By Hannah Robson
Here in Aotearoa New Zealand and beyond, we have strong opinions and are becoming more knowledgeable about politics, showing that we do indeed care. As the future generation, we are exercising our democratic rights and breaking out — trying to be heard!
People power
In the dictionary, democracy is “a government by the people in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.” In the words of Abraham Lincoln, democracy is a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” Did you know that young people make up nearly half of the entire population of the world? So WE are “the people” and WE have the power to make change globally.
In democracies like NZ our key democratic right is to elect our government - majority rules. Our voting age is 18, but around the world different countries have different voting ages.
- Austria 16
- Sudan 17
- Japan 20
- Uzbekistan 25
Taking a stand
Young New Zealanders are becoming more politically aware. This could be because as a country we are known for not following the crowd on certain issues — we create strong opinions, and can usually back them up. Like the nuclear energy debate — although it is environmentally viable, New Zealand has maintained its nuclear free stance and is protecting the people from the potentially dangerous consequences. The New Zealand government has remained staunch on this issue, even under pressure from other nations, such as the USA, Australia and Britain. But young people have also realised that we can’t always wait for the government to lead the way. We have to stand up for what we believe in — we have to make changes, because in a lot of cases, the politicians have ignored the major issues.
Why now?
It is us, the young, who are going to be directly affected by such issues as global warming in the coming decades, so we need to make a stand now, for the future generations. Groups set up by young people all over the world are making that stand. KidsCall, has been touring the globe gathering messages from young people about the environment and climate change They will be presenting the hopes and demands of young people to the world’s leading politicians at the G8 meeting in Japan in July 2008. Others are taking action locally. EcoWatch in Uganda, set up by young women, works with students to raise awareness of the threat of climate change and to empower people to live in an environmentally sustainable way.
Youth can swing elections
Whether it’s as voters or as activists, young people do have power. The youth vote was seen as the all important swing vote in the American Democratic Presidential candidate election, which favoured Barack Obama. Young people in the US are inspired by his message of change and feel he reflects a new generation (their generation!) and new thinking. And he takes young people seriously, speaking to them directly and encouraging them to get involved. Young people came out in huge numbers in the primary elections and showed they are a force to be reckoned with.
In Pakistan, students played a crucial role in pushing for governmental change — for democracy — even with the risk of arrest and other punishments. Their protests helped keep international attention on the issue, and although they may still be waiting for true democratic change, the students’ actions have awakened many Pakistani youth to the potential of their own power.
On the frontline
Young people want change; it’s in our nature. From women’s rights to civil rights, young people have been on the frontline, campaigning for their cause. Youth have never been the kind to sit back and just let things happen. Even the Prime Minister was young once — just like us! Yes — even Helen Clark was out protesting against New Zealand’s involvement in the Vietnam war back in the 1970s. But we need to remember that beliefs do change over time and we need to remind our politicians what it is like to be young. We need to make our voices heard.
Politicians seem to be realising the power of youth and are trying to become more “in touch” with us, using technology. In the upcoming elections in New Zealand and the USA, politicians are reaching out to young people via the internet, posting videos on YouTube and creating Bebo and MySpace pages. So, if they are taking us seriously, we should take ourselves seriously too. We have to actively participate in making a change — not just talk about it!
Are you ready to stand up and be counted?
TAKE ACTION
- Take a chance — run for your student council. Or, if you want your thoughts and ideas to be heard by national decision makers, join the Provoke Network at www.myd.govt.nz/ayv/provoke/
- Become a youth member of a political party
- Join a local student organisation or CREATE YOUR OWN! You want to change something? Research it, discuss it with others (be prepared for some debate!) and work to make the change
- Get involved with the World Youth Movement for Democracy www.ymd.youthlink.org
- Signup with the Just Focus network or join the discussions in the forum www.justfocus.org.nz
LEARN MORE
Find out about student activists around the world at http://studentresistance.wordpress.com
Download the Do-It-Yourself guide to youth activism at www.ywca.org.nz
Do you want to write to a politician, or organise a petition or a campaign? Check out the Take Action guides from the Ministry of Youth Development www.myd.govt.nz
This article was originally published in the Global Focus pages of Tearaway Magazine.
The sun bore down on Civic Square at high noon on 20 February 2008 as members of the public, diplomatic representatives, and civil society activists joined forces on the warmed cobblestones, their frames outlined in chalk as a visual protest organised by the Aotearoa New Zealand Cluster Munition Coalition. Delegates rushed to apply sun block after rumours circulated of the depleted ozone layer looming above New Zealand. Placards in many languages were held high — Portuguese, Thai, French, Spanish, Sanskrit, and English. Indian and Pakistani stood side by side with one voice. With her equally powerful voice, Jody Williams, 1997 Nobel Peace Laureate, let loose from an invisible soapbox and the media loved every moment. In some respects, it was glorious advocacy. Public action as we wish it always is.
Imagine the victims of cluster munitions on the streets of your own capital. For some, that exercise may not be that tough. Still, the question remains, how close do the repercussions of deadly weapons have to get before empathy hits home? An ally? A neighbouring country? Our front doorstep?
The Mapuche, are a people originally from the south of Latin America, whose name means “people or persons of the earth”, and whose worldview has been intimately connected to the natural environment. It is said that “Mapu à‘uke”, or Mother Nature, has given the Mapuche culture and society the knowledge they possess. This knowledge is transmitted through conversation in sacred places of the natural world linking Mapuche to the earth and to family.
Every part of the natural world, including human beings and the dead, possess a spirit. Amongst them there are caring and guiding spirits of nature. For example, stones and serpents have an important role in the Mapuche way of life. Even now, the Mapuche ask permission to pass through certain places that are considered sacred. On such occasions, the Mapuche people take time to appreciate these places and ask for the protection of the earth and their families, as part of their attempts to overcome the unfortunate realities for their people.
Chile and Argentina have increased their efforts to transform their culture into spitting images of Western society. Big business has also appeared on the scene. These businesses have claimed — and continue to claim — to those same governments that Mapuche land would be better utilised through the development of economic projects such as single-crop forestation. Yet they do so without planning nor providing for the harmful effects on both human and environmental health.
The Chilean government has, throughout history, pushed through “social integration policies” which have attempted to destroy the unique customs of the Mapuche people, and in this way the Mapuche social organisation has been twisted and modified through the imposition of unknown and destructive social models. These politicians, who are not part of the Mapuche culture or way of life, do not understand or value the traditional lifestyles of the Mapuche people, instead imposing new lifestyles upon them.
To speak of Mapuche political prisoners, and to speak of their ethnic, political, and territorial demands, has been criminalised by the Chilean government, placing the interests of big business over and above those of the Mapuche communities involved. Because of these events, Chile has received international condemnation and many recommendations to end the criminalization of the Mapuche people. One such recommendation came from the UN’s Rodolfo Stavenhagen.
Ngā iwi e, Ngā iwi e
On the last night of the inaugural Pacific Youth Festival held in Tahiti between 17 and 22 July, it was revived as ninety New Caledonians cheered the end of the festival and sung for a new day in the fight for self-determination in the Pacific. They sang for freedom, their banner bearing the words “Delegation of New Caledonia” (a reminder to the festival of their refusal to march under the French flag). The song, echoing in the outdoor stadium as the sun went down over the harbour of Pape’ete, and the warm Pacific wind stirred the Kanaky flags they carried in their hands and wore around their necks.
On Saturday morning Charmaine and I prepared the hall for the around one hundred youth and interested observers, including two members of the French Polynesian Assembly, who came to discuss colonisation and decolonisation. It turned into a very successful forum and we were able to put colonisation back on the agenda of the festival. Samoans came to talk about their dark past at the hands of colonial New Zealand; Kanaky, Maohi, Cook Islanders, Palauans came to discuss their islands’ experiences; Australians came to vent their frustration that there was only one aboriginal in their delegation, Papua New Guineans remembered their brothers and sisters in West Papua, who the government had warned them not to talk about at the Youth Festival. The pain of the Pacific peoples flowed through the room, the hurt, frustration and anger at last beginning to be discussed in an open way instead of being swept under the rug.
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into effect, devastating small producers and workers with policies that allow cheaper, heavily subsidised US and Canadian goods to flood into the Mexican market. 
On the same day, 3000 members of the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) seized six towns and hundreds of ranches in the Southern state of Chiapas, Mexico as an action of resistance against the imposition of neoliberal policies that favour already powerful multinational corporations. For two weeks, the state of Chiapas resounded with the chant “’¡Ya Basta! Enough is enough!” as the people called for an end to five centuries of indigenous repression and exploitation and of the encroaching globalisation of corporate hegemony and cultural homogenisation. The Mexican army responded with bombs and bullets, killing at least 145 indigenous people. Mexican civil society responded with massive demonstrations across the country calling for an end to the military repression, and a ceasefire was called on the 12th of January.
Indeed, the leaders of the movement famously mask their faces with balaclavas or bandanas to symbolise their anonymity and equality with the suffering indigenous, peasants and workers. The movement has organised countless consultations and meetings at community, national and international levels, but always prioritising the voice of the people. As a result, they have established strong, autonomous communities with health clinics, schools and cooperatives producing various goods as deemed suitable for the communities by the communities. A dynamic form of government, (el Buen Gobierno, the good government) modelled on traditional indigenous frameworks, has been established, where leaders are seen as servants of the people and extensive community involvement occurs.
