(Originally shared on www.loveandragemedia.org)
Contact BASF:
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facebook.com/basfsylhet
We do not know anything about an anarcho-syndicalist movement in Bangladesh. Please tell us, how everything started. Had there been anarchist traditions or a union movement for a longer time? Had there been contacts to organizations in other countries?
The Bangladesh anarchist workers’ movement is
less than five years old, born out of the ashes of failed
Marxism-Leninism.
I recall the antecedent period in Bangladesh
history where Marxism-Leninism held hegemony. This was a time of deep
faith and affection for the thought of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin,
Mao Tsetung, and Trotsky.
As far as I understand, none in the movement knew
of anarchism as a political ideology and would not know of it until
decades later. We revered the hanging portraits of Marxist leaders,
we studied their books, and we integrated discussion of their ideas
into our daily lives. Our life’s pursuit was to become socialist
revolutionaries. We were so fervent in our beliefs of a better world
that we sacrificed clothing for books, food for paper.
The socialist movement was already active in
Bangladesh when my generation moved from studying socialism to
helping develop a mass socialist movement. In Dhaka, the capital, we
helped in the dissemination of pro-Soviet papers, we joined student
organizations, and we participated in interviews. We explained
socialism to the people, to workers, from the factories to the
fields. Our path was guided by science and freedom of expression, and
we spread our ideas without imposing on others. But we faced public
rejection and death in our efforts.
When speaking in Muslim-dominated areas, many
condemned us as atheists and unrighteous. And where we were not
simply denounced, many of us were murdered. Our struggle has been the
history of bloodshed. We have lost many of our companions. And
although the oppressive apparatuses tortured and killed us, we
proceeded ahead with the dream of revolution and continued to take
those steps to make the revolution. Our work increased the number of
socialist organizations and supporters across cities and villages.
These bodies were intent to fight against the tyranny of oppression,
against the national military dictatorship and against imperialism.
As early as 1980 we were able to hear about the
Soviet Union and China’s authoritarian nature and contradictions.
We did not believe this was the truth, that “scientific”
socialism could be false. Rather, we believed this was imperialist
and CIA propaganda. The subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union and
the breaking of Lenin’s statue greatly shocked us all. Together
with the eastern bloc, the socialist countries of the world changed.
They moved away from having even a veneer of socialism and openly
embraced a capitalist restructuralization.
This produced a tremendous shock in the thought of
our movement. We re-read Marxism’s fundamentals over and over. But
none of this helped us to better understand the failure of
“socialism.”
We did, however, take an interest in the
revolutionaries who criticized Marxism-Leninism. This led us to read
the works of many anarchists, such as Mikhail Bakunin, William
Godwin, PJ Proudhon, Peter Kropotkin, Emma Goldman, Errico Malatesta,
Alexander Berkman, Max Stirner, Élisée Reclus, and Noam Chomsky.
Their works are not in print form [in Bangladesh],
nor are they in Bengali. So our medium of learning has been through
reading anarchist texts through the internet in foreign languages.
By 2012, many of us former Marxists acquired a
clear idea of anarcho-syndicalism from our continuous internet
studies.
Because I have been involved in tea workers’
struggles since 2000, it was among tea workers and close, political
friends that we first introduced anarcho-syndicalist practices
through the development of The Tea Workers’ Council. This council
did not bear the name of any specific doctrine or party. Because old,
authoritarian ways persisted, a clear articulation of anarchism and a
regrouping along anarchist principles was necessary.
As a result, on 1 May 2014, many militants formed
a twenty three-member committee of those committed to the principles
of anarcho-syndicalism. This committee has fostered the development
of anarcho-syndicalist organizations in across 60+ places in
Bangladesh today.
Presently, we are receiving help from the
Anarcho-Syndicalist Federation of Australia to improve our
organization. With their help, we are also trying to become members
of the IWA-AIT [International Workers’ Association – Asociación
Internacional de los Trabajadores].
We seek solidarity from sister and brother
comrades all over the world. We want to work together with everyone.
Why do you think anarcho-syndicalism is a good
idea for your lives in Bangladesh?
I think that capitalism is based on the
subordination and exploitation of the working class. Workers are
oppressed because they are forced to work under a coercive management
regime and they are denied the right to control the use of their own
abilities or control their own work.
For the working class to liberate itself from this
situation, it is necessary to have a strategy. The strategy needs to
be workable and show how it has a chance of achieving liberation.
This means that the strategy needs to have a good “fit” with the
goal or aim. If the masses are to fight to replace capitalism with a
form of socialism, it is not worth the struggle if the result is just
a new form of oppression, run by some new boss class. Thus it’s
necessary to think about how our strategy can lead to a form of
socialism where the masses are actually in control of the society,
and workers control the places where they work.
The advantage to anarcho-syndicalism, as I see it,
is that it has the best chance of creating a form of socialism where
there will not be a new ruling class, and where workers will be in
control.
The anarcho-syndicalist strategy means building
unions that are controlled by their members, and building broader
solidarity throughout the working class. The idea is to build a labor
movement that isn’t narrowly focused on only fights with an
individual employer but has the capacity to fight for more systemic
change, and can work in alliance with other social movements. This
means that workers have to build solidarity between different
sectors, different groups of the oppressed. Only a labor movement of
this kind would be able to be a force for basic change in the social
structure. Building unions controlled by the members foreshadows
workers managing the industries.
The problem with other socialist strategies is
that either they don’t seem able to get beyond the present society
(as with electoral socialism and cooperativism) or they end up
putting power into the hands of state leaders, and tend to create a
new bureaucratic boss class. Anarcho-syndicalism, on the other hand,
is built to avoid creating a new bureaucratic boss class by avoiding
concentration of power into a state bureaucratic machine.
How many groups are there and in which
industries / workplaces are they organizing people? In which cities
are they placed?
Bangladesh Anarcho-Syndicalist Federation (BASF)
organizes workers at the lowest levels of diverse industries. Workers
in BASF represent sectors from tea garden to food processing to
rickshaw making to ceramics to brick-fields to construction to
transportation to maintenance work to domestic/factory guards to
loaders to sweepers to employed salesmen to grocery shop workers to
metal workers.
BASF, already organized about 60 groups in
different places, whose membership currently is over 1,600 with 45%
women, and only accepts employees as their members.
Despite working in some of the largest and most
important industrial sectors, workers receive extremely low wages.
For instance, working women in food processing receive 45 Taka
(0.54$) after an 8-hour work day. Ceramic workers receive 55 Taka
(0.66$) per day. Moreover, factories don’t have proper ventilation,
cooling, and supervisors mistreat workers. BASF, through sectoral
associations, is organizing workers to demand higher wages, paid
holidays, and better working conditions. Sectoral associations
(shomiti/সমিতি) allow
BASF to form struggles depending on specific needs and maintain
sector specific autonomy. Each sectoral association has a secretary
and a treasurer, and the secretary functions as a delegate to BASF in
federation level decision-making. BASF’s student association is
working on developing demands for free education for all, while the
tea garden workers’ association is developing demands for land
rights in addition to better wages and working conditions. Patriarchy
pervades everyday life and hinders organizing when, for instance,
women do not speak up in men’s presence in association meetings.
This happens less among tea garden workers since men and women work
together in the hills. In order to address the lack of women’s
participation, BASF has made efforts toward building a separate
anarcho-syndicalist women’s federation.
BASF is working independently and is not yet
affiliated with any larger anarchist organization. BASF understands
that capitalism is a worldwide phenomenon and has to be addressed at
a global level through solidarity across locales. However, such
internationalism requires developing a nation-wide organization—a
major challenge for BASF. Assembling while being unregistered as an
organization can lead to a five-year prison sentence for organizers
in Bangladesh. BASF now has legal registration papers that they can
use as shield, however it does not have permission from the local
police station to assemble, despite having their organization
registered. Anarchism still raises suspicion among local
power-holders. BASF is vigilant about imperialist/colonialist
tendencies among anarchist partners from the global north.
BASF is focusing on the challenges of eliminating
entrenched domination in Bangladesh culture. Dominance has been
naturalized across society, from domestic partner relations, to
mullah-believer relation, to student-teacher relation to
minister-citizen relation. The person in the position of authority is
seen as unquestionable and is allowed full exercise of their sadistic
impulses. Our student organizers talk about the widespread practice
of “ragging,” where upper class students sexually torture lower
class students in universities. When BASF organizers protested widely
accepted sexual torture at universities, thousands of people
protested their questioning of upper class authority.
People are habituated to think of politics as
partisan politics organized in hierarchical bureaucracies. As soon as
you talk to people about joining the organization (BASF), they think
of being the president, secretary, etc. When they don’t get those
roles, they lose interest and leave.
Among the membership base, workers lose work hours
participating at BASF events. These are workers who live
hand-to-mouth, unable to pay for food on days they do not work. BASF
does not have enough resources (from food to furniture) to bring all
of its association members together into long conferences and
meetings. BASF has 60 associations and has received interest letters
from many more but is unable to integrate all of them or even meet
the interested persons in other parts of Bangladesh.
BASF is committed to moving from just wage
struggles to building a broader social movement. Opposed to
vanguardism, BASF wants to create spaces for collective reflection
and action. It believes political praxis requires more education and
consciousness raising among wage workers across sectors, but at the
moment BASF is only able to organize workers in short duration for
immediate needs. BASF lacks the infrastructure for further political
education.
It does not have an office, library, or community
space. It lacks computers, original and translated publications, and
people capacity to take on popular education projects.
Despite resource drawbacks, BASF shomitis have
generated collective “we feelings” among its members, negotiated
higher wages, and engaged in practices of mutual aid within its
sectors. After natural disasters in the region, BASF members work
together to rebuild fellow members’ homes without any external aid.
During health emergencies or family events like weddings, members
pull together their resources to support one other.
BASF encourages other anarchist organization and
federations to develop translations of publicly available literature
for Bengali readers. There are a lot of people who are reading online
nowadays and we can reach them if we have more Bengali anarchist
writings. We should write in Bengali from now on.
Anarcho-syndicalism is an old, but still
young idea out of the workers’ movement in Europe. The
circumstances in Bangladesh – I guess – are different. Which
parts of the anarcho-syndicalist historical / modern practices had
been inspiring, which were not useful and had to be dropped/changed?
How could anarcho-syndicalism be adopted to your economical and
cultural circumstances in Bangladesh today?
While any modern economy will be complex, the
simplicity of a future anarcho-syndicalist economy lies in the fact
that it will be defined by a few basic principles. It will be a true
anarcho-syndicalist economy if:
1) There is no mechanism for profit, or for
concentrating wealth and capital. 2) Workplaces are collectively run
and are controlled directly and democratically by workers. 3) Any
organisational/administrative bodies are composed only of
re-callable, accountable delegates who are elected by mass meetings
in the workplace or community. 4) Property is held in common (though
clearly, we all have the right to our own living space, personal
possessions, etc.). 5) All work is voluntary, and goods and services
equally accessible. Money, wages and prices do not exist. 6) There is
a significant level of economic planning, but not centralized.
Regional or wider-scale planning is for complex and larger scale
modes of production. Local production and consumption is not
subordinate to regional planning, but is on the basis of
self-sufficiency.
An economy that operates under these principles is
one that is a lot more desirable and effective in
ensuring quality of life than the current capitalist chaos.
There are lots of ways in which people will feel
the incentive to work voluntarily, and there are lots of different
ways in which local and regional economies might work. Some people
may migrate to economies which suit them. Some economies may be
simpler, based on self-sufficiency more than anything else; others
will be more integrated and produce complex goods.
The options are many, but the principles will
ensure that everyone has the time and the inclination to get involved
in planning and participating in their economy – a far cry from the
present rotten, corrupt, and cynically selfish system we have the
misfortune to be saddled with.
Getting from here to there is not going to be
easy, but humanity created capitalism, and humanity can replace it.
The collective act of wrenching control of our own economic lives
from the hands of capitalism is the long-overdue revolution we so
desperately need.
The success of replacing capitalism will be
measured by how much we take control of our own destiny, rather than
simply passing it on to some other power, as previous failed
revolutions have done.
Real progress is best made not by producing
detailed blueprints (for that way lies the slide into abstract
politics and leadership), but by sticking to basic principles, and
concentrating our efforts on taking action for real change. Real
democracy requires real solidarity – and that means agreeing on the
basics and then trusting ourselves and the rest of humanity to get on
with it. “Keeping it real” is the key.
Anarcho-syndicalism is a strategy for the working
class to free itself from the capitalist regime of class oppression
and create a system of libertarian socialism based on worker-managed
industry.
This is possible in Bangladesh because it is
possible for workers to form unions they directly control. I realize
that since World War Two unions became increasingly bureaucratic.
That was then, this is now. Unions have obvious problems.
What is needed now is for workers to form new
unions they directly control, through general meetings and elected
delegate (or shop steward) councils. A more directly
worker-controlled and militant unionism, a unionism based on
class-wide solidarity, would be a much better form of unionism and it
would provide workers with a vehicle for making changes in society.
The basic idea is that unions that are
self-managed by their members prefigure and foreshadow a form of
socialism where workers self-manage the workplaces, the industries.
This is a much better model of socialism than the failed statist
models of socialism in the 20th century.
However, the building of self-managed unions is
only a starting point. The aim of anarcho-syndicalism is basic
structural change in society, doing away with the capitalist regime,
its system of class subordination, but also anarcho-syndicalism
targets the other oppressive aspects of the capitalist regime — its
systemic forms of inequality as on racism and gender inequality, its
reliance on a top down repressive and bureaucratic state machine. So
the question of how possible anarcho-syndicalism is, has to be
interpreted as also asking about the possibility for the
transformation of society into libertarian socialism.
For this to be possible there would need to be an
alliance of unions and social movements of sufficient size,
organizational strength and militancy as to pose this kind of threat
to the survival of the capitalist regime.
What do you and your comrades think about
a Bangladeshi/German exchange? A big part of anarcho-syndicalist
practice is not only being organized in unions but to take the
production in our own hands. What about the possibility to raise a
collective industry and exchange of goods and labor between Germany
and Bangladesh anarcho-syndicalist movement? So to say not only
capitalist “fair trade” but collective “revolutionary economy.”
Is there a possibility to build up anarcho-syndicalist collectives
for a future economy in our way of thinking? (This point may lead to
a bigger discussion, so take your time to answer it, please.)
It seems that the germs of a possible
Bangladeshi/German exchange or the “revolutionary economy” as
mentioned are already present.
As of now we do not have the technical or
financial means to start co-operatives by ourselves, but we have
already considered it as a possibility if the means were to be made
available. Funding co-operatives would be something we could do
with surplus funds, if we ever have them. It is difficult to
have surplus funds when we are still having problems just making sure
people have food in their stomach.
As mentioned above, the BASF is currently in a
period of rapid growth that it is struggling to keep up with. The
task of building anarchist-worthy workplace unions consumes all our
time.
But this is seeming all the more possible the more
sisters and brothers from abroad talk about this to us. And it
is welcomed news that contrasts the immoral spending habits we have
seen our entire lives.
We have seen the terrible injustice of stronger
nations and their peoples coming to or using indigent nations such as
Bangladesh to take advantage of the high purchasing power of their
home currencies that is made possible by our cruel impoverishment.
The proposal of such an exchange is in a
completely contrary spirit to this. In the least, its solidaric
content excites us.
I know anarchists and workers in the USA would
also like to use such an economy to turn the weapons of the
exploiters against the exploiters themselves here in Bangladesh.
I am glad to hear others from abroad wanting to do
what little they can to help us.
If such collectives grew here, its participants
would have to carefully chart their development, so that they are in
harmony with the general movement and add to its revolutionary
character.
I imagine they would socialize their resources,
helping to meet urgent organizational and material needs among our
rank-and-file that could offer unique opportunities that are not
possible outside the framework of such a solidarity economy.
We are seeing successes in our union organizing,
and it is difficult to concentrate our efforts elsewhere, especially
while our hands are clenched fighting in so many workplaces.
I imagine comrades from abroad would have to come
here to offer us technical assistance to make this possible since our
hands are so full.
This is an idea and sentiment that I hope
continues to grow. I thank all comrades who are discussing this.
What about other aspects of a free society –
for example how is the question of women emancipation realized in
your organizations? What do the female comrades think about it?
For the emancipation of women we already formed
Bangladesh Anarcho-Syndicalist Women’s Union (BAWU).
The BAWU identifies the cause of women’s
oppression as the economic systems of feudalism and capitalism,
rather than in a perceived weakness in national character or culture.
Most of its ideology has been formulated by its
founding members. They focus on the class-based exploitation of
women, singling out sex workers, domestic servants and female factory
workers as the most oppressed.
They condemn the unequal distribution of wealth
and refuse to subordinate working women’s struggle to any other
ideological cause. Declaring that “the goal of equality cannot be
achieved except through women’s liberation,” BAWU views women’s
freedom as something that women must accomplish on their own, since
relying on others to give them their rights has not worked up to now
and likely never will. Revolutionary change, not reform, is seen as
the only way forward.
At this point, BAWU and the ideas it represent is
still a new phenomenon to Bangladeshi women.
There is a mixture of joy, curiosity, and
hesitation.
We hope that our liberatory vision and practices
continue to grow.
The recent awakening of the anarchist spirit in
the Bangladeshi people is causing big social changes that we hope can
continue with the broadening of our experiences and education.
For decades we knew nothing of anarchism, very
simple yet profoundly unique ideas that resonate to the core of our
essential humanity.
Some of us who have grown up in authoritarian
society and discover anarchism later in life have the least grounds
to assume that our vision of freedom is the most comprehensive. After
all, we lived completely oblivious to something simple and innate for
decades, in some cases.
We will continue to be ready to receive and
consider new or better ideas that enrich individual liberty and
dignity. Some will come from our interactions from other
societies. Perhaps we will discover pre-colonialist ways of life that
have been hidden from us and reclaim our heritage.
Being open to new ideas is the easier thing, of
course. The task of spreading them and defending those who wish to
elevate them against innate conservatism in ordinary people and
institutions is the more difficult task.
We hope we are cultivating an anarchist generation
that will be able to continue this work.
We are just the beginning, of course.
Are there any syndicalist research groups connected to your unions / syndicates?
Not yet.
Do you regularly publish any books or magazines with anarcho-syndicalist content?
We have taken the initiative to publish a little
magazine.
Is there the possibility to send one or two versed comrades for a rally/connective tour to the anarcho-syndicalist groups and unions of Europe / Germany?
Yes.
It is important to share our news and ideas.
What are your goals in the next future? How can European comrades support these goals?
Our main goals are as follows:
1) The Anarcho-Syndicalist Federation is a
libertarian workers’ movement organized according to
anarcho-syndicalist principles. We aim to create a society based on
liberty, mutual aid, federalism and self-management.
2) We believe the working class and the employing
class have nothing in common. Between these two classes a struggle
must go on until the workers of the world organize as a class, take
possession of the earth and the machinery of production and abolish
the wage system.
3) In the present we take an active part in the
struggle for worker solidarity, shorter hours, immediate wage
increases and improved working conditions. And we actively oppose all
attacks on workers such as conscription of labor, strike breaking,
drives for increased production and longer working hours, wage cuts
or unemployment.
4) We want worker/community self-education for
complete self-management of production, distribution, social
organisation and preservation of a healthy ecological environment.
This will come about by worker/community expropriation of wealth and
the creation of alternative economic systems.
5) We are opposed to all economic and social
monopoly. We do not seek the conquest of political power, but rather
the total abolition of all state functions in the life of society.
Hence we reject all parliamentary activity and other collaboration
with legislative bodies. We believe in fighting organisations in the
workplace and community, independent of, and opposed to all political
parties and Trade Union bureaucracies.
6) Our means of struggle include education and
direct action. To ensure the full participation of all in both
current struggle and the future self-management of society, we oppose
centralism in our organisations. We organize on the basis of
Libertarian Federalism that is from the bottom up without any
hierarchy and with full freedom of initiative by both local and
regional groups. All co-coordinating bodies of the Federation consist
of re-callable delegates with specific tasks determined by local
assemblies.
7) We see the world as our country, humanity as
our family. We reject all political and national frontiers and aim to
unmask the arbitrary violence of all governments.
8) We oppose all attitudes and assumptions that
are harmful and injurious to working class solidarity. We oppose all
ideologies and institutions that stand in the way of equality and the
right of people everywhere to control their own lives and their
environment.
European comrades can support these goals
in the following fields:
BASF seeks technical and financial support in the
following areas:
1) We need some financial assistance to develop
our communication infrastructure for our organizing work. Funds left
over would be spent according to our membership’s discretion toward
necessary efforts, including education, union campaigns, co-operative
opportunities, transportation, and food.
2) Our movement is currently growing throughout
the country. Improving our communication infrastructure would
help our organizing activities in over 60+ locals we have already
established and in different industries we currently have a footing
in.
3) Translation costs from English to Bengali
language:
The Bangladesh anarcho-syndicalist workers’
movement is less than five years old, and we are in dire need of
printed material to educate and organize..
We are undertaking the “Bengali Translation &
Publication Project” here in Bangladesh.
We have begun translating some basic books on
anarchism written by thinkers such as Bakunin, William Godwin,
Proudhon, Kropotkin, Emma Goldman, Malatesta, Alexander Berkman,
Stirner, Élisée Reclus, Noam Chomsky, and so on.
Our initial plan is to translate and print ten
books to build a strong knowledge base of anarchism in our country.
Most of our Bangladeshi comrades come from very
poor family backgrounds, so although the audience and organizers are
there to share these books, but the means to finish printing them are
still lacking.
You can help us print books with a small donation
on our website.
Even just one euro would go a long way!
You can also contact us if you have any idea about
inexpensive ways to print.
We will appreciate your help very much.
Perhaps anarchist, Bengali books will be useful for workers who live outside Bangladesh, maybe in your places of action. If you want to organize conferences or pre-order books, contact us through the same means shown above. ■
Here are the books we are working on printing,
- The Conquest
of Bread by Peter Kropotkin
- What Is
Property? by P.J. Proudhon
- The Anarchist
Revolution by Errico Malatesta
- God and the
State by Mikhail Bakunin
- Anarcho-Syndicalism:
Theory and Practice by Rudolf Rocker
- Nationalism
and Culture by Rudolf Rocker
- ABC of
Anarchism by Alexander Berkman
- Post-Scarcity
Anarchism by Murray Bookchin
- Program of
Anarcho-Syndicalism by G.P. Maximoff
- Demanding the Impossible by Peter
Marshall
Contact BASF:
[email protected]
facebook.com/basfsylhet