Presented at the
International League of People’s Struggle: Second International Assembly
“Advance the People’s Solidarity and Struggle for Liberation and Democracy against Imperialist Plunder and War”
November 10-14, 2004, Eindhoven, the Netherlands
Workshop 8: Youth on Education and Employment
Presented by Ugnayan ng Kabataang Pilipino sa Canada / Filipino-Canadian Youth
Alliance
“[As] youth…in the economic field, we seek national industrialization independent of foreign monopolies…We envision a just and prosperous society that is made possible only by the most intense and most effective political struggles of workers and peasants. We do not seek crumbs from the well-laden table of the almighty few but we seek general economic conditions that will not foster class exploitation.”
-Jose Maria Sison
The Uncertain Future
In this present age of imperialism, unquestionably led by the United States and supported by its motley crew aptly coined the “coalition of the willing,” the imperial interests of this despotic super-power seeks to expand its empire across the globe. Even before the destruction of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, the United States was bent on further monopolizing the economies of the world by employing belligerent unilateral and multilateral political, economic and militaristic measures to achieve imperial hegemony. The creation of the Bretton Woods institutions—The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB)—the pacification of Afghanistan and the present occupation of Iraq are past and present demonstrations of imperial dominion. In the existing realm of imperialist globalization, no one, apart from the minority elite of wealthy nations and periphery countries are spared in the wake of “collateral damage” in the guise of “nation building.” In the economic arena, the three pillars of globalization: liberalization, deregulation and privatization have widened the gap between rich and poor economies, and thus consequently worsened the conditions of workers worldwide, most especially workers of the Third World. The contractualization of labour, repressive labour policies, yellow unions, the lowering of wages and massive unemployment on a global scale are symptomatic of globalization. Youth and students are not only affected by this disorder, but must bear the insecurity of an uncertain future.
The 21st Century Imperium
To better understand the root causes of the global youth unemployment crisis, it is imperative to understand the present imperialist agenda of imperialist nations, in particular, the “American Imperium.”
To reach its target destination of absolute global hegemony, the United States uses its unrivaled military power to realize this goal. The United States, under the pretense of war as directed by the newly re-elected Bush regime, job growth and employment is immediate and abundant. As observed by Jayati Ghosh, Professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, on the United States’ war of aggression:
“…the very moves towards war against Iraq are in fact the US government’s way of trying to deal with the economic problem as well…
Wars have been – and remain – a classic way of diverting public attention from domestic problems and issues that governments are unable or unwilling to address effectively. But also, wars have typically been seen as powerful positive stimuli for economies that are suffering from unutilized capacity and unemployment. They create employment, increase aggregate demand because of enhanced public expenditure, and have positive multiplier effects. More recently, defense expenditure has been seen as playing a key role in productivity increases because of its impact on new technologies and their wider application.”
The United States’ gargantuan military-industrial complex is a booming industry as the latest technology is rapidly being produced and re-produced. Included in Washington’s industrial military complex is the manufacturing of military uniforms, boots, hats, accessories as well as the utilization of poorly-paid kitchen, maintenance and medical staff.
Moreover, American engineering and construction companies such as Halliburton (ironically its former CEO is current US Vice President Dick Cheney) and its subsidiary company, Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR), made a combined US$19.4 billion in sales to operate and clean up oil fields in occupied countries such as Iraq. Aside from the operations in Iraq, KBR signed a combined US$316 billion to build US bases and embassies in Kabul and Afghanistan.
Countries that have been indentified as part of the “coalition of the willing” have been awarded with “preferential treatment” for their unwavering commitment to the US war in Iraq. Since 9/11, the Philippines is the leading Asian country to voice support for the Bush-led war against terrorism. Shortly after destruction of the Twin Towers, the United States presented the Philippines with US$38 million in military aid and increased it to US$114.6 million in 2003. Additionally, Philippine President, Gloria-Macapagal Arroyo committed to provide Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW’s) to aid in the reconstruction of Iraq under the newly-formed Philippine Public-Private Sector Partnership for the Reconstruction and Development in Iraq.
According to Bulatlat.com:
“…up to 100,000 overseas Filipino migrant workers (OFW’s) would find their jobs in the war-battered Middle East country. Their employment was expected to generate millions of dollar remittances for the deficit-ridden government, among others. OFW’s, now counting almost 10 million in many countries across the globe contribute half of the country’s GDP.”
The deployment of US Troops in various war torn countries necessitates the rise of prostitution for no determinant grounds other than the rest and recreation for soldiers and for the accelerated, albeit unstable economic growth in occupied countries. For example, after the ratification of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) in 1998, as many as 2000 prostitutes reported for duty from Davoa to Zamboanga City. During the hey-day of the US bases, Subic and Clark in the 1980’s, the cities of Angeles and Olongapo in Metro Manila were economically dependent on the striving prostitution industry.
The artificial jump in employment of course fails to address the fact that when there is an accelerated economic growth spurt especially in the midst of financial and political chaos, it is at the expense of poor, working people and their families. As one Latin American general said about the so-called success stories of Mexico and Brazil: “The economy is doing great, but the people in it are not.”
Administering the Quick Fix, Aggravating the Malady
The working people of relatively prosperous economies are generally young workers between the ages of 15-24, and more often than not, they are the sacrificial lambs in times of employment and economic stagnation and chaos.
According to a recent study published by the International Labour Organization (ILO), youth between the ages of 15-24 represent nearly half of the world’s jobless, or make up the 47% of the total 186 million people who were without work in 2003. The report further explains,
“The relative disadvantage of youth is more pronounced in developing countries, where they make up a strikingly higher proportion of the labour force than in industrialized economies…Eighty-five percent of the world’s youth live in developing countries where they are 3.8 times more likely to be unemployed than adults, as compared with 2.3 times in industrialized economies.”
Additionally, the ILO determined that “The report puts the global youth unemployment rate at 14.4 percent in 2004, a 26.8 percent increase of the total number of young unemployed people over the past decade. Youth unemployment rates in 2003 were highest in the Middle East and North Africa (25.6 percent), followed by sub-Saharan Africa (21 per cent), the Transition economies (18.6 per cent), Latin America and the Caribbean (16.6 per cent), South-East Asia (16.4 per cent), South Asia (13.9 per cent). The Industrialized economies region was the only region where youth unemployment saw a distinct decrease (from 15.4 per cent in 1993 to 13.4 per cent in 2003).”
The ILO reported that poor working youth face “long hours, short-term or informal contracts, low pay and little or no social protection such as social security or other social benefits” and, despite being employed, youth are still unable to remove themselves and their families from poverty, thus young people are “increasingly dependent on their families and are more susceptible to illegal activities.” Youth are often discriminated on the basis of “age, sex and socio-economic background,” and that “Dominant ethnic groups fare better in most countries’ labour markets, and…that, in general, youth from lower income households are more likely to be unemployed.”
In response to the youth unemployment maelstrom, global institutions have provided temporary solutions to stimulate ephemeral employment.
Using the quandary of youth unemployment, the Youth Employment Network (YEN), a United Nations-World Bank love child was conceived to provide, “technical support and policy advice” to struggling countries, but have only distorted the economies of the periphery. In carrying out “targeted and integrated economic policies” to alleviate youth unemployment, the YEN has consolidated “10 leading countries” to champion such development agendas. To the avail of capitalist nations, the championing include: Azerbaijan, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Mali, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Sri Lanka—countries that are Third World, war torn or have been targeted as “rogue” or Terrorist States.
Beneath the charade of development and economic prosperity, lies a tainted confessional of privatization, liberalization, deregulation ventures to further bend Third World countries to the interests of imperialist globalization.
In Senegal, the Senegalese Public Works Programme was created by the World Bank and the African Development Bank to develop short-term employment for youth by privatizing and subcontracting the public works and services industry. By contracting components of the public works facilities, the program managed to create 350,000 short term employment, but only 6000 permanent were generated out of the US$33 million funded project.
Despite this concerted effort, Senegal must still contend to chronic overall unemployment, and since accepting further “financial support” from the “international donor community”, Senegal was coerced into further altering its economy. One such example was the devaluation of the Senegalese franc by 50% in 1994.
However much imperialist institutions try to soften the blow of the explosive rate of youth unemployment, they are quick fixes and merely aggravate the malady. The resolutions provided cannot eliminate the crisis as they do not sever the root cause of the unemployment phenomena. This is due to the fact that they are initiatives within the framework of the imperial brotherhood of the World Bank, IMF, ILO and United Nations whose priority is to propel the economic standing of wealthier countries and in doing so, throws the periphery economies off course.
A Necessary Reminder
“The youth of today are not only the products of the system; they are also the antithesis of that system.”
-Renato Constantino
The global situation of youth employment cannot be divorced from the current worldwide social, economic and political instability caused by the United States’ imperial agenda. Utilizing the threat of terrorism, US imperialism continues to pummel countries struggling for their national liberation for no other reason than for the expansion of its empire and beautifies “collateral damage” by way employment, irrespective of the reality that the majority of youth in occupied countries are unable to work, therefore jeopardizing their right to a life of fulfillment and dignity. Under the confines of monopoly capitalism, unemployment and the erratic nature and quality of employment is a necessary element for the maintenance of this present system. As US imperialism works for the acquisition of global hegemony, it is confronted with the contradictions of its dynamic yet regressive nature; thus employment programs are created for as long as they serve the interest of an elite clique who negate the needs of the society as a whole.
The jobs provided for the army of unemployed youth are oftentimes short-term, intermittent, low-paying and contractual with little or no benefits and protection. For those who are fortunate to find decent work it is for the most part, by nature, alienating and afflicting as the final output of human labour does not dignify nor develop the sense of responsibility towards their fellow people for the advancement and liberation of society, but for the immortality of imperialism.
As youth and students of progressive organizations, our participation here at the Second International Assembly of the International League of People’s Struggle under the over-arching theme of “Advance the People’s Solidarity and Struggle for Liberation and Democracy against Imperialist Plunder and War” is a reflection of the political determination and historical legacy characteristic of youth militancy. Moreover, our engagement is not only a necessary reminder for youth and students to further mobilize against US imperialism but to also dignify society where people young and old “can find meaning in life, short and perilous as it is, only through devoting themselves to society.”
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