Guess Who?

What do you think of the following excerpt? Can you guess who?
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There’s a FINAL dimension to U.S. foreign policy that must be discussed—the portion that has less to do with avoiding war than promoting peace. The year I was born President Kenney stated in his inaugural address: “To those peoples in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required—not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.” Forty-five years later that mass misery still exists. If we are to fulfill Kennedy’s promise—and serve our long-term security interests—then we will have to go beyond a more prudent use of military force. We will have to align our policies to help reduce the sphere of insecurity, poverty, and violence around the world, and give more people a stake in the global order that has served us so well.”

Of course, there are those who would argue with my starting premise—that any global system built in America’s image can alleviate misery in poorer countries. For these critics, America’s notion of what the international system should be—free trade, open markets, the unfettered flow of information, the rule of law, democratic elections, and the like—is simply an expression of American imperialism, designed to exploit the cheap labor and natural resources of other countries and infect non-Western cultures with decadent beliefs. Rather than conform to America’s rules, the argument goes, other countries should resist America’s efforts to expand its hegemony; instead, they should follow their own path to development, taking their lead from left-leaning populists like Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, or turning to more traditional principles of social organization, like Islamic law.

I don’t dismiss these critics out of hand. America and its Western partners did design the current international system, after all; it is our way of doing things—our accounting standards, our language, our dollar, our copyright laws, our technology, and our popular culture—to which the world has had to adapt over the past fifty years. If overall the international system ahs produced great prosperity in the world’s developed countries, it has also left many people behind—a fact that Western policy makers have often ignored and occasionally made worse.

Ultimately, though, I believe critics are wrong to think that the world’s poor will benefit by rejecting the ideals of free markets and liberal democracy. When human rights activists from various countries come to by office and talk about being jailed or tortured for their beliefs, they are not acting as agents of American power. When my cousin in Kenya complains that it’s impossible to find work unless he’s paid a bribe to some official in the ruling party, he hasn’t been brainwashed by Western ideas. Who doubts that , if given the choice, most of the people in North Korea would prefer livening South Korea, or that many in Cuba wouldn’t mind giving Miami a try?

No person, in any culture, likes to be bullied. No person likes living in fear because his or her ideas are different. Nobody likes being poor or hungry, and nobody likes to live under an economic system in which the fruits of his or her labor go perpetually unrewarded. The system of free markets and liberal democracy that now characterizes most of the developed world may be flawed; it may all too often reflect the interests of the powerful over the powerless. But that system is constantly subject to change and improvement—and it is precisely in this openness to change that market-based liberal democracies offer people around the world their best chance at a better life.

Our challenge, then, is to make sure that U.S. policies move the international system in the direction of great equity, justice, and prosperity—that the rules we promote serve both our interests and the interests of a struggling world. In doing so, we might keep a few basic principles in mind. First, we should be skeptical of those who believe we can single-handedly liberate other people from tyranny. I agree with George W. Bush when in his second inaugural address he proclaimed a universal desire to be free. But there a few examples in history in which the freedom men and women crave is delivered through outside intervention. In almost every successful social movement of the last century, from Gandhi’s campaign against British rule to the Solidarity movement in Poland to the antiapartheid movement in South Africa, democracy was the result of a local awakening.

We can inspire and invite other people to assert their freedoms; we can use international forums and agreements to set standards for others to follow; we can provide funding to fledgling democracies to help institutionalize fair election systems, train independent journalists, and seed the habits of civic participation; we can speak out on behalf of local leaders whose rights are violated; and we can apply economic and diplomatic pressure to those who repeatedly violate the rights of their own people.

But when we seek to impose democracy with the barrel of a gun, funnel money to parties whose economic policies are deemed friendlier to Washington, or fall under the sway of exiles like Chalabi whose ambitions aren’t matched by any discernible local support, we aren’t just setting ourselves for failure. We are helping oppressive regimes paint democratic activists as tools of foreign powers and retarding the possibility that genuine, homegrown democracy will ever emerge.

Rural Youth

With every field visit, I realize that the greatest opportunities for improving life in poor rural communities are in the hands and hearts of the rural youth. If the strengths of rural youth are tapped, harnessed, and enhanced, wonders in rural infrastructure, social tensions, and plain happiness can manifest into present and future generations. Here are some images and contemplations:


A young boy from Lineguda gets creative with left over house wiring materials.

Padme Dewa, from REDCO, teaching the Purna Guma youth how to install insulators.

This is Hira on the right looking at Padme Dewa's sketches. Hira has extraordinary strengths in making things happen, IF he really wants them to happen. He was the one that led the brick-making efforts, while everyone else (mostly the oldsters) wanted GV to buy from the outside. Thanks to Hira's leadership, Purna Guma's youth self-help group fund has gone up by Rs. 7000. GV bought the bricks for the powerhouse from the youth.

Here is Hira again, one of the 3 three that had been on the poles, installing cables on a day that turned out to pour.

Despite the rain, Hira and the others did not want to stop until the line was finished.

My last time in Purna Guma, a couple of days ago, has me in waves about Hira. The last time we visited was Padme Dewa's last day in the village for a while and Pobitro Dada's (the guy building the turbine assembly in town) first day. P. Dada has been wanting to go to PG for the longest time. He has become passionate about the project. Finally we took him. ....However, the visit was a bit sour. When we drove into PG that day, Hira and the rest had been installing more
poles.

The same day was the closing ceremony of the famous Rath Yatra festival. Someone joked that they had never attended but this year Gram Vikas would take us to Karlapat to attend the festival. Hira said we'll be ready. You take us. I took it as a joke. As we were leaving the village, I saw that Hira was waiting for us, all bathed and dressed to go to the festival. GV has a policy of not using its vehicles for anything other than work. I also did not want to start any prohibited habit...although I am guilty of taking women and children in our vehicle if they need to visit the hospital and if our vehicle is going to B.Patna regardless. In the case of taking village boys to attend the Karlapat Rath Yatra, Hira put me on the spot. He went to the point of saying, "If you don't take us, don't expect anymore work from us." While this was supposed to be a special visit for Padme Dewa and Pobitro Dada, Hira's ultimatum chased away the warm and fuzy feelings. In the end, I tried to explain that I did not have the authority to use the vehicle for pleasure and that our guests had not had lunch when it was already 4p. (Not having meals on time is a recipe for malaria.) We did not take them...and I left Hira quite disappointed. It is Hira's stuborness that I have admired in the project, as well as the element that put me on the spot. I want to approach it with love and openess. ...Unfortunately, I cannot return to Purna Guma for another few days....I am wondering whether I should go hang out with him first, feel out his mood and attitude about continuing with micro hydro. Or should i simply ignore the his disappointment. I feel that my taking villagers every now and then in the vehicle set the scene for the Hira incident. Likewise, my reaction to Hira's changed mood will set the scene for the next "situation".


Rashmi-- in the orange, Hira's friend, and a respected school teacher--has been the lead youth in helping to organize and mobilize the community to implement Purna Guma without GV staff. As I left the village last time, I mentioned the Hira incident. He said, "Don't worry so much."

Lessons Galore

What great lessons I've learned in the past few weeks!

1. In India, never give a small order to a large company--it may not come thru.
4 months ago we ordered 2 motors for Purna Guma from Kirloskar, an extremely huge industry name. They could not deliver even though we had given an advance. It was a combination of low quality operations, communications, and maybe even not having the motor we needed. I couldn't clearly conclude. Thanks to a friend's reference, we were able to find another supplier.

2. In India, plan 5 times the ideal time required.
Having ordered the motors with a small-scale and referred supplier, they were shipped within 2 weeks of sending an advance payment. BUT thanks to the nation-wide truck strike, the motors were delayed for a week, sitting in the middle of rural Andra Pradesh. Finally, today I got word they have reached their destination. Of course, it will take another few days to get GV's act together in: deciding on the best vehicle to transport the motors (one that than can outsmart the state tax collectors), finding someone besides me to accompany the motors, and finding another vehicle to bring it 12hrs out to Kalahandi district. The logistics story never seems to end....

3. Avoid villagers that like to talk a lot and ride with you in vehicles.
I have been astonished at how some in the village work non-stop. They are usually the quiet and straight forward personalities, often the poorest. However, there are always the 1 or 2 that love giving themselves pats on the back, travelling with you to project some image to their counterparts, etc. Still, I am seeing everyone in the Purna Guma community transforming. Even those that talk more than work have enhanced their skills and understanding one another. The toughest social situations always turn out to be great opportunities.

4. Child labor, village accidents, and plug points.
The hardest lesson this week was realizing after it was too late that while us oldsters (about 15 of us over 15 years of age) sat around at the end of the work day, the only one of us working was Ramesh, seven years old. He kept going on with shoveling the chips for concreting. Until this awakening, I perceived child labor in the Purna Guma project to be voluntary. I finally realized that just because kids were having fun with the work did not mean they were volunteering their efforts. ...Actually, it could be either way. There are kids that skip school in order to see what's going on with the project and then there are others that come only after school. The non-tribal community members blamed the tribal (who are the poorest) families for sending their kids to contribute labor. Labor contribution, as well as a monetary contribution to the corpus micro hydro fund, allows a family in Purna Guma to benefit from the micro hydro project.

I asked why they would send their kids instead of coming themselves. The answer was simple: the adults were busy with fieldwork. Fieldwork allows them to feed their kids. However, the non-tribals hire the tribals to do their fieldwork. Yet, they said, "The tribals are only good for drinking." At this point, I understood that child labor in this project was intertwined with caste culture. ...But I still couldn't sit around with my malaria and let Ramesh do the work, while the rest of watched. Yet, I did not want to impose my values on the community. I have learned in previous projects that it is no good to preach without action. ...Still, I couldn't hold my words. They came out, "Isn't Ramesh your son too?" "How can we let such young kids do the work of adults, as we sit and watch?" Several nods came...and along with a sense of regret.

A few minutes later walking back to the jeep, I stopped by the first house, a tribal house. Went in to say hi and found out that the lady of the house had been in a brutal accident. In Kalahandi, like many rural parts of India, villagers give their labor to generate income. The laborers are often transported in open trucks and tractors. This lady had fallen out of a tractor, broken her shoulder and bruised her skull. A woman that was healthy and perfect the last time I saw her, now was half bald with a deep cut on her head, along with a drooping shoulder. Just then our all-star Jaysingh Babu (non-tribal) walks up to the house to check in on her. He has been the light of the project, always positive and supportive no matter who is working with him. He said no one wanted to touch the lady when the accident happened. "There was blood everywhere. She is tribal. But she is still of our sister. We took her to the hospital. It's a miracle that she is living now. We are lucky." The reason she was sending her young kid to work was because her older son was too busy taking care of her health.

Plug points. Everyone in Purna Guma wants plug points, in addition to lights. However, to limit the number of plugpoints and to fairly charge for the extra consumption of electricity, the plug point requires a one-time Rs. 500 fee, in addtion to the Rs. 1000 contribution to the corpus fund and double tariff. Yogesh, the young and nimble all-star worker from the Lineguda hamlet mistakenly got a plug point wired at his house...of course he likes it and of course no one will be rude and take it away from him now that it is installed. ....Yogesh' youngest kid, 6 months old, has a blown up belly. His mom says, "He has had constant diarrea for several months." I ask Yogesh when he would take him to the doctor in Bhanvanipatna. He says when he has money. ....Earlier, Jaysingh had explained that he spent Rs. 500 on his son's broken arm bills. .....I guess it's getting to me that GV wants to charge extra for plugpoints when we have such a huge project budget and we've been good about streamlining the design and minimizing the expense. Of course, nothing should be given for free...but why are we creating the burden of luxury?

Sorry for the incoherency. Will try again on this topic and others with a clearer mind.

Purna Guma's New Look

See the poles for the transmission line?



Dedicated community!

Environmental Injustice in the Name of Energy Security

The Burmese government is building a gas pipeline from Burma, thru Bangladesh, to India. Does anyone know of websites that have current information on this project?

Here is an outdated link with pertinent background:
http://www.earthrights.org/burmareports/another_yadana_the_shwe_natural_gas_pipeline_project_burma-bangladesh-india.html

The larger picture:
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main39.asp?filename=Ws070608Generals.asp