Diversity, a subjective challenge
Monday,14 September 2009 by Nishma
Diversity is a BIG word these days. I haven’t quite figured out whether that actually means anything specific (is it ethnicity? class? sexual orientation? sex?), but assuming that it was a part of the whole ‘racial’ argument (to represent the population fairly) - I decided to write this rather confused post.
In case my name doesn’t quite give it away, I’m not your stereotypical ‘white, middle-class, young’ protester. Well I am, all except the white part anyway. (A/N: Why is it ‘white’ and ‘black’? They’re all shades of a peachy-browny colour!) I’m an Indian-backgrounded girl who has lived in quite a few countries and really believes in campaigning. There’s not many of us in P&P - or in campaigning at all.
So, having assessed my originality, I began to wonder why…
Whistling Thorn Tree - spikes and ants
Education
I spent seven years in Kenya and have always felt it was home more than anywhere else. Through school, I learnt how whistling thorn-trees have a symbiotic relationship with ants whilst climbing Mount Longonot and collecting pieces of Obsidian. I discovered the slow choking of Lake Victoria and Lake Naivasha by water hyacinth whilst spending days at the Adamson’s old house. I saw the slow devastation of peoples lives as drought hit Kenya, whilst trying hard to pass exams under power-rationing schemes. But it wasn’t school that really made me a campaigner as, thanks to the-invasion-of-privacy-tool Facebook, I quickly discovered that no-one else is really doing anything environmentally related, and don’t really seem to care about it either.
Jain Tirthankar
Religion/Culture
I hate using the term ‘religion’, but I don’t know what else to call it. I grew up vegetarian, peace-loving and charity-minded because I was born into a Jain family. I attribute a large part of my beliefs and values to Ahimsa, a key tenet of Jainism, and a term popularised by Gandhi. Religion was a safe haven from reality; through believing in saving lives, trying to help and seeing all things as equal, I somehow became a university student. These beliefs were ideals, and trust me, I wasn’t ever even close to achieving what I had faith in.
As I spent almost all my school life surrounded by students who had no clue about my cultural and religious background, I think I grew pretty independent. I caught on to BBC world as my sad night-time hobby to try and fight away the isolated feeling of living in Perth, Australia and soon enough, politics became my thing. I joined the Green Party and Greenpeace Australia, following strictly Jain principles which had also been adopted by Gandhi - Satyagraha, or the path of truth.
And what’s the alternative?
People & Planet was the hard transition. I wasn’t really keen on joining a campaigning organisation which I thought didn’t have any positive impacts. However, failing to find any alternative societies with a similar ethos, I settled in the little P&P world. That’s not to say that in my first year I didn’t give up, because I almost did. P&P seemed cliquey. It was an alien society with a value system that I felt, back then, I couldn’t fit into. I wasn’t British, I didn’t know who Prescott was (though I could tell you a lot about Bob Brown and I predicted Kevin Rudd being the next PM of Australia). I didn’t drink or take any other form of ‘drug’ and followed Jainism (even if it was an atheist-based religion). I stuck around, I guess, because I didn’t have anywhere else to go.
Of course, that’s all changed now, having lost ‘religion’ but keeping faith with some of it’s key tenets: Ahimsa, Anekantvad, etc. Drinking now isn’t such a problem and I can tell you who Prescott is. Isn’t he the big guy? Or is he the grumpy looking one with a bizarre grin? I do like People & Planet, and I’m really glad that I did stay around.
But all this hasn’t answered the question. How does a campaigning group create diversity?
My Conclusions…
I don’t think my reasons for sticking around at People & Planet were necessarily positive. I do think that we need to transform the way in which we structure our campaigns and the way in which we conduct our meetings. Our attitude needs to change from one that is restricted for those who’ve managed to integrate to that which is accepting of new ideas and values…
Suggestions
- Positivity - a transition from the campaign action-only attitude to more community inclusive events, such as tree planting days, international food fairs for climate justice, small business pamphlets (with details of owners) to tackle corporate power, etc.
- Inclusion - organising events that cater for all the audiences, including non-alcoholic socials and things which may seems a little bizarre at first - how about DDD henna or a reclaim education monopoly championship?
- Broadening horizons - a way of trying to see things beyond the stereotypical climate-camp-going campaigner, such as discussion groups on ethics, politics and philosophy that are less regimental than the debating society’s.
If we want to be diverse, then we have to learn to be open to diversity of opinion.
Tags: diversity