¨Another World Is Possible¨

What is one to do when all political activity is prohibited while on a visa?



Attend an institutionalized protest. Better yet, find the largest gathering of social movements and activists on the continent, and ask your university to fund your flight.



Today was the final day of The Americas Social Forum, a five day event I legally and officially attended as a participant. The Americas Social Forum is a regional gathering that operates as part of the World Social Forum: ¨an open meeting place where social movements, networks, NGOs and other civil society organizations opposed to neoliberalism and a world dominated by capital or by any form of imperialism come together to pursue their thinking, to debate ideas democratically, for formulate proposals, share their experiences freely and network for effective action. Since the first world encounter in 2001, it has taken the form of a permanent world process seeking and building alternatives to neoliberal policies.¨

The forums attract thousands from all over the world, many of who were united after The Battle in Seattle. The Battle in Seattle witnessed a formal coalition of social movements, a green/red blend where activists representing campaigns from Labor, human rights, environmental campaigns, etc. all united to shut down the WTO Ministerial Meeting. This was not the first time activist opposed exploitation and injustice, yet this was the first time cohesion between the interest groups was visible. Building on this momentum, the World Social Forum was born in Porto Alegre Brazil, intentionally using a city that utilizes a framework of economic democracy to highlight a just economic system and a concrete alternative to blind neoliberal capitalism. Since 2001, this platform has been used to build concrete and explicit mechanisms to build Another World and strengthen the global justice movement.

My main objective was exposure. I was familiar with the themes and even some of the groups. I had even formally studied the WSF, between my ¨Social Movements & Collective Behavior¨ class and my Medical Sociology/Public Health class (where the project with Dustin started the crazy process to ask for funding) I was so impressed, it was surreal to be actually attending. To have a pass. To have an official bag. To have to choose what sessions and workshops I wanted to attend.





¨The World Social Forum is also characterized by plurality and diversity, is non-confessional, non-governmental and non-party. It proposes to facilitate decentralized coordination and networking among organizations engaged in concrete action towards building another world, at any level from the local to the international, but it does not intend to be a body representing world civil society. The World Social Forum is not a group nor an organization.¨ Over the course of five days, I went to mostly human rights/faith and politics events. My first session reminded me of why I was in Latin America, to act in solidarity with the people who do not have the luxury of forgetting. Of people who still remember Operation Condor, the role of the US government, and the thousands of disappeared.



My faith and politics session opened with a beautiful dedication to those who were assassinated while trying to bringing God´s Kingdom. The moderator asked for any names we wanted to acknowledge - just hearing Ignacio Ellacuria and Archbishop Romero profoundly moved me. The next activity had all the participants write a symbolic word and then place it on a map of Latin America - seeing the priest I just met that morning write ¨I will not be afraid¨ reminded me of the severity of this situation. This forum, this fight, is among people who have survived. If we chose to have met as activists, students, church leaders and lay people had in the 1970s and 80s, seeing justice, our fate would have been forced disappearances by the paramilitaries that terrorized Latin America.The same stories of those that were on display at The Museum of Memory.

One perk of attending a forum of this size as a student is the networking. I went alone but met up with a friend from Cochabamba. One morning I attended sessions with a German couple, one of which was press. Due the surprising lack of North Americans, we by default attracted attention: I as interviewed while waiting for the presidents to arrive, asked to pose for pictures with an Argentinian NGO group, and listened as a woman asked questions about our government. Ultimately, I was able to make friends and scout for future employers. This is the ultimate opportunity - everyone of interest is consolidated. One organization I am now considering is WITNESS, a human rights organization that uses video advocacy to fight back. The workshop showed us how to use Flip Videos to film human rights abuses, and as others around the world are doing, ¨see it. film it, change it.¨ I am particularly curious to know how the older gentleman in the class will use this new skill, I can only imagine him on the front lines of a riot doing interviews.

And, finally, I was able to see Evo, el Presidente. I missed him in La Paz, thinking he would be there for Independence Day and not realizing that he had gone to Santa Cruz to remind them they really can´t secede. I have never been more excited to see automatic machine guns - it meant that the rumor was true, and even though Evo didn´t join the President of Paraguay during a conference, he chose to speak at the closing ceremony (he was a social movements leader after all). I was one of those people who is clearly affected by celebrity - I like to think I am not, but in the middle of the Bolivian section, above the Wiphalals, I strongly reacted to the sight of Evo and Rigoberta Menchu.

This was the perfect way to conclude my time in Cochabamba. I was already fiercely loyal to a Latin America that people seem to pass for Africa, but now I am hopelessly in love and in awe with a people that ¨Say No.¨










Using to learn the Flip-Video in a workshop with WITNESS


Amnesty International, ¨Mas derechos humanos = Menos pobresa¨

Breaking for lunch


Opening ceremony and march, the Bolivians lead the way

Resources
Favorite Article on the ASF
Introductory article, Americas Social Forum Celebrates Changes in Paraguay
World Social Forum
Americas Social Forum
Upside Down World
WITNESS: see it. film it. change it -> video advocacy/human rights org
The Battle in Seattle




Eduardo Galeano, We Say No

"Disdain betrays History and mutilates the world. The powerful opinion-makers treat us as though we do not exist, or as though we are silly shadows. The colonial inheritance obliges the so called Third World - populated by third-class people - to accept as its own memory of the victors who conquered it and to take on the lies of others and use them as its own reality. They reward our obedience, punish our intelligence, and discourage our creative energy. We are opinionated, yet we cannot offer our opinions. We have a right to the echo, not to the voice, and those who rule praise our talent to repeat parrot fashion. We say no: we refuse to accept this mediocrity as our destiny.

And within this framework, we say no to the neutrality of the human world. We say no those who invite us to wash our hands of the crucifixions we witness daily. To the bored fascination of an art that is cold, indifferent, contemplative of its mirrored reflection, we prefer a warm art, one that celebrates the human adventure in the world and participates in this adventure, an art that is incurably enamored and pugnacious. Would beauty be so beautiful if it were not just? Would justice be just if it were not beautiful? We say no to the divorce of beauty and justice, because we say yes to the powerful and fertile embrace they share."

Traveling Mercies

I dedicate this to the Sucre posse-
May we never forget to leave home



I consider myself an experienced traveler, I dare say I am even good at it. I have my passport number memorized. I advocate to all who will listen to please sign up for sky miles. I dress nicely (either a skirt or a dress) refusing the safari vest/quick dry pants/hiking shoes tourist uniform. I try to stay off the Gringo trail and use any travel guide other than the Lonely Planet. And, most of all - I do my homework; I watch and read as much as I can before I arrive in a country so I am informed. So. Bolivia, what are you doing to me? I love you, but your system is absurd. These last three weeks have almost killed me.

Bolivia, this is what you have taught me:
Paying for a plane ticket does not guarantee your reservation, you must confirm it in the following two ways:
1. Bolivar allows you to call in, but you cannot call from just any call center. The telephone number must match the telephone service, ie - TIGO phone = TIGO line
Even having a native spanish speaker with you, albeit Catalan, does not ensure success
2. If you are flying TAM, you must physically go to their office. When I asked them why you can´t do it online, they just repeated that you must come to their office. Note that going to the airport is pointless, only the military desk is open, the internationl branch is located in Plaza Constitucion.

Never buy from a travel company in the US. If so, you risk owning a ticket that used a system to find the cheapest available tickets. While logical, they do not like this at TAM. If this happens to you, you will show up to confirm your flight only to be told you have to buy another ticket entirely because your first one is void. As of April 30, TAM does not work with AeroSur. You will recieve no prior notice to inform you of this (Practice your travel vocabulary, all the conversations will be held in Spanish)

Before buying a second ticket, go immediately to skype and call customer service for a refund. Do not get angry at the nice man in India, because of the distance, the echo allows you to hear how rude you are being. Although, continue to fight like its your money, even if your university is paying for the ticket and the new price works out to a better cost ($3 margin)

After all that, when the former-president sells off the airline to cut a World Bank deal, your best best option is still the military airline TAM.

Never take Dorado buses, they are infamous for drunk driving.
Furthermore, three days before a bus trip, don't read newspapers or glance at headlines - the automobile accident pictures are not censored

Try everything to reserve a ¨bus cama¨or ¨¨semicama¨ for long trips, when the Bolivar rep says they have none available, send your friend to another company to scout out the competition. When found, leave the counter and immediately book reservie it. If you don´t know the last names of your new-found traveling posse, make them up

Save money for the national tax, otherwise you can´t get out

If you hear fireworks during the day, it is a protest - find out who is striking and make alternative transportation plans

Maps are not that important, use graffiti as landmarks - its more interesting. If you are in Cochabamba, you will receive a political education - this is high class work, they use soundbites like neoliberalism

When in doubt, just use skype. It never gets old telling the customer service representative that you cannot give a number (in case you are disconnected) because you are calling from abroad

You must bring your own lock even if you pay $4 and your only option is to stay at the normally priced $2 local hostel. Yet, this won't ensure that there will the appropriate number of beds for 6 people (located in separate rooms)or that that a random Bolivian man will take the bed reserved for the driver.




Any tour company with the world "solidarity" in their logo can be trusted to guide you to Toro Toro, land of the dinosaurs




Do what you must to access the news, particularly if it is for the first time in 2 months. (Adding just the right amount of tension to the chord be stretching it across the room until taut is the trick)



Having an official despedida does not mean you won't be so determined to come back you will fly while sick (they can´t stop you from boarding if you just tell them No, you cannot go see the airport doctor who is working at gate one)



You need the month of June to get a 6 day tourist visa:



-Start by reserving a minimum of 6 days to accumulate all the paperwork, since every service is decentralized, it works out to be about a day for each task (printing forms, making copies, having color photos made)
-You will need the patience for one walking tour of Cochabamba to discover there is no longer a Paraguayan consolate in CBB and therefore the online information is wrong
- A fluent Spanish speaker is convenient for calling the Embassy to confirm credit card information is standard or with a 7 number saga to find the actual location of a Paraguayan State representative
- If you try to work on your visa during the morning in Cochabamba, walk to your destination - this will ensure you will miss the traffic caused by the standard protest, but allow you to still see the marcha.
- When the riot police pass you, don't stare!
- To be safe, change your ¨intention of travel¨ from the Americas Social Forum to generic tourism
- block off more than enough days in La Paz, you must arrive before Independence Day and any holiday
- Don´t finish the argument with the employees, let them tell you to re-do your paperwork by hand, even though everyone knows its more convenient to use the typed version
-Having a flexible schedule, such as no real job or kids, is more convenient when you are forced to take 2 mornings off to finalize the process
- Finally... never make a political statement or offer statistics when going through this process for the first time. They don't care that Arizona is being sued by the United States government or that between 1980-1986 (the height of the dirty wars in Latin America) only 341 people received legal entry into the US from the 30, 000 who applied




If it is your first trip, and you didn't know you would need a lock in the rainforest, strategically place items (books, bumper stickers, indigenous weaving) to show that your are on the side of the people



20 hours on a bus with 5 am arrivals is worth it if you see The White City and one white lamb

Finally, when your Bolivian dad literally blesses you with the Sign of the Cross in the airport, add your own prayer for Traveling Mercies-

La Paz vs. YGC

It is just too fun, I can´t give up posting personal emails. They just seem to be a more dynamic way to mirror life here.


Dear Michael,
I did not forget the 4.30 deadline. I am in La Paz to get my visa for
Paraguay so after I picked it up at 3.30 I immediately got a taxi back to
where I stored my bags. In an attempt to be as efficient as possible and
on time for our meeting, I asked the driver if he could wait and take me
to my hotel, he said no because there were marchas (a protest) and so the
streets were blocked. I tried again with another taxi only to arrive and discover that the ¨internet¨ advertised is one computer in the lobby. I would skype you
from here but I there computer is behind the desk, so there is no privacy. We could just IM, which would be quite humours because it looks like I work here. Ironic, considering while I type this email there ithe real employee is behind me using a typewriter.

Let me know if we can reschedule. I am heading out after this to look for an
internet cafe. I apologize for the delay.

Ali