There is hope for a better future. CGE student is illuminated by the sun at the underground observatory at the Xochicalco pyramid site.
By Amina Hassen
A couple of weeks ago our class was divided into two different groups and were told to come up with an answer to the question, “What is development?” We discussed how we thought that current development is generating unbalanced outcomes between and within countries and is excluding the people who most need increased access to resources. Our conception of development is an improvement of the quality of life for individuals by increasing their ability to be independent agents, making decisions about their life trajectories. It starts with meeting basic needs of people, including adequate food, shelter, clothing, safe drinking water, sanitation, health and development. Development is a transformation of existing systems of oppression based on sex, gender, race, class, sexuality, age, ability, nationality, etc so that individuals have a wider range of choices.
To borrow from Paulo Freire, development includes whether or not a country is “being itself” in the political, economic and decision making is originating from within. I would extend that to say that development also means that a person is being his/her self and that their decision making is also originating from within.
I view that it is my responsibility to be a participant and ally to those who are carrying out responsible development. When I have the choice between a supermarket and a farmers market, I will choose the farmers market. It also means supporting democratically run organizations. So when I have the choice between Coca-Cola and Boing (a worker-owned and operated cooperative that makes very popular juices here in Mexico), I will choose Boing. And when I see that a hotel’s workers have gone on strike, I won’t patronize that hotel and I will try to prevent others from doing so as well. If I have the choice between taking my car and taking a bus/metro, I’ll take the metro, or better yet, I’ll take my bike. I will recycle all that I can, teach others around me that they can and should as well. I see it as my responsibility to change my consumption habits so that I am making more responsible choices.
However, I recognize that solely changing my consumptive patterns is not adequate and sometimes the alternatives that you would like to see simply do not exist. To really promote change in development I also need to actively advocate for this change. It is my duty as a citizen of a democracy to participate in electing officials who support responsible development and to protest if I feel that my elected officials aren’t making responsible choices. It means living out what I would like to see happen on a global scale by turning local personally, and supporting local initiatives internationally.
Forgive me for not writing as much here as I did in response to Kimbery's blog. You really said a lot in terms of your response, and I do not know that I have too much more to add. In my response to Kimberly's blog, I mentioned a speakers' statement who did not consider himself an activist, but was involved in working for his community, and against the landfill and private garbage collectors in his own way. I did not mean to idealize him over people who do consider themselves to be activists.
ResponderEliminarThe important thing is that we do have choices and should use them. I am not sure that I can say the same thing about all segments of society on our planet. I have noticed among some of the people here in Mexico a general desire to conserve resources, perhaps to maintain their standard of living. People with less often know quite well how to use less. That still does not take away from the importance of the ability to make choices.
I support and am inspired by efforts originating from communities towards development, even though it is not my job to impose such efforts independently. Democracy which in my view is often synonymous with this view of development does not work well as an imposed ideology. By its very nature democracy should come from the community. When people ask if Mexico (or the U.S.) is a democracy my response is "Yes, if the people decide to rule." For too long theorists (in the 1950s especially) deliberately insisted that public participation should be limited to voting, but I do not agree with these theorists.
Amina,
ResponderEliminarThank you for your reflections on what development means to you, and how you see yourself fitting within it. During our time in Thailand, we too have been tackling questions like that and struggling with the understanding of how we, as global citizens, can live responsibly within this current framework of development. During one of our units, we met with an NGO named Suvit, and he introduced us to the concept of understanding "our enough". By this, he meant that each individual has the capacity to determine how they want to live their life, how much they can commit to doing and how they want to carry it out. It is ok, he explains, not to feel guilty for living in this world. If nothing else, simply being conscious of social injustices and social inequalities in our world is the first step to being an agent of social change. Each individual can determine what is "enough" for them to live and to feel comfortable living in their environment. For some, the choices may be to use solar panels and farm and cultivate his/her own food, while for others it may be to re-use a sustainable water bottle, ride a bicycle and buy locally grown, organic foods. Any of these choices are ok. Any of these choices are enough.
After reading your post, and seeing that you were also trying to figure out your role in development, I thought I would share this piece of information with you as it comforted me during my times of confusion (which is very much still going on). I appreciate your consciousness around these issues and your effort to figure out where you fit in the grand scheme of it all. Good luck with everything!
- Alex CIEE Thailand
I have enjoyed reading this post because I struggle with similar thoughts. I really try my best to be consume responsibly and like you Amina I choose farmers markets over supermarkets, fair over free trade, and try to take public transport as often as possible. I was already aware of my habits as a consumer before I came to Thailand, but the program here has really solidified my reasoning and resolve to be a conscious and moral consumer.
ResponderEliminarBecause I strive to be green I can be quite hard on myself when I am unable to do so by circumstance or some other obstacle. This is when I often find comfort in similar thoughts as expressed by Alex, that even though I might now always be buying fairtrade coffee the fact that I am socially aware and conscious about it is important and to be comfortable with my own level of action. I am eager to bring home the lessons I learned here in Thailand and to help continue to raise awareness and fight social injustice to further positive social development.
Tommy Russo
Fairfield U.