See also:
http://journeytoforever.org/community.html
Community development
http://journeytoforever.org/community2.html
Community development - poverty and hunger
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http://www.ledevoir.com/2005/08/01/87309.html
New Jesuit Mission - No Human Development without Real Governance
By Jean-Claude Leclerc
Le Devoir
Monday 01 August 2005
The election of Benedict XVI, a man judged to be conservative,
does not seem to have shaken the Jesuits, a religious order linked to
the pope, from their new millennial mission: to combat peoples'
impoverishment. Versus capitalist globalization, about fifteen Jesuit
centers around the world are actively creating networks designed to
promote other development modalities.
Among the objectives that they've set for themselves, the issue
of "governance" will be the object of a special evaluation in
September. In fact, governance is deemed "crucial," since it will not
produce the same result according to whether it is defined primarily
as a function of the market or of society instead. Promotio Justitiæ,
the bulletin published in Rome by the Social Justice Secretariat,
does a preliminary exploration of the subject.
For the group studying this issue, power is at the heart of the
question. Who has it? Who uses it? Who benefits from it and who is
excluded? How should power be organized and, from a religious
perspective, what should be done with it? For the moment, the Jesuits
have no doubt that power is ever more concentrated in such
institutions as:
* the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Bank, the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), regional development banks;
* the richest industrialized countries, which dominate those
institutions' activities;
* multinational corporations, the influence of which is
disproportionate to their contribution to society.
Now, according to the Jesuits, the neo-liberal strategy these
milieus have imposed on poor countries have not produced the promised
results. Privatization and free trade were supposed to bring
prosperity. To the contrary, poverty became further extended, even as
the countries of the South were trapped in these destructive
commercial relations.
Instead of looking to themselves for answers about this failure,
rich countries and international institutions make the countries of
the South and their "pathetic governance" bear the blame. The Jesuits
propose instead to examine governance in relation to all those whom
it affects and to measure it against "authentic development."
In the end, why would it be necessary to fight corruption or
inefficiency in a country if it's essentially to reassure foreign
investors, not primarily to allow the population to participate in
power and to choose its own development path? Moreover, the North is
hardly a stranger to the corrupt practices it cracks down on in the
South.
Going still further, the Jesuits consider that impoverished or
excluded groups have abilities that allow them to take part in
decisions. Consequently, the Jesuits have set themselves the task of
identifying and "shaking up" the structures that prevent those groups
from becoming political actors, as well as the task of strengthening
the political abilities of the poor, notably through alliances with
other social segments.
They are not alone in contesting the mercantilist priority of
development and the narrowly technical definition of governance.
Social organizations and certain United Nations' agencies propose
another vision of progress, no longer measured by economic growth,
but by "human development."
From Aid to Despoliation
These critical reflections are not inspired by a purely
theoretical approach to development or international action. In the
bulletin, Jesuits describe experiments with mobilization, experiences
of success and failure in different countries. In this way, they hope
not only to supply examples designed to inspire other regions of the
world, but also to discern the criteria that will allow them to
choose real alternatives to present practices.
Thus, in India, the December 26, 2004, tsunami revealed fractures
that were not only geological, recounts Manuel Alphonse, one of the
co-founders of the Social Development Forum of the Peoples of Tamil
Nadu. The disaster and the responses it elicited aggravated already
existing injustices and inequalities. In Tamil Nadu, a particularly
affected Indian state, already marginalized populations had the
endurance of will to start over. They had already begun to do so
before the arrival of aid.
With the influx of aid, however, those people were pushed aside
from the reconstruction process. "The responsibility and transparency
on the part of governments and international agencies stood out by
their absence," Alphonse notes.
Small boat owners, small merchants, salaried workers were among
those affected by the tsunami. Yet, according to the Jesuit, the
lion's share of aid was grabbed by owners of trawlers, political
parties, and entrepreneurs.
Women demonstrated an exceptional power of support during the
catastrophe. During reconstruction, they were "systematically pushed
aside from all decision-making processes," as much by local powers as
by the governmental machine.
Even non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the support and
creativity of which are acknowledged, have added to problems of
cooperation and dialogue. They have also imposed their own views,
without taking "local wisdom and experience" into account.
Consequently a local surveillance group (Social Watch-Tamil Nadu)
has been put in place. Citizens have been mobilized to put victims
into contact with the media, for a wave of despoliation has succeeded
the ocean's tsunami. Coastal communities must make themselves heard
over the din of commercial interests pressuring the government to
appropriate the coasts.
Similarly, foreign agencies, pressed to reassure donors, force
local partners to spend more than they are able. Thus, a large part
of aid is wasted or even diverted from "beneficiaries in real need."
(Organizations for the defense of marginalized groups also have very
little confidence in the prevention systems promised by governments.
They therefore intend to establish an independent warning system with
the other Indian States that have experienced such disasters.)
For years, the Social Development Forum of the Peoples of Tamil
Nadu has worked to put good governance and global development
procedures in place. "The successes have been slim and far from our
hopes," he acknowledges, "but these little successes and the growing
pressure exerted by different sectors of civil society give us the
strength to continue down this road."
Strengthened by such experience, the Jesuit does not hesitate to
draw a conclusion no doubt valid for other countries. When a tragedy
occurs, help pours in. But afterwards, who takes care to see what's
been done with that aid? "To take in hand the problems of governance
as an integral part of communities' battle to reconstruct their lives
and their means of subsistence is essential," he writes.
A number of his partners share his opinion and are working with
the Forum to establish independent mechanisms to control tsunami
funds. The case of natural disasters demands special surveillance.
But the thesis of the Jesuit Center in Bilbao, Spain - the group
responsible for these analyses - is that governance is tightly
related to any developmental undertaking.
Honduras, Peru, Ireland, Colombia, the Philippines, and the
Dominican Republic also relate significant experiences. Yet if
present neo-liberalism is a failure, is there another way? The
Jesuits believe so.
Jean-Claude Leclerc teaches journalism at the University of Montreal.
Translation: t r u t h o u t French language correspondent Leslie Thatcher.
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