World Social Forum Meets in India

It’s late January in Mumbai, India and I’m walking across the street to enter the fair grounds where the 4th World Social Forum is to be held. I get there a day early to register, orient myself to the location and check out the program. As I’m crossing the street, I pass a family who live alongside a stagnant sewage trough that divides two sections of a major highway...

It’s late January in Mumbai, India and I’m walking across the street to enter the fair grounds where the 4th World Social Forum is to be held. I get there a day early to register, orient myself to the location and check out the program. As I’m crossing the street, I pass a family who live alongside a stagnant sewage trough that divides two sections of a major highway. An older man is leaning over, dipping his hands in the water to rinse off his face. A few feet away some women are washing their clothes in the murky, brown-green water.

During our trip we heard estimates that approximately 60% of Mumbai’s population is either homeless or living in slums with no running water or electricity. For a city of roughly 12 million people, that means that approximately 7.2 million people are living under these inhumane conditions. India is known for producing some of the most well-prepared technology professionals in the world. At the same time, India has no compulsory education. The contradictions are hard to miss.

From a distance one can make out rows of tall, luxury apartment buildings which house Mumbai’s famous Bollywood film stars, cricket players and wealthy bankers. At the feet of these buildings, young children run barefoot in the street, dodging cars to beg for money and food while their mothers, dressed in beautiful saris, sit outside of their makeshift shanties and scrape together a meal over an open fire.

I found being surrounded by such extremes of poverty and wealth very hard to handle psychologically. But as one of the New York delegates to the World Social Forum put it, “if this doesn’t convince you that capitalism has to go, I don’t know what will.�

This is the setting of the fourth World Social Forum (WSF), a now annual event that was first held in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 2001. The idea behind the first WSF was that while the great forces of world monopoly capitalism gathered at the World Economic Forum to discuss the fate of the world, social movements, indigenous groups, progressive and radical political forces, trade unions, non-governmental organizations, religious leaders and others could come together in a people’s forum to offer an alternative to capitalist globalization.
Over the last four years the WSF has become one of the most important and dynamic gatherings of the world’s progressive community. Many important initiatives, including global days of action, have originated at the WSF. In fact, it was the 2003 WSF that globalized the call for the February 15th World Says No to War Day. On that day, millions of people all around the world came out to say no to the impending war on Iraq. February 15 demonstrated the strength of what the New York Times called the other world superpower – “world public opinion.�

This year's WSF had an estimated 80,000 participants from over 130 countries - the largest number yet. Despite some logistical problems that are to be expected with such a large crowd, the forum had a festival-like atmosphere and offered delegates a chance to learn about the struggles of their fellow activists in their respective countries. Over the last four years the size and breadth of the US delegation has grown considerably and this year's group included Jobs With
Justice, United Students Against Sweatshops, US Students Association, United for Peace and Justice, the Communist Party and Young Communist League and many grassroots social justice organizations.

This year’s forum had a very pronounced anti-Bush, anti-war character. In addition to the many seminars, photo exhibits and rallies that were held on the issues of war and peace, a call was issued by the anti-war general assembly for a worldwide day of action on March 20th to mark the one year anniversary of the war on Iraq.

Less than an hour away from the WSF, at a school on the other side of Mumbai, an estimated 5,000 young people were gathering to participate in the 4th Intercontinental Youth Camp (IYC). The IYC was designated as a space to ensure that youth have an open venue for cultural, political and social dialogue on issues of concern to our generation. At the founding of the first IYC in Porto Alegre in 2001, young people from around the globe who had come to participate in the World Social Forum declared “We…have come to join those who, from different countries, dream of, fight for, and shout: another world is possible.�

The themes of this year’s IYC were: Imperialist Globalization, Patriarchy, Militarism and Peace, Communalism and Casteism & Racism. In addition to numerous panel discussions and seminars on these topics, youth also held film screenings, social networking activities, and thematic dialogue spaces where young people could explore and debate these topics. The “Explore India Window�, an interactive art space, highlighted the struggles of Indian youth through cultural performances, poster exhibits, dances, theater and other forms of creative expression.

The WSF, with tens of thousands of people participating in such a small space, occasionally felt overwhelming. The youth camp had a much more relaxed atmosphere and there were plenty of opportunities to just sit and have a conversation over lunch with young activists from all over the world. Because of the smaller size, the panel discussions – which were translated in Hindi and English – also allowed a greater level of exchange between the delegates.

Next January the World Social Forum will return to Porto Alegre, where the social movements and political parties, activists and educators, young and old, will again come together to discuss, debate and declare in one united voice, “Another world is possible!�

If you are interested in learning more about the 2004 World Social Forum visit www.wsfindia.org.

To host a World Social Forum report-back event on your campus or in your community contact the YCL at ycl@yclusa.orgor call us at 646-437-5345.

Jessica Marshall is one of the National
Coordinators of the YCL and a member of
the Peace and International Solidarity Committee.

Students address issues of education and privatization in a workshop at the International Youth Camp;