Break the World Bank report back

Wednesday November 14, 2007 17:32

by Grassroots Dissent

On Monday 12th November the World Bank met in the Grand Hotel Malahide. As happens all across the globe wherever the World Bank meet activists came together to send the message that the Bank is horrific, directly responsible for death and devastation, and we reject the World Bank as an institution with no legitimacy. Break the World Bank!

People gathering

On Monday and Tuesday the International Development Agency of the World Bank gathered in Dublin to meet. They were discussing, amongst other things, the amount of money that member countries would pledge to the lending arm of the World Bank. This money will then be loaned out with stringent ‘economic conditions’ attached.

We were protesting outside the meeting with the message that we reject the World Bank as an illegitimate institution that commits acts of economic violence around the world, devastating the lives of people living in poverty.

A vibrant and diverse crowd of about 60 turned out to Malahide this sunny Monday lunchtime to protest outside the World Bank meeting. The protest was lively with tunes from the wonderful Electronic Resistance, dancing from…everyone who felt like it, and fab vegan food had been prepared by ‘The People’s Kitchen’ (if you like lovely vegan food come to the Seomra Spraoi café every Sunday 2-4!)

This protest followed on from a fair bit of time spent meeting with and in dialogue with different groups; in colleges around the country and with NGOs who resist the World Bank’s polices in different ways.

As happens all across the globe wherever the World Bank meet activists came together to send the message that the Bank is horrific, directly responsible for death and devastation, and we reject the World Bank as an institution with no legitimacy. Break the World Bank!

We spoke on the day about how a small symbolic protest like this against an institution like the World Bank is only a part of building a movement for global justice and social change. Many of us here, like others across the world have been working hard at this for years now and we are at a point where there is a need to take stack of where we’re at and work out how to take this process further. Hopefully this discussion will take place at the upcoming Grassroots Gathering in January.

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Comments (1 of 1)

child's eye view

by Laurence - GD

Wed Nov 14, 2007 20:21

I spent the session with my two-year-old daughter, one of about half a dozen kids (mostly toddlers for obvious reasons) who were there. Well done to the organisers for making it such a friendly (not just child-friendly) event: the two-and-a-half foot view (as far as I could get it) was full of cheerful and friendly people (despite a bitter wind), colourful banners (which made great play opportunities), masks to wave, food, things needing painting and music. Most fun I've had at a demo in ages!

And well worth doing too, given that one of the most immediate effects of the WB's "economic conditionalities" is soaring rates of infant mortality: kids the age of those there, dying because food and fuel subsidies have been slashed, health systems cut to the bone, their mothers education out the window and other pleasant little effects of creating a world safe for capitalism at the expense of the poorest of the poor. When times get hard, the first to die are the under-5s.

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Break the World Bank report back

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