The night before leaving my village for
a week long training, to be followed by four weeks' vacation in the
U.S., I could not seem to fall asleep. An all-night prayer event
blasting over the solar powered loud speaker at the Mosque or the
nagging thought of having to wake up at 4:30 AM for the car out of
the bush may have lent to my restlessness, but no, something else was
moving rapidly in my mind. I couldn't quiet the pondering inspired by
the interesting publication I had just read. A compilation of
interviews and talks by the linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky
regarding his thoughts, advice, and opinions on the new
sociopolitical movement sweeping the cities of the industrialized
world; Occupy. Hubs of this very movement are located in my old back
yard in Brooklyn, which late at night in my village seemed so far
away, but soon to be close.
Much like everything else in the life
of a peace Corps Volunteer I was mentally drawing lines between what
Chomsky had to say about Occupy to my experiences here. His pervasive
suggestion to improve income inequality amongst Americans was not
necessarily total revolution, but reforming our system which has
proven to yield substantial change before, a la the Civil Rights
Movement, Womans' Empowerment, etc. Senegal has also made great
strides in the way of social, political, and economic equality, at
least comparably to other developing nations. When weaknesses and
disorganization of the system are reformed this forward movement is
sure to continue at a more rapid pace. Two very different nations,
with very different political and economic pasts, both immediately
require the action of their people to change the vast gap in income
distribution.
Chomsky points out that change will
come about if communities increased their level of organization to
reach identified goals. For example, the goals and needs of the
community of Sunset Park Brooklyn should be chosen by the members of
the community. Politicians vying for office there must prove she will
fulfill these needs, as opposed to proposing hot-platform needs and
convincing people through Public Relations tactics that it's what
they want; as politicians local and federal are wont to do. My role
in the community here, in the pocket of villages south of Kaffrine,
is assuredly not as a politician but I have been instructed by
extension manual, professor, and Peace Corps trainer alike to do just
what Chomsky encourages leaders of the Occupy movement to do. The
methodology is to learn from the people and have them identify their
needs before attempting to bring change or inspire action. Otherwise,
one's efforts will be in vain, not to mention that believing you know
whats someone needs more then they do is quite vain as well
(admittedly there are exceptions to this such as mandatory
vaccinations).
he Occupy movement also places great
emphasis on worker/union owned and managed production. The U.S. has
many such operations but in general to create such a business would
require a break down from the system of corporate ownership we're
accustomed to; a removal of the top most part of a tiered business
management structure. Many Peace Corps projects encourage the same
type of entrepreneurship suggested by Occupy but it is instead being
built from the bottom up. An example would be to support a group of
women who sell roasted cashews to transform that same product into
cashew butter and distributing it on a wider scale. Such cooperative
small ventures can grow with the aid of micro-lending or grant
opportunities through which a volunteer is a liaison. A fellow
Kaffrine volunteer is currently helping a local womens' group apply
for funding through an independent grant foundation in order to
purchase a grain processing facility. They have been trained in the
usage of such machinery and know the codes and processes to follow in
order to sell their product to outlets in the larger cities of
Senegal. If such an effort continued to grow to an industrial level,
which is has the potential to do, the best way to run the operation
would likely be to keep those workers who created the business at the
helm. I believe this since it would be wildly beneficial to the
community as they would employ local people at fair wages, as they
are their kinsmen. I can easily imagine the benefits of such a
structure both here and in the U.S. Perhaps a project which took some
of our excessive military spending and put it into New Deal style
economic stimulation (high speed rail anyone?) worker and/or union
operated. I am not blind to the possibility of corruption emerging in
such systems, but if members of the business at all levels feel
valued and in control such behaviour may be avoided.
Large scale farming operation, or
industrial factories in rural areas of Senegal could pull available
wages and products out of the capital city (the only place they are
currently somewhat readily available) and into the rest of the
country. This could reduce the destructive 'brain drain' affect
plaguing the country. Educated and/or potential wage earners leave
the rural areas in search of cash income or other economic
opportunity, leaving the important agricultural work and their
families behind. Introduction of factories or other industrial
operations could be beneficial to the lower classes of Senegal, but
it shouldn't be to the benefit of some outside corporation's bank
account. They should be regulated by the workers who determine fair
wages, benefits, and culturally appropriate schedules and rules. The
level of organization demanded by the goals of the Occupy movement
in the U.S. would be necessary in Senegal alike to achieve such
economic development I've just described.
Chomsky interestingly discusses why
functional community organization may be difficult in the U.S. He
told the story of a group of women and men in the mid 19th
century who ran their own successful press operation in Boston but
as the new industrial system grew it became too difficult to continue
their business as they had designed it due to the imposition of rigid
hierarchical structures by industrialization One of their main
complaints was what they called 'the new spirit of the age: gain
wealth forgetting all but self”. Selfishness has been engrained in
us from childhood through sneaky PR schemes and the promotion of an
isolated mentality. Although Dawkins is right that the gene itself is
selfish, our selfish little genes do better if humans act
altruistically, so to turn us all against the other my necessarily be
against our biology (and may explain so much personal misery and
depression among Americans). For the people of rural Senegal, this
sentiment has yet to be ingrained and community is still of the most
importance. At least, in this sense, Occupy sentiments have a leg-up
on purveying into the social and local political structures here.
I've heard other PCVs say that the spirit of sharing and community
here is what is hindering development, since people are willing to
give what little they have instead of saving and building their
economic situation. It is my sincerest hope that this is not true and
the strong sense of community here will, in fact, promote true
democratic exchange instead.