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CHENNAI TO COLOMBO FORUM
A wave of energy and activity swept over the Peace Boat when the 17-person group of pro-active and lively Indian activists boarded the ship on October 7. Trade unionists, women's rights activists, journalists and a variety of other community-spirited people working to improve society participated in the three-day program. |
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| Skit performance with a political message about women's rights |
REALITY THEATRE
The WSF youth camp organizers met with young Japanese participants for interactive discussion about youth issues, while other delegates got together to perform a skit with socio-political messages. The skit expressed the injustices and inequalities that many women in India (and also around the world) face. Early in life, there can be parental favoritism towards sons over daughters, a form of discrimination that is often reflected in negative attitudes towards education for girls. Women also have difficulty seeking employment especially if they are of marriageable and mothering age, as well as facing problems of sexual harassment and domestic violence. The audience was treated to a thought-provoking and interesting afternoon of political "street theatre" rather than a conventional lecture presentation. |
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| Colourful saris at the Full Moon Peaceful Night Festival |
SARI WORKSHOP
Some of the female guests from India showed participants how to wear a sari - one of the traditional dresses for women in India. As many Peace Boat participants had bought the four or five meter long material during Peace Boat's visit to Chennai, the timing of the demonstration was perfect. Not to mention that it is possible to wrap yourself up like an Egyptian mummy if you are trying to dress yourself without assistance. With about thirty women, from different Asian countries wearing saris together, the eye-catching result at the festival in the evening was a colorful vision of cultural fusion and harmony.
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| Live street theatre by Indian activists about religious tolerance and respect |
PEACEFUL NIGHT FESTIVAL
In the evening, the Indian group contributed to the "Full Moon Peaceful Night Festival", an outdoor event where various performances and creative expression ranging from song and dance to poetry, tai chi and film, were displayed. Guests from India used live theatre to convey the wonderful idea of living in harmony, regardless of our religious beliefs and cultural systems.
Religious tolerance and respect are important themes all over the world, but particularly in India where there is a continuing history of communal violence. Hindu and Muslim extremists in particular have resorted to violence to try and solve problems and impose uniformity. Using the easy to understand skit, the Indian performers transcended language barriers to communicate with clarity and impressive impact, the message of peaceful co-existence. They perform same skits all over India in villages and local communities as the part of their educational campaigns against domestic violence and the injustices of the caste system. |
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WSF PROCESS BUILDING ACTIVITIES IN SRI LANKA
While in Sri Lanka, Peace Boat cooperated with international NGO, The International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), a non-profit human rights organization whose current President is Colombo-based Nimalka Fernando. As Nimalka is active in the WSF process, she was able to help coordinate meetings with members from civil society in Sri Lanka. Together we shared our perspectives and experiences in working towards the WSF.
The Colombo meeting proved to be a good chance to show solidarity on the Asian regional level towards the WSF process. One conclusion was that better information sharing, whether by attending upcoming meetings and regional forums, or communicating through our virtual networks (for example, mailing lists) is a key area that we can develop in order to strengthen the WSF process, especially in the areas of social justice and promoting grassroots movements.
In conjunction with the WSF-related gathering in Colombo, IMADR helped organize a press conference. Meeting the local media was valuable in promoting the cooperative relationship between Sri Lankan, Indian and Japanese civil society groups, an important reality that is rarely reported in the mainstream media. It was also useful in furthering understanding of the WSF process amongst the media and the wider public in Sri Lanka. |
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EXPOSURE TOUR TO KANDY
With the assistance of IMADR Sri Lanka, our group of roughly 20 Peace Boat staff and Indian guests visited the "Hantane Tea Estate" to learn about the lives of tea plantation workers. Situated in the beautiful, mountainous region of Kandy are approximately 21 tea plantations. Since independence from British rule, the Sri Lankan government has controlled all plantations. Members of the "Ceylon Workers Congress" and other labourers, told the Peace Boat delegation of the many deficiencies and areas that need improvement in the management of the estates, particularly in terms of workers' rights. Plantation workers have scarce access to adequate medical facilities, and education for workers' children is neither a priority nor a reality for many due to cost and lack of facilities.
For the WSF Tamil Nadu activists and community workers, meeting the Kandy plantation workers, who were brought to Sri Lanka from southern India as indentured workers in the early 1800s, gave a contemporary insight into the historical interconnection of the two countries, as well as a real-life perspective into the struggle for labour rights for the largely Tamil population of plantation workers. |
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RESOURCES
WSF India – www.wsfindia.org
Intercontinental Youth Camp – www.wsfindia.org
The International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism IMADR International Secretariat
3-5-11 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106 Japan
Tel +81-3-3586-7447 Fax +81-3-3586-7462
For the WSF Tamil Nadu activists and community workers, meeting the Kandy plantation workers, who were brought to Sri Lanka from southern India as indentured workers in the early 1800s, gave a contemporary insight into the historical interconnection of the two countries, as well as a real-life perspective into the struggle for labour rights for the largely Tamil population of plantation workers. |
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