Everyone's doing these looking-back/looking-forward things right now so I wanted to jump on the bandwagon. I realised that events of significance and importance this year, both politically and personally, have really been instrumental in helping me consolidate my worldview in this my 25th year of existence. So, in no particular order (or maybe in rough chronological order) here is how I will remember 2008:
Democratic transition in South Asia: The Hopeful vs. The Hopeless
In Asia, overall, we have been seeing a general decline of democratic systems as they fall to dictatorship or exist in that horrible autocratic limbo known as Emergency - a word with such urgency to it yet we can go years and years with no regime change under this status.
Perhaps more positively, though, I will remember this as a year where in South Asia we slowly try to reclaim governance structures for the people. Most significant has been Nepal's Constituent Assembly elections, which were held on April 10th of this year. After 10 years of civil war, known as The People's War, which succeeded in overthrowing absolute rule by the monarchy, we now see Nepal as a republic with a highly representative constituent assembly comprising of Dalits, Madhesis, indigenous peoples and at least 33% women. They are drafting their constitution at the moment, which looks to be progressive and representative. The National Human Rights Commission is now constitutionalised, the right to food sovereignty has become justiciable and there may be a Truth and Reconcialiation Commission to offer reparation to victims of the civil war. Nepal's example is being used as a model for many leftists in Thailand, and Nepal's example frightens the Thai elites.
There was also the "Obama moment" in the Maldives when 45 year old ex-political prisoner Mohammed Nasheed won the first ever multi-party elections in the country to overthrow the dictator Gayoom who had led for 30 years through oppressive and feudalistic means. Maldives is such a small island nation with only about 300,000 people, they were put on the map (figuritively/ironically) after the tsunami when the world found out that actually it is possible for an entire country to drown. Sometimes in this world we place value on which country is of more or less significance and importance, and often size has much to do with this judgement. But there is much to learn from this hugely significant event which occurred in such a small and isolated country.
Other stories are less hopeful. In Pakistan and Bangladesh, there has been an end to Emergency rule and new democratic elections have been held. In Bangladesh this was as recent as 2 days ago! But in both situations, new elections and end of dictatorship won't actually solve any of their political problems and will not improve the human rights standards of either country. The elections have brought back the same old bullshit parties and the same old bullshit faces, and we will brace ourselves for one more bullshit coup both in Pakistan and in Bangladesh.
And then there is Bhutan, another South Asian country we always forget. On the surface, it seemed romantic that a King would willingly abdicate in favour of succession for his son and the transition to constitutional monarchy. So strong was his faith in democracy, it is written, that he sent a copy of the constitution to every household in the country. But, the two contesting political parties for the elections were right wing pro-monarchists, no leftist parties are allowed to participate, the country continues to persecute their ethnic Nepali minority community and refuses to allow these refugees back into the country.
Burma: For Shame, World
There are about as many global support groups for Burma and Tibet as there are for Darfur and Palestine. Yet, as we mourned the first anniversary of the Saffron Revolution in Burma this year, we realised that it didn't matter if celebrities held up Free Burma signs and if the Human Rights Council held a Special Session on Burma and if millions of people joined Facebook groups - NO ONE GIVES A SHIT. And for that, I want to say "FUCK YOU, WORLD". It was up to us. There were monks and ordinary people inside Burma who did what they had to do, they braved what they needed to brave. It was then up to us, outside the country, to exert the pressure and build the momentum. But we have short attention spans, even though many of us can sit through an entire season of Sex and the City, we can't really focus too long on the systemic killing of political dissidents in a third world country. No, that's too much. Fuck you. And fuck me, too. Fuck us all.
The Chinese Government Will Kill Us All
Clearly, if there is anything we have learned this year, more than ever, is that the Chinese leadership does not care about anyone - forget about asking them to be accountable for their activities in Africa or their support for Burma and North Korea, they don't even give a shit about their own people. They had melanine in the milk killing a bunch of babies and sub-par infrastructure killing school children, but there is no means of challenging the government, no means of accountability and no means of ensuring that this will not continue to happen again and again. China represents to me, ironically, the most frightening thing about capitalism, free markets and an output-oriented word. Development is seen as a 21st century war which they must win at any cost, and all of this is done under an autocratic leadership which works very hard at suppressing and destroying opposition in any form. And the rest of the world allows it to continue.
When the images of the monk's uprising in Tibet first aired on the news, my first thought was that it was the Burmese uprising replaying itself. Our activism got a lot of media coverage, which was good for the ego, but we got zero accountability, zero statements from Asian governments condemning China and very very little support from Thai people themselves. China had their Olympics, and right after it they shut down BBC and CNN in the country. Tibetans continue to be systemically wiped out from China.
The BIGGEST FAILURE not only of 2008 but possibly for humanity is our inability to stand up to the Chinese government.
The PAD Ruin Everything
Especially any future peoples movement that may occur in Thailand. No one will ever take a peoples movement seriously ever again.
Big Brother Watches Thai Bloggers
The Democrats are in favour of prosecuting bloggers and online comments deemed anti-monarchist. Thank you, Democrats, if that is even you name. Well done on your new-found "by default" leadership.
All right I gotta say some nice things now.
Canada: You Complete Me
After a 3 year hiatus, I returned to the Great White North this year. My previous life in Canada is something special to me, it was where I truly grew up: I learned how to live with virtually no money, I learned how to brave -30 degree weather, I learned that you shouldn't actually study international development in a developed country. Above all, I learned about love and respect, and how lucky I was for all of it.
And so I returned. After 3 years of working in Asia, I returned to find that in so many ways this country represents the ideal, a system which is not perfect but one that got so many things right. And also I returned to find that maybe people change and the world around us changes but love never changes.
My Friend B.
My buddy from high school, B., passed away earlier this month. His whole life was a big sunny smile, and it was a smile which was infectious. He was well-loved and continues to inspire laughter as we recount our old stories. I am more aware of my mortality and of the mark I wish to leave on this world and on the people around me, because B. left us all smiling at his memory.
Obama
Hope. Hype?
Message from the universe to me
My friend Ra Ra forwards me Brezny's horoscopes every week. This particular one from one week in October particularly shook and inspired me and as ridiculous and cheesy as it may sound, helped me change the way I am and think. I mean, it was a long time coming.
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