Food for a not so objective thought
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MORE ON THE POLITICS OF HUMAN RIGHTS WORK
What should drive human rights (HR) activists in their daily
work? Why choose HR and not another field? Why the appeal of
working, either locally and/or globally, to alleviate the suf-
fering of those whose rights are being violated? Are HR activ-
ists more aware of the political implications of their daily ac-
tivities both as professionals and as concerned citizens (two
inseparable spheres of action)? Can anybody working in develop-
ment evade the responsibilities that these questions bring with
them?
Human Rights Reader 56
OBJECTIVITY IN THE ANALYTICAL STAGES OF THE PLANNING PROCESS IS
NOTHING BUT A MYTH. (Part 2 of 16)
14. Two questions arise in relation to the objectivity of our
work:
a). Would the outlook for eliminating human rights (HR) viola-
tions in the world be any better if the people involved in this
work go through a concomitant process of more in-depth political
awareness acquisition and creation?
b). Would more efforts towards demonstrating the futility of as-
sorted ongoing development programs trigger such a new, more
militant, political approach?
15. The possible answers to these two questions are, again,
ideologically charged.
16. The needed creative anger to address so many of the injus-
tices at hand can only be mustered within the framework of an
ideology consciously acquired.
17. HR activists should be searching for a new ethos, a profes-
sional, more explicitly political ethos. The sense of (general)
social responsibility found in many (good) scientists and devel-
opment workers does not seem to be sufficient to see necessary
changes occur; alone, it leads nowhere. It may solve the con-
science problems of the person who devotes time and effort to
doing "something" to solve HR violations. But it has little ef-
fect on the real problems of the poor. An isolated emotional
commitment is loose and romantic; ideological commitment is
militant.
18. Popular involvement is absolutely fundamental to success in
HR work. What is therefore needed is more dedication to working
directly with the claim holders so they can tackle the viola-
tions they are victims of themselves. This calls for us to go,
as much as possible, back to field work to learn from the peo-
ple's perceptions of their problems, and to participate in their
consciousness raising. As outsiders, our role is to ask the
right questions and not to point at what we think is wrong: It
is only through praxis that political consciousness can be
strengthened.
19. In our work with communities, we have to pass from mutually
understanding the local immediate determinants to the analysis
and understanding of the local and then general basic determi-
nants of their condition. It is important to demonstrate to the
claim holders that it is in their power to change, not only the
physical reality that surrounds them, but the social reality as
well.
20. Local felt needs and claims have to be converted into con-
crete issues so that a course of action to address them can be
mapped out. This may involve people becoming more keenly aware
of their rights, as well as through challenging public agencies,
landlords and/or other duty bearers (individuals or institu-
tions) by placing specific demands.
21. The question that pops up at this point of our discussion is
whether this approach is realistic or not. If it is not, let us
keep in mind that not being 'realistic' is a judgment that his-
tory can change: what may sound unrealistic today can very well
become true tomorrow --if we work for it with decision.
--
Claudio Schuftan
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
mailto:aviva@netnam.vn