blog

Subverting Solidarity

AoA15

Intercontinental Cry

Aug 15, 2013

By Jay Taber

Solidarity as a strategy — exemplified by the 1994 Zapatista/Civil Society alliance against NAFTA — made clear the power of unifying the indigenous peoples movement, the human rights movement, and the environmental movement. Taking a lesson from the iconic uprising in Mexico, the U.S. military reorganized its intelligence and public relations capacities to engender a more sophisticated form of psychological warfare and counterinsurgency that includes co-optation of reform-oriented, Civil Society NGOs.

Working in tandem with State Department initiatives to undermine indigenous nations’ jurisdiction under international law, especially the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Pentagon and NATO now frequently create a distorted image of human rights as part of the cover story when destabilizing or overthrowing non-NATO governments. Reinforcing State and Defense Department efforts to subvert the international human rights regime, Treasury and other departments of the U.S. Government — through the austerity agenda — are steadily eroding the ability of Civil Society to support the indigenous peoples movement.

Austerity, as such, is not merely a larcenous agenda by federal governments in cahoots with Wall Street and the European Central Bank; it is equally valuable as a tool of oppression of the populations impoverished by the financial services empire.

The audacity of austerity’s exponents also serves a purpose: transforming economic desperation into a sense of fear and hopelessness creates a submissive citizenry, inoculated against revolutionary politicization. Deprived of the resources necessary to organize a viable opposition to the empire, these downtrodden citizens thus become a reservoir of resentment from which modern states can mobilize sycophants to intimidate and outmaneuver democratic reformers.

In the absence of resources for resistance to austerity, the oppositionally politicized are tempted and encouraged to mobilize disorganized, which ensures their ineffectiveness. Marches, protests and demonstrations are means, not ends; unprepared to challenge the power of empire, they demonstrate at best a false hope, at worst a romantic delusion.

 

[Jay Thomas Taber (O’Neal) derives from the most prominent tribe in Irish history, nEoghan Ua Niall, the chief family in Northern Ireland between the 4th and the 17th centuries. His maternal family name in Irish means champion. Jay’s ancestors were some of the last great leaders of Gaelic Ireland, and in 1999 he walked the fields of Kinsale where they fought. His grandmother’s grandfather’s grandfather emigrated from Belfast to South Carolina in 1768. Jay is an associate scholar of the Center for World Indigenous Studies, a correspondent to Forum for Global Exchange, and a contributing editor of Fourth World Journal. Since 1994, he has served as the administrative director of Public Good Project, a volunteer network of researchers, analysts and activists engaged in defending democracy. As a consultant, he has assisted indigenous peoples seeking justice in such bodies as the European Court of Human Rights and the United Nations. Email: tbarj [at] yahoo.com]

 

One Comment

  • Charanjeet Singh on Aug 18, 2013

    Discrimination with me in Dubai (A serious issue for Human rights Association)
    UAE Withhold my original medical reports of suspected tuberculosis.
    Brutal law of deportation on an assumption based T.B scar in United Arab Emirates.

    Respected Sir,

    Let me introduce myself. My name is CHARANJEET SINGH, an Indian national. Former resident and an Ex-Banker in Dubai..Year 2003 to 2006 I was working in India in a multi national bank. And since April 2006 to October 2011 working in U.A.E without any issue in my health..

    3rd March 2013, I came back to Dubai and joined a new job in a law firm in D.I.F.C. (Dubai International Financial Centre), On 4th March 2013, i appeared for medical test at D.I.F.C.
    18 days later i.e. on 22nd March 2013 at Al Muhaisna medical centre that comes under D.H.A (Dubai Health Authority) suspected that i have old T.B and I was deported immediately. Countless others are getting deported just due to a scar in their lungs.

    Neither I, while working and staying in my home country or Dubai, nor my parents had any kind of T.B infection in their lifetime.

    To prove myself I have already done skin test (Mantoux) twice and both times it was Negative.
    First time at Dubai when i noticed nurse writing on my medical card as negative, U.A.E did not issue me any report so that I can prove you my test reports nor they give it to anyone from any country and second test at A.I.I.M.S.
    I went to A.I.I.M.S (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) hospital at New Delhi and done all my checkups i.e. Skin test (Mantoux), Chest x-ray, Blood test, 3 times Sputum test and a Chest C.T Scan too on special advise by senior doctor to have a close look at the scar.

    D.H.A does guess work on T.B on the basis of mere x.ray film. Telling you the fact as it is.

    Based on my test reports, A.I.I.M.S issued me the Certificate stating that I do not have any active T.B. Senior doctors (A.I.I.M.S) asked me why did they deported you when there is no sign of T.B in our body??

    I really felt humiliation from U.A.E and felt depressed about this brutal and outdated law of deporting the patients just like a prisoner after he completes his punishment. I never expected this kind of behavior from U.A.E as happened with me.

    D.H.A was not ready to give me anything about my sickness in written. Why it was concealed from me??? What does this reflect?

    Present circumstances reminds me the malpractices of untouchability existed five decades ago, where in an individual was deliberately excluded from social interaction permanently.

    If U.A.E health authorities are really scared from heart to help these patients, at least they should not treat them like prisoners, deporting them back to their home country with permanent ban to enter U.A.E just because of a small suspected scar.
    This is the beginning of discrimination by gulf countries with expatriates excluding Arabs from gulf regions and i am sure the situation is going to be worse very soon if changes are not brought to their laws. I believe and I know it is discrimination.

    How about D.H.A staff? Will be they be deported permanently if they are infected with Active or Old T.B??

    http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/health/deportation-laws-reform-lies-dormant clearly mentions this is absolute discrimination and it is major issue of Human rights.

    Assuming the current scenario in the future, i will never suggest 53% Indians of UAE’s total population to work and visit U.A.E whether they provide double pay of what your are getting in your home country.

    Finally, they will be the culprit if they still go and get deported in case they are sick with any kind of scar in their chest in the mid of their growing career just and just because of U.A.E’s adamant laws.

    These harmless scars may come on anyone’s body, will leave a huge impact on their career just and just because of U.A.E outdated laws. Today it’s my turn; tomorrow could be the ignoring readers from different countries.

    I have lost a lot because of their law, I wish from my core – no one should face the same in their life without any reason.

    I request U.A.E to remove sickness from U.A.E instead of removing the sick.

    “IT IS NOT JUSTICE IF IT IS NOT EQUAL”

    Your support will be highly appreciated to write something for this moral cause.

    (Charanjeet Singh)
    Email: singh.charanjeet@rocketmail.com
    Mob: +91 9560728263
    New Delhi [India]

Comments are closed.