Social justice brings back to our memory our fellow humans whom we conveniently leave out in the peripheries of our society as ‘inconsequential strangers’.
A FRANCIS OFM
The World Day of Social Justice is observed on February 20 every year, since 2009. Linked to its
origin lies the unforgettable Copenhagen World Summit of Social Development held in 1995. With a historic call for relocating ‘people at the centre of development plans’, the Summit pledged to achieve eradication
of poverty, promotion of full employment and creation of safe and just societies in the world. Pursuing a steady progression in its commitment to the objectives and goals of the Copenhagen Summit, the UN General Assembly in 2007 declared ‘February 20’ as the World Day of Social Justice.
The Significance of Social Justice Day
Social justice, we would
concur with the UN, is the indispensable building block for just, peaceful and inclusive human communities. In an age characterized by a trait of ‘hyper normalization’ towards systems of social marginalization, social justice demands equal opportunities and rights for all. By clamouring for human dignity and social inclusion, it brings back to our memory our fellow humans whom we conveniently leave out in the peripheries of our society as ‘inconsequential strangers’.
Taken from this perspective, the global observance of the World day of Social Justice cannot be understood merely as a day to organize speeches on the theme in schools and colleges. It is principally a sacred occasion to recommit ourselves to our shared human responsibility to stand against injustice in any form. The significance of this day should be a stirring reminder to each of us that our silence in the face of injustice could cost us, not merely the precious lives of ‘others out there’, but ours too. A graphic truth of this soulful reminder could be seen on display at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, in the epic words of the German theologian, Martin Niemoller:
“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak
out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.”
In the face of injustice, our silence is not only dreadful but deadly, too. Martin Luther King, an outstanding activist of social justice communicates this great anthropological truth in the most comprehensible words: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
The Legitimate Scepticism
In recent times, the term “social justice”
has come to sound a bit like a jargon. This
is primarily because it is being high jacked
and misappropriated by organizations and individuals whose ‘raison d’etere’ runs counter to the very value the term represents. The transnational corporations whose existence
is entwined with the tenets of neo-liberalism and free market ideology, advertise themselves as committed innovators of social justice; nation states and politicians who thrive in divisive politics of exclusion, bigotry and racism showcase themselves as guardians of social justice; agencies, associations, groups and individuals who are engaged in self-fulfilling their vested interests of fundamentalism and fanaticisms exhibit themselves as advocates of social justice. This deception is surreptitious, but people still see the devil camouflaged in the preacher’s role!
It is not an irony that in this contemporary delusional arena of the globalized world, if we don’t feel impressed by the term ‘social justice!’ We are duly discouraged by the charade of the pseudo social justice prophets, the very ones who are perpetuating injustice, violating human rights, mongering wars, plundering nature and disrupting the peaceful co-existence of diverse communities!
The legitimate scepticism of this kind has been in the air against the Copenhagen Summit too, since the time of the Summit, itself. The critics of the Summit, particularly numerous NGOs, accused the Summit as a charade, stating that it was a victory for the World Bank in preaching the neoliberal theology with rhetoric borrowed from the NGOs, such as, “social integration, putting people first” etc. Aligning with the pessimism of the critics, one Danish Newspaper summarized the impact of the Summit on the world as, “The World Will Go on As Usual”.
People Are Not at the Centre
Time, of course, is the ultimate judge of
every good and bad, we humans connive and construct! As a reality test, if we dare to mull
on the promise of the Summit “Putting people at the centre”, we cannot but agree with the critics. The truth is that the capitalist and the neoliberal globalization has not put people
at the centre. The 120 countries that pledged
for social inclusion of all, don’t keep up with their promises. On the contrary, countries are busy building walls to prevent the poor and the marginalized entering their territories. They are busy building detention centres to incarcerate their own citizens. Much to our chagrin, they are busy making inhuman and undemocratic Bills and Regulations to force people off their lands, farms and countries; they are inventing ways to exclude anyone who holds a different ideology, belief and value system.
Optimism about Social Justice
Is there any place for optimism in the contemporary times when the national and international governments, continue to enter into the Faustian bargains of selling their souls to the modern-day Mephistopheles demon of capitalism, neo-liberalism, market ideology and systems of discriminations? The answer is so tangible to our naked eyes in the tens
and thousands of people who protest on the streets of their countries and the world at
large, questioning actions and ideologies that breed injustice. We saw it recently in the global solidarity of protest by the millions of people who took to the street reciting in unison, the last words of a black man who was brutally killed by a police officer: “I can’t breathe.” We see it now in those who dare telling from every nook and corner of the world, “I stand with farmers.”
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