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﻿<title﻿>﻿New Socialist Magazine, The Challenges of Anti-War Organizing - Article﻿</title>﻿

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﻿<b﻿>﻿The Challenges of Anti-War Organizing

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by Maria Elena Mesa﻿<br﻿>﻿

﻿<i﻿>﻿New Socialist Magazine, April - May 2002﻿</i>﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

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﻿<hr﻿>﻿

﻿<b﻿>﻿Note from the NS Editors﻿</b>﻿

﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

In the time right after the events of September 11, the prospects of building an anti-war and anti-racist movement in Canada seemed good. In opposition to state-sponsored racist hysteria and the imperialist war, thousands of people took part in street protests, participated in educational forums and formed coalitions against war and racism.   However, by mid to late November, it had become clear to those of us involved in anti-war and -racism organizing that the movement had run out of steam and was beginning to dwindle.  Given the unambiguously stated objective of imperialist powers to expand their war of terror and domination right across the globe, from Central Asia and the Middle East to Latin America and the Far East, the question we are confronted with is why the movement declined. 

﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

It can't be denied that on a mass scale the racist propaganda campaign of lies and deception proved very effective in disorienting many people. Racism was useful in justifying the killing of thousands of innocent Afghanis who could not have had any possible connection to the events of September 11. It also helped to muffle the anti-war movement by isolating people of colour and effectively limiting their participation in anti-war activities, in case they be labelled terrorists and thrown in solitary confinement with no legal recourse.  If that wasn't enough, the government and the media also launched a terror campaign against all those, such as Professor Sunera Thobani, who dared to speak out against the war and imperialism.  The silencing of dissent was soon turned into official state policy through the passage of such repressive laws as the Anti-Terrorism Act.

﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

Still, we on the left can't just blame the ruling class for our ineffective opposition. Maria Elena Mesa will look at both some of the problems and solutions here in her article.  If we are to rebuild an effective anti-war movement in opposition to an escalating imperialist aggression, it is critical for us to examine these issues.  We hope this article will contribute to such a dialogue.

﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

﻿<hr﻿>﻿

﻿<b﻿>﻿The Challenges of Anti-War Organizing ﻿</b>﻿

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It was mainly us activists - who are relatively small in number at that - that were left with the task of taking action against the war and racism. This combined with the fact that we are not in one or two organizations but quite a number caused some degree of exhaustion. Although there was some participation of different communities, it was small and there was a noticeable absence of sectors that are important for the construction of a real movement. The fear of threats and repressive measures caused a polarization among activists that did not allow the democratic space for discussion. This was in a context of a whole society that was being reduced to fear and silence.

﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

We have not been able to rise above our differences and unify ourselves around a common goal and with a broad-based participation that made the most of this movement that had arisen spontaneously with a much-needed and immediate response. Many of the problems we currently face -  in relation to the political and economic changes that also have an impact on cultural and social production - need to be rethought at various levels, including in our own organizational forms.

﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

It's also worth analyzing a bit the society in which we live with its ethnic, political and cultural diversity and complexity. What has been its history, its policies, its development as one of the integral parts of the IMF, WB, and two free trade agreements? What about the institutionalized and endemic racism that is at the root of our patriarchal system and does not allow full citizen involvement? Look at the impact of a woman like Sunera Thobani who sent a fissure of solidarity and respect through an oppressive world of silence.

﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

I think that one of the greatest difficulties is related to our method of creating a political and social movement against the war with principles, a platform, a medium and long-term project, that is carried out at both local and global levels. Many of us come from a kind of ideological development with very rigid structures to confront societies in the North that are in a critical and polarized state, ones that have an immense repressive and propaganda apparatus. And we're supposed to navigate through this chaos.

﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

What we need are spaces for organizing against war and racism that are democratic with broad participation, in which tolerance and respect are of utmost importance. Common interests should prevail over personal political agendas. It's important to rise above divisions, discarding exclusive methods of working, vanguardism, sectarianism, bureaucracy, hierarchies and authoritarianism, and create an environment in which agreements are arrived at through democratic processes. This requires a sense of plurality that recognizes, trusts and values the experience of each person to construct the whole social fabric.

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As activists we need to do a number of things differently to organize more effectively against war and racism:

﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

﻿<ul﻿>﻿

﻿<li﻿>﻿ To carry out the struggle by creating coalitions on specific fronts related to the neoliberal agenda. We need a global vision to build a future and a memory of how capital comes from the expropriation of land and natural resources, genocide, development that under develops and huge investments and profits built on the robbery of workers and campesinos and slavery.

﻿</li>﻿

﻿<li﻿>﻿ To create bodies that allow us to affect the state at different levels, that form part of an independent, autonomous political social movement, with a platform of clear political principles that allow us to rise above the fragmentation, exercise democracy in our organizations and the election of our leaders.

﻿</li>﻿

﻿<li﻿>﻿ To reconstruct the social fabric, to make new forms of organization out of the ones that have been damaged by neoliberal politics and violence, to establish solidarity links locally and globally to generate proposals that break with passivity and increase participation of the civil population with real decision-making power. This must happen with the participation and exercise of power and autonomy of different sectors of the community, including youth, children, seniors, people of colour, women, Indigenous people. 

﻿</li>﻿

﻿<li﻿>﻿ To reclaim public spaces, the streets, the space of life against death that holds the spontaneously generating movements and their constituent power. We need to develop spaces of resistance - including in art and culture - for popular dialogue and action and strengthen existing elements like fighting target policing, conscientious objection to war and the cacerolazos.

﻿</li>﻿

﻿<li﻿>﻿ To build a culture of peace with social justice it's necessary to believe in it, not in a passive way, but in a totally active way that says no to war. As a form of entertainment, of culture, as a way of life, war must be demystified. A society continually bombarded with images of destruction is chronically ill. It's mythology is all about war and money and so it's universe revolve﻿s around them. Children and youth are being very affected with this war culture, through real and virtual games. 

﻿</li>﻿

﻿<li﻿>﻿ To act against state intimidation, the criminalization or terrorization of social protest and the right to dissent. We need to say no to the militarization of civilian life, including by training ourselves in non-violent self-defense and by making sure we have a legal support network that is prepared to defend us.

﻿</li>﻿

﻿<li﻿>﻿ To develop and strengthen alternative and autonomous media.

﻿</li>﻿

﻿<li﻿>﻿ To democratize the United Nations so that the conventions and international laws are actively applied . 

﻿</li>﻿

﻿<li﻿>﻿ To unhook the mechanisms in the virtual world that manipulate ideas as magical entities and cause and effect have no relationship. A pathetic example was the Gulf War in which the bombings were presented as artificial fires as if on a big stage. What happened with the 100,000 Iraqi dead? Or with an embargo that has left a half a million children dead to date?

﻿</li>﻿

﻿</ul>﻿


﻿<font﻿ ﻿size="1"﻿>﻿Maria Elena Mesa is a member of the Toronto-based Canada-Colombia Solidarity Campaign and has been active in the Coalition Against War and Racism.﻿</font>﻿</font>﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿


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