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Comment by kally zarali on December 7, 2010 at 15:48

Do we care only for our backyard?

Right now I'm following the European Development Days in Brussels host by the EC, with the participation of political and social players and NGO's from around the world. A very interesting session was held this morning: “do Europeans care about the rest of the world?”.

This is really a good question and has been posed in many a different ways during the EDD. From the absolute indifferent “why should we care?”, to the more moderate “are we able to care into such a negative international and local economic environment?” and the more balanced “do we care enough?”

Well, whichever question we take into consideration the issue has many aspects.

Do we care?
First of all is this a question of yes or no?
And if not, what factors define the answer?
Perhaps the question is more complex than that.

But first of all, who are we the Europeans, asked a member of the panel.
Are there differences among the old and new members of the EU as regards to the participation of the world development projects?
Probably yes. Surveys and reports show that everything is a matter of development and prosperity. There are absolute differences between how people in lower income countries see the aid to others.
But prosperity and global development are also interlinked. We are interlinked. And thus our future is interlinked.
Are we talking to each other and with the others? And is this discussion done at eye-level? A member of the panelists said that at least now we're talking and that's a good start. We're starting to becoming aware of the interconnectedness of all humanity. A new sense and new desire for people to become part of the world development strive is obvious.
Citizens say I care and this is not something only written on formal papers. It shows a need for real connection among the people. And we can see it in numerous cases.
The way we stand before such issues of help and development is an everyday practice. As mentioned during the discussion we make ourselves what we are in this global world. Where we go, what we read, what we choose to have for breakfast makes up the way we are choosing to get involved in this globality.

There's an interesting story that came up years ago when the UN, conducting a world-wide inquiry, asked the question: "Could you please give your honest opinion about solutions for the food-scarcity in the rest of the world?'

The survey turned out to be one giant failure:

In Africa, they didn't know what 'food' meant.
In Eastern-Europe, they didn't know what 'honest' meant.
In Western-Europe, they didn't know what 'scarcity' meant.
In China, they didn't know what 'opinion' meant.
In Southern America, they didn't know what 'please' meant.
And in the US, they didn't know what 'the rest of the world' meant.

This shows a lot. But probably is prone to change. Things are changing rapidly now. We live in a completely different technological age. Nowadays new media and social media show us another way of communicating, collaborating, getting involved. My case in Greece can become the case of anyone around the world. He/she only needs an internet connection and a common communication language. The problem is how easily this can be done.
But still this question: “who are we the Europeans?”. How do we define ourselves as Europeans and in what way is this identity definable and obvious to the others, such as the ones that need us in this case? Do we participate in this globality in a unique “European” manner? Do we share the same anxieties, same fears and same desires to help the others and get involved in things?
Everyday we see on the news so many things Europeans are ready to fight against: unemployment, taxes, poverty, pension reforms, education. But are they fighting as Europeans or as French, Spanish, Irish, Greeks? Do we care only about our own backyard?
This question was also posed and the answer given was that yes, we're ready to fight for many things, but we don't care only for our own backyard. We start from there and we look around and we see similar initiatives interconnected.
Yes, but national politics still overflow our media, European news is scarce, concentrating on the summits and ecofin meetings and world poverty starts becoming a reality closer than we always thought. In all these how do we think and act? In what voice do we state our truths and how do we clean the backyards, ours and that of the neighbor?