Omar

Another way of looking at the bright side of the corona pandemic is to enact new laws to enforce corporate social responsibility (CSR) to contribute with their fair share in the fight against the coronavirus. This in turn, could help reduce the pandemic culture of inequality which has gripped the world in the past three decades. Enforcing corporate contribution and curbing the greed induced inequality could generate sufficient resources and at the same time inspire renewed culture of compassion, equality and solidarity in society.   The problem   According to Oxfam report of 2019, “three African billionaires today have more wealth than the poorest 50%- or 650 million people across the continent”. Titled “A Tale of Two Continents”, the report was released in the eve of the World Economic Forum Africa Meeting in Cape Town in September last year. Therefore, the report reveals that the chorus of Africa Rising has an ugly back side, which is the rapid rising of inequality across the continent, in spite of the rising GDP.     The same goes for the US where the gap between the top super richest and poorest bottom in the USA has grown from 6 times in the 1970s to currently 60 times. According to the economist Jeffey Sachs, “The richest 10 percent of Americans in 2018 represented 70 percent of all wealth in the nation”  Even in the traditionally equal welfare Nordic countries inequality has exploded exponentially in recent years. We have more billionaires today and many poorer citizens than 30 years ago, when most people found themselves in the middle of the economic ladder. This what the Danish philosopher, poet and father of the popular education Grundtvig meant in the 19th century when he stated that “Society would be good when we have few rich people and even fewer poor ones”   The combination of these pro-business policies in favour of the rich have their roots in the Reagan-Teacher era of the 1980s. Ever since, politicians of nearly all colours have relentlessly and aggressively introduced tax-cuts for the rich, deregulations (laissez-fair) and public subsidies for the giant corporations. The result is what is rightly called corporate welfare at the expense of public welfare. Hence, nearly in every country, social services, education, health and public safety have been gradually starved of resources. Perhaps, this is why even the supposedly advanced countries of the West and the US are badly prepared for the Coronavirus. Instead, most countries have been foolishly investing in useless weapons of mass destruction while neglecting putting their hands where their mouths are. Ignorance and arrogance seem to prevent the Western countries from learning from countries like Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and China which have responded much more effectively in limiting the impact of the coronavirus. A former Norwegian development minister Erik Solheim lamented over the weekend, that the Western countries are not prepared to test citizens in spite of the fact that the pandemic occurred in China already more than three months ago 🙂  Armed with a huge arsenal of funds, the businessmen (the merchant has defeated the prince) have captured pillars of power from the judiciary to the executive as exemplified by Trump and other populist leaders, including clowns around the world. Super modern telecommunications and transportation systems have not only enabled the super-rich to take over political and economic aspects of life and push for financial globalisation while building barriers between people. It has also given them the tools to create and control the society of consumers we have today. This state of affairs has furthermore made it possible for the corporations to turn the world into an open duty-free like market for members of the consumer society to shop 24/7 around the year. This shopping rites are being done in near total disregard of the well-being of the planet’s ecosystems. The fact that in the final analysis, everything is connected and mutually interdependent was ignored in the pursuit of building and sustaining a pyramid-based society, in which few people have too much and many have too little.   The consequences  The inevitably consequences of this economic house of cards is the recurrent offshoots and financial collapse almost every decade. The founding fathers of the current world disorder seem to have forgotten that in a limited planet with limited resources, there must be a limit to growth. The malaise of this unsustainable politico-economic system has been documented many times over both by experience and experts and caused huge amount of suffering and destructions including two world wars. Please, see a video by journalist and climate campaigner Naomi Klein on link 1 below.  How not to repeat history again  Our authorities must learn from history in order to avoid repeating the same fatal mistakes as in the past. Instead of enabling the giant corporations again to cash from the COVID-19 tragedy and get away with it, the public authorities must be vigilant and act differently this time.   Let’s take the chance the coronavirus had offered  The coronavirus quarantine has given us back the time and space we lost in pursuit of materials goods and “bads”. Before the coronavirus took away the freedoms, we took for granted like hugging, handshaking, visiting each other, walking close to one another, going to work, gather together, to shop in shopping malls, party in bars, pubs, night clubs, cafés, restaurants, cultural events, the mantra in everyone’s lips was: I don’t time. Now we have plenty of time to think and learn to hopefully understand ourselves and life around us better to act for common goods.  This applies to individuals, public, private and civil society sectors.  So, let’s seize the chance the corona offered.  A new social contract for public good   To effectively confront and hopefully tackle the extra ordinary situation the COVID-19 has caused, we need a creative and far sighted vision of a new society in which there is a legal limit in the gap between the super-rich and super poor. Such a social contract will also require the private sector to contribute with a fair % of the wealth they generate from the society and the planet. Towards this new social contract, I propose the seven points below:  As a first step, other countries should consider replicating the measures the Danish government has introduced to deal with the crisis. Thus, the Danish government has offered to pay 75% salaries of all public and private employees for the next three months. It has also introduced various measures aimed at helping public and private enterprises cope with the crises. To fund these measures, the government is borrowing a lot of money on behalf of the public in order to keep society functioning under these special circumstances. In the short term, these

“We are all in this together” a quote by Lily Tomlin which is often repeated on the internet in regards to Coronavirus these days. A number of inspiring articles on how should we turn this unfortunate situation and lockdown into something meaningful are published every day. I got so much inspired about an opportunity of using these slow and long days for things and activities I did not find time for in the past months or even years. This is all so amazing, how people can uplift and support each other by seeing something little positive in the world´s tragedy. I am not an expert on Coronavirus but I try to keep myself updated and sufficiently educated about this issue on the level of an average person. However, I want to share my personal feeling about the current situation from the perspective- not factual, inspirational nor educational, but human. It is very simple. I feel disappointed. Why so negative? Let me explain. Firstly, as a family member, colleague, girlfriend, and friend I do feel a lot of support, love and caring from all the members of my close circle and I do my best to give my love and support to them too. During the recent days, we all are checking on our beloved ones and people we care about a little bit more carefully and more often than usual, naturally, due to the seriousness of the situation. But it seems to me, it ends there. When no string and connection is attached to a person, we simply consider that person a “stranger”, a “competition” someone we have no reason to care about. Today, we are witnessing how people fight over toilet paper, or just buying an unnecessary number of items. Pharmacies in some countries are being sold out on paracetamol, vitamins, and medicine, which won´t treat COVID-19 anyway. People in pharmacies buying medicine, which won´t save them from Coronavirus, but they are forgetting, that there are still people, who are getting sick from regular illnesses and are in need of basic medicine? Instead, these people selfishly putting their own needs ahead of the needs of people “outside of their circle”, “strangers”, who are all a part of the community. Secondly, condemnation and judgment of other people´s actions. Either you are labeled as hysterical by staying locked in the home and behave in accordance with all government´s official restrictions or recommendations while wearing a face mask, or you are a selfish person who put others in danger because you take a walk in the park during a sunny day. We judge, based on our own approach to the situation and own believes. I am not talking about what is responsible to do and what’s not, I am talking about hatred which we spread amongst each other, rather than try to understand the reason behind their behavior. Are people missing knowledge about the seriousness of the situation, or they are just ignorant or irresponsible by putting themselves and others into risk? This is another topic to assess, I am not aiming for this. What I try to express, is how we behave towards these strangers. As I see it, outside of our close circle, we are not humans, we do not act as “we are all in this together” community. If we do not start spreading care and love towards “strangers” instead of judgment and hate, if we do not stop making our own exception for going to a café or outside, while our local situation is dangerous, we are not all in this together, we are in this on our own. What the world needs today, is that all of us sit down and think about what does it mean to be part of the local, regional and world community and understand, that another “stranger´s” problem is also my problem. Let´s use this situation not just for decluttering our messy apartments, catching up on unfinished books but also let´s rethink what being part of the community really means and feels. Then we will not just BE all in this together, we will FEEL that we are in this together from every corner, supermarket and pharmacy we take a step in.  Author: Martina Popaďáková

The CORONA Quarantine is not only limiting our mobility, bringing our everyday lives in turmoil and breaking down our social pursuits, but it might also expanding our imagination and compassion toward those millions of people whose daily lives in fact have been quarantine for decades, years, months for weeks by powerful people. Sadly, quarantining is an everyday reality The hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants currently held in slave concentration camps in Libya, in swamps and mosquito infested camps in South Sudan, on islands on Lesbos in Greece, on the Mexico-US border where a pregnant woman fell from the Trump wall and died on the spot today, refugee camps in Bangladesh, in the DRC, in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, the jungles on the margins of rich cities in Europe and the indigenous people fighting for their survival (and ours) in Amazonia etc etc etc. Unlike the Coronavirus, the driving causes of those limitations are purely man-made out of greed, sometimes short sightedness or even unconsciousness and lack of compassion. Lack of understanding and respect for the fact that the wellbeing of people everywhere is inextricably interconnected to us – and our interconnectedness is inherent in the globalised world we have created. Thus, let’s turn the limitations the Coronavirus has imposed on us into opportunities – we can simply ask ourselves “how can we turn the situation we are in into an opportunity for something meaningful? How can we seize the extra time to reflect honestly and deeply on what the coronavisrus in fact is teaching us? What might it even teach us to let go of) Let’s seize the opportunity to reconnect with ourselves and those we love. Let’s take advantage of the online platforms to phone, email, chat with those we forgot or didn’t have time to reconnect with, because were too busy running around – to care for one another. Let’s also clear, clean and re-arrange our indoors, bookshelves, old CDs, clean, fold and give away the many clothes, the booths, the shoes, we know we will hardly have the time or the needs to use. Let’s clean our gardens (those who have the luxury), parks and other surrounding spaces to help it them be clean, healthy and beautiful. Let’s be creative in making and eating according to our needs to avoid hoarding food from the shops. Let’s go for a long and fresh walk and enjoy the opportunities while we consider and support those in need  in our families, neighbours, friends, networks and other fellow humans and other beings we share this planet with.  Let’s do some non-violent or non-competitive sports, like meditation, yoga, Thai-Chi and dances. Let’s read the books we did not have the chance to read and read again the books we read long time ago. Let’s listen to our favourite music while we open old photo albums and rejoice in and reflect upon the good old days when we were younger and our kids were babies, teens and parents were with us, younger and stronger Let’s recognise, appreciate and share the privileges we are blessed to have and enjoy. Let’s use our position of power and influence  to consider, talk about and do something to help relieve the pains of and sufferings of those who have been unfortunate to find themselves in the wrong places, at the wrong time with wrong people in power shaping the circumstances of their lives. Finally, also remember that limiting our often-unnecessary mobility is good for Mother Earth as it reduces the severity, frequency and size of our footprints on Her body and soul I stop here and walk the talk by going for a long walk and do some of this I wrote about above Stay calm, safe and smiling  Love and respect Garba

Like, many other good people around the world, we celebrated International Women’s Day in true Crossing Borders way. in this CB way, some 150 people from many different backgrounds, nationalities, ages, genders, and professions came together under the same roof to shed light and height the lives of women on the move, who have made it against multiple odds. For this we had 8 amazing women from 8 different countries share 8 powerful stories, songs, and poems with delicious food prepared by 8 men 8 different countries. The hall was full of people, deep emotions and inspirations. People left the place with positive energy, smiles in their faces and tears in their eyes and determination to make the world a better place for all. A billion thanks to all those who came to be with us on this day, many thanks to the powerful speaker that gave us some food for thought, the poetries that we heard from Wanjiku Seest and Sarah Diallo were super powerful and made us think, the talks by Mozhdeh Ghasemiyani, Suzana Milovic, and Mary Consolata Namagambe opened our eyes on a lot of struggles that women still facing up to those days, and we don’t forget the very amazing music and powerful song words by Pernille Tolou Isedora Johansson that you are hearing in the video below. Special thanks go to our Vice-Chair of CB board, Rikke Rønholt for moderating the whole event and introducing the speakers, as well as a big thanks, go to our CB Board Chair, Vibeke Quaade for the event opening speech. You all have made our night unforgettable. We don’t forget the CB team and the great cooks who made the food, the great team that makes things happen, we feel so lucky to have such a team from different countries in one place, working on the same missions, to create a place where people could live in peace. Thank you dream team. Photos credit: The pictures are taken by one of our very own, the talanted photographer Kannan P Samy, Project manager and CB board member.  Facebook: Kannan P Samy  Instagram: Kannan P Samy 

I spoke to Garba Diallo – the managing director of Copenhagen-based NGO Crossing Borders and self-proclaimed citizen of Globalistan – about how the organisation was created, the value of education and dialogue and his nomadic origins in West Africa. Garba explained the normality of human movement, the dangers of “Hygge Democracy” and, most importantly, why Jeff Bezos doesn’t own any cows… “I come from a nomad culture in West Africa. We don’t really see borders. I am a part of an ethnic group spread over 25 countries. We are not settled people. You know, we are always crossing borders, we don’t really give a damn up to today about them – if it’s green on the other side, then…!” Garba Diallo is from a community named the Fulanis who constitute one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa, despite being spread across 25 different countries. They usually find themselves marginalised due to the fact that they are, by nature, unsettled minorities. Before setting off on a journey that would eventually see him settle in Denmark, Garba grew up as a cowboy in Mauritania. As a teenager, he went to a local school he said he felt was a prison: “I ran away after a few months because it was not a school but a torture camp. Our languages were banned and our culture was not respected. We only learnt about French history. Vive la France! What you gained at that school did not make up for what you lost!” He escaped this place and returned to his village, where at the age of 19 he decided to pursue his own education and begin his journey across the world. In doing so, he achieved fluency in French, Danish, Arabic, Norwegian, Swedish and English as well as his native tongue of Fulani. Using any transport he could, he made his way to Libya and later received a scholarship to study and work for two years in Qatar. It was from here that Garba swapped the barren heat of Asia for the bleak cold of Norway to study his dream subject of International Relations and Development Studies. After I asked him about his experiences as a migrant here in Denmark, Garba was quick to correct me: “First of all, I am not a ‘migrant’, I am an expat! I was invited as an expert from the North (from Norway) and landed here in little Denmark. The expat should be white! Normally it’s a contradiction to be black and to be an expat!”. Crossing Borders’ activities began in 1999 with a project that brought 60 people from Israel and Palestine together to debate and produce articles. According to Garba, changing formal education and the curriculum isn’t easy. “In all the arab textbooks, Israel doesn’t exist!” he says, “And in all the Israeli textbooks, Palestine doesn’t exist! Then I joked with them and said, well then, there is no problem!” It is instead through informal education and the media that change can be achieved. The Israelis and Palestinians produced articles together and exchanged roles during debates: the Palestinians became part of the mainstream zionist movement, the Israelis the Palestinian Liberation Organization. “No one is born Jewish or Muslim or communist or capitalist. It is society that makes you into that. And education. From the school, the home, the media. We felt the key was education, but informal education. The formal one is a no go. You go from A to Z, studying what is decided by the authorities. There is space, with extra-curricular and informal education, where you can influence.” Crossing Borders is clear about its motivations – to produce dialogue in society and in the process create active global citizens. Garba says that this now occurs in the context of a battle over information in modern society, where data is fast becoming our most precious resource. “Information is not only power but money. Powerful people in the world are producing information, there are no cows running around belonging to Jeff Basos”. Now based in Ubuntu House right in the centre of Copenhagen, CB coordinates over ten international projects in a variety of locations from Uganda to the Caucasus; they all aim to promote dialogue in society. Here in DK, Crossing Borders has a school workshops program, aiming to bring the world into Danish classrooms and bring Danish classrooms into the world. Crossing Borders views maintaining authenticity as extremely important and when it goes into schools and creates dialogue among young Danes, it isn’t Danes who convey the message. “We use people who are part of this story, we use migrants, we use refugees to talk about refugee issues and immigration issues, we use people actually who are suffering from climate change, from Somalia and the Middle East, where water is running out, or certain parts of the African Sahel, to talk about climate change”. In Garba’s view, Denmark offers great opportunities if you have the vision and knowhow to carry out your ideas and funding is plentiful. However, he also discussed how hard it is to be an expat in a country with such a tight knit population. He railed against a phenomenon he cheekily brands ‘Hygge Democracy’ – what he sees in Denmark as a kind society ready to take care of each other, but simultaneously excluding those who are different. In a challenge to such thinking, Garba takes pride in the sheer diversity of his organisation. Crossing Borders has volunteers and employees from 20 different countries in the central office in Copenhagen alone, and many more among its representatives across the world. Time has run out, but Garba feels he needs to sum things up: “We are united as human beings, as people who have the energy, will and vision to create a world that they want and deserve to live in. Crossing Borders is there for you and you are welcome to join. All ideas are welcome, nobody is dismissed and we are ready to go out learning and