Human Rights | November 16, 2009 | 3 comments

Poverty, Global Trade Justice, and the Roots of Terrorism

source: http://www.yesmagazine.org/new-economy/poverty-global-trade-justice-and-the-roots-of-terrorism

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Vierotchka
To combat terrorism, we should address the root causes of poverty, says former "economic hit man" John Perkins.

Excerpt:

I recalled my visits with the Bugi people when I was sent to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi in the early 1970s. The Bugi had been infamous pirates since the time of the East India companies in the 1600s and 1700s. Their ferocity inspired returning European sailors to discipline their disobedient children with threats that “the bugiman will get you.” In the 1970s, we feared that they would attack our oil tankers as they passed through the vital Strait of Malacca.

I sat with one of their elders on the Sulawesi shore one afternoon. We watched his people build a sailing galleon, known as a prahu, much as they had for centuries. Like a gigantic beached whale, it was high and dry, propped upright by rows of gnarled stakes that resembled roots sprouting from its hull. Dozens of men hustled about it, working with adzes, hatchets, and hand drills. I expressed the concerns of my government to him, intimating that we would retaliate if the oil lanes were threatened.

The old man glared at me. “We were not pirates in the old days,” he said, his bushy white hair bobbing indignantly. “We only fought to defend our lands against Europeans who came to steal our spices. If we attack your ships today, it is because they take the trade away from us; your ‘stink ships’ foul our waters with oil, destroying our fish and starving our children.” Then he shrugged. “Now, we’re at a loss.” His smile was disarming. “How can a handful of people in wooden sailing ships fight off America’s submarines, airplanes, bombs, and missiles?”

(much more at link)
  1. groups:
    Human Rights
  2. tags:
    Terrorism,  Poverty,  Somalia,  Piracy,  2 more
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3 comments // Poverty, Global Trade Justice, and the Roots of Terrorism

  • jubal
    • 0
      jubal  

    • This article really hits the nail on the head. We need to improve the quality of life, lifting the masses out of poverty in order to change the cycle of violence and terrorism. People are willing to risk everything to gain freedom and feed their families, even if it means dying for your community. If these people had the chance to work, feed their families and increase their standard of living, the last thing on their minds is going to be dying as a martyr.

    • 2 years ago
  • samthesixth
    • 0
      samthesixth  

    • John Perkins is a truth teller. The personal experiences he recounts in Confessions of an Economic Hitman are applicable to all of us. He is absolutely correct when he says that we need to address various inequalities in an effort to combat terrorism. I agree. Is it enough to keep the small minority of Muslims who adhere to various radical fatwas that call for the killing of all Americans, not just those serving in the armed forces, from carrying out their instructions?

    • 2 years ago
  • neocongo
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