OUR HOPE IS IN OUR STRUGGLE. NO TO GLOBALIZATION AND SYSTEMS OF DOMINATION. : QC IMC

From February 24-26, 2005, we internationals from Belgium, Canada, Germany, Ireland, South Korea, the Netherlands, and the United States who are living and working in the Philippines, gathered for the 21st Annual Conference of the Philippine International Forum (PIF) with the theme, Globalization and Domination: Building a Culture of Resistance and Exploring Alternatives. We listened to workers, peasant farmers, women, and overseas Filipino workers as they shared their hopes, their pains, and their experiences with oppressive structures resulting from the offensive of neo-liberal/imperialist globalization. They also shared with us the concrete actions they are taking in resistance to the present institutionalized, unjust world order. We were deeply moved by the inspiration they draw from small victories amid overwhelming problems--something we all can learn from.

We condemn neo-liberal globalization as a system of domination that further impoverishes the world's majority, ever widening the gap between the rich and the poor. Through our sharing, we identified the ways in which globalization negatively impacts small farmers, workers, women, and small businesses around the world. Neo-liberal globalization has meant a dangerous decline in people's health and access to health care in both the industrialized countries and developing countries; it has caused the bankruptcy of small farms, the conversion of agricultural land into tourist areas and for industrial use, and has ushered in the dominance of big agri-business through mono-cropping and the imposition of genetically modified organisms. Neo-liberal globalization has introduced and promoted policies of labor flexibility (such as contractual labor) which results in loss of job security and increasing obstacles to the basic rights of workers around the world, including the right to organize. Globalization promotes a mono-culture consumption pattern which is destroying cultural identity the world over.

Neo-liberal globalization is awakening the world's common people as they discover and recognize their own situation as the plight suffered by workers and small farmers throughout the world. As our material situation continues to worsen, more and more people are organizing and creating alternatives to the exploitative system of globalization. The peoples legitimate demands have led to systematic and often violent repression of peoples movements for change.

The War on Terror is serving as a cover for involving military in the crushing of perceived threats to the prevailing socio-economic and political establishment. Voices of dissent, legitimate strikes, peoples protest, and grassroots efforts for genuine change are often demonized and labeled terrorist activities, as a ploy to justify the use of force to suppress peoples movements. The state that should be helping to support its people's basic rights is instead working against the rights and aspirations of its citizens.

With states often working in connivance with big business and other powerful beneficiaries of neo-liberal globalization, solutions can only come from the oppressed themselves. We in the PIF are witness to the response of the Filipino people to neo-liberal globalization and are consciously supporting those who are defending their dignity through organized, collective action. We have committed to strengthening our resolve to ardently support and encourage our Filipino brothers and sisters in their continuing just struggle against imperialist globalization and its impacts in the Philippines.

We are committed to continuing our efforts to build a just world whether we are in the Philippines or in our home countries, through awareness raising and organizing against oppression and exploitation. Our lives and struggles are interdependent; our unity and solidarity are with peoples struggles for justice for life.

Our hope is in our united struggle!