Friends Bulletin- Building the Western Quaker Community Since 1929-July and August 2001

24 Pages·2001·2.8 MB·English

"Building the Western Quaker July-August 2001
Community Since 1929" Volume 72 Number 6
The World Trade Organization
and Economic Justice
Slavery Mauritania
in
The Energy
Crisis
in California
What Can Do?
Friends
Friends Bulletin From the Editor Economic Justice and the "Business of Our Lives"
The official publication of T
Pacific, North Pacific and he photos on this month’s cover (by gifted AFSC photographer Terry Foss) I find deeply
Intermountain Yearly
troubling and haunting. They remind us that millions of workers in Mexico, and tens of
Meetings of the Religious
millions around the world, are living in deplorable squalor so that we can have a comfortable
Society of Friends (Quakers)
(Opinionsexpressedarethose lifestyle here in America del Norte. And while we Californians fret about the possibility of
oftheauthors, rolling blackouts, countless workers in developing nations lack electricity, or even mnning
notnecessarilyoftheYearlyMeetings.)
water.
Editor Even more troubling is the image of 500+ memorial crosses, placed at the border during
Anthony Manousos an AFSC demonstration. Each represents a Mexican who died while trying to cross the US/
—
5238 Andalucia Court Mexico border that deadly line separating the complacently affluent from the desperately
Whittier, CA 90601
poor.
Phone: [phone] When we use abstract terms like “the free market” and “economic justice,” we need to
Fax: [phone]
keep these graphic images in mind.
[email protected]
We also need to ask ourselves some hard, practical questions:
Web: www.quaker.org/fb
What can we do that will actually help “to enable the poor and save the planet” (to use
EVrVM Corresponding Editors
Jack Powelson’s phrase)?
Alicya Malik
2693 W AvenidaAzahar Does it help for us to reduce consumption and/or boycott products made in maquila-
Tucson, AZ85745 doras and “sweatshops”?
HenPrOyBSeolxler1s2651 Should we share our wealth, and ifso, how much?
Albuquerque, NM 87195 What development projects are really making a difference?
NPYM Corresponding Editors As we struggle to address questions such as these, it is clear that as people of faith, we
JeanTriol have two primary responsibilities:
PO Box 367
MT
Somers, 59932 to enable the poor to have their fair share ofthe world’s resources, a decent standard of
PegMorton
510 Van Buren Street living, and economic opportunity to better themselves and their children.
Eugene, OR 97402 to preserve the planet from environmental devastation.
PYM CorrespondingEditor How we bring about these desirable objectives is not so clear, however. Economic issues
Marybeth Webster can be extremely complex.
PO Box 2843
Grass Valley, CA95945 Quaker economist Jack Powelson is convinced that, ultimately, the free market will bring
about empowerment and prosperity for everyone, including the poor. Others strongly feel that
BoardofDirectors the government and/or “we the people” must intervene to protect workers and the environ-
LannyJay, Clerk ment from the seemingly insatiable greed of big corporations. The AFSC, Quaker Bolivia
18602 OldMonte Rio Rd
Guemeville, CA95446 Links, Right Sharing ofthe World’s Resources, and other groups support small-scale commu-
Alan Chickering, Treasurer nity development projects that enable the poor to ameliorate their condition.
1916 OrangeSt SE, Apt B
WA There are no easy or quick fixes. The twentieth century was full of economic experi-
Olympia, 98501 —
We
Anne Friend, RecordingClerk ments some of which have failed miserably, and some of which appear to be working.
2649 Kenwood Ave need to educate ourselves about basic economic facts so that we can promote policies that ac-
Los Angeles, CA 90007
Jeannie Graves tually work “to enable the poor and save the planet.”
PMB 131 Box 8049 I hope that readers of Friends Bulletin will contribute their thoughts and knowledge, as
Newport Beach, CA 92658-8049 they have done in the past; we all benefit from thoughtful dialogue. And I hope that we can
MaryLouCoppock
514 EColgate keep in mind, and in our hearts, what that quintessential Quaker economic thinker, John
Tempe, AZ 85283 Woolman, wrote in his Pleafor the Poor.
Phyllis Hoge
213 DarmouthNSME Our Gracious Creator cares and provides for all his Creatures. His tender mercies
Albuquerque, 87106
Lisa Down are over all his works; and, so far as his love influences our minds, so far we become
POBox 11197 interested in his workmanship, and feel a desire to take hold of every opportunity to
WA
Bainbridge Island, 98110 lessen the distresses of the afflicted and increase the happiness of the Creation. Here we
Jim Kimball
3050NW LynwoodCircle have a prospect of one common interest, from which our own is inseparable: to turn all
CorvalUs, OR 97330 the treasures we possess into the channel ofUniversal Love becomes the business ofour
RobertGriswold
lives [The Journal andMajorEssays ofJohn Woolman, ed. Phillip Moulton, p. 169].
1745 Cherry St
Denver, CO 80220
V
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—
Page 2 Friends Bulletin July-August 2001
WTO SEEKING TRUTH
"Hey, Hey, Ho, Ho, Has
TOGETHER:
Got TO
Go...."
Enabling the Poor
and Saving the Planet
by Jack Powelson This proposition has been virtually in the Manner ofFriends
Boulder (CO) Meeting proven by history. Europe, the United
States, and Japan are today’s most devel-
H
ey, Hey, Ho, Ho, WTO Has Got to oped areas. England has had wide open
Go! So sang the protesters who trade for centuries; in continental Europe
brought both the WTO (World Trade Or- and Japan internal (within-country) barri-
ganization) and the City of Seattle to a ers were torn down in the nineteenth cen-
halt in November 1999. My travels among tury and external barriers re—duced in the
Friends had ended by that time, so we did twentieth. The Asian “tigers” South Ko-
not discuss the most controversial issue of rea, —Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singa-
the year, if not the decade. Although most pore have grounded their startling ad-
of the protests were peaceful, “police in vancement in the twentieth century mostly
full riot gear with armored personnel car- on free trade. The 1999 Index of Eco-
riers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at nomic Freedom shows that “countries by.Jack Powelson
w'ithchaptersbyGustenI^utter
protesters who refused to move. Masked with the most economic freedom also and Jane Kashnig
youths rampaged through the streets, have higher rates of economic growth;
smashing shop windows.”' their people are better off, at all income T
^ his article originally appeared as a
Suppose the two sides had discussed levels.” chapter in Jack Powelson’s book
the controversy in the manner of Friends. Trade barriers, such as tariffs, quotas, Seeking Truth Together, which is avail-
In order to imagine this unlikely circum- and other restrictions, make goods more able free to readers of Friends Bulletin.
stance, below I have simulated such a costly to consumers. For example, you Send check for $2 (for postage and han-
conversation, between a protester desig- pay more for your sugar than if you could dling) to 5238 Andalucia Court, Whit-
nated as “P,” whom we assume to be a import it freely from the Dominican Re- tie, CA 90601. Responses to this article
Friend, and an advocate of the WTO des- public, or elsewhere. These extra costs are are welcome and will be published in
ignated as “A.” Since both protesters and especially hard on the poor, who spend this magazine, as space permits.
advocates have tended to be confronta- almost all their income on consumption. Those interested in becoming in-
tional, the simulation below does not rep- P P: You seem to be more con- volved in a discussion of “Liberal
resent their arguments as they actually cerned about consumers than you are Quaker Economics” should contact
made them. Instead, they are the positions about workers.
<http://clq.quaker.org>
that might have been taken had the actors A: I’m concerned for workers too.
been Friendly and non-confrontational.
P: We have three principal com- Where the Author is Coming From
WTO.
plaints against the First, it facili-
by Gusten Lutter
tates the export of jobs from the United
States to areas of cheap labor. Second, it Jack Powelson has spent thirty years studying the development of the liberal econ-
forces the United States to weaken envi- omy—and has found that a classic liberal economy i.e., in the original concept of lib-
ronmental protections when other nations, eralism is accompanied by increased freedom and respect for the individual, as well
with lower standards, declare such protec- as greater opportunity for all. He has also found that the classic liberal economy in-
tions to be trade discrimination against creases contact between people in all walks of life, and that with that increased contact
them. Third, its negotiations are not trans- comes greater trust and a larger sense of community and belonging. As a Quaker, he
parent. The world outside is affected by believes that this liberal economy embodies one of the basic Quaker tenets: that there
what they decide but hears nothing of it is that of God in everyone, and thus that everyone should enjoy freedom ofconscience
in religion and freedom ofchoice elsewhere.
until the decisions are made. This is not In his studies he found that efforts to force people to do or be good seem to
democratic. [In fact, many more com- backfire or fail, that very often these efforts are accompanied by oppression and injus-
plaints were voiced at Seattle, but these tice, and usually are performed without consulting the people that are meant to be
major ones are all we have space for.] helped. Not only that, but he saw that the power to do good can become a vested inter-
A: Before taking up these questions, est and actually interfere with real improvements in people’s lives. In his studies he
let us consider what the WTO is. The WTO also saw many examples of moral actions that were brought about, not by government
is the culmination of seven decades of talks but by a growing social conscience in individuals, and which now are willingly per-
among nations on how to reduce barriers to formed within the context of the liberal economy. He wrote The Moral Economy to
describe ways in which a liberal economy could address the difficulties his Quaker
trade. It is based on the proposition that
compassion sees in the world: oppression, pollution, poverty, ignorance, disabilities.
those nations that trade most are the ones Bas^ on his studies, he believes that a market system can more efficiently and more crea-
that promote the prosperity of their citizens tively deal with these problems than any system that tries to legislate, regulate or force them
and bring theirpeople up from poverty. out ofexistence.
—
Page 3 Friends Bulletin July-August 2001
ounter-intuitive though it may seem, free countries to find cheaper labor. phin kill. That’s an example of weaken-
trade creates morejobs than it takes away. A; We saw in Chapter 9 that this ing our environmental regulations.
Textile workers in the United States might “cheaper labor” is usually a better job than A; Not quite true. It did not require
lose theirjobs if textiles are not protected, any other that workers in Asia and Africa us to suspend the maximum dolphin kill,
but workers in other countries would gain could find. Some maquiladora (border- and we did not do so. The WTO cannot
jobs. With their new incomes, they would factory) workers from Mexico were com- force any nation to do anything. All it
buy (say) wheat from the United States. plaining in Seattle about conditions in their can do is say that by banning Mexican
The unemployed textile workers would factories. “Why don’t you take other tuna the US has violated the rules. Mex-
find new jobs making farm machines, or jobs?” they were asked. “We can’t find ico has the right to demand compensation
goods for export. Incomes of all are in- any,” they replied. The foul-smelling ma- or to retaliate against US exports. How-
creased ifeach one is producing the goods quiladora is better than any alternative. ever, what’s good for the goose is good
for which one is most fit. Over time, it becomes the road to better for the gander. If the United States can
The six-decade-long trade talks have conditions as well. ban the import of Mexican tuna, Mexico
already reduced tariffs worldwide to less Should a Mexican be pushed out of a should have the right to ban US products.
than half what they were in 1929. This job to preserve it for an American? Is a (But trade wars tend to escalate. They are
freer trade, which makes it possible for Mexican worker any less a child of God never productive in the long run.)
you to buy cars and stereo sets from Japan than the American worker? The American In fact, the US and Mexico have be-
instead of paying more for them at home, can more easily find another job than the gun negotiations on how the Mexicans
leaves you with more money to spend on Mexican and in the meantime is protected can reduce their dolphin kill, and they
other things. It has also created millions of by unemployment insurance, which the have not retaliated. Mexicans don’t like
new jobs in the United States. Thus it is Mexican may not have. The WTO is help- to be called dolphin-killers, but reducing
one of the causes of the greatest prosper- the kill rate is not an easy political matter
ity the United States has seen in its his- Shoulda Mexican bepushed out ofa for them, especially when they feel the
tory. The United States now has the low- US We
job topreserve itfor an American? Is is dictating their policies. reach
est unemployment rates in the world and a Mexican worker any less a child of consensus slowly. You Quakers should
in history and among the highest wages in God than the American worker? understand that.
the world. That’s how workers benefit as Another case would be that ofMexi-
well as consumers. can trucks. “Citing safety concerns, the
P: That theory is all fine. But it is not ing bring jobs where people are poorest, Clinton administration has decided to
felt by the textile workers who lose their wherejobs are most needed. delay opening all 50 states to Mexican
jobs. The same for the steel workers, who P: Among the protesters were farmers trucks and buses . . . , as is called for by
were in Seattle en masse. from South Africa, who said that subsi- the North American Free Trade Agree-
A: It must be very hard on both tex- dized wheat from the United States was ment. Mexican officials denounced the
tile and steel workers to see their jobs, ruining their livelihood. decision as a violation of the 1993 trade
livelihoods, and whole towns decaying. A: I agree with them. Subsidized agri- pact, which calls for letting Mexican
But I didn’t promise you a rose garden. cultural exports are quite unfair to other trucks and buses travel anywhere north of
The United States should not be produc- countries and hold back farm development the border beginning on Jan. 1, 20(X).”^
ing steel at all. Let’s leave that for the less there. Through the WTO, the United States This could be a case for the WTO, to de-
developed countries, that badly need new has been trying to persuade other countries cide whether the United States is banning
industry, and we can buy our steel from to reduce their farm subsidies in exchange Mexican trucks to preserve the environ-
them. For American steel and textile for us reducing ours. But this is a tough ment or to create an advantage for
workers to try to hold their jobs is like one, since farmers are politically powerful American truckers. If the WTO decides
trying to stop the tide. The world moves in Europe and the United States. The South against the United States, we still don’t
on, and they would do better to move with African farmers would do well to direct have to admit Mexican trucks, but Mex-
it. their protests against Congress and Euro- ico would have the right to ban our prod-
Inventiveness is in the blood of many pean governments, not against the agency ucts in retaliation, or demand a penalty
people, who think of new ways of produc- that is trying to help them. payment, or better yet, negotiate. The
ing things. Computers, TVs, cleaner en- P: Let’s turn to the environment. The negotiations might well lead to greater
gines, and so on. As these are invented, United States passed a law requiring fishers Mexican controls over their trucks’ pol-
others must adapt, by losing old jobs and for tuna to re-shape their equipment to lution. The WTO would be an impartial
taking new ones. In an inventive society, minimize the number of dolphin caught agency for conducting those negotiations.
they can always find jobs. If the new jobs incidentally. The limit is known as the dol- These cases raise two much broader
pay less than the old ones, that is only be- phin kill rate. Mexico does not have such a questions: Should we, the United States,
cause the job-seeker has not had the law. Since it is less costly if they don’t ban imports from any country that does
proper training. Instead of protecting the abide by the maximum kill, Mexicans not meet our environmental standards? If
textile and steel workers, we must find would have a competitive advantage over so, we might end up banning trade from
ways to re-train them and facilitate their US tuna fishers. So the US banned tuna most of the world. If we set our own en-
moves into expanding industries. from Mexico. Mexico complained, and the vironmental standards by sovereign right,
WTO
P: I still don’t like the idea of multi- found against the United States, re- should not other countries have the same
national corporations moving to other quiring us to suspend the maximum dol- privilege?
—
Page 4 Friends Bulletin July-August 2001
Let’s return to the basic purpose of On your next question, I agree with world government. Like many others, I
the WTO, which is to bring about nondis- you that negotiations by the WTO ought to joined the Student Federalists. Since then,
crimination among producers all over the be more transparent. Not only will the out- I have stepped back, realizing that a world
WTO
world. Over time it is negotiating away side world know what the is doing, government of powers that have not yet
the tariffs, quotas, and other bans that fa- but they will see that it is often not really learned democracy will not work. But
vor producers in one country over an- doing what they think it is doing. The ses- trade is a small segment of world coopera-
other. But it is an explicit principle of the sions might be broadcast on TV, for exam- tion, and let us start with a small segment.
WTO
that environmental protections re- ple. So should those of the United Nations, Over decades I watched the slow negotia-
main within the sovereignty of each coun- the International Monetary Fund, and the tions, from the highest tariff in our na-
try. Thus the Americans and Mexicans are World Bank. Congress, too. If the protest- tion’s history in 1929, through the recip-
each sovereign over the maximum dolphin ers had marched outside the meeting place rocal trade agreements of the thirties, then
GATT
kill, or clean air regulations, or pollution waving their banners but still let the minis- the (General Agreement on Tariffs
by trucks, or other environmental protec- ters in, then the ministers might have seen and Trade) after World War II, and finally
tions within their respective territories. the need to tell the outside world what they the WTO. Each time I cheered on the
So we have a dilemma. High environ- were doing. However, the protesters barred move toward multi-lateralism, globaliza-
mental standards are costly, and less de- their entry, so they didn’t have that chance. tion, and nondiscrimination among na-
veloped countries (LDCs) often cannot I question whether preventing the ministers tions.
WTO
afford them. Not only can more developed from entering the meetings is the For Quakers, the task ahead is to
countries (MDCs) better afford environ- most effective way to bring about greater know peoples of different cultures, not to
mental standards, but they are the ones transparency. hinder investment in them or trade with
who want them most. One economic study Now, I have two questions for you. them. Let us help them set up universal
shows that countries with per capita in- First, I know that many Quakers protested environmental standards, to which we
come of $5,000 are on the threshold of in Seattle. A recent cover of The Econo- may all subscribe. Let us also help them
demanding environmental protections.'* mist^ shows a pitiful Indian child, wrapped improve the productivity of labor so their
As per capita income grows well above in a shabby cloak, with a heart-rending workers will earn wages similar to those
5,000, the more they want protections. look in her eyes. The article, “The Real in our country. Let us use multinational
That is why Europe and the United States Losers [from Seattle],’’ tells her story: agencies like the United Nations and the
WTO
demand greater environmental protection “Above all, she needs education, and to achieve our goals alongside other
than Mexico, for instance. Other studies health, and much else. But without trade, nations.
show that trade is historically a strong fac- and the faster growth it can bring, she is I admire the NGOs (non-governmental
tor in increasing per capita incomes in unlikely to get any of it.’’ Do you Quakers organizations), which were far better organ-
LDCs. So if we cut off trade from LDCs, know that economists the world over be- ized in Seattle and had built more coalitions
we diminish the probability that they will lieve this statement is correct? than the delegates to the WTO. I long to see
become MDCs and improve their environ- Second, Quakers have long favored many aspects ofdemocracy transferred from
mental protections. international negotiations. You have con- legislative halls to NGOs. But the NGOs
WTO
P; So, what does see as the an- ducted programs to bring diplomats to- need to wander more through the slums in
swer? gether to talk informally. You were among Asia, Africa, and Latin America (as I have)
A; Let me summarize. Environmental those cheering the United Nations when it and visit factories there (as I have). They
UN
regulations being a sovereign matter, any was founded, and you have a Quaker need to talk more with the poorest of the
country may set whatever standards it office in New York. Along comes another poor, whom they purport to advocate. They
wishes. But it violates the WTO agree- organization, this time the WTO, also also need to study more economics, to un-
—
ments if it bans imports from a country based on internationalism and negotiation, derstand how their proposals ^most of them
—
that does not meet its standards. The this time to work out the rules of interna- farmore complex than they think often end
WTO
cannot stop it from banning im- tional trade. And many of you rise up in up with the opposite effects of those in-
ports, however. Therefore, because the protest. Why the change? tended.
WTO
importing country violates the find- P: I hear your arguments, but many I wept to see “my baby’’ trashed in Seat-
ing, it should pay compensation to the ex- protesters won’t agree with them. tle by those who should have nurtured it.
porting country, or else that country has A: Fine. It is not the purpose of this After all, they share my goal to pull the
the right to retaliate. For example, Mexico book to persuade anyone. Rather, it aims to world outofpoverty and make us equals.
could ban the import of American wheat open up both sides to Friendly debate in-
NOTES
(but has not found it politically expedient stead of confrontation. If I seem to favor
^TheEconomist, 12/4/99.
to do so). one side, that’s just because I do. Don’t
^Published by the Heritage Foundation and The
P: I don’t think many protesters will think of which position I take, or which Wall Street Journal Quotation is from The Wall
agree with all that. Many protesters think you take. Rather, let’s encourage readers to StreetJournal 11/30/99.
WTO
that the is forcing the United States continue the discussion among yourselves ^New York Times, 1/8/00.
to lower its environmental standards. and seek the truth in the various positions. I ‘‘C.Grossman and A. Krueger, “Environmental
A: We have already seen that this is not would, however, like to close with a word Impacts of a North American Free Trade Area
true. The WTO cannot force the United from our author. Agreement,” in P. Garber, ed., The Mexico-US
Free Trade Agreement, Cambridge, MA, MIT
States to do anything. All it can do is give JP: Decades ago, the Young Friends of Press, 1993.
the othercountry the right to retaliate. New York (to which I belonged) favored ^December 11-17, 1999.
—
Page 5 Friends Bulletin July-August 2001
environmental standards into the text of
American Friends Service Committee the agreement.
and Western Friends Other concerns include: indigenous
peoples’ rights, especially with respect to
intellectual property rights; the ability of
Speaking Truth to
investors to sue governments for loss of
Trade profit due to environmental, public health,
and other standards; the potential privati-
by Larry Leaman-Miller
zation of services which could include
Colorado Area Program Coordinator
public health, municipal, education, and
energy services; and food security, which
will be threatened by export-oriented agri-
F
or two days in late March, AFSC and
our guest, Julia Quinonez, felt like we Julia Quinonez (AFSCphoto)
had walked into a “den of wolves.” Julia The CFO haspublisheda report titled. Six Years
of NAFTA: A View from Inside the Maquila-
Quinonez is director of the Border Com- She pointed to a sharp drop in the standard doras. It is available from the AFSC, 1501
mittee of Women Workers (CFO), a of living due to the skyrocketing cost of Cherry St, Philadelphia, PA 19102-1479,for$5.
grassroots Mexican workers’ organization living and unrelenting downward pressure
from Piedras Negras, Coahuila. The CFO on wages; a marked intensification of the “Quiet Helpers”
educates and organizes workers in ma- labor process through speed-ups and other
Commemorates
quila factories located on the Mexican tactics; a sustained campaign to undermine
AFSC Work
side of the border. invited Julia to unions, labor rights, and social protections; Humanitarian of
Denver to speak at the Denver University and the continuing presence of child labor Quakers
Law School’s Sutton Colloquium on the and toxic industrial wastes.
North American Free Trade Agreement
by Claire Gorfinkel
(NAFTA). For the last several years, Fair Trade, not Free Trade Orange Grove Meeting
AFSC, along with other organizations, has
“NAFTA (Pasadena, CA)
helped plan this annual event. We were should be renegotiated to
joined at the Colloquium by Ricardo Her- promote fair trade relations among coun-
nandez, Director of AFSC’s Mexico/US tries,” said Julia. She was also critical of Following World War I, British and
Border Program. the Free Trade Area of the Americas American Quakers entered war-tom
The other speakers, however, were (FTAA), which would essentially extend Germany, bringing a defeated, demoral-
NAFTA
government officials, economists and uni- from Alaska to Chile. In April ized people the most fundamentally
versity professors from Canada, Mexico several other members of the CFO joined needed commodities: food, clothing,
and the US, some of whom had been in- AFSC staff from several cities in a “Free blankets, medicines and human compas-
strumental in negotiating the NAFTA Trade Reality Tour.” This group addressed sion. As recently as a year ago, one of the
agreements. Their presentations, often in forums in various US cities on their way to beneficiaries of Quakerspeisung (Quaker
the rarified air of macro-economic statis- the FTAA summit in Quebec City. The Feeding), then living in Southern Califor-
workers spoke about how they would be
tics and trends, tended to be enthusiasti- nia, recalled publicly that he could “still
FTAA
cally supportive of NAFTA achievements affected by the given their experi- taste the memory” of the nutritious choco-
and free trade in general. Julia, on the ence so far with NAFTA. Leaders of the late soup which forestalled starvation and
other hand, continually raised concerns Americas, with the exception of Cuba, met started him on a lifetime of humanitarian
about NAFTA’s detrimental effects on in the FTAA summit in Quebec City the concern.
real people in Mexico and along the bor- weekend of April 21 to continue work on In a recent film about the experiences
der. Her real life experiences and down to this free trade agreement. of World War II Conscientious Objectors,
earth perspectives were like a breath of AFSC and CFO concerns about the Steve Cary—former Chairperson of the
fresh air in what felt, at times, like an “old FTAA focus on the following areas: AFSC and President of Haverford Col-
boys‘” network. lege, himself one of the Quiet Helpers in
—
Harsh Conditions • the lack of—transparency in the negotiat- Europe speculated about how the world
ing process most of the negotiating is might have been different. He asked:
“Low wages and harsh working con- done behind closed doors; “What if tens of thousands of Americans
ditions in border maquilas did not begin • the undermining of democratic process had offered relief and compassion to hu-
with NAFTA,” said Julia. “As workers in and the failure of the US government to miliated former adversaries in Germany
the maquila industry we have been living allow civil society’s voice to be heard following the first World War? Perhaps
under a free trade agreement for 34 years, throughout the negotiating process, while the economic depression, the sense of iso-
when the first export-processing plants at the same time, allowing the American lation and national failure, that led to the
began arriving in Mexico.” She added that Business Forum, a group of corpora- rise of Fascism, would not have taken
NAFTA
in the six years since went into tions, to have access to the trade minis- hold.” There is documentary evidence
effect, living and working conditions have ters who negotiate the agreement; that some Germans aided Quaker rescue
dramatically worsened along the border. • the lack of inclusion of core labor and efforts during WWII because they re-
—
Page 6 Friends Bulletin July-August 2001
called having been fed two decades ear- Church, Whittier, throughout the month of
lier. October. An opening reception on Sep-
Through photographs, text, video and tember 30 will honor several individuals
historical artifacts, the Quiet Helpers ex- who were among the post-WWII Quiet
hibit commemorates three phases of Helpers as well as beneficiaries of Quaker
Quaker work in Germany. It provides back- reliefefforts in Europe.
Why
ground about the Society of Friends and is this exhibit important?
describes the programs that fed 500,000
German children daily in 1921-22. It docu- for the Society of Friends, typically
ments Quaker aid to Jews and other perse- so reluctant to engage in self-
cuted people during the Hitler era. For ex- promotion, it is a chance to reflect on
ample, between 1935 and 1941 the Berlin these core values and work inspired
International Quaker Center helped over by faith;
1,100 persons emigrate. Quakers hid politi- for young people and students, it is a
cal refugees, helped children escape to source of role models as they con-
freedom, and provided spiritual and mate- sider the call to humanitarian service
rial assistance to others who were interned. in the 2U‘ century; and
In June 1945 AFSC and the British for the public at large it is a chance to
Friends Service Council formed seven learn about Quakers and how small
teams of a dozen (mostly young) men and acts that honor the humanity of all
women who became the third group of people really can make a difference
Quiethelpersprovidedfoodforchildren after WWIl—(AFSC
Quiet Helpers. These volunteers went to in desperate circumstances and de-
Archive Photo)
Europe to help refugees, students, civilian spite terrible odds.
families, displaced persons and camp survi-
—
vors, regardless oftheir background all in current AFSC programs and opportunities The Quiet Helpers exhibit is free and
desperate need, all trying to rebuild their for service. open to the public, Wednesdays through
lives. Quiet Helpers documents the feeding Designed by the German government Sundays during October, from noon to
programs that prevented starvation, the to honor the work of Quakers, Quiet 4 PM, at Smith Fellowship Hall, 13205
new homes and roads that restored a sem- Helpers toured 21 German cities during Philadelphia Street, Whittier. For fur-
Now
blance of order, the student centers and 1996-98. translated into English, it ther information call the Church at 562-
discussion groups that gave hope for a vi- is traveling throughout the United States. 698-9805 or the AFSC at 626-791-
able future. It concludes with material on It will be on display at First Friends 1978.
Working to End Slavery
there. Bakary Tandia accompanied and
Mauritania
IN translated for him. The Seattle visit was
coordinated by Sheri Day, AFSC Seattle
from the Pacific Northwest Office Manager, with assistance from
AFSCNewsletter, Spring 2001
Dustin Washington, Cross Cultural Youth
Edited by Jonis Davis
Leadership Program Director.
Slavery in Mauritania? Chances are for During their day-long visit to Seattle
many of us this concept would be they spoke to a hundred students and fac-
hard to register: slavery in the world to- ulty at Seattle Central Community Col-
day? In Mauritania? Where exactly is lege, met with activists and elected offi-
Mauritania? cials at dinner, were interviewed by Esther
Mauritania is in northwest Africa, MessaoudQuidBoulkheirwith CliffandEdith “Little Dove” John for KWJZ-radio, and
south of Morocco and north of Senegal. Cole during theirtrip toAFSC-sponsoredgather- spoke to a diverse audience from the Afri-
ing in Southern California
Slavery has been part of its culture for six can American community and Africa-
hundred years or more. But the subject dia, a Mauritanian human rights advocate interest organizations at New Hope Bap-
started being addressed there ten years based in New York, and included him as tist Church. Throughout the day they
ago, when some brave former slaves both a speaker in the annual Africa Peace raised money to buy a laptop computer to
decided they needed to get rid of slavery Tour, which Jerry coordinates and which, take back to Mauritania. (More funds are
once and for all and let the outside world for the past ten years, has visited US col- still needed and will be welcome!)
know about it. lege campuses, mostly in New England “When we started to organize,” said
Jerry Herman, AFSC’s Philadelphia- and the South. Messaoud Quid Boulkheir, “we found our
based Africa Peace Education Program The Africa Peace Tour came to Seat- biggest obstacle is ourselves.”
coordinator, heard about the group, went tle in the person of Messaoud Quid Slavery is of such long standing in
to Mauritania and saw for himself. Jerry Boulkheir, president of both El Hor, the Mauritania and defended by the Islamic
told a New York Times reporter what he oldest anti-slavery organization in Mauri- religious establishment, that slaves con-
had seen and persuaded her to go there tania, and Action for Change, an organi- sider their condition normal and accepted
too. He connected also with Bakary Tan- zation working for democratic change by their religion. Those who begin to
—
Page 7 Friends Bulletin July-August 2001
question fear that ifthey were to challenge condition of slavery, and it wasn’t easy, due to pressure from outside, in 1980-
it they would be damned in the hereafter. because ofresistance both from slaves and 81 it passed a law proclaiming freedom
Islam teaches that non-believers who have from the government, which arrested to slaves but compensating slave own-
been slaves are automatically freed if they members ofthe organizations and accused ers for their loss of “property.” In fact,
embrace Islam, Boulkeir said, but this them of trying to overthrow the govern- though, the government is the slave-
does not happen routinely in practice. ment. owning class, it has not followed
Their first objective in organizing, there- The government situation is a bit through on the changed laws, and there
fore, was to encourage slaves to reject the complicated. On the one hand, partly are no sanctions for not complying.
# j' arlham School ofReligion
JL^ is coming to California
for thefirst time through its new
extension program (see FB,
January 2001: 10 and23).
This ground-breaking
course will be taught in Octo-
ber 2001 by Dorian Bales, a
Friend whose life speaks to t—he tions open and Dave Kingrey, an ESR
core values of Quakerism
grad, was experimenting with a team ap-
peace, equality, simplicity, and
proach to ministry in a congregation a
community.
A conscientious objector block from Friends University, where I
could do some adjunct teaching. After six
during the Vietnam War, Dor-
years ofsatisfying ministry, I began to ask
ian started an intentional com- Kathryn Damiano andDorian Bales questions about my life. Why did it look
munity called Friends of Jesus
about like everyone else’s? Why didn’t it
in the African-American section
military, American missionary, and Viet- bear much resemblance to the life of early
of Wichita, Kansas, ten years ago. There
namese cultures taught me what minority Quakers or early Christians?
he worksfor racial and class reconcilia-
status means and gave me more perspec-
tion. The Friends ofJesus Community
tive on the culture in which I was raised.
Readers of Friends Bulletin will re-
Study at Earlham School ofReligion Sixteen people came together in the
call that Dorian’s status as a recorded
in the early ’70s was another turning fall of 1986 to explore some of these
minister was rescinded by Mid-America
point in my life. I was introduced to con- questions. I had a hunch that the answers
Yearly Meeting in 1997 because he and temporary biblical studies by Gene Roop, had something to do with my need to be
the Friends of Jesus Community took a
who encouraged me to read widely and part of a Friends community that spent
stand in favor ofsame-sex marriage (see
come to my own conclusions. After a se- more time in prayer and was less captive
FB, September 1997: 207). We
mester of intellectual and spiritual wres- to American culture. read Jim Wallis’
Here is Dorian’s story of his faith
— tling, I was able to see the spiritual bene- Agenda for a Biblical People and Art
Journey in his own words. Editor
fit of studying Scripture in context. After Gish’s Living in Christian Community.
a year at ESR, West Milton (Ohio) Eight ofus decided we wanted to do more
Dorian Bales’ Spiritual Journey Friends Meeting asked me to come as than talk and study. We decided to write a
pastor. I looked so young at 23 that hos- covenant statement that would guide our
I am a birthright Friend. My father, pas- pital staff thought I was an orderly, and I lives. We gathered weekly for common
tor of Rose Valley Friends Church in learned to put on a suit and tie before go- meals, for worship, and for study, listened
Kelso, Washington during my teen years, ing hospital calling. for what God wanted us to do, and be-
encouraged me to think carefully about After graduation I felt a call to teach came more accountable to one another.
faith and practice sacrificial service. My Quakerism and religious studies, and was One evening, when we were praying,
mother, also deeply involved in ministry, admitted to the University of Chicago’s a woman knocked on the door and said,
was a high school English teacher and Divinity School to study theology. While “We Franklin School teachers are desper-
counselor. After graduation from George writing a dissertation on Robert Barclay’s ate for adult involvement in the PTA.”
Fox College, I spent two years in Vietnam doctrine of revelation, I served as pastor We each signed up to help a teacher for a
as administrator of a children’s hospital of Chicago Friends Meeting (FUM). In year, which gave us valuable insight about
located on a Marine base. As a white con- 1980 I came to Wichita because there what was happening in the school and the
scientious objector, my encounter with were no Quaker college teaching posi- lives ofthe children, especially those from
—
Page 8 Friends Bulletin July-August 2001
low-income families. After further explo- teaching college/graduate students. It gives “So too today. The scientific commu-
ration of the city, worship, and study, we me an opportunity to approach Quaker be- nity has come to a new outlook,on homo-
came to feel that people of faith were liefs anew, perhaps with more imagination sexuality. This has given biblical scholars
needed to reach across boundaries of race that when I was younger and had less expo- incentive to take another look at those
and class and promote reconciliation. sure to other cultures. I remain convinced passages which have been used to con-
We that the Quaker approach to knowing God demn same-gender affections. Some
read John Perkins’ With Justice
for All, a book written by an African and being the church together is marvelous, scholars have come to the conclusion that
American for white Christians. Perkins and that it continues to speak to our con- what Paul forbade is promiscuous, ex-
said that if white Christians wanted to temporary situation. ploitative sex acts. An increasing number
make a difference, they would have to The course I will teach will deal with of Christians have come to believe that
relocate into communities of color. In the basics of Quakerism. What is the the church has contributed to the oppres-
1990 we borrowed money from our Light? What are testimonies? The distinc- sion of gay and lesbian people, people
friends and moved to a run-down 12-unit tives? Is there such a thing as normative who did not choose their orientation any
We
apartment building in an African- Quakerism? will deal with topics such more than they choose to be right- or left-
American neighborhood. When we came, as religious authority and the Bible, Chris- handed. The church is being called to re-
we didn’t know what to do. So we lis- tology, the immanence/transcendence of pentance.”
God, ordinances, and escatology. We’re
tened. People expressed a desire for youth Mid-America Yearly Meeting was
going to use Barclay’s Apology and Wil-
awchtiivcihtiheas,ssboecAoamreonHFoopweleSrtresettarYteodutahclDueb-, mer Cooper’s A Living Faith as our main bnoetenmogrvaetedfublyftohristhaergsuumpepnotrt, wbuethwaevehafevlet
We texts, supplemented by many other texts
velopment. also helped launched a from Nebraska Yearly Meeting (FUM).
written in various centuries and continents.
Peace and Social Justice Center for the Although not every meeting in that body
region and founded the Sunflower Com- The course will take place at Orange agrees with our testimony about same
Grove Meetinghouse (Pasadena, CA)
munity Action community organizing pro- gender sexual relationships, Nebraska
weekday afternoons October 15-26. For
ject. It too has its own board now, and I Yearly Meeting (Great Plains Yearly
am a paid grant writer and resource devel- more information, contact Sue Axtell at Meeting as of 2002) has written a minute
800-432-1377 or <[email protected]>.
oper. Laura Dungan, another FOJ mem- affirming the ministry of Dorothy Craven
ber, directs the program. Another recent Controversy over Same-Sex Marriage and myself, saying that we are in good
sign of growth is that our apartment build- standing despite Mid-America Yearly
ing has become a cooperative, governed In 1997 Dorothy Craven and I were Meeting’s disciplinary actions.
“disciplined” by Mid-America Yearly
by all who live here.
There have been some challenges, of Meeting because of FOJ’s belief that God Can Different Branches
course. The most difficult for me was my blesses faithful, loving relationships be- ofQuakerism Be Reconciled?
tween people who naturally experience
wife’s discomfort living as part of an in-
tentional community. We moved with our same-gender attraction (see FB, September I think that youth and women have
two sons, now 18 and 15, to a house a few 1997: 207). The ChristMiaAnYMMi’nisstries and led the way in this area. Youthquake con-
miles away in 1993. We separated in Vocations Division of Spiritual ferences and Quaker Pilgrimages spon-
1997. A year ago I married Kathryn Life Board, after spending only one hour sored by FWCC have brought together
with Dorothy and me and despite a lack of
Damiano, a co-founder of the School of youth from the various branches of Quak-
the Spirit who was employed by Pendle unity among members of that body, recom- erism. Women from several Quaker tradi-
mended that our ministerial credentials be
Hill as the staffs spiritual director until tions have gathered in the Northwest and
we fell in love and she moved to Wichita. revoked. Then, despite a lack of unity Midwest to encourage one another. The
We met at a Quaker Hill conference in among its members, the Spiritual Life consultations sponsored by ESR in Rich-
1986, just as FOJ was forming, and she Board approved the Division’s recommen- mond were also helpful in bringing
dation.
came out in ‘87 to study us as part of her Friends together.
At that time, we wrote the following
dissertation research on communities. Here in Kansas, Kathryn has en-
statement:
In the past two years FOJ has grown countered both appreciation for and re-
to eight adult members, and we are seek- “Even though God is constant, the sistance to her work on Quaker spiritu-
ing others who will add their vision and church’s interpretation of scripture changes ality. I think it will take a lot a creativ-
energy to our experiment in radical urban and grows. For example, the church once ity and perseverance, and some new
gospel living. The ministries that were said the earth is center of the universe. faces with faith and enthusiasm, to
given to us after we moved to this neigh- Slavery used to be defended by Christians overcome our separations. We can’t “go
borhood have “grown up’’ to have their armed with selected Bible verses. Women back” because our culture is different
own boards. We are still involved in them, who cut their hair in the 1920s and men than that of 17^ century Friends. But
but in some ways FOJ is more like it was who didn’t cut their hair in the 1960s were we can go forward supported by what
in its early days, with more time for shar- condemned on the basis of proof texts. But earlier Friends can teach us. I hope the
ing and prayer when we gather. because society has changed its thinking on class on Quaker Beliefs I will teach for
Teaching the Basics ofQuakerism these issues, sometimes urged forward by Earlham School of Religion in October
prophetic Christians, the church too has will bring together a diverse group
I’m looking forward to teaching for eventually come to a new understanding of Friends eager to share their own in-
ESR in October after some years without the Bible. sights and to learn from one another.
—
Page 9 Friends Bulletin July-August 2001
—
The ground
living
(forHelen Stevenson, founderofArgenta Friends School)
by Tina Tau McMahon
Multnomah Meeting, Portland, OR
IfI were to write a poem for Helen
it would have stones in it
small round stones from the edge ofthe lake
round stones silver grey and underfoot
each one a world, each one clicking against
the next, underfoot, sometimes
under water
IfI were to write a poem for Helen
it would have wood in it
slabs ofbright wood on the Meetinghouse floor
warm, stared-at wood, full of
human silence and forest silence, a
golden, listening wood
IfI were to write a poem for Helen
it would have grass in it
the living grass, tough rooted in
the dirt, among the apple trees, mowed Tina andJin Mei, July 1998, in Argent—a, Canada, with Meadow
by John in a worn wool shirt, danced Mountain in the background Author’sphoto
across, balanced on, rained on
year after year, green as light by laughter, lawn-mowing, wind, chatter, leaves
the grey lake rattling, running, feet on wood?
What else has fallen away?
And I don’t know why
the things that rose up to be in your poem What will I do ifHelen falls?
were all underfoot—why the clean speckled Will I forget the pathways, lose the feeling
rocks like ancient eggs, and the smooth gold underfoot ofround stones, warm grass,
Meetinghouse boards, and the living grass ofyour fir boards full oflake light and mystery?
open orchard, should be the ones to say your name.
Did I spend a lot oftime looking down? No, I won’t lose my way back ifHelen dies
Did you teach me to see the roots ofmy life no more than I have already lost it;
as I walked? Do you feel to me like the ground? the flats are flooded, my skates have shrunk,
the Quakers threaded out across Canada
so only a handful gather there now, and not by the lake.
The gray stones have a sound, a dry, round, It is not Helen who holds the door to Argenta
clicking rolling sound, a tiny thunder when open, or closes it now.
the water rolls across them, a small sound underfoot;
The wood has a presence, an infusion of silence;
The grass is tough, is alive, has roots like hands or During the 1950s HELEN STEVENSON along with her husband
John founded a Friends School in a beautiful, remote, and rugged
hair, is part ofus, it goes into the dark,
under the snow, comes out glowing. area of British Columbia called Argenta. Of this experience she
wrote: “We are trying in our own inimitable way to live by our
And everywhere is the light ofthe lake, values. We wanted to live in a place where there was a much
the cooling, warming silver shine ofthe lake, more organic relationship with the soil and rights and wrongs
over all, cupped by mountains, in my memory were clearer’’ (A Western QuakerReader, p. 139).
there is so much silence
A
drifting over the lake student at Argenta Friends School and former staff person at
glancing up from stones Pendle Hill, Tina Tau Mcmahon of Multnomah Meeting is
falling from poplar, balm ofgilead seeking essays, poems, and photographs for a reflective anthol-
but is the silencejust the pouring down ogy about this unique Quaker school. Deadline Nov 1, 2001.
ofthirty years Contact Tina Tau McMahon for details: 503-762-0352.
<[email protected]>
have I lost the presence ofwingbeats and birdcall
—
Page 10 Friends Bulletin July-August 2001