A Common Platform for Asian Social Movements - Grassroots Global Justice Alliance

by Donna Truong, CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities

As someone still learning about our own movement in the United States, how we may increasingly strengthen our inter organizational networks, develop political analyses, and support our respective organizational efforts, I feel extremely honored and humbled to be in Bali amongst such powerful resistance against the neoliberal systems. Representatives from organizations from around the world, mostly the Asian region, brought their experiences of community power to the space, their resilience, their resistance.

Donna Truong of CAAAV with members of Social Movements for an Alternative Asia

Founding of Social Movements for an Alternative Asia

Social Movements for an Alternative Asia (SMAA) have been able to mobilize a number of international and national alliances and organizations under the common platform of “Another Asia is possible and necessary.” It envisions: “A new Asia governed by its peoples. Where democracy is real. A new Asia that is sovereign and not colonized by the financial capital or divided by geopolitical interests of superpowers. An Asian society that does not follow the consumption pattern of capitalism. That respects human rights of all and the limits of our Earth System. An Asia where there is a new balance between the countryside and the city to reverse massive urban slums of rural refugees. A new Asia that has food sovereignty and that shares with the rest of the world. A new Asia that is the peaceful home of diverse cultures and nations.”

Time and time again the people have witnessed the destruction of their communities, the migration of their loved ones, the loss of traditional and indigenous cultures and crafts. Movements across Asia have been organizing their communities and their countries to fight transnational corporations and the greed of capitalism, so that they may preserve their cultures, fight back the tyranny given to TransNational Corporations (TNCs) by local governments, create alternatives to the current oppressive system touted as the only solution for the world, in the name of progress, for the future. These organizations are now coming together to form SMAA so that they may unite and fight similar battles against oppressive systems. It allows the organizations and the movement in Asia to strengthen their collective voice, to broaden perspectives on the overall context, and to relate to each other for greater solidarity. As we begin to envision an alternative system we may begin to practice the type of society, system, and alternatives we want for our world.

Specifically for Asian migrants in the United States, SMAA reminds us of the importance of pan-Asian solidarity and organizing. We must engage in each other’s struggles: To be ready in numbers for rallies and actions; to engage in political studies; and to share tactics and strategies, all for the sake of building a stronger Movement of Asian and Asian Pacific Islanders in the United States. Much of the plundering we see in Asia and the Asian pacific islands affect social dynamics in communities in the United States. It is important to see that despite the challenges and divisions provided by language and culture, our histories and the struggles of our peoples, we are facing a fight posed to the entire Asian bloc. To unite is to survive. That is the hope we have for an alternative that truly transforms our conditions and our world regardless of where we are.