UNESCO Conference

REPARATIONS, ISSUES & PROSPECTS
Globalisation and the African Diaspora

Presented by Prophet Greg - E.A.B.I.C.

The term GLOBALISATION is used to express Global Trade Liberalization. It is being orchestrated by the World Trade Organization (WTO), strongly influenced by the Group of Seven (G7) richest industrial nations, and endorsed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF.); the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development or the World Bank; with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Multilateral Investment Agreement(M.I.A./ M.A,I,) poised to make an impact for freer trade. This new order of power has transformed the economic, social, cultural, and political landscape of the entire world and has directly or indirectly affected already the lives of everyone on this earth.

If we were to describe the ongoing implementation of globalization, we would consider it to be the newest form of promoting colonialism - neo-colonialism, which is blanketing the world today. What other conclusion could we have reached based on the demonstrations or protestations in every nation against the potential consequences of globalization particularly since the largest outcries are still being heard from the developing countries - the former European colonies! Therefore, if one is to really understand the mechanism of globalization, one has to track the history of its development…

Most persons have accepted the fact that the CAUSE for colonialism and slavery was an economic factor. This dispersion of Africans by colonialism gave birth to the African Diaspora. The economic policy - the politics that was most suitable for colonialism and slavery was unbridled CAPITALISM as the act of profiteering can only be maximized under this system. This ongoing system has produced gigantic, unthinkable wealth to the Europeans empires and caused major private companies to develop eg. Banks, Insurance co., Mercantile co., etc. The eventual partnership between these private companies and the State established a stronghold on the economies of their respective countries; one evidence of this was the infamous British slave triangle.

There are also psychological factors that have affected the African Diaspora tremendously which I won’t be going into details. But just show me a black descendant from colonial slavery who has no knowledge of self being an African, and I’ll show you what the severe psychological trauma slavery has caused.

It is the EFFECTS from colonialism and slavery, and the socioeconomics of it that we are experiencing unto this day. To quote from President Bush speech at a ceremony on Goree Island to begin his tour in Africa:- “…Yet the spirit of the African captors was corrupted. Small men took on the powers and airs of tyrants and masters. Years of unpunished brutality and bullying and rape produced a dullness and hardness of conscience. Christian men and women became blind to the clearest commands of their faith and add hypocrisy to injustice. A republic founded on equality for all became a prison for millions…”

It is this corrupted, immoral spirit coupled with the insatiable, heartless desire for profiteering by unbridled capitalism that has caused most European colonial wars to develop in the quest for supreme power. Although the earlier economic decisions were based on the production and processing of goods and services (in this case slaves), the advent of these wars had introduced the policy of militarism. And this was the method/force that was used to obtain and maintain colonial territories before the introduction of treaties by colonial states for recognition of sovereignty and collective defense. It was not until after the disasters of the largest European war of 1914 – 1918 that these treaties were converted into a Covenant to form the League of Nations to lay the foundation for peace and thus the developments to implement world trade…

But the air and attitude of being tyrants and masters have bred the diseases of bigotry, prejudice, and racial discrimination. Out of this has transformed the sins of victimization and marginalization of the African peoples by every nation, including black against black crimes, unto this day. It is not merely by coincidence that a very high percentage of the peoples throughout the world who are being victimized and marginalized; living on minimum wages/welfare; locked into penal institutions; hooked on hard drugs; shacked in ghetto slums; turning to crime, are African descendants even though they are the minority group in their countries. These are all attributes of socioeconomic factors and are clear evidences that black people suffer daily from prejudice and racial discrimination in every form being the effects from slavery. This is the real “prison for millions!”

What immediately comes to mind are these counsels that Emperor Haile Sellassie, the first (I), had presented to the United Nations (U.N.) general assembly in 1963. One can clearly follow the sequence of the effects from slavery: -
“ That until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned;
That until there are no longer first-class and second-class citizens of any nation;
That until the colour of a man skin is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes;
That until the basic human rights are equally guaranteed to all without regards to race;
…Until bigotry and prejudice and malicious and inhuman self-interest have been replaced by understanding and tolerance and goodwill;
Until all Africans stand and speak as free beings, equal in the eyes of all men, as they are in Heaven…”

The ultimate in bigotry, prejudice, and racial discrimination was witnessed in the colonizing by Fascism and Nazism, which plunged the world into another world war (WWII) revealing the hypocrisy of the League of Nations. The conclusion of this war practically ended colonization by militarism aided by the formation of the U.N.

Immediately after WWII, the IMF was formed (1946) to provide loans to help member states to maintain a stable currency to promote world trade. And the World Bank (1947) was formed to aid in the reconstruction and development of member states from the scourges of the war. Ironically, these institutions are being funded by nations and huge corporations that got their wealth from colonial slavery. These loans help Europe smartly to redevelop and shifted the global trend from militarism to monetary policies for the purpose of world trade with the United States (U.S.) dollar becoming the international currency for trade. It was mainly due to the “cold war” and its political confrontations that had caused militarism to remain until….

The fall of Nazism and Fascism evidently lead to the fall of all colonialism! The late 1950’s and upwards saw the dismantling of the colonial empires and the birth of many nations particularly in Africa. The massive relinquishing of countries by the Europeans to concentrate also on their maintenance and accumulation of huge wealth could be compared to a mother abandoning a young feeble child. Although preferential trade agreements were made, the policies that the dependable countries are at times forced to accept have lead to the under-development of some countries mostly in Africa.

The change in economic policies and later dismantling of the Soviet Union in the 1980’s may have influenced the IMF and the World Bank to implement two programmes to aid the under-developed/developing countries:- the Stabilization Programme; and later the Structural Adjustment Program: The Stabilization program consist of:-
1) Devaluation of the currency
2) Curtailment of government expenditures in view of reducing the budget deficit including the dismissal of public employees and drastic cuts in social sector programmes
3) Market liberalization; to mention a few fixed menus.

This programme is followed by the “necessary” structural reforms. Again just to mention a few points:-
1) Liberalization of trade and the elimination of protective barriers
2) Liberalization of the banking system and the privatization of state controlled banks in agriculture and industry. Interest rates are now determined in the free market by the commercial banks
3) The privatization of state controlled commercial, financial, and industrial enterprises
4) Tax reforms leading to greater burden for payers
5) The development of poverty alleviation programmes through the creation of a social development fund in which the poor are the “targeted group.”

This is the FOUNDATION that was being laid for globalization by a new serge of unbridled capitalism! With the introduction of the W.T.O. in the 1990’s and its trade policies along with the development of various trade groups eg. European Union (E.U.), North America Free Trade Agreements (NAFTA); and the implementation of the privatization and liberalization mechanisms, the true picture of globalization began to take shape. I had already mentioned the partnership of major private companies, now multinational corporations, and the state during colonial slavery. It is without any doubt that Transnational Corporations (TNC’s) will have almost total control over the process of globalization! What then will privatization and liberalization offer to foreign multinational corporations/TNC’s in developing countries but the potential of foreign nationals domination over poorer countries - neo-colonialism!
“We demand an end to colonialism because the domination of one people by another is wrong!” Haile Sellassie I.

In 1958, the Caribbean countries had formed a Federation with the intension to liberate from colonialism, but failed. One of the main reasons was that the African Diaspora had wanted total emancipation from every slave ground - the evidences being the Rastafari protest gathering in 1958 and later the fact-finding mission to Africa in 1961.

But the must significant event was the visit by Emperor Haile Sellassie I to Jamaica in 1966. He presented the Charter of the Organization of Africa Union (OAU) to the Parliament for Jamaica to become a member state. This move endorsed the Pan-African movement initiated by the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). Unfortunately the Jamaican governments did not see the wisdom for inclusion and has refused membership to this day.

Although the O.A.U.(1963) was created for the main purpose of African Liberation, it laid the foundation for African corporation before any other major power groups for the potential development of an African Empire! Pan-Africanism by the U.N.I.A. had provided significant wealth towards a greater development before it was sabotaged. Our Leaders had known that wherever your economic strength lies, there you shall be!

I have deliberately emphasized the socioeconomics of colonialism under capitalism by militarism because what we are witnessing and experiencing today is the mirroring of the same process by Globalization. The main differences are that the forces used, so far, in this time, are mainly monetary policies.

Today, globalization has shaped the development of three major trade groups: - the E.U.; the Free Trade Areas of America (FTAA, formerly NAFTA); and the African Union (AU, formerly the O.A.U.). Now the Caribbean community has to redefine their sovereignty to form CARICOM to counter the promotion of neo-colonialism by globalization.

It has caused many mergers and/or scaling down in companies to gear up for foreign competitions. There are massive job-cuts/redundancies; increase in unemployment/crime rate; introduction of memorandum of understanding (M.O.U.); the muzzling of Trade Unions; programmes to identify monopolies in all sectors; Intended researches for the production of proto-type goods for sustainable marketing.

Globalization has finally removed the interest from the humane factor for the redevelopment of poorer nations, to the profiteering factor of privatization - the very same process that had caused colonialism and slavery! So what really is GLOBALIZATION? I believe the Hon. Prophet Marcus Garvey aptly describes this economic system from as early as 1923:-
“ Gradually we are approaching the time when the African peoples of the world will have either to consciously, through their own organization, go forward to the point of destiny as laid out by themselves, or must sit quiescently and see themselves pushed back to the mire of economic serfdom, to be ultimately crushed by the grinding mill of exploitation and be exterminated ultimately by the strong hand of prejudice.

There is no doubt about it that we are living in the age of world reorganization out of which will come a SET PROGRAM for the organized races of mankind that will admit of no sympathy in human affairs, in that we are planning for the great gigantic struggle of the survival of the FITTEST GROUP. It becomes each and everyone engaged in this great contest for place and position, to use whatsoever influence possible to divert the other fellows attention from the real objective…..”

The SET PROGRAM of today is Globalization; the crisis is which of these trade groups shall emerge as the FITTEST GROUP! These are strong motives to provoke social unrests, hence the many demonstrations against this neo-colonial system. Are we to witness the same or a similar process that had caused the European wars?

Economically, it is impossible for poorer countries to compete against the richer ones without becoming impoverished, and will ultimately lead to genocides in very poor countries most of whom are peopled by Africans or their descendants.
“ Take away industry from a people; take away their political freedom, and you have a GROUP of slaves…” Marcus Garvey.

The African Diaspora is now desperately faced with the decision to develop global trade groups for our survival. Are we to assimilate into other cultures but our own and gradually loose our identity suffering from other severe psychological traumas? Must we continue to face these bombardments from neo-colonial socioeconomic degradations?

The Caribbean leaders saw the necessity to create CARICOM without the democratic process for the sake of political freedom and economical survival similar to the Federation of 1958. Should not the African Diaspora therefore be given their democratic and human rights to choose which of the trade groups they wish to develop and live in, even according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

The United Nations World Conference Against Racism (UN’WCAR) in Durban, South Africa has presented the opportunity for such human rights to be pursued. This Conference provides us with the methodical framework to seek the necessary funding to choose or create our own economic empire. The A.U. must now follow the footsteps of the O.A.U. and be encouraged internationally to regenerate Pan-Africanism and complete the re-unification of indigenous cultures so as to repair the breach that colonial slavery had cruelly severed!

I pray that this righteous pursuit for freedom and justice by REPARATIONS may not be impeded in anyway for the complete redemption of the African Diaspora from the severe pangs of Globalization.

Give thanks and praises.

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