BEFORE HASTA LA VISTAby Red Constantino
There is surely more to life than profit margins. There is solidarity and joy -- and, yes, there is also mutton curry, which is something that Avilash can make in a splendid way. It's actually what five of us from the Forum Secretariat had for dinner the other night, as we tried to slow down a bit and talk about plans for the upcoming 41st Annual Meeting of the ADB in Madrid, Spain.
A lot of spice was served that night, and not all of it came from the pot of Avilash.
I wonder what's in store for the rest of developing Asia, now that the ADB has decided to be open and explicit about its main goal? The ADB calls it its "Long-Term Strategy Framework", or LTSF in the ever-expanding universe of acronyms. I think of it as one among many other plans drawn up in pursuit of the privatization of development.
Whether one considers the ADB's plans an obscenity or opportunity depends on which side of the fence one is standing on, given the rapid growth of great wealth and grinding poverty in Asia.
Over four decades after its founding, it seems all that the ADB has to offer is more misery and more avarice. So I'll take joy and solidarity anytime. And mutton curry.
By the way, don't you think that huge, empty building at the back deserves a sign that says "ADB Headquarters"? That's what the ADB is probably like to many communities hit by ADB projects -- a monstrous, skeletal structure filled with shadows and fuzzy figures and things that thrive in the dark.Hey! Why don't you send us some pictures of things or buildings that remind you of the ADB or which you think deserve the sign "ADB Headquarters" …
1 comment:
Hi guys,
The solidarity eating reminds me of my experience in Manila with both Avilash and Hemantha. Infact, I realized after going back to India (last month) that I have put on 2.5kgs of weight.
For me gaining weight is ofcourse a personal health issue, but I give importance to the discussions and clarity that I got out of the solidarity eatings on ADB advocacy.
Only such eat/meetings can bring more actions towards making ADB responsible to what it is doing.
ADB can boast itself to be on the way of increasing economic gains through its investment, but what it is consciously doing is to creat empty buildings (emptying money from governments) and impotency of democracy.
You need spicy stuff to gear up to reverse what ADB is doing.
Isn't it?
Gururaja Budhya.
Post a Comment