threaten all of us. What a terrible pity! I'm thinking of thousands and South Korean and Indian small farmers who have committed suicide, after seeing their livelihoods, their farm lands, their families destroyed by "free trade" (U.S. and other Ag dumping, and other evil practices). And I'm thinking of South Korean farmer Kyung-hae Lee, who committed suicide during the protests of the WTO in Cancun, Mexico, in 2003.
"...it was Lee, a 56-year-old dairy farmer who lost his land after cheap, imported milk began pouring into South Korea, who put a face on the suffering of the world's poorest farmers. While developing countries spoke inside Cancun's convention center about the pressing needs of their people, Lee chose a far more dramatic way to protest trade agreements he believed were robbing small farmers of their livelihoods.
"Lee stabbed himself in the heart as he sat atop a fence during a violent* protest against the trade organization. He wore a sign saying, 'WTO kills farmers' and led a crowd of 7,000 protesters in anti-trade chants before taking his life." (MORE) --*Copley News Service, San Diego Union Tribune
http://www.ifg.org/news/cancun/sandiego.htm------------------------
Lee fought for small farmers' rights for years, before he gave up. At least his suicide was accompanied by a triumph for the anti-globalisation movement. Twenty 'third-world' countries, led by Brazil, walked out of the WTO meeting in Cancun, because of the merciless domination of all issues by the rich G-8 countries, especially Bush USA. The WTO, with its secret, undemocratic deals, and oppression of the poor, has never recovered. And good riddance to it. It was, in truth, a bullying, kneecapping, brutalizing, bribing forum, rich against poor.
But when you read Lee's history (fairly well laid out in the article), you just weep with sadness that this man--who, really, was trying to save agriculture, and preserve the food chain, for all us--was so crushed by the indifference and horrible callousness of the Corporate Rulers and their bought-and-paid-for bureaucrats and political leaders, that he could not bear it any longer.
I urge anyone with similar feelings to remember that struggles for justice are often long and difficult. And they are won by a collective effort. You cannot single-handedly defeat the global corporate predators who are oppressing and endangering us all, nor win other huge struggles, such as restoring democracy here in the U.S., by your own single effort. Be a hero, but don't be a loss! Think in terms of educating and empowering others, not doing it all yourself. (Believe me, I understand this problem.) Set yourself a slow, steady pace, with others by your side, gathering strength.
Also, consider this: When the WTO was first formed, it seemed an impenetrable fortress, that would relentlessly destroy the sovereignty of countries and peoples' control over their lives, their economies and their governments, and shred their environmental and labor protection laws. 50,000 ordinary Americans turned out and marched against it, in Seattle, in 1998, and shut down the meeting, in most dramatic fashion. Global corporate predators were terrified, sent in the Darth Vader cops to break it up, and slandered that protest from one end of the U.S. to the other--but it was effective in helping to empower third world countries in the talks, and to spur worldwide networking, for instance, among small farmers. It took five years of relentless effort in many countries, against great handicaps (lack of resources, brutal government repression), then, in 2003, in Cancun, the poorer countries finally had had it, and pulled out. I think the WTO met one more time (in secret, way far away from people), but the WTO was effectively dead as a means of bullying poor countries into ruinous "free trade" deals and agreements. Since that time, country after country has rejected "free trade"--not, alas, South Korea, but many others--and are finding their way toward independence, self-sufficiency and more sustainable and democratic policy.
It was a collective effort. And I wish that Kyung-hae Lee had been alive to see its end. If you ever think of suicide, in what looks like a hopeless struggle to help many others, remember that it is not all up to you. Take a break, refresh and renew yourself. And don't give the global corporate predators the victory of having one less voice against them. Their mode is to demoralize and disempower you. Don't let them.
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*("Violent protests" in Cancun. Nope. I wasn't there--but I have first-hand accounts. The protesters were not violent. They were blockaded from going anywhere near the meeting (typical "free speech" zone caging), and they pressed against a fence, en masse, to break it down. They didn't hurt anybody. Pushing down a fence that excludes you from your RIGHTFUL participation in secret global trade talks that will directly affect your lives is NOT violence.)
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