PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

WEF protests- Pittsburgh IMC
by Marie Skoczylas Sunday, Sep. 01, 2002 at 1:14 PM

Written for the Pttsburgh IMC about the WEF protests in NYC

“This is what democracy looks like,” goes the chant of an anti-globalization protester. And gazing around the demo, democracy seems to take the form of a super encompassing folk fest – hippies from the 60s, cell-phone organizers,
red and black diaper babies, drummers with bongos and buckets, good-ole trade unionists, students of all shades and sizes, radical cheerleaders and of course, the black bloc of anarchy. It’s a Benetton ad without the
sweatshop labor baggage.

But what does reality look like? It comes in the form of a party with a “let’s make policy!” theme. And it calls itself the World Economic
Forum.
Invites are sent to 3,200 business leaders, politicians, journalists and academics, 1,000 of those consisting of the world's largest
corporations including Microsoft, Monsanto, Nike, General Motors and, until recently, Enron. Tickets run about $30,000 and are otherwise known as annual dues to the private-membership organization. Originally formed in 1971 as the
European Management Forum, the Swiss-based group is now a leading proponent of corporate globalization. It’s a place for the world’s elite to meet behind closed doors at the exclusive Waldorf Astoria to set an agenda for
the global economy. For Big Money, it’s a chance to be the corporate architect of the recent wave of economic globalization. For Big Fame and
Beautiful People it’s a chance to make an appearance and “be seen”, possibly putting in a good word for debt cancellation to rationalize any guilt that might arise from attending such an event in the first place. For Big Rulers, such as our very own Dubya and his British buddy, Blair, the WEF can act as a giant middle finger wagging at the United Nations. “We’ll show them whose interests the world’s future is in!” Bush can whisper gleefully. He knows
full well that the WEF's growing clout is beginning to challenge even that of the UN, concerning many critics since the Forum is a private entity accountable to only its members.

But to protesters without the cash to make it to Porto Alegre, Brazil, for the World Social Forum – a meeting for the real majority of global citizens to discuss alternatives to corporate rule – the WEF is a space to present
what democracy should look like, to make visible the growing dissent and draw attention to the truth cloaked beneath mainstream media spin.
Members of the Black Radical Congress, Pitt’s Students in Solidarity, the Thomas Merton Center and the Azania Heritage Foundation comprised the almost 50 Pittsburghers that traveled to NYC at the beginning of February to join in
solidarity with the 15,000 other voices around the country and the world.

As we arrived in Manhattan on Saturday morning, I expected to see the familiar welcoming mass of protesters. That didn’t happen. I was instead met
with the not-so-welcoming police presence, congregating on corners aroundthe jungle of metal gates that lined almost every block. The streets seemed empty and maze-like, a straggler with a sign would pass every so often, as
confused as we were about where to go, where the people were, what was blocked off and what wasn’t. We eventually bumbled into an area that
had been set up for us by the city law enforcement. It was a pen and other protesters were filling in all around. It began to become clear that “divide and conquer” or “separate and silence” were the tactical themes. All I could
see from my cell, over heads of taller demonstrators and bobbing signs calling for an end to Plan Columbia or sanctions on Iraq, was the crossed green signs of “53rd Street” and “Park Avenue” and the brick and metal walls
of corporate buildings stretching toward the sky like the sides of a fort, keeping us out and the capitalist interests in.

Not that we shouldn’t have expected it. Every since the World Trade Center incident, life got a little more bizarre. The actors have become
frighteningly more transparent and the stage has risen to a parallel universe where national figureheads can use the abstract term “evil” in
all seriousness and actually apply it to an entire region of the world, inducing
nods of agreement from the brainwashed masses of ex-apathetic, born-again patriots who sadly wait for a sign from their leader – an overseer
who seeks vengeance when the slaves rise up. The world is now a place where a mass of people seeking peace and justice can be rationally equated with terrorism because the one thing in common is dissent. Yes, this protest
called for the September 11th card to be played again. Heightened security could be justified to protect citizens from nonviolent “terrorists”. An
article in our very own Pittsburgh Post-Gazette actually stated just days before that the WEF attendees were in New York “to be in solidarity
with America” - a grand example of using our own language against us as a weapon.

WEF founder Klaus Schwab even stated, "As the world's financial capital and the site of the recent terrorist attacks, there could be no better place than New York City to confront [post 9/11] issues." Either that, or the
years of protest in Davos, Switzerland, the former mountain resort home of the WEF meetings, caused Klaus and friends to find a new home in a less protest-prone venue. He failed to mention that Swiss officials banned protests two years ago as demonstrations grew to 1,000 participants. It still didn’t prevent “hacktivists” from decoding the WEF computer server to gain credit card numbers, travel information and private cell phone
numbers for over 1,000 attendees including Bill Gates and Madeline Albright.

And a September 2000 WEF regional meeting in Melbourne, Australia, drew over 10,000 protesters forcing delays in the meeting as one-third of the delegates were prevented entry into the meeting center. No, the move was purely selfless.

But organizers from Students for Global Justice, AFL-CIO, Another World Is Possible, Public Citizen, International ANSWER and the New York
Anti-Capitalist Convergence worked to make sure the opposition tradition continued. Protests, marches and counter summits took place the week of January 30 to February 4. When the WEF opened on Thursday morning, seven ACT-UP activists were arrested as they prepared for a banner drop. A
national Students for Global Justice conference took place on Friday to educate attendees while activists gathered at the Public Eye on Davos
summit near the United Nations. The GAP was rallied for fair wages, a Working Families Economic Forum convened and vigils were held each night by an array of faith leaders ranging from Christian and Muslim groups to the Pagan
Cluster.

Saturday proved to be the big day as weekend events tend to be the most practical for working people to attend. While I peeked around heads and
signs from my holding pen, the "Reclaim the Streets" march began in Columbus Circle, processing through Central Park to Grand Army Plaza. A few of us broke off to join them for the rally. Arriving at the park, I finally
witnessed the scene I longed for. The group, Another World Is Possible, captured the vision in a slogan. A yellow banner displayed a dove for
peace, colorful hands clasped in unity for direct democracy, the scale of justice, and a leafy vine for ecology. Folkie Billy Bragg led the crowd with his guitar in singing “no power without accountability…can you hear us?” Big
blue cardboard circles on poles illustrated thriving rainforests, safe from the greedy hands of the logging companies. Someone waved an American flag, corporate logos replaced the stars and a solid “NO!” was painted across the
stripes. A student from Columbia voiced the sentiments of younger activists working for change: “We do not want jobs in McDonalds serving fries but we don’t want jobs on Wall Street either . . .and we don’t want MTV . . . we want to work together for social change . . . and we want to end the war in Afghanistan – lives lost there are no better or worse than the lives lost here in New York City . . .”

The vision was all-encompassing – a favorite target for critics who fail to connect the issues and deal with the fact that they are all
interrelated. If only they were to scratch a little beneath the shallow surface of the
misinformation we’re fed, it would be easy to see the link. The WEF itself is a great example, as it paved the way in the early 70s for the World Trade Organization, the global economic body that was the focus of the Seattle
protests in 1999. The International Monetary Fund and World Bank, both formed following World War II to help stabilize the international
economy, provide loans to struggling nations. These loans come with strings attached,
called Structural Adjustment Programs. They impose harmful policies, such as privatization and fees for basic education, and can override laws that were made to protect people and the environment – those basic human needs become
secondary to profit. While the WTO, IMF and World Bank implement policy and affect economic regulations, the WEF is a private group that sets the corporate agenda on trade – he with the most money and the most connections wins the powerful position of government puppet master. Hence, a networking reception.

The speakers at the rally emphasized these points. A union leader and member of Labor Against the War discussed the connection between globalization and the fall of workers wages. A youth activist cited the WEF attendees as
economic terrorists for their behavior. A member of Art and Revolution brought out a chart to break it down: “Who decides? . . . CORPORATIONS!” “Who do they control? . . . GOVERNMENT!” “Who should decide? . . . COMMUNITIES!” Then the puppet show began. Giant top hats danced around with buckets labeled “Earth for Sale”, laughing as they filled the buckets with hoses squirting oil. A
narrator read statistics on atrocities committed by the WEF attendees, such as DuPont and its record for poisoning the air and water. A large pink penis bobbed on the sidelines sporting a sign that read “The WEF screws us all”. Next, the Whose Economic Forum? paper shredder appeared, hungrily eating posters marked “Human Rights” and “Resources”. Pots and pans took the
stage chanting “They are all Enron, we are all Argentina!” The narrator asked, “Will we stand for these injustices?” “No!” shouted the crowd as the drums began to beat. The red and silver Hammers of Justice pounded the enemies to
the ground and the puppets of the people rose up in their place. Huge faces painted brown and orange and shimmering yellow and green took the
stage, leading the crowd in “Si se puede!” Yes we can!

As we assembled for the march, a speaker led the crowd in singing a Sweet Honey in the Rock song: “Rise up, we don’t have long, come together to keep our movement strong…Rise up, keep the spirit alive, come together, got to
organize…“ The puppets went first, their glimmering paint catching the afternoon sun that had finally broken through the clouds. The scarf of one puppet flew back in the chilled February wind and beckoned us to follow. I pulled my coat more tightly around me, reminding my body of the four layers underneath. Although I could see my breath, the energy of the people around gave me a warm feeling that lasted as we walked for the next few hours.
While the over-staffed police were omnipresent, the march went on peacefully, for the most part. Later, the National Resistance Organization
reported 40 arrests including an incident in which the police stormed a crowd of peaceful protesters before the parade. Throughout the next day, police were said to have followed and harassed participants, in particular profiling those wearing black. But it could have been worse. And it’s sad that we’ve come to expect it to be.

The mainstream media also noted the lack of violence that weekend. But of course, as spin would have it, this only showed our impotence and lack of ability to make any real impact. But unyielding, we went out there again and
created a vision of a better world, if only for one weekend, knowing that tomorrow we must all go back to our own cities to wage the battle on a local level, using the ammunition stocked from those that were able to attend the World Social Forum. Local efforts will spring up and continue on, such as the Pittsburgh Social Forum that is forming here in our city. We will continue our on-going efforts by targeting the policy and globalization effects that hit home. We’ll act in solidarity with those who are targets
in other nations. And we’ll wait in anticipation for our next chance to demonstrate a better world. April 20th in DC anyone?

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