From The Jordan Times

Global roles By Dr Dureid Mahasneh

THE GAP between the North and the South, or should one say the rich and the poor, had not been bigger than it is today. What adds to the misery of the poor, the so called “developing countries”, is the absence of any active forum capable to carry their needs and present solutions to their problems. Thus, they are left to wait for the results of the meetings of the rich. Those rich, whether the G-8 or the OPEC, never pay attention to bringing relief to the poor countries' misery when they meet to discuss ways to increase their wealth or prices. The only thing left for leaders of the developing countries is to beg for mercy in the form of more aid or debt relief.

It is apparent that this has constantly fallen on deaf ears and the only reaction was more consultations, by the G-7 or G-8, on how to do something about the problem. Such consultations are continuous, with no results so far, with the exception of ideas to address major diseases in Africa, such as malaria or AIDS. Even the fake pretension of fighting these diseases is not producing positive results. The photo opportunity of the smiling African leaders with the leaders of the G-8 on the occasion of the G-8 meeting in Genoa was pathetic. Demonstrators were protesting G-8 policies that disregarded the needs of the poor and their killing of the environment to increase their wealth, while those leaders posed for photos.

It is actually a surprise that protest against globalisation is evident only in Western countries and absent in poor countries that suffer the most from globalisation, though this is due mainly to the absence of the right of expression in Third World countries. Actually leaders of the Third World countries are sometimes proud that their people are obedient and not irresponsible like those demonstrators in the streets of Genoa.

One can add that one disagrees with the violent patterns or means some of those protesters use. But one cannot but support their cause. The only positive thing about globalisation might have been the fact that the free flow of information is making people in the North know well problems of the South and react to them. In the absence of real dialogue between the North and the South, these demonstrators are the only means to make the G-8 listen.

In the meantime, one cannot but ask how the world can stay silent on massacres committed in Palestine by the strong Israeli army, well equipped, and freely, by some of the G-7 countries; how the world continues to accept the sanctions on Iraq and the killing of its children while paying the bills for it. It seems that killing children in the streets of Hebron or Gaza is less important than killing a demonstrator in the streets of Genoa. Massacres in Africa, where hundreds of thousands are butchered, are left unattended to while the West advertises its recent drugs and vaccines on malaria and AIDS. What is worse is forcing the South to pay the pollution bill of global warming as a result of emissions of factories and streets of the G-7 countries.

It is apparent that attempts by the whole world to cut down on these emissions are met with total defiance by the new American administration which is more interested in spending enormous funds on developing the nuclear shield than in addressing more urgent global needs. It is a pity that a country like the US, assuming the role of leader in the new era of globalisation, is setting alarming policies to the rest of the world. The US, where morals are high and rights of citizens are protected like in no other country in the world, is simply finding it easy to disregard the rights of others to live healthy and happily in this world. Thus, if Israeli bullets, or any other oppressors', won't kill people, pollution, diseases or poverty might do the work.

The world we share deserves more from the G-8, and in particular from the US. It deserves better channels of communication and treatment, and ethical rules that discriminate against no nation or people. It deserves a world where the environment is protected for the sake of all and where needs of the poor are addressed by the strong and the rich. This is the least requested to assure the survival on this planet. As for us, in the Third World, one wishes a positive interaction with the globe and its issues.