Mennonite
Central
Committee

Reflection on the MCC conference 'Globalization and Development in South Asia'

Ruth Rempel, International Development Studies
Menno Simons College, Canadian Mennonite University

The Qatar Airways flight into Kathmandu was a powerful object lesson about globalization in Nepal. The flight was packed. Most of the seats were filled by quiet men, men with simple clothes and work-worn hands. They all craned to look out the windows as the flight neared its end. In the luggage area of the airport their carefully labeled boxes told part of their story. They had flown in from cities like Riyadh, Medina or Doha and were returning, heavily laden, to Kathmandu or to smaller towns.

I learned later that many of these Nepalese migrant workers found jobs in the Middle East through friends or relatives who also worked there. Others were sent out by labour recruiting agencies. In either case, they worked abroad for several years, often doing the heavy, manual work that citizens of their host country were reluctant to do. These migrant workers did not get to visit their families, but they did send back money. This money is crucial to their families and their communities. The money is also crucial to the Nepali economy as a whole. It adds up to around US$100 billion per year, and makes up about a quarter of the national income.

Workers and money moving across national boundaries are both part of globalization. But globalization has many other aspects, as I learned at the Globalization and Development in South Asia conference held in Kathmandu from May 6th to 8th. This was the second in a series of regional conferences on globalization sponsored by MCC. The participants came from three countries: Nepal, India and Bangladesh. They included both national and North American MCC workers and members of MCC’s local partner organizations. The invited speakers were a mixture of academics and activists.

The conference focused on economic aspects of globalization. Conference participants held a variety of views. Some thought globalization should be rejected by the government and by local communities. Others thought it was inevitable, and that it had some benefits as well as costs. They thought governments and non-governmental organizations should try to modify the process of globalization to increase its benefits and protect people from its harmful effects. Some participants thought that if the international institutions that promote globalization, like the World Trade Organization (WTO), could be reformed they might be a place where less harmful kinds of globalization could be pursued. One speaker quoted a proverb that says elephants have two sets of teeth, one for showing (tusks) and one for eating. The WTO and the other global institutions have very nice-looking charters, but the set of rules they actually operate by are much less pretty. It would be a step forward if they could be made to "eat" with the "teeth" laid out in their charters.

One of the interesting things that came out at the conference was that globalization looks very different to the people of small countries like Nepal or Bangladesh than it does to citizens of big countries like India. The globalization options for small countries are limited, and they are determined not only by institutions like the WTO, but also by the policies that India wants for itself and its neighbours. But while India may benefit more from globalization than its small neighbours, only a few within India actually enjoy these benefits. This regional dynamic echoes the global situation where big players like the United States or the European Union have a very different role in and view of globalization than others.

The effects of globalization are uneven and unpredictable, said many conference participants. Rural people in South Asia seem to be the most excluded from and hurt by globalization, though. Women and tribal peoples also tend not to benefit from globalization. As several participants noted, globalization has a dark side as well. This includes the use of force to promote the kind of globalization that benefits big players on the world scene. It also includes illegal activities like smuggling and trafficking in women or children, which thrive just like legal trade and migration do in a globalized economy.

What does it mean to be just in this situation? This is one of the many questions that conference participants asked each other. What is globalization, and how is it different from the trade and conquest that have long been part of South Asia’s history? were other questions. While there were no easy answers, the conference did give participants from the region an opportunity to explore these issues. MCC was challenged to think about how it can work with people who are excluded from and hurt by globalization, both to improve their situation and to understand the workings of the global system. MCC was also challenged to address itself to the people in South Asia and elsewhere who benefit from globalization. How can this group be helped to think about the condition of those who are hurt by the global system from which they benefit?