Desperate Measures - suicide or terrorism?

The world, and particularly the people of the United States, are told that we are involved in a global "war on terrorism." We are led to believe that this war is focused in ideological differences and envy. In the US in particular, we are told that terrorism is driven by hatred of "of our way of life." What is left out is any statement of what that "way of life" is. We are left to believe that it is our "freedom," our "democracy," or even the "Christian" basis of US social society. I don't believe that is the case. I believe that the US is seen, and promotes itself as the "world leader" economically, politically, and socially. Our foreign policy for decades (perhaps since the beginning) has centered on maximizing the interests of the US at the expense of all other competing groups. We are the leaders of a globalization based on exploitation of peoples, expropriation of natural resources, and structuring the global stage to tilt in our favor. To this end, we have paid little attention to the weight of our foot on other peoples of the world. In fact, we have frequently contributed to tyrannic governments and massive hardship and death of populations to maximize US benefit and control. While virtually all inside the US have benefited to some extent with a purported higher standard of living, the true beneficiaries have been corporations and monied interests.

This approach of US government policy and action has contributed to unimaginable desperation in many areas of the world. These areas are also the source of desperate measures. There are two extreme responses which I believe are responses to the same forces. On the one hand there is "terrorist" activity - particularly represented in suicide attacks. On the other is people committing suicide. I believe that these are different responses to the same desperation that is being created by the forces of globalization and "rich nation" hegemony. It is clear that the US government at least knows full well that current policies are driving increasing inequality and desperation. It is clear that they realize that natural resources are growing increasingly limited and that the US will control these by whatever means and whatever cost necessary. This is clear in the US openly declared policy of the use of banned weapons (nuclear, biological, and chemical) and in the preemptive use of those weapons. It is made abundantly clear in the The United States Space Command Vision for 2020. In this document it clearly states that "The globalization of the world economy will also continue, with a widening between 'haves' and 'have-nots.'" For this reason the US is pushing for space-based weaponry that can launch pinpoint strikes anywhere in the world.

Suicide versus Terrorism
I want to look at two separate areas of suicide in response to desperation created by hegemonic capitalism. The first is the suicides of farmers in India and the second is the suicides of Guarani children in Brazil.

The farmers of India are committing suicide at an incredible rate. According to Vandana Shiva in a Democracy Now presentation, at least 20,000 farmers have committed suicide in the last year alone. Dr. Shiva has spoken on this topic frequently, but it has made the news as well. There are a number of articles included at the end of this article on the forces driving these suicides but there is general consensus.

Indian farmers have been under a variety of global economic assaults that range from being forced to grow export crops, to stealing of rights to those crops and products made from them through "intellectual property" agreements under the WTO (World Trade Organization - the agreement is TRIPS); to being forced to grow genetically modified crops (Round-Up Ready seeds) and then dumping massive amounts of chemicals on those crops. Monsanto has been a major culprit in the events in India.

All of these features have made the cost of farming (particularly the cost of seed) much higher, while making farmers very vulnerable to global price fluctuations. The biotech seeds and heavy use of Monsanto's chemicals have also eliminated export to the European market. The consequence, massive amounts of debt among farmers who cannot sell their crops. According to Vandana Shiva these resulted in a loss of $25 billion in economic losses to farmers last year (Democracy Now speech).

The consequence of this loss? Farmers committing suicide, most by drinking the very chemicals they had to purchase from Monsanto. According to Shiva, there were 735 farmer suicides in October 2003 in one district. If you note the date on the articles at the bottom of this article, you will see that this has been going on for some time.

There is no question whatsoever what is driving these suicides. There is a clear chain of cause and effect. And it is clear that the forces of globalization want to accelerate the current course rather than stray from it. We see this happening with the pressures for starving African nations to switch to biotech crops which will be equally undesirable on the international market. And who is strong-arming this move? The US government.

The Loss of the Children of Guarani
The Guarani of Brazil have been under assault for decades. The government refuses to protect any tribal lands, and in fact has followed a program of expropriating the lands of the tribe. First to exploit the rubber trees, more recently for Brazilian ranchers. The path that Brazil has followed in relationship to the Guarani has been virtually identical to the genocidal policies followed against Native American tribes inside the US. Even to removing the children of the tribe to boarding schools.

The response to the constant pressures, cultural genocide, and economic vulnerability has led to increasing numbers of suicide among the children. These suicides are happening among children as young as 9 years old. The following quote from Suicide thinning ranks of displaced tribe:

"What is there live for?" said Goncalo Moraes. "For years, we've been crying out for help but nobody listens."

The Guarani and Kaiowa used to be separate, nomadic tribes with lots of land, some of the best farm land in Brazil. When white settlers moved in, the tribes were pushed off their land, lumped together and isolated on a small reserve. Now, they can barely feed themselves.

In the past, young boys have left temporarily to earn money cutting sugar cane. This year, a drought has taken many of those jobs away.

Anastacio Peralta is the tribal leader. He says that there have been suicides before, but now suicides are on the rise. "There's more depression. Our young people are ashamed to be Indians. They have no sense of purpose," Peralta said.

And there is no hope for the future, either. They're surrounded by poverty, their culture is disintegrating. "This is a culture crisis," says historian Antonio Brandi. "These Indians are losing their identity, and many see no alternative but death."

The "Terrorists"
While the response of the farmers of India and the children of the Guarani is suicide, another response is to strike back. This striking back takes the form of what is being labeled as "terrorism." We have seen this in the suicide attacks of the Palestinians, and in the use of airplanes as bombs in the United States. We see it in numerous suicide attacks both inside and outside Iraq.
Harold Gould in an article for CounterPunch (11/28/03) has an excellent article Suicide as Weapon of Mass Destruction?. In it he discusses Emile Durkheim's discussion of "altruistic suicide." Altruistic suicide is essentially killing oneself for the benefit of others. It is clear that this is the driving motivation of the "suicide" attacks. People young and not so young are making bombs of themselves (or driving bombs) at an enemy they see as destroying them. The forces driving these actions are no different than the suicides of Indian farmers or Guarani children. This is not a tactic of choice, but of last resort.

In US movies, the classic presentation of heroism is the soldier racing into the guns of the enemies to kill them before they kill the rest of the troops. It is a suicide move. In the US it is often referred to as the "ultimate sacrifice." It is seen as an act of courage, loyalty and patriotism. However, when the equally futile attacks of people pushed beyond the edge of desperation are depicted, it is as "terrorists" intent on destroying "our way of life."

Life and Death
What is happening around the globe is that people are being pushed to the edge and beyond of survival - both physical and cultural. The deaths due to starvation and disease increase. The US in particular gives little to reverse the trend (and works to extend the processes driving it). There is lots of talk of "failed states" as if it was some internal failure. The reality is that the internal failure is largely driven by external forces over which neither the people or their nations have any control. The argument is that "failed states" are unstable and breeding grounds for "terrorism." Therefore, they become targets in the "war on terrorism."

Certainly desperation breeds loss of faith in the governments of nations, and in the a sense of futility to do anything about the forces grinding people into oblivion. People are more open to "fundamentalism" because fundamental religion of any stripe is simple. There is clear distinction and explicit rules. There is forced adherence to a clear system of authority. There is sacred legitimation of action. In fact, forces similar to those driving the growth of "Islamic" fundamentalism, are similar to the ones driving "Christian" fundamentalism in the US. Fundamentalism provides a clear course of action to combat the forces that otherwise seem unconquerable. And if one dies in the fight, then one dies with a place in "heaven" assured. The next world is better than this one.
We are told we are in a global "war against terrorism." This is not an accurate depiction of the situation, nor of the forces driving it. We would do better to wage a "war on desperation." That at least is aimed at life rather than death. We need to stop the exploitation and expropriation. We need to drop the idea of getting to eat the rest of the pie by ourselves. We really need to take a different course that looks clearly at where we have been and where we truly want to go.

Resources
Stone, Anthropology News, May 2002, Biotechnology and Suicide in India
The Hindu, 12/12/02, 'Suicide by farmers due to high interest loans'
Karp, Wall Street Journal, 2/18/98, Deadly Crop: Difficult Times Drive India's Cotton Farmers To Desperate Actions
Tully, CNN, 4/9/01 Hunger drives India's farmers to edge
Lamb, International Institute for Holistic Studies, Rising suicides cut a swath through Amazon's children
Mirabella, CNN, 11/18/1995, Suicide thinning ranks of displaced tribe
Brazilian Indians in London to Launch Survival Report and Reveal Scandal of Child Suicides

Posted by rowan at November 30, 2003 1:05 PM | TrackBack | [eMail this article!] |