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September 4, 2001
Special Report
Dispatch From Durban
By Charles Tanzer
DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA -- As the World Conference Against Racism reaches its midway point, negotiations over language for the final document have seemingly ground to a halt. Delegates cannot seem to find the elusive wording that will acknowledge the crimes of the past, highlight current racist practices, but most importantly offend no one and name no names. Illuminating reality without recourse to truth is proving a difficult proposition. There is no shortage of marginalized groups here. The Dalit of India have come, representing some 200 million untouchables, hoping to draw attention to one of the most overlooked and egregious forms of racism in the modern world. The Roma from Europe have arrived, as have the Native Americans, the Aboriginal Australians and a large contingent of African-Brazilians.
The United States was here too for a while, sort of, using the cover of defending Israel to justify its hostility to the conference. America spent its time challenging nearly every word of the text, objecting to language that might actually require it to take actual steps to combat racism or acknowledge that slavery was a crime against humanity. The other nations here shed no tears when the United States announced it was leaving; if America chooses not to take part in a global debate on racism, they reasoned, then good riddance. (Any legitimacy the United States might have conferred on the meeting by remaining and signing a final document would have been undercut by our insistence on a vague declaration that avoided real issues anyway.)
The Europeans are no better. They bristle at the slightest mention of colonialism. Certainly they have no desire to examine the brutality that allowed their empires to flourish. A development fund to help repair the damage done by colonialism was briefly considered, but that seems a distant memory. Now they will give nothing. Belgium leads the way; tiny Belgium, which killed so many in the Congo, opposes reparations to former colonies. Fidel was here, speaking to the opening session of the forum, giving a fifteen-minute soliloquy on the interconnectedness of global racism and corporate imperialism. When he concluded his talk -- off to give a three-hour speech (more his style) at a nearby rugby stadium -- the delegates and most media cheered him. They seemed overwhelmed by the sheer charisma of a man who has defied the world's most powerful nation for forty years and lived to tell the tale.
The Congressional Black Caucus is here. Its members held a press conference yesterday, criticizing the obstructive role the United States has played in Durban. And they spoke of reparations for slavery. America refuses to address the issue, but it simply will not go away. At the press conference, a reporter from Canada seized on statements by several African leaders here -- those who favor debt relief instead of cash for reparations -- to excitedly inquire if there was a split (a split!) between Africans and African-Americans. She was hotly shouted down by both the audience and the CBC members, who derided her for seeking the sensational. The real story, they reminded everyone, is the US refusal to make an honest assessment of its colossal historical crime.
And then there is the drafting committee, where the final document will be drawn up. That is, if delegates can ever agree on language acceptable to all. Should "peoples and States" be in brackets, no brackets, or do we nix the entire phrase? No less than twenty-five nations made statements about these three words during one discussion. The moderator, without even a nod to the surreal nature of it all, postponed further debate on the offending phrase until new consultations could be scheduled.
So while debate over language continues until the wee hours of the morning -- past four am last night -- the marginalized from around the world are waiting. Waiting for their their plight to be mentioned in the almighty text. Waiting for the conference to endorse creation of a monitoring body with teeth, one that will actually do something to countries that turn a blind eye to systemic racism. Waiting for an apology, for redress for past crimes. Waiting.
-- Charles Tanzer is the UN Correspondent for The Black World Today (www.tbwt.com).
Copyright (c) 2001 Charles Tanzer. All Rights Reserved.
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