Globaleyes

Globalization, the Internet and solidarity with the poor

By Trisha Niemeyer

This is the eleventh in a series of articles on economic globalization sponsored by the Peace Ministries Program of MCC Canada. The writers are young adult Canadians who are studying and thinking about globalization and who are seeking to make a difference.

 

 

 

The reality that we live in a globalized world should be obvious to most of us here in Canada. One look at the piles of sticker-ed produce in our local grocery stores or at the fine-printed labels on the very clothes we wear indicates as much, if we choose to pay attention. However, the implications of this globalization are not as apparent. What will it take to get beyond a country's name on a label and really begin to see what globalization means? As I pondered that question, I was drawn to the very media for which I am writing: the Internet.

In 2005, I participated in MCC's Serving and Learning Together program in Hong Kong. There, I served with a local group whose primary goal was to support various ecumenical and secular networks working for social justice throughout Asia by using the Internet as a tool for international communication and information solidarity. Although I did spend a good portion of my year behind a computer, sifting through email, writing articles and designing websites, I also spent time on the streets participating in mass rallies and candlelight vigils, supporting Asia's very vibrant people's movement.

 

Hong Kong and the WTO conference

When I took on my position of "cyber documentation," I did not expect that I would be taking to the streets with thousands of farmers, domestic workers, day labourers, trade unionists, church leaders and various other members of society to speak against the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its sixth ministerial conference in December 2005. However, being present and able to capture people's stories and share those on the Internet reinforced in me a different way of doing life and responding to the networks of globalization of which we are all a part.

When fourteen of our international colleagues, who were arrested and remained under police charge nearly two weeks after the WTO left Hong Kong, started a hunger strike, an Internet campaign created an international community of solidarity. Hundreds of individuals and organizations from six continents wrote letters of support; human chains were organized in Bangladesh; a German youth group went hungry for a day in solidarity, as did many others including over 100 Hong Kong residents; leafleting took place at embassies and trade offices around the world from New York to Seoul and from Brussels to Manila.

While I can't say for certain that our campaign had any significant effect on the governments and international structures involved, I can say that the support garnered via the Internet had a profound impact on the individuals who participated. Despite differences in culture and language, new relationships were formed and former ones were strengthened as individuals and organizations opened themselves up to the stories of those who were charged, and people participated in an exchange of encouragement and gratitude that transcended national borders.

Beyond Labels

So how do we move past a country's name on a label beyond cheap oranges and greater selection in cell phones. We must recognize that the systems of globalization are complex, but that this complexity cannot override our universal humanity. As we hear each other's stories and put faces to the labour that sustains trade, we will begin to understand this universality and start to make the transition from label to reality.

Serving with MCC in Hong Kong was about supporting grassroots people voicing dissent in the midst of modern urban society. It was about empowering the marginalized and sharing life together locally, regionally and even internationally and through these experiences magnifying the sound of an often unheard voice.

While the Internet is often referred to as a propagator of economic globalization, it also provides an opportunity for positive social change. Various tools powered by the Internet — websites, email, chat/video conferencing, encyclopaedias, personal blogs and photo albums — enable people across various classes and continents to share information and create connections that are unparalleled in history.

Growing public access at libraries and Information Communication & Technology centres, along with the help of various agencies and individuals who provide training and guidance, has allowed marginalized members of society to be able to use the Internet and make connections that were once restricted by high financial burdens. Additionally, increasing availability of well-designed and highly functional open source software, which is provided free of charge via the Internet, offers an alternative economic model which includes the poor.

 

What can we do?

Through various parables captured in the gospels, Jesus calls Christians to be present in the lives of the poor and to consider alternative economic models. When questioned in Matthew 25:31- 46 about when the righteous saw the Lord "hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison," Jesus responds, "I tell you the truth, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did for me." We are called to actively participate in the lives of those in need.

Becoming aware of need is the first step. Through this reflection, I've illustrated how the Internet can be used as a tool to express people's stories, build relationships, and share the various needs of communities the world over.

Acting out of faith in God — our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer — we transform this awareness into active participation. In the case of those who were arrested during the WTO meetings in Hong Kong, participation took various forms: some people used the Internet to share stories; after hearing these stories other people brought food and water to those who were detained; others visited prisons and acted as translators; still others contributed to housing and financial needs as they arose. Each person who was involved was called to participate as she or he was able in varied but valuable ways.

In light of a world that is becoming increasingly connected through the economic ties of globalization, let us seek to grow increasingly connected to people. Let us hear each other's stories, through the tools available to us like the Internet, and open ourselves to humanity's needs locally and globally. And let us not stop there. May we be motivated to respond to those needs, as responding to Christ.

 

A peace activist and theologian by heart and engineer by training, Trisha Niemeyer currently works full time at an engineering consulting firm in the field of building science, while pursuing personal goals in mediation and peace theology.