[TLDR (too long didn’t read): If you are reading this, chances are you care about HR. In this Reader you will find some bits and pieces of what it means/takes to be a HR activist. For a quick overview, just read the bolded text]. Traducir/traduire los/les Readers; usar/utiliser deepl.com
1. What is activism? Here are five misconceptions:
- Activism = protests: Protesting is an excellent form of activism. It is a very public and obvious way to get messages across. But, then, it is just that –i.e., one form of it. Activism is far more than just being in protests. It can range from: attending protests and signing petitions, to staying informed, to making donations, to volunteering, or to getting others to care about a cause. Activism comes in all shapes and sizes, so, no matter what you choose to do, you will be making a difference.
- You have to be an expert to be an activist: It is easy to assume that activists for a cause are experts on that cause. They know everything there is to know about the cause (in our case HR) and how to demand change. But that is another misconception. If you are not super well-read on a specific subject or issue area, you can still be an activist. The point of activism is to stay informed, and part of that is learning-as-you-go about a cause. You do not need to be a policy expert, you just have to do your part to make your voice and that of others democratically heard.
- Activism is only for specific groups of people: No, activism is for everyone, plain and simple. There is a space for everyone, because standing up for a cause you believe-in is universal. Activists can be protesters, petitioners, information warriors, expert persuaders, passionate advocates and avid learners. No matter what circumstances you come from, or why you are drawn to fight for change, if you want to use your voice, your influence and some of your time to create a better world, then you are an activist! The most important thing is just doing what you can to fight for justice, for reparative justice, for equality and HR, particularly given that the justice system is often just the mask for the injustice of the powers-that-be. (Politika)
- It is hard to make your voice heard: It might seem like a daunting task to get world leaders, policymakers, and change-makers to hear your voice, but it is a lot easier than it seems. It is about putting our voices in places they cannot be ignored, whether that is through signing a petition, tweeting at your local government leaders, or simply just keeping your community informed. Remember, it is not about how loud your individual voice is, but about influencing and about what we can do together. And when we put all of our voices together as one, our voices will be heard.
- You cannot be an activist if you do not have a specific cause to fight for: Being an activist is not about getting super specific about a single cause. It is about standing up for justice and what you believe is right, regardless of whether you have narrowed your focus or are just learning about what you are passionate about. You can be an activist for climate justice or racial justice, an activist pushing for local change or fighting to end extreme disparity and poverty around the world. As long as you are doing your part to make a difference in the world, that is all that matters –for HR included.
2. Activism and its four steps
- FRAME: Explore the who, what, when, and where of the issue area.
- INSPIRE: Brainstorm and communicate about the most probable upstream causes* from a broad set of fields and experiences; then sketch actions for the issue identified grounded in what you find so as to share this with claim holders.
- PLAN: Articulate and prioritize possible features of alternatives for change; Explore possible near-term actions. and
- FORGE: Reflect on next steps and personal commitments. (The Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, NYU)
*: US representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is of the opinion that calling for an end to unrest in the US without, for instance, calling for healthcare as a HR, as well as addressing other issues of injustice, all activists will be asking-for is the continuation of the existing quiet oppression. “We need to acknowledge and address systemic injustice and the interdependence of HR to achieve true social justice and equality”.
3. The activists’ credo (I am here adding to points raised in previous Readers)
-To exist without living is the heaviest burden… Those who live are those who fight. (Victor Hugo)
· Give power to those most affected by historical injustices to steer decision-making in your organizations and projects.
· Re-imagine your role as system changers and learn to think and act from ‘the DNA of resistance’.
· Break down inherited unjust systems like colonization, patriarchy, and capitalism in your work and life.
· Question power dynamics** constantly, especially in all neoliberal development funding and in the economic system overall in the environment you work-in.
· Learn more about the historical oppressions that have led to the injustices faced by people around you and around the world today and practice solidarity with them.
· Stop talking about charity and start demanding reparations, including designing projects that focus on reparatory justice. (United Edge)
**: Social exploitation and domination appear as different tentacles of power, namely exerting:
- control over and use of property (economic power);
- the capacity to control consciousness, mobilization and engagement for strategic purposes of the dominant sector (political power);
- the capacity to have a massive impact on the construction of social identity and memory (cultural/symbolic power);
- the capacity to model and condition policies, laws, rules, codes, administration and its priorities (administrative power); and finally,
- the capacity to impose descriptions, explanations of science, and the handling of information (scientific-technical power). (Jaime Breilh)
4. Moreover, since political dynamics mean governments, leaders and priorities change, this forces HR activists to continually draw on their networks and reframe strategies to maintain pressure. Four common strategies seem to enable such reframing: seek favorable media attention, demand leadership by relevant ministers, go for public support and progressive political parties support. Remember: Generating and using evidence is an important strategy, but favorable media attention, public support, political party support, and ministerial support, are all political conditions that require different strategies.*** Add to this pursuing coalition building with partners in countries rendered poor as this is particularly important. (Belinda Townsend et al)
***: While technical evidence is important, a political strategy is indispensable to influence the conditions that will elevate HR on all sectoral agendas.
Human rights activists as human rights defenders
5. In the last 15 years, the focus on HR defenders introduced a transformative and an impact-oriented aspiration into the prevailing traditionally humanitarian and almost apolitical HR casework. The defenders’ concept is based on a humanitarian instinct in HR casework; it privileges cases that are considered most severe. One could argue that UN and other HR campaigners are inherently humanitarian, yet not transformative enough activists.
6. Casework on defending defenders seeks to reduce physical harm to them –following a humanitarian logic. But, far too often, the soft repression of these defenders remains unreported, unnoticed, and not acted-upon (e.g., travel bans, bureaucratic issues, job dismissals, surveillance, or defamation). This, effectively creates a twilight zone that allows authoritarian states to comfortably stifle opposition voices without risking much pushback. What we need is to define their protection needs in terms of safeguarding a defender’s ability to do effective HR work beyond denouncing her/his physical harm. (Janika Spannagel)
Bottom line
-Now that we have cleared things up a bit, are you ready to take action? (Arielle Witter, ONE)
7. As many of us activists acknowledge, the main challenge is that claim holders’ insensitivity and apathy are unfortunately generalized. It always comes from: ignorance; from not acknowledging that good intentions being offered to them do as much harm as malevolence –and they need to understand that. When you see the misery HR violations bring, you would need to be a madman or a coward or stone blind to give-in tamely. The most incorrigible vice is that of an ignorance that fancies it knows everything and, therefore, claims for itself the right to influence opinion …and policy. (Albert Camus, The Plague) Amen.
Claudio Schuftan, Ho Chi Minh City
Your comments are welcome at schuftan@gmail.com
Postscript/Marginalia
-We can say “who knows, perhaps, maybe”, or we can say “We want and then we do”.
We have done so much with so little. Now, we can do so much more.
Romantics, Realists, Radicals, together we can provide a cutting edge
sharper than ever before,
making paths where none existed, through complex crossroads, making journeys to new destinations.
Networks provide us with a second life force, giving us vision, voice, vitality,
a cutting edge for our liberation.
Together, we can create the future, not just react, but pro-act, shaping and setting the agendas. (Anwar Fazal)