A new global debate emerged
from the street protests
of Seattle and Genoa and Prague. From the anarchist
tree houses in the Pacific Northwest to
the six-star hotels in Davos, globalization
has come under scrutiny as never before.
Defenders of the global economy acknowledge
the need to address poverty, but insist
globalization can wear a human face. Detractors
say the system is rigged against poor
countries; that there must be an alternative
vision that puts people before profits.
In Sri Lanka, a tiny island nation off
the southern coast of India, some say
this vision has existed for decades. Sarvodaya
is a village-based movement designed as
a viable alternative to globalization.
Too often, says Sarvodaya’s founder, Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne, "development
results in a few people earning lots of
money while millions of people are getting
marginalized. That kind of system cannot
sustain." So, beginning 45 years
ago, "Dr. Ari" began traveling
to the villages, slowly establishing a
movement he came to call "Sarvodaya
Shramadana" - a "village awakening",
with the "gift of labor." "We
said development is an awakening process,"
Dr. Ari says. "Within a couple of
years this expanded into so many other
educational institutions in the country,
and this became an independent national
movement; a movement where your gift of
labor, your land, your money, your skills,
are for the well-being of all."
To see Sarvodaya in action is to see,
for example, a score of teenage villagers
shoveling rocks in the rain -- their "gift
of labor" part of the village’s
assessment of its needs: in his case,
a new wall for the village temple. Other
basic projects include building schools
and water lines.
Sarvodaya
worker, and master drummer,
Krishna.
But in an increasingly connected world,
with the global influence of material
goods, the pressure from financial institutions
such as the IMF to keep wages low in Sri
Lanka, and the pull on Sri Lankan women
to seek work as housemaids in the Middle
East, such an effort faces immense challenges.
"The pressures we have from the
international financial system makes it
next to impossible to think of a commonwealth
of village republics, which is our idea,"
says Dr. Ari. "Our ideal is decentralized
political and economic power to the maximum
to the village. Bring it down to the village.
To bring a village to that level of economic
self-sufficiency or to become independent,
you have to use the existing financial
network. And still not become a part of
it. That is the most difficult thing."
Yet Dr. Ari's ardent followers -- of
which there are many -- would say that
despite the obstacles, what Sarvodaya
has achieved in reducing poverty and restoring
dignity in the villages is remarkable.
"As Dr. Ari always says, there
is a critical mass of spiritual consciousness
that has been created by Sarvodaya,"
says Krishna, who left the lucrative world
of advertising to work for Sarvodaya (and
who doesn’t use a last name). "So
the effects of that critical mass have
shed upon me. And I am absolutely happy
here. Because I know that nothing can
go wrong here. Because we are committed
to the upliftment of human beings, and
to awaken the human spirit."
Krishna
plays a Brazilian rhythm
