Democracy and freedom

Robert Fisk in a recent column in the Independent argued that "Democracy will not bring freedom" in Afghanistan. The reporting of what is going on in Afghanistan in the Australian media seems to take no account of the power of ethnic identity and the sociology of communities in Afghanistan. The political debate about Australian involvement takes no account of these issues either.

So they voted. But for what? Democracy? Certainly not "Jeffersonian" democracy, as President Obama reminded us. Yes, the Afghans wanted to vote. They showed great courage in the face of the Taliban's threats. But there's a problem.

It's not just the stitched-up Karzai administration that will almost certainly return, nor the war criminals he employs (Abdul Rashid Dostum should be in the dock at The Hague for war crimes, not in Kabul), nor the corruption and the hideous human rights abuses, but the unassailable fact that ethnically-divided societies vote on ethnic lines.

I doubt if anyone in Afghanistan voted yesterday because of the policies of their favourite candidate. They voted for whoever their ethnic leaders told them to vote for. Hence Karzai asked Dostum to deliver him the Uzbek vote. Abdullah Abdullah relies on the Tajik vote, Karzai on the Pashtuns.

It's always the same. In Iraq, the Shia voted in a Shia government. And in Lebanon, Sunni Muslims and a large section of the Christian community voted to keep the Shia out of power. This is not confined to the Muslim world. How many Northern Ireland Protestants vote for Sinn Fein?

But our problem in Afghanistan goes further than this. We still think we can offer Afghans the fruits of our all-so-perfect Western society. We still believe in the Age of Enlightenment and that all we have to do is fiddle with Afghan laws and leave behind us a democratic, gender-equal, human rights-filled society.

True, there are brave souls who fight for this in Afghanistan – and pay for their struggle with their lives – but if you walk into a remote village in, say, Nangarhar province, you can no more persuade its tribal elders of the benefits of women's education than you could persuade Henry VIII of the benefits of parliamentary democracy. Thus the benefits we wish to bestow upon the people of Afghanistan are either cherry-picked (the money comes in handy for the government's corrupt coffers and the election reinforces tribal loyalties) or ignored. In the meantime, Nato soldiers go on dying for the pitiful illusion that we can clean the place up. We can't. We are not going to.

In the end, the people of these foreign fields must decide their own future and develop their societies as and when they wish. Back in 2001, things were different. Had we hoovered up every gun in the land, we might have done some good. Instead, the Americans sloshed millions of dollars at the mass murderers who had originally helped to destroy the place so that they would fight on our side.

Then we wandered off to Iraq and now we are back to fight in Afghanistan for hopelessly unachievable aims. Yes, I like to see people – women and men – voting. I think the Afghans wanted to vote. So, too, the Iraqis. But they also want freedom. Which is not necessarily the same as democracy.

Australian blog worth noting

Link to an Aussie blog worth noting - thanks to Bessie Pereira for this
http://www.simonreeves.blogspot.com/ A place where I can rant about my life in community, mission (whatever that is), social justice, hospitality, spirituality, social work and life in beautiful Doveton. Did I mention and transform the world...

The everyday experience of Palestinians

CPTnet http://www.cpt.org/node/7835
25 August 2009
AT-TUWANI REFLECTION: Where is Nasser?
by Samuel Nichols

A man came to our house, asking, "Where is Nasser? Is Nasser here?"

I didn't quite know how to respond, because Nasser is in jail. He's not in jail because he did anything wrong. He's in jail because he's Palestinian, and because he's living in the South Hebron hills in Area C, an area under full Israeli control. He's in jail because the mission of the Israeli military and police is to protect settlers, whatever the behavior of those settlers may be. Nasser was arrested because he tried to build a house, a house the settlers didn't want him to build, and thus, the military and police didn't want him to build.

I turned to the man and quietly responded, "Sorry, but Nasser is in jail."

"Where?" he asked.

"I think he is in jail in Jerusalem; he has been in jail for nearly a month."

The man raised his eyebrows and walked away disappointed, but not apparently surprised or perturbed.

His reaction speaks to the situation of Palestinians arrested by Israeli forces in the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT). The arrests of friends and family are common for Palestinians in the OPT. Nevertheless, it's challenging for families to be without a father, husband, and provider.

When Palestinians are arrested, no one knows when they will be released. Unlike Israelis, Palestinians are rarely granted bail while awaiting a court date or sentencing. Court dates are routinely postponed while the 'defendant' sits in jail; often large sums of money demanded for the release of a Palestinian (the most recent sum demanded for Nasser was 20,000 NIS - approximately $5,300.)

According to a 2008 report issued by the Israeli group Yesh Din, the Israeli authorities brought charges against settlers for attacking Palestinians in only 10% of cases. In May 2009, 449 Palestinians were under Administrative Detention in Israeli prisons-imprisonment without charge or trial. The facts demonstrate that Palestinians who take legal action against criminal settlers in the OPT have little chance of being heard; meanwhile, Palestinians are routinely arrested and imprisoned without any semblance of legal proceedings. This is a system that privileges Israelis and imprisons Palestinians committed to resisting occupation, regaining their stolen land, and asserting their right to be treated as human beings.

Prayer and history

Prayer holds together the shattered fragments of the creation. It makes history possible.

- Jacques Ellul

A cry from the heart from Fiji - living the truth in a time of fear

A cry from the heart from a blogger in Fiji on the impact of the military coup. Touches on issues of truthfulness in public life and the moral challenge of living truthfully in a time of repression and fear.

http://discombobulatedbubu.blogspot.com/

Responding to good and evil

Non co-operation with evil is as much a duty as is co-operation with good.

Mohandas Gandhi

Catching up on a Papal Encyclical Caritas in Veritate

A belated collection of references and links on the papal encyclical Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth) as a resource if I need to follow up the topic.

Pope Benedict Gets It Right by Brian McLaren
Of particular interest to me is his strong endorsement of the key concepts behind the sustainability and fair trade/ethical buying movements. These related movements help us see that the economy is an important sphere where we can, in a sense, cast votes with every dollar we spend, literally loving our neighbors (or not) by the way we buy (or don't buy) groceries, clothing, corporate shares, and so on.
http://blog.sojo.net/2009/07/10/pope-benedict-gets-it-right/?continue

Eureka Street:Home » Vol 19 No 13 July 14, 2009> Who deserves charity? Susie Byers
http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=14956

Eureka Street: July 10, 2009> Bruce Duncan Pope Confronts Economic Injustice
http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=15054

Eureka Street: July 10, 2009> Neil Ormerod Pope's 'seamless garment' bares green credentials
http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=15048

Larvatus Prodeo: the PM and IL Santo Padre; and world capitalism at Larvatus Prodeo
http://larvatusprodeo.net/2009/07/09/the-pm-and-il-santo-padre-and-world-capitalism/