Posted on 9-1-2002

Inter-American Dialogue 001
by Hazel Henderson

With a backdrop of this warm bustling city, news of the fall of Kabul,
clashing oil producers over falling prices and continued US bombing of
Afghanistan - a new dialogue of cultures was launched. Hosted by
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, and President Khatami of Iran, and
sponsored by UNESCO, the Latin American Economic System (SELA) and several
other Latin-American think tanks, the dialogue sought to examine the
cultures and histories of the peoples of Latin America, the Caribbean and
North America.

This week-long dialogue explored the common experience of the European
conquest begun 500 years ago by the Spanish, Portuguese, French, English
and Dutch colonizers. As the USA pushes for a Free Trade Area of the
Americas, it seems fitting to launch such cultural dialogues. One of the
many critiques of "free" trade agreements from NAFTA to the WTO is their
narrow economic agendas, which have often ridden roughshod over local
peoples and their environments.

Among the many fascinating presentations by scholars from all over the
Hemisphere, Europe, Iran, India and China, were the stories of earlier
migrations and globalizations. Chief Phil Lane, Jr. of the Four World
International Institute, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, spoke of the new
trade agreements now being forged between many of the indigenous peoples of
the Americas. A Summit will be convened, February, 2002, between "The
Peoples of the Eagle and the Peoples of the Condor" representing over eight
million indigenous inhabitants of the Americas, in the Commonwealth of
Dominica, hosted also by their last 6,000 Carib Peoples. The governments
of Canada and Venezuela are also partners in co-hosting this Summit to
promote sustainable human prosperity, which will restore many historic
trading partnerships disrupted by the European colonizers.

The lingering pain of colonization was expressed by a Venezuelan linguist,
"We are the wound, we are the blade, and we are the children of both the
victims and their oppressors." Many spoke of the need for more dialogue
for healing. An Islamic scholar from Morocco remembered the contributions
to Spain of the al-Andalus Arabic culture that spread its influence there
since the eleventh century. From their architectural triumphs in Cordoba,
these Muslims were driven out by the Spanish Inquisition and sought refuge
in the Americas.

Inevitably, the "war" on terrorism was debated hotly. Former Algerian
freedom fighter Ahmed Ben Bella, looking healthy and serene at 85, noted
that the French had jailed him for 19 years as a "terrorist". At a private
dinner, President Chavez, our host, took great delight in bestowing medals
and high honors on both Ahmed Ben Bella and Dr. Ahmad Jalali, the personal
representative of Iran's President Khatami. While Ben Bella apologized for
speaking in French (the language of Algeria's colonists), Dr. Jalali
treated us to a traditional Persian song, to the accompaniment of a
Venezuelan classical string quartet.

President Chavez cheerfully shrugged off the opposition by some of
Venezuela's large farmers, landowners and business people over his signing
of a new land reform bill - to allow landless peasants to farm unutilized
land. Chavez comes from a rural and mestizo heritage as do many high
officials of his administration, including Stanford-trained economist,
Frank Bracho, formerly Venezuela's Ambassador to India. A devoted
Ghandian, Bracho, author of a dozen books on sustainable development,
health and culture helped organize the Dialogue.

After this week-long exploration, all participants agreed that we had only
scratched the surface. In our final Declaration, we called for a
continuation and deepening of these dialogues, as a surer way forward for
peace. The Western development model was rejected for its "looting and
destruction of age-old agrarian cultures and their ecological habitat".
The role of education and media were pinpointed as key. Many reforms were
cited as necessary to promote pluralism in education, media and local
economies. The need to end all forms of discrimination and to deepen
peoples' understanding of other cultures was now made more urgent by
globalization. The Declaration calls for a new globalization focusing on
eradicating poverty, disease and ignorance while protecting cultural
rights, diversity and the planet's ecosystems.

None of this is utopian - indeed such an agenda is part of the practical
realism of global interdependence. Violence with today's technology and
weapons - whether deployed by yesterday's generals or today's terrorists
are now too catastrophic. Civilians, not fighting forces, now bear the
brunt of today's conflict. During World War I, nine soldiers died for
every one civilian. Today that ratio is tragically reversed: ten civilians
die for each soldier - mostly women and children. Wars must be contained
through treaties and a robust international system. The U.N. and its 55
years of treaty building, convening and norm setting is indispensable and
must be revitalized. There is no place for unilateralism in today's
interdependent world. Indeed, as Ambassador Otto Boye Soto, director of
SELA, put it "a world-wide ethical consensus is now needed. We are all
responsible in the search for a better world order." Such consensus
declarations include that in 1993 by the World's Parliament of Religions;
the Earth Charter launched in the Hague in 2000 and the Prague Declaration
of 2001.

HAZEL HENDERSON participated in the dialogue of Latin American and
Caribbean Civilization. Her latest book is Beyond Globalization: Shaping a
Sustainable Global Economy. www.hazelhenderson.com. Henderson's Quality
of Life Indicators, partnered with the US based Calvert Group of
socially-responsible mutual funds are at www.calvert-henderson.com