Leslie Cagan
I
sit and watch in horror as the toll continues to rise from the earthquake in
Turkey. Today they say over 12,000 dead and with 35 – 40,000 people still
missing it’s clear this number will grow in the coming days. The Turkish
government has already ordered tens of thousands of body bags.
But
the story is worse. Hard to imagine, but much worse. The earthquake’s damage
translates into homelessness and disease, into hunger and pain. I, along with
millions of people around the world, watch the pictures of people stunned by
their loss and confused about their future. It touches me very deeply.
Here
I sit, a lifelong political organizer committed to fighting injustice,
overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy. It’s not just that the earth
shifted, reminding us again of the force of nature. I had a similar feeling when
we learned of the death and destruction caused by Hurricane Mitch in Central
America last year, and other times when natural disaster hits so hard that it’s
difficult to make any sense of it all.
What
I do know is that the enormity of the nightmare the Turkish people face cannot
be assigned solely to Mother Nature. Why was housing built in an earthquake zone
that did not meet any earthquake-resistant standards? For all of the
international aid going to Turkey, why are the so-called developed
nations…especially our own…unable to pour in the medicines, housing, food
and other resources the people so desperately need?
But
now I’m sounding naive, even a little silly. How could I forget that buildings
are built by land developers and contractors whose main purpose is to make
money? How could I forget that stock piling bombs, building new weapon-delivery
systems and indeed, new weapons of mass destruction are a greater priority than
life-saving medical equipment or mechanisms for purifying contaminated water
supplies?
A
few months ago, a brochure announcing two mid-June conferences under the title
"Business Opportunities in Global Reconstruction" was mailed to me.
(Believe me, I have no idea how I got on the list of the organizers, The Center
for Reconstruction and Development based in Washington, DC.) This caught my eye
and I read further. To quote:
"The
Balkan Assistance & Reconstruction Conference, June 15, 1999. Recognizing
that lasting stability in the Balkans requires that all countries in
Southeastern Europe are economically secure, this all-day conference will
provide detailed information on regional U.S. assistance funding passed by
Congress in May and the $30 billion 5-year regional reconstruction program
discussed at the Bonn Summit on May 27th. This funding will translate into
substantial business for many companies and organizations…….."
The
Central American Reconstruction Conference, June 22, 1999. Responding to the
devastation caused to Central America by Hurricane Mitch, this all-day
conference will provide detailed information on the $1 billion in U.S. funding
passed by Congress in May and the $8 – 10 billion discussed at the Stockholm
Donors’ Conference in late May. This funding will translate into substantial
business for many companies and organizations. The U.S. State Department has
declared that corporate involvement in long-term reconstruction is
essential……"
In
fact, it’s all summed up on the outside of the brochure: "Open Immediately
for Information on $40 Billion in Reconstruction Financing for Central America
and the Balkans and How Your Firm or Organization can Participate!"
Both
conferences were to include high level government representatives of the various
countries affected, as well as people from the U.S. State Department, U.S.
Department of Commerce, USAID, Overseas Private Investment Corporation,
Export-Import Bank of the United States, U.S. Trade and Development Agency, and
just to make sure every entrepreneur has a fair shot, the U.S. Small Business
Administration!
Now
I await a new brochure, announcing a new conference on how your company can
"assist in the reconstruction" of Turkey. None of this is very hard to
understand. Disaster happens – either caused by nature or man (and I use that
word very consciously) – and great money-making opportunities open up.
And,
of course, this is what feeds my intense sadness as I watch those pictures from
Turkey flash on the TV news. It’s not just the ravages of nature…it is the
greed of capitalism which is so overwhelming. No, none of this is new, and I
assume the folks who read these commentaries already share this point of view.
But I write about all of this as a way to deal with the news every day.
Sometimes the news make me so sad that I wonder why I watch it (or read the
papers). Of course I know that cutting myself off from the news won’t make
anything better, and it probably won’t even make me feel better.
Finally,
all of this leads me back to the question I seem to ask over and
again…whatever the news. When do we, the left in this country and
internationally, move past whatever it is that holds us back, and begin to
intervene and change the world we live in? How do we grow strong enough to
change priorities so housing is built that can withstand the forces of nature
and rescue procedures can be as thorough and swift as military operations? When
do we become serious players in the events that shape peoples’ lives, whether
war or earthquake or……
———————-
Leslie
Cagan Decades long organizer in a board range of peace and social justice
movements, Leslie is presently involved in struggles to defend Open Admissions
at the City University of New York (CUNY). She is a co-chair of the National
Committees of Correspondence and is on the board of the Astraea National
Lesbian Action Foundation. Leslie is also part of the growing effort to
re-invigorate a left/progressive presence in the
lesbian/gay/bi-sexual/transgender movement.