“Building Grassroots Democracy in Minority Communities” Testimonies from the Summer 2013 U.S. Mentors Delegation Visiting Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary June 18 — July 17, 2013 Ken Grossinger, Washington, D.C. CrossCurrents Foundation “Social change occurs when opportunity and organizing conspire to bring it about. The coming together of American organizers and European activists these past weeks to learn from each other has brought us closer to understanding this dynamic. The cultural exchanges between us cast light on both the opportunities and impediments to achieving change and to building the type of progressive infrastructure that will in the long run enable our campaigns. Hats off to all who give of themselves daily to achieve justice. Hats off to you.”
Martin Nagy, Toledo, Ohio Arts Council Lake Erie West “I would like to thank the U.S. State Department, GLC/WSOS and Dr. Elizabeth Balint for believing in and supporting this most valuable exchange program ‘Building Grassroots Democracy in Minority Communities (BGDMC). Minorities in each of the four countries (Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania) that I visited welcomed and embraced the concepts of community organizing and together we realized that they can do this for themselves instead of waiting for someone else to do it for them. I would also thank the BGDMC Professional Fellows Alumni trained in the U.S. for all their preparation and assistance because they demonstrated their leadership and experience to us Mentors and the minority communities they directly work in. Their practices will go far to empower numerous peoples to make a change in their lives. Minority issues continue to exist in both the U.S. and in Central Europe as we witnessed firsthand. The division between the have’s and the have not’s seem to be widening, and some of the issues are more pronounced, more complex and more serious as witnessed by the changing economy, political structures and policies. This all leads to an increased need for the community organizing work that we do – each and every one of us. In addition to working with our Mentor delegation on community organizing, I personally conducted several arts workshops with children and adults using the visual art of painting murals, walls and buildings to demonstrate the actual hands-on democratic process, community organizing techniques, communication, collaboration, and speaking out about issues that exist in minority communities to portray a visual image for continuing advocacy. This program has opened my eyes to challenges across the world and the importance of learning every day. I have experienced many things, learned far more than I had hoped to, and am so thankful for meeting, breaking bread, and working with so many wonderful people. This has been a valuable and life-changing inspirational experience for me. I will face my constituents in a new light, am energized to do more in the U.S. and continue to develop advanced and diverse strategies for community organizing.” Wednesday, July 3, Miskolc, Hungary: Martin Nagy, Ken Grossinger and Sarah Jane Knoy with their hosts Kriszta Molnar, Szilvia Simon enjoyed a great dinner next to the Diosgyor Castle!
Sarah Jane Knoy, Manchester, New Hampshire Granite State Organizing Project “I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in the Great Lakes Consortium’s Building Grassroots Democracy in Minority Communities exchange. The fellows we hosted in the spring were inspirational leaders and hard working young organizers who brought as much to us as we shared with them. Through this exchange, I saw the ways that community organizing can promote and encourage stronger minority participation in the structures of civil society in Eastern Europe. I also saw the ways that democracy and minority inclusion are being threatened. Full participation is more important than ever as newer democracies are faced with economic and social challenges. I strongly support the Great Lakes Consortium’s focus on minority inclusion and encourage more efforts to support and involve Roma organizers and leaders in this work. I was surprised by and am concerned about the low level of support and funding for on the ground organizing in Hungary, Slovakia and Romania. The sector needs to grow to ensure that democratic progress continues. I feel very privileged to have been a part of this effort. My practice of community organizing has been deepened and strengthened by this experience and I have made new friendships and connections that will last a lifetime.”
Lewis Finfer, Boston, Massachusetts Massachusetts Communities Action Network “I want to thank the U.S. State Department and the GLC/WSOS for allowing me to participate in this program. I was pleased to be in the Professional Fellows program because we were able to assist two organizers who work with minority communities in Hungary and Bulgaria here in Boston to learn about community organizing during the weeks we hosted them. We were able to show them different parts of the community organizing process as practiced in the United States as an expression of democracy. We were able to set up many meetings for them with different kinds of U.S. community organizations. I was thankful to have been given the chance to also visit in Eastern Europe. The time I spent with two organizers in Northeast Hungary helped me understand firsthand the problems of lack of opportunity and discrimination that the Roma community have endured and how community organizing is developing leadership and enabling them to make concrete, constructive community improvements. I also got to work with other community organizers from other organizations and countries at two workshops about community organizing principles and methods and how to apply these to their work with minorities in Eastern European countries. It was painful, but important to me learn about discrimination faced by Hungary's Jewish community based on AntiSemitic attitudes across the population in general and the specific positions of the Jobbik Party. Given the history of having many hundreds of thousands of Hungarian Jews and Roma being murdered during WW II by the Germans, but with great assistance from Hungarians too, it is painful to see this discrimination and hatred still much at work in the society. We have had in our country 240 years to shape our democracy and we still fall short of the principles of 'liberty and justice for all' that we affirm in our Pledge of Allegiance. So I learned to be angry about the injustices I saw in Eastern Europe, but to be humble about the toil and tears it will take to build a vibrant, democratic, civil society in countries that have had centuries of kings and dictators and oppression. I was appreciative about the chance to learn more about the culture, community issues and politics of these countries so I could give better advice to community organizers who I met here in Eastern Europe, and so I can go back and educate colleagues in my country.” Thursday, July 4, The U.S. Mentors with their hosts in Tokaj, Borsod-Abauj-Zemplen, Hungary: (L-R) row 1: Timea Eva Kovacs, Marcia Henry, Janice Holmes El-Amin, Giczey Peter; row 2: Molnar Kriszta, Sarah Jane Knoy, Martin Nagy; row 3: Tamas Istvan Szenttamasi, Lewis Finfer, Gary Delgado and Ken Grossinger.
Gary Delgado, Seattle, Washington Alliance for a Just Society “This trip provided an important opportunity to get the “lay of the land” in Roma communities in Eastern/Central Europe. The human contact with communities that suffer from racial discrimination and economical distress are sharply contrasted with the harsh reality of the rising political power of the neo-Nazis in Hungary. Given this reality, I think this program could have an even stronger, longer lasting impact, through the recruitment of more U.S. organizers with experience organizing in communities of color (preferably people of color), spending longer periods of time - three weeks at a minimum - focusing on leadership/campaign development. Focusing the program to “go deep” instead of “going wide” will develop both the leadership skills of individual Roma leaders and increase the program’s overall impact. I look forward to working with new recruits on both sides of the ocean.”
Janice El-Amin, Little Rock, Arkansas Arkansas Public Policy Panel “Being an African American woman in the United States has its challenges. I was born in the U.S. and still, due to my skin color and gender I am constantly faced with discrimination and racism. My time in Europe has been a life changing experience. It was surprising to me that many people thought that racism did not exist in the United States. My time with the Roma people and sharing my stories and experiences was very beneficial not only to the Roma communities but also to me. Developing organizing strategies with European organizations and the other U.S. organizers has given me a revitalized message and sense of urgency to work in my communities. I will remember this experience and will share it with all who will listen. I will continue to reach out to my new found friends and I'm committed to assist with the work that moves people, changes lives, and give grassroots communities a voice in this fight for equality.”
Joanna Brown , Chicago, Illinois Logan Square Neighborhood Association “The GLC exchange I participated in has enriched my work and my life. The two visitors that I hosted in Chicago at my home and my organization from Bulgaria and Romania were hard working, enthusiastic, curious and extremely intelligent. They participated in my organizing and civic activities with various staff and leaders from my organization doing things they had never experienced before, such as, going with low-income immigrant mothers to speak with state senators and representatives, door knocking around schools, and attending neighborhood meetings on various issues. I myself learned a lot about their countries, the struggles in emerging democracies, and about the Roma communities. In Romania and Bulgaria I visited their organizations, their colleagues and several Roma villages where fellows were working. In Bulgaria I lived with the family of the Roma man who had stayed with my family. That was perhaps the best part of the trip, as I was able to spend a week learning about his town, his community, and meeting his colleagues, going to his church and meeting a number of city officials. I also visited places where he was trying to help his community - a group of families who had been without running water for a long time, and an under-resourced primarily Roma kindergarten where he had brought parents together to form a support group for the school. I was so busy and learned so much that three weeks seems like six. I plan to stay in touch with both the people who stayed with me, and to help them in any way I can with information, suggestions, and if possible fundraising.” Friday, July 11, Hungary: Summer 2013 U.S. Mentors' delegation on their last joint evening in Budapest
Hector Vaca, Charlotte, North Carolina Action North Carolina “I found this trip to be a life changing experience for me as an organizer. When I arrived in Europe I had no idea what to expect or what we would actually be doing. As soon as we got there, we got straight to work and I feel everyone did an incredible job. Veronika, Emil, and Mate did a great job organizing events and meetings in their respective cities and countries. While there, I met extraordinary people that have a firm commitment to building civil society and a culture of volunteerism. To be honest, I was somewhat confused about why everyone was using this terminology. I then learned that based on each country's experience with socialism and the Soviet Union, a new vocabulary had to be created in order to promote program goals. Words like community and membership brought back memories of a past from which most people wanted to separate themselves. This was a valuable lesson in finding the right terminology for the specific situation. This experience also served to broaden my view of what is poverty and institutional racism. We met Roma families that live in extreme poverty and lack access to resources that will allow them to improve their socio-economic standing in their societies. We learned about the "separate but equal" mentality in relation to Roma children's education. This program and what it professes to do, could be a vital component in promoting more citizen participation that will lead to an empowered citizenry that may cause changing some policies regarding Roma children’s education. On a personal level, this trip helped me to self-reflect on how I do my work and how I may evolve as an organizer. Though our experiences may be different and we may be from different countries, organizers in Europe and the U.S. ultimately face many of the same issues and obstacles (cultures of racism, apathy, exclusion, poverty). We all have different ways of addressing these issues. I believe we can all learn more from each other. In the countries we visited, they can learn more about being more aggressive and pro-active about inclusion of those affected in decision making and campaigns, in order to promote more ownership of the process and all outcomes. In the U.S. we can learn more about building community and interconnectedness, via projects like community gardens and the such. One thing I noticed is that many of the organizers there were thinking in terms of "the world as it should be", while we as U.S. organizers are more prone to think of "the world as it is". What this means is that the European organizers are thinking more of the theoretical/ philosophical world they would like to create and how to make it real; while we U.S. organizers are prone to start from the issues and problems that people face now and how to remedy them and empower those affected. In order to reach the world that we want, we must combine both approaches, "the world as it is" and "the world as it should be". Overall, this program is a great tool for promoting civil society and volunteerism. It exposes both the mentors and the mentees to other ways of thinking about solving issues affecting our constituencies. This program expands the knowledge and challenges everyone to move in the direction of citizen participation and inclusion in decision making, in order to make a real lasting change. My only real critique is that this program must also find a way to fund some of the work to motivate people, rather than parachuting in, stoking the fires, and then moving on. This in reality creates more apathy, since it exposes people to what is possible and does not help make it possible.� Tuesday, June 25, Banska Bystrica, Central Slovakia: The U.S. Mentors participated in workshop and contributed community organizing experience (L-R) Janice Holmes El-Amin, Miroslav Ragac, Hector Vaca and Grace Badik
Sponsored by the U.S. State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of Citizen Exchanges, Professional Fellows Division. Organized by Great Lakes Consortium for International Training and Development with its collaborating partners in Europe: CEGA in Bulgaria, CeRe in Romania, CKO in Slovakia and CCF in Hungary