Blurring the Boundaries: Perspectives on Globalization

magazine Volume 7 Issue 2

PASSION

Perspecitves on Globalization

Blurring the

Boundaries

2 Feb. 2012Passion

Newfound international mobility created cultural enclaves in Los Angeles, such as Chinatown as depicted in this postcard near the start of the 20th century.

Photo courtesy of the Archives and Special Collection Archives, William H. Hannon Library

Omnes Terra One of the unavoidable facts of the modern age has been the increasing tendancy to globalize. Across national boundaries, in all political, economic, and domestic affairs, the ability for goods and ideas to travel across boundaries is an evident manner of the modern world. However, one seldom considers the effects of globalization. True, it makes our lives as Americans much easier, allows for the exploration of business and jobs, and enables the large scale importation of goods, but what affects does it have upon other peoples? How do the consumeristic tendenancies of Americans support the systematic oppression of peoples across the world, limit opportunity, and outcompete foreign businesses? In this issue, you will find articles that touch upon the theme of globalization in some form or fashion, including spotlights on the Opus Prize, the School of the Americas protest in Fort Benning, Georgia, and the on-going femicides in Mexico, to name a few. The editors of Passion Magazine hope these articles will inspire you to think critically about the world in which we live, and will motivate you to act in a just manner. How do you contribute to oppression around the world? What can you do to better the quality of life for all peoples, not just the priviledged?

3vol. 7 issue 2 Passion

What's Inside

4 Feb. 2012Passion

Our StaffEditors-in-Chief: Monique Mansour Mukta Mohan Tauras Vilgalys

Business Editor: Rubi Barragan

A protestor at Fort Bennings, Georgia climbs over the fence protesting US interventionalism. He would later be arrested (page 14).

The three nominees for the Opus Prize stand alongside students who represented the LMU community and went to live among the organi-zations. (More about the Opus Prize on page 20).

8 HEAL Africa Sahar Mansoor

10 Femicide Rubi Barragan

12 What You Don’t Know Robert Cifuentes

14 Issues with Adventursim Jennifer Rodriguez

16 GK Phillipines Nick Pachelli

18 Occupy Wall Street Genna BloomBecker

20 Opus Prize Gregory Kamradt

ContentDesign Editors: Sarah Godfrey Yvonne Le Katrina Sherbina Danielle Zeiter


WatchThe Listening Project: A documentary following four Americans as they travel to fourteen countries around the globe to discover what the world thinks of America. They listen to people from all walks of life as they share their views on everything from culture to politics.

ReadMaking a Killing: Femicide, Free Trade, and La FronteraThis book tells the story of hundreds of women and girls that have been murdered and violated along the U.S.-Mexico border in Ciudad Juarez, examining social and cultural causes of femicide, such as globalization and NAFTA.

GOAttend an Occupy Protest or EventThe Occupy Movement got its start with just a couple hundred protestors in September 2011. Since then, it has spread over the world.Help out at an Occupy LA event or support the protest online.

The National Defense Authorization Act & SOPAThe act for military spending which, in addition to the usual support for foreign intervention, also violates civil liberties allowing the military to conduct action against US citizens who are suspected of terrorist activities without due process. In addition, congress is trying to pass the Stop Online Piracy Act which would allow for internet censorship.

ThePlacesWeLive.com A breathtaking interactive photo that takes you into slums across the world, introducing the people who live there. This website combines technological ingenuity

PROtest

click

Find PASSION online! PassionMagazine.tumblr.com www.facebook.com/LMUpassion [email protected]’d like to hear your thoughts and any ideas you have for future issues!

PASSION MAGAZINE publishs articles that put a face to the struggles of the forgotten, in the effort to reveal their dignity as human beings. In cooperation with the Human Rights Coalition, Passion seeks encourage a cycle of inspiration in our community through the sharing of ideas; forming a community where one student’s experience in social justice can inspire

another student to seek his own.

OUR MISSION

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10 Feb. 2012Passion

Femicide Globalization has taken its toll on the economy but has left a lasting effect on society, especially in Juarez, Mexico. On October 20th 2011, Cipriana Jurado, a social justice activist, spoke about the current femicide happening right now in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Femicide is the deliberate killing of women because of their gender. The Femicide occurring in Ciudad Juarez is connected with women working at maquiladoras. Maquiladoras are factories that are owned by private companies who set up these factories in foreign countries. Some of these maquiladoras are exempt from tariffs on their goods because of free trade policies. Over 1000 women have been violently and brutally murdered, most of whom work at maquiladoras. Those 1000 women are only those of whose bodies have been found but there are many who have gone missing or have not been reported. Women, ages 12 and up, had been disappearing since 1993 but it was only until 1995 and 1997 that the media had taken notice after hundreds of bodies had been found dismembered, raped, mutilated, and disposed of horrendously. In Making a Killing: Femicide, Free Trade, and La Frontera by Alicia Gaspar de Alba with Georgina Guzman, Gaspar de Alba states, “Few seriously examine the relationship between systematic violence against women and the changes in the social environments in a city that have allowed such violence to occur.” Alicia Gaspar de Alba also argues, “[T]he Ciudad Juarez murders are an extreme manifestation of the systematic patterns of abuse, harassment and violence against women who work in the maquiladoras –treatment that is an attributable by-product of the privileges and lack of regulation enjoyed by the investors who employ them under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

“Few seriously examine the

relationship between systematic violence

against women and the changes in the social

environments in a city that have allowed such

violence to occur.”


Femicide More capital calls for a demand in cheap labor and an increase in productivity. American companies in Mexico have exploited and abused women who work at maquiladoras directly though NAFTA. NAFTA gives regulations and laws for U.S. companies in Mexico but do not give rules as to how these regulations and laws should be applied and even further does not explain the vernacular used in those documents. For example, one regulation in NAFTA states how there is a prohibition of forced labor but does not include what forced labor means, so in actuality forced labor could mean anything and companies take advantage of the that fact. In these U.S companies, who are under NAFTA, women who work at maquiladoras, are not protected against abuse both physically and mentally, have no safety at home or in the workplace, and have minimal rights. According to Gaspar de Alba, maquiladora workers are, “typically someone with little education, and is often a migrant from even poorer regions of the country.” Government and company officials stereotype these women by stating that the victims are frequently dressed to go to go out, have abusers as boyfriends, and lead men on.

These governments are basically stating that women are at fault in their own murders for leading men on and getting involved with the wrong crowd. It is the policies of NAFTA and the companies that should be held accountable for the horrors happening to women while working at the maquiladoras. The way to help these families and women is to educate yourselves on the issue and as Cipriana Jurado mentions, to write to your local government officials. The femicide in Ciudad Juarez is a gender, social, and economic issue that needs to be resolved or there will be a continuation of the femicide. The precedent has been set for others to enact a femicide and the only way to rid that precedent is to stop the current femicide.

By: Rubi Barragan

12 Feb. 2012Passion

What YouDon’t Know

someone elseWill kill

Robert Cifuentes Post Cold War environmental geopolitics has brought familiarization to many students about current issues concerning environmental change and security. The economic globalization of markets benefits the rich and impoverishes the poor, while displacency between debaters looking for answers and the lack of education in the public system leaves most students in a state of disconcerting confusion. Reiterated concerns of neo-Malthusians have led us to believe that urgent measures are needed before our population growth consumes and pollutes more than we can produce and filter. Traditional industrialists argue that the cost of change is too high for energy that is considered


What Youto be an efficient low cost commodity. In concatenation with the 1960’s green revolution, the rhetoric is that they are able to supply the populous with the necessary resources despite population growth. Petrol and coal corporations spend less than 1% of their gross income on new technology for alternative energy. In contrast, millions of dollars are spent lobbying to limit environmental laws to sustain the low cost of energy. It is the loose enforcement and the lack of instating environmental laws that allows electricity to be inexpensive in today’s market. For instance, coal-fired power plants have low upkeep costs, which help maximize corporate profits, ensuring their future stronghold in the market. To increase profit further, many corporations turn

We are entering a bifurcated world.

BUY. CONSUME. SLEEP. REPEAT.

to third world countries where fewer environmental laws are installed, and labor is cheap.

This globalization process is great for business but is often harmful to what Robert Kaplan coins as “Hobbe’s First Man, the local people”. We are entering a bifurcated world. Nearly 500 million people in China lack access to clean water sources, and the air pollutants by coal-fired power plants make cancer the leading cause of death, killing

hundreds of thousands per year. Only 1% of the Chinese urban community breathes air that is considered safe by the

European Union. Consequently, the well-connected officials gather wealth from the authoritarian government addicted to its rapid growth. Students rarely think of these externalizations, because this information is scarcely lectured in public schools. We are not taught that much of the particulate pollution over Los Angeles originates in China. China will surpass the United States as the leading producer of greenhouse gases due to demand for non-necessities. Far too often, students do not know who the stakeholders are in the products they are buying. Globalization is a worldwide issue and not a local one. For instance, our public education system should

be responsible enough to tell students about the horrible working conditions people endure making iPhones; extreme labor that causes workers to jump out of factory windows. Now, nets are fastened around most factories as a safety precaution. A corporation does not benefit from relaying these truths to us. China’s pollutants hang over Los

Angeles, threatening our health, and yet we are encouraged to move around as usual and continue to shop, watch movies,

and visit restaurants. All of which can be easily managed and organized using the convenience of a smartphone. As the Weather Underground manifests, no action is an act of violence. Every concerned whisper muttered and forgotten in an article and every blind eye is a secret witness to an act of cruelty toward those who suffer from globalization. As the public school system fails to inform students about the externalizations of desirable consumer products, we continue to live out a false reality.

We are left to buy, to consume, and to repeat.

(1) Security and Environmental Change by Simon Dalboy. Pg. 24.(2) NPR, “Amid Focus On Spill, Obama Touts Alternative Energy” by Scott Horsley.(3) “Inner World of the Occult” Lecture by Jordan Maxwell.(4) Security and Environmental Change by Simon Dalboy. Pg. 75.(5) Atlantic Monthly, “The Coming Anarchy” by Robert Kaplan.(6) The New York Times, “As China Roars, Pol-lution Reaches Deadly Extremes” By Joseph Kahn and Jim Yardley. (7) Security Studies, “Who Care about the Weather? Climate Change and U.S. National Security” by Joshua W. Busby.(8) The Weather Underground. 2002.(9) They Live. John Carpenter(10) Journal of Geophysical Research

14 Feb. 2012Passion

In the United States, citizens have almost unbelievable access to information and freedom of action. Through an unfettered internet, world events are a few seconds away. We can stand up, protest, and requist change whenever, wherever, and however we want. However, by and large, American citizens are unaware of how we, as a country, affect other countries across the world. We don’t really think about the global militarism and empire building that our country participates in, prefering to think of ourselves as the protectors of freedom across the world. However, our forces do not always bear the guise of the peacekeeper, they often exist and are used in the pursuit of a world that is

safe for American captialism and economics, not necessarily the people around the world. The weekend before Thanksgiving, I was privileged to participate in the annual vigil in Fort Bening, Georgia to protest the School of the Americas (SOA). Through principles of a global battlefield and a fight against contrived causes, globalization influences the militarization of Latin American countries such as Haiti, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico. The U.S. justifies this militarization as a “war against fill in the blank.” In Mexico, it is a war against drugs, in El Salvador and Puerto Rico a war against communism, the Middle East a war against terrorism, and the list goes on. The reality is that there is

Issues with Adventurism

A Quest to Change America

By Jennifer Rodriguez

Above: A woman marches along with other protestors calling for peace abroad and an end to the United States’ support for foreign military regimes.


not a war, there is economic and political interest guised in the form of national defense. We are using our limited monetary resources to assist economic interest groups in their endless quest for profit. In doing so, we are not only controlling the political futures of toher countries, but also exploiting them as a source of cheap labor, an option to evade environmental legislation, and a nation that is economically and politically indebted to the United States. Despite this, we say we are being peacemakers and making the world safe, helping other countries that were formerly independent and never requested assistance. Help that is offered with food in one hand, and an assault rifle in the other. Meanwhile at home a

federal deficit looms, the military-industrial complex rages out of control, the education system fails, and millions of citizens go without basic health care. Where are our national priorities? When will people tell the difference between how America says it is, and how it appears around the world? This isn’t just a national problem; it’s a problem that affects each citizen. Educate yourself in what is really going on around us, and I don’t mean in Westchester, beyond the bluff in LA, or even the state of California. Let’s educate ourselves on global issues, for once this happens we will hopefully be called to action. You don’t have to go to a protest…you can sign a petition, let your friends on facebook know about the femicides in Mexico, go to that

one event for extra credit, maybe even just out of interest, that’s great too. If you need a start, go to soaw.org , and check out a protest led by Fr. Roy Bouigeious, a priest who wants women ordination. On the site, you will find other protests, including one with Martin Sheen and other prominent figures. The protest is not just a “hippie movement,” it is an act a civic participation, a chance for you to change the world. A chance that you should take advantage of. We live in a country where you are allowed to speak out, where you can protest the government. As Ghandi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Speak out.

Located in Georgia, WHINSEC (formerly the School of the Americas) is a training center for foreign soldiers. Officers of US supported regimes across the world are trained in modern weapondry, tactics, and intelligence. They then have been known to return to their home countries to use these skills not to serve their people or promote democracy. It is an iconic place as a training institution for regimes across Latin America and has become central in the battle against the US’s interventionalist policy. For years, LMU students have joined the annual protest remembering the martyrdom of Jesuit priests in El Salvador at the hands of an SOA trained military.

school of the Americas

Bellow: A wall of crosses stands against the fence at Fort Benning, speaking in silent protest, representing the martyrs of El Salvador.

16 Feb. 2012Passion

GK PhilippinesAn Organization’s Journey to End Poverty to 5 million Poor

Families by 2024

by Nick Pachelli


by Nick Pachelli

Seldom do we see groundbreaking organizations around the world that innovatively focus on the issues they were formed to address, concentrate themselves in the environment where they were created, and constantly spread their mission to nations who struggle with similar issues. One organization has done that, and is striving for more. Meet Gawad Kalinga (GK), a nation-building movement working towards eradicating the cycle of poverty at the grassroots level around the world. Their actions worldwide are a mirror image of their model of success in place at their home base organization: GK Philippines. GKPhilippinesistheoriginalorganization,whichworksto“developaslum-free,firstworldPhilippines,one community at a time.” (http://gk1world.com/). GK thrives as an organization because they incorporate every division of society: government, academic, religious, corporations, NGO’s, and private citizens. GK serves as a prime example of how to eliminate poverty in developing countries. GK started in Bagong Silang, Caloocan City, one of the largest slums in Metro Manila. The overarching concept established by GK’s founder, Antonio Meloto, who started the organization with a camp for youth delinquents, was to break the cycle of slum environments fueling a slum violence mentality, particularly for children and young adults. From there, the boundless organization expanded across the chain of over 7,100 islands, which make up the Philippines, as well as 7 countries around the world. Today, GK installs it’s focused development model in each of the countries they inhabit: Kenya, South Africa, Columbia, India, Cambodia, Indonesia, and New Guinea. This multifaceted approach strives to improve community infrastructures, child youth and development, health (gawad kalusugan), food sufficiency (bayan-anihan), community building, and the environment (green kalinga). To contribute to the overarching causes, KG utilizes the networks and connections they have established in leading nations to contribute better technologies, innovative ideas towards the organization’s future, and of course volunteers to visit one of their community bases, and eventually spread awareness of the issues and progress of GK. These countries include the USA, Canada, Austria, Ireland, and Australia. In the summer of 2012, with the help of LMU’s Center for Service and Action, and the Alternative Break Program, a group of eleven students will embark to the Philippines to work with the GK Community Building Project. For two weeks, the AB Team, with the support of GK, will bear witness to the value they call “bayanihan” (being heroes to one another) as they empower a village towards becoming “a community with one heart and one mind seeking the common good. In a world with continually advancing methods of communication and technology, the opportunities for continual service thousands of miles away grow exponentially, whether it be through spreading awareness, gathering donations for a project, or taking the larger step to collect a group of individuals to make a return trip. Thus, we wish all our peers embarking with the Alternative Break Program to the Philippines this year, to enjoy a greater understanding for the potential for kinship in the communities they serve, and work to discover how impactful international service can be. For more information on Gawad Kalinga, visit their website: http://gk1world.com

18 Feb. 2012Passion

The ability of individuals is an incredibly influential and inspiring force of change in our country and the world. Some examples of this are women’s suffrage and civil rights, among other advances that have been initiated and encouraged by public support. The Occupy movement that is currently gaining incredible momentum is hoping to have a similar effect on the narrative of the United States as well as that of the whole world. Occupy has spread to over 100 U.S. cities and over 1,500 cities around the world in only a couple of months. When I walked to the Occupy Wall Street General Assembly in New York City last October, I could feel the amazing energy of the protesters before I even entered the living area. At that point, people had been camping in Manhattan’s Financial District since September 17. The first glance was overwhelming, the amount of people packed into the square overwhelmed me. As I entered the encampment, I saw the wide range of issues and perspectives that the protesters represent. A very interesting aspect of Occupy Wall Street was the different sections of Liberty Square that the protesters had arranged. These gave the area a sense of a complete community of collaborating citizens that were determined to bring about change somehow. There was a comfort station, where protesters could get blankets and other necessary items, as well as a food station and a trash/recycling/composting center. The most moving parts of the square were the community altar/sacred space and the library. The

fact that there is a spiritual aspect to the protest elevates it to another level, and the encompassing quality of the interfaith altar was incredible to witness. There was a man wearing a yarmulke standing up and praying in front of the ambiguously decorated altar, as well as people sitting down, contemplating the altar. One man was even meditating while a General Assembly took place behind him. The incorporation of “Sacred Space” into the area’s name allows people who don’t necessarily affiliate with a particular faith to be included in the spiritual facet of the movement. Something that struck me about Occupy Wall Street’s library was the attention that was paid to education. Our culture has increasingly strayed away from education in favor of materialism. An odd coincidence: as I was writing this article, “Material Girl,” by Madonna started playing on my iTunes. Unfortunately, materialism is encouraged in every facet of society. The attentiveness to reading books on a wide range of topics at Occupy Wall Street was comforting, as well as the fact that the protesters were determined to remain informed as they were protesting. In addition to the library (on left), the whole ambiance of Occupy Wall Street was incredibly inspiring. There was so much peaceful energy in such a small space, and the determination to improve the state of our country was undoubtedly present. Regardless of any complaints about the Occupy movement, there is without question a collectively peaceful and powerful enthusiasm present among the protesters that is bound to create a positive impact in some way or another.


2 3

Occupy Wall Street

Genna BloomBecker

The role of younger citizens and especially college students in the Occupy movement can be monumental. Something that the Responsible Endowments Coalition, among a plethora of other groups, encourages is divestment from big banks. By moving the money in your bank account to a community bank or credit union, you will be strengthening the community around you while taking power away from the bank giants that have played such a big role in this country’s recent recession. Take the initiative to do what you can to transform the economy into something that helps people, not one that hurts them!

20 Feb. 2012Passion

Greg Kamradt

The Opus PrizeWork in Brazil


Leaving Los Angeles on my way to Brazil, I felt excited and anxious to travel out of the country for my first time. After arriving in Filadelfia, I was excited to meet Sr. Rita and see first hand all that I had read about. My expectations were blown away, and I realized that the words I had read were a small part of understanding the work she does. Sister Rita entered the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary 53 years ago, and for the past 26 years she has worked with small land owners and agriculture workers in the regions around Filadelfia in the state of Bahia, Brazil. Sister Rita is convinced that real change begins at the base roots, and early on she became aware of the richness of the local culture and the untapped resources of so many people. For Sister Rita, the promotion of the human person is a major priority. She believes that all are capable of assuming responsibility for their own lives. She has the capacity to stand back and let the people recognize their talents and capabilities. She believes in a better future for all, which is evident through the respect that the community shows her organization. While experiencing their culture, I realized how fortunate I am to have received the education that I have, while so many others do not, and that I have a responsibility to use that education to help others. We visited a small school in Filadelfia with about 20 kids playing soccer inside. As we walked in, all of the students came and watched us eat a great meal they had prepared for us. We learned

that this was the first time that they had seen Americans in person. Contrasting this experience with everything I have been blessed with in my life, I couldn’t help but think back to everything I have learned at LMU, not only within my major but also how to be a global citizen for others. With this education comes a responsibility to be aware of others in the world who need our help and also a responsibility to act. This experience has driven me to commit myself to help others in anyway that I can. I am truly blessed to have had this opportunity to gain a newfound sense of respect and perspective of another part of the world. As they say in Portugese, “Obrigado” - Thank you.

22 Feb. 2012Passion

Campus Ministry’s Ignacio Companions (IC) program offers Faith-Based Service-Immersion Trips focused on challenging students to live more fully the LMU Mission and to grow in their relationship with God. These trips provide a transforming experience in which participants’ faith and understanding of the world intersects and grows. Through immersion in different cultures and opportunities to be in service with and for local communities, participants discover the deep connection between justice and faith. Participation in the IC program engages students in taking a deeper look at their lives, their faith, and their educational experience. The program challenges them to become individuals more fully alive.

Our variety of trips include: Argentina, East LA/Mexico, Jamaica, and El Salvador. Campus Ministry offers these Faith-Based Service-Immersion Trips with the hope of assisting students to truly “Belong, Believe, and Become” during their time at LMU and beyond.

For more information please contact 310.338.2860.

ministry.lmu.edu

ignac io companions

Belong,Believe,and Become

Graduate Education Here at LMU, a culture in undergraduate teaching and research is typically emphasized. However, unknown to many students, there exists an equally prestigious graduate division. With programs covering all schools and colleges, the graduate programs emphasize continuing one’s scholarship and education while maintaining a foundation in the Jesuit principles governing the University. In recent years, the graduate school has been expanding, both in student population and in program variety. Over the past several years, some programs have grown at a rate of 5-10% which has allowed for an increase in the degrees offered but maintained a small student-teacher ratio that encourages collaboration and participatory learning. The programs are flourishing and developing, the MBA program is currently ranked 13th nationally. The School of Education is ranked 86 having jumped 45 points from its national ranking last year. In addition, the School welcomed its first doctoral degree in Educational Leadership for Social Justice and graduated its first cohort in 2007.

Wednesdays

9PMBeneath Sacred Heart Chapel

Blurring the Boundaries: Perspectives on Globalization

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Transcript of Blurring the Boundaries: Perspectives on Globalization