Women's Resistance Conference—Excerpts from Speech

WOMEN'S RESISTANCE CONFERENCE — EXCERPTS FROM SPEECH Sunera Thobani October i, 2001 When I was invited to give a talkabout the currentglobal crises, I thought I would entitle it, If We Are All Americans Noiv, What's a Broum Girl To Do? If we in the West are all Americans now, what are Third World women and Aboriginal women to do? IfCanadians are all Americans now, what are women ofcolor in this country to do? I would like to thank the previous speaker for reminding us that we are on aboriginal land, but I want to add to her comments. We are living in a period of escalating global interaction on every front, at every level, and we have to recognize that this particular phase of globalization is rooted in the colonization of aboriginal and Third World peoples all over the world. Recognizing we are on aboriginal lands is a very important starting point for any one of our movements, but it cannot be the end point. There will be no social justice, no feministemancipation orliberation ofany kind foranybody on this continent unless Aboriginal people win their demands for selfdetermination . The second point I want to make is that there are profound injustices in the global order—profound injustices which are rooted in colonialism and imperialism. Third World women, I want to say for decades, but I need to say for centuries, have been making the point that there can be no women's emancipation, in fact no liberation, unless the fundamental divide between the north and the south, between Third World people and those in the West, who are now calling themselves "Americans," is transformed . There will be no emancipation for women anywhere on this planet until the Western domination ofthe planet is ended. We need to hear the words ofthose women even more clearly today. Today the United States is the most dangerous and the most powerful global force, unleashing horrific levels of violence all over the world. From Chile to El Salvador, to Nicaragua to Iraq, the path ofU.S. foreign [Meridians:feminism, race, transnationalism 2002, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 283-8]©2002 by Wesleyan University Press. All rights reserved. 283 policy is soaked in blood. Yes, we have all seen and felt the trauma and pain ofthe attacks in the United States and are trying to grasp the fact of the numbers ofpeople who died. We feel the pain ofthose attacks every day as we watch the images being replayed constantly on the television. But do we feel any pain for the victims ofU.S. aggression? 200,000 people killed only in the initial war on Iraq. The bombing ofIraq has continued for ten years now. Do we feel the pain ofall the children in Iraq who are dying from the sanctions that were imposed by the United States? Do we feel that pain at an everyday level? Do we share itwith our families and communities and talkaboutit on everyplatform thatis available to us? Do we feel the pain ofthe Palestinians, who have now been living in refugee camps for over fifty years? U.S. foreign policy is soaked in blood. And other countries ofthe West, including, shamefully, Canada, cannot line up fast enough behind it. They all want to sign up now as "Americans" and I think it is the responsibility ofthe women's movement in this country to stop that, to fightagainstit. These policies are hell-bent on the West maintaining its control over the world's resources, atwhatever cost to the peoples oftheworld. PursuingAmerican corporate interest should not be Canada's national interest. This new fight, this new war against terrorism that is being launched by America, is an old one. It is the very old fight ofthe West against the Rest. Consider the language being used: calling the perpetrators "evildoers ," "irrational," calling them the "forces ofdarkness," "uncivilized," intent on "destroying civilization," intent on "destroying democracy"— they hate freedom, we are told. Every person ofcolor, and I want to say also every aboriginal person, will recognize this language, rooted in the colonial legacy. Itwas used tojustify our colonization by Europe. We were colonized in the name ofthe West bringing civilization, democracy, freedom...