Solidarity marks inaugural day
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COMMENTS 
If there is strength in numbers, the opening day of the World Social Forum (WSF), scheduled between January 16 and 21 at Goregaon in Mumbai, was evidence enough. While 78,000 participants had already registered, there were another 22,000 waiting to be part of what has also been termed a "jamboree" that works as a counterpoint to the World Economic Forum held at Davos every year.
The objective being to interest and get together those who oppose the forces of globalisation and imperialism, the WSF -- the fourth of its kind and the first to be held in India -- has got on its rolls the biggest names in the sectors of social development, economic studies, legal advocacy and human rights, not to mention hundreds of NGOs fighting for a wide range of causes.
The press meet held prior to the inaugural cultural event was marked by the presence of Nguyen Binh, vice-president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Amin al Rekaby, member of the Iraqi National Democratic Opposition, Mustafa Barghouti, an active participant in the building of a democratic Palestinian civil society and Shirin Ebadi, a practising Iranian lawyer and activist and recipient of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize. "Absolute poverty is against human dignity, human rights are universal and human beings suffering from hunger are without dignity and have no future," said Ebadi.
Deeply concerned about the growing violence unleashed by the ideological and political differences between Palestine and Israel, Barghouti observed: "The Palestinian struggle for peace cannot be restricted to one country or state alone but is an issue of concern for the world at large." He added that the media was equally to blame, as it had chosen to remain silent on the ground realities. "Israel is building its own new world with wires and automatic guns. This is not going to help anyone, neither the Palestinians nor themselves," he stated.
The six-day World Social Forum is scheduled to provide opportunities for the country's NGOs to showcase their activities and get thinkers and planners onto a common platform so as to generate ideas, strategies and proposals on topics such as militarisation, war, globalisation, social security, sustainable development, land, water and food sovereignty, religious, ethnic and linguistic exclusion, racism, patriarchy, gender inequality and discrimination, media and alternatives that can be considered to make another world possible.
As Medha Patkar said: "The WSF is an expression of people power and non-electoral politics. Those representing an alternative view of development need to realise the commonality of their ideologies and strategies."
There has, however, been one voice of dissent even among those who oppose globalisation. This has been in the form of a parallel forum called the Mumbai Resistance that advocates a more action-based approach in order to bring the imperialist powers to their knees rather than "talk and reflect".
At the NESCO grounds too, where the WSF has taken off, certain groups expressed their displeasure at the way the event has been organised. "How is it that no one has bothered to spare a thought for the physically challenged who will not be able to move from one hall to another?" asked Satish Varma, a paraplegic associated with a Jharkhand-based NGO.
Still, glitches notwithstanding, there remains a strong feeling of solidarity that should witness a strong presence at most of the 1,200 conferences, workshops and seminars to be held over the coming days.
(InfoChange News & Features, January 2004)