November 2019 - The world in turmoil

Yolanda ZIAKA, Yolanda Ziaka, novembre 2019

Across the globe, from Lebanon, Iran and Iraq, to Chile, Bolivia, Haiti, Hong Kong, widespread protest movements, in at least a dozen countries, are shaking the planet.

Is there any common dynamics in these quasi simultaneus social explosions?

Across the globe, from Lebanon, Iran and Iraq, to Chile, Bolivia, Haiti, Hong Kong, widespread protest movements, in at least a dozen countries, are shaking the planet today.

People take on the streets in peaceful demonstrations that often descend to chaos, protesters engaging in ’battles’ with police forces. Dozens of people might have been killed, hundreds are gravely injured, while there is the fear that violence in certain cases could spin out of control.

Is there any common dynamics in these quasi simultaneus social explosions?

It seems, at a first glance, that although the geo-political and social contexts are obviously completely different, there are some essential common claims form people that have invaded the public spaces.

Protests are lit up by seemingly trivial claims: to oppose the hike in metro fares in Chile, the charge for voice calls via messaging services such as WhatsApp in Lebanon, fuel price hikes in Iran, the ecological tax on fuels, a year ago in France.

However in most cases, protests unleashed a surge of discontent revealing a much deeper crisis and spiraled into broader movements against the high cost of living, high unemployment, poor public services, corruption, oppression by political authorities and abuse of power and privileges, police repression, inequality.

“The young Chileans, children of a prosperous nation presented as a model of democratization, have little in common with their Iraqi counterparts, who are demonstrating in a country devastated by two decades of war and instability. US teachers on strike for more resources do not share the same daily life as the protesters occupying the squares of Beirut. And yet, in all these demonstrations, a motto comes back: the demand for more social justice.” [1]

These social explosions have been added -or better, intrinsically linked- to the wave of demonstrations following more political causes, mainly around democratic demands. We could then discern two major cross-cutting claims, Democracy and Social Justice, in the heart of the challenges shaking our world.

We follow everyday’s news from the battles around the world anxiously, feeling deeply the interdependancies that link our lives tightly in a community of destiny.

In solidarity with people around the world fighting for their dignity!

Yolanda Ziaka

[1] Lucas Chancel,« At the heart of crises, the demand for more social justice and access to essential services », in “Le Monde”, November 8th, 2019