Part IV, 

Impressions of the ILGA Asia Conference,

Bangkok 29-31 of March 2013.

Happy starting the last part of my impressions with a side step again:

One thing I forgot to mention so far. The use of social media while in Bangkok attending the ILGA conference, went trough the roof, and if you know as me with hinsight, what happened, no idear...haha, I only know I had to go back to my room several times a day to recharge my iPhone and as such could only do that in a limited way if I didn't want to miss interesting parts (for me that is) of the conference.

But then my iPhone played part as note book, camera, conference calender, etc. To think that in the so-called old days we walked around with piles of paper, we carried those so-called pilot briefcases with us, sometimes more then one... and now? One device the size of little more then a cigarette case and/or one with the size of a A5 writingblock... if you guys still know what A5 (and 1, 2, 3, 4 etc for that matter) stands for ;-) The participants walked around with maximum a laptop and one thing I would advice the organisers of the 2015 conference: please make sure enough sockets for recharging batteries are at hand all over the place, not only where the meetings take place, but also in the corridors and lobby... seems those are the new ink for all those new pens we carry around with us.

Nowadays modern gear for attending
a conference, so much easier if you know your way with it;-)

To the conference participants: make sure you have your adapter with you, and preferably a spare! ;-)

How much things can change in such a relative short time?!

During the relative early morning, by the look of the number of people then present, I walked into the membership meeting of ILGA and as a (policy)organisation and structure lover, if I can call it that this way, I got fascinated how the ILGA membership went about discussing a Strategy Plan, setting their goals, etc.. The commitment it showed BUT also the preparedness to get as much people involved, respectively behind the chosen path, felt very very good... but then again, at times I also wondered what I could take on face value and what not? But that's maybe the political animal, the cynic.... but I well prefer to take what I experienced on face value because it felt honest and good though not everybody could be made happy, that was clear too.

After I also wittnessed the elections of the new ILGA Asia Board, from a technical point of view about how to conduct such meetings and affairs, things didn't go as they should have, but who was I to comment? Maybe I was just the observer set in his ways and should not do too difficult if everybody present seemed to be happy respectively not too annoyed by the procedures followed. In the end I decided, of course, to happily keep my mouth firmly shut and enjoy a rather good spirited election meeting.

During the closing ceremony the newly elected Board was presented and goodbyes were spoken and applauded for those members who had resigned, specially the two who also had served on the Worldboard of ILGA for the last 7 years.

ILGA Asia and sports

But before we got to the closing ceremony, followed by a true conference party, at last, at Telephone Bar in Soi 4 of Silom Road, there was one more workshop I visited, with AEK, who had gone before: ILGA and sports.

Strangly, this was a rather small gathering but on the other hand, the discussions and exchanges of thoughts were more intense, direct and wonderfully respectfull to all different opinions.

This workshop was requested by a Canadian participant of the conference, who also sits on the Board of the Gay Games, so I was told.

He wanted to talk about how to get people to come to these big sports events, to find out if and so yes where they went wrong and why it was so hard in (SE) Asia.... looking at the Nepal initiative.

Well, happily our Aek, but also the friends present from Malaysia and Phillipines made it clear to him that they already had a sports event, which slowly grows and now has participants from al over SE Asia and beyond.

They also made clear that it was a so called grass roots event, not top down. That publicity, if at all, was non exsistend if they had their yearly Games in a country with a, lets stay politely, less tolerant approach to the LGBT community, also to protect the event and because all participants also enjoyed playing host, even if it ment nightmares for the organisers too, and receiving all their (new) friends. Competition took/takes place in 8/10 sports and is growing and the next host city/country would be Manilla, Phillipines in October 2013!

Our moderator, the Gay Games Board member, was, or acted, but I think he truly was, surprised and very interested how sport was being approached here in SE Asia.

Then to my surprise I was actively drawn into the discussion, exchanges, by a Nepalese long distance runner, who asked for my opinion as being Dutch and our experiences with it all, being such front runners. It was/is humbling when people still look at us Dutch people this way when it comes down to LGBT/SOGI rights and all activities connected with it.

I used this opportunity to support the grass roots set-up aand I combined it with the so-called tupperware parties from the '60/'70 and later (?) in the USA and somewhat also in Europe... these are parties where people come together at someones home and same time one of them or someone specially invited comes to sell them tupperware or whatever while they were all having fun and enjoyed themselves. Nobody the wiser too. I also told how we used this concept in Holland to reach women belonging to certain cultural minorities were talking about hiv and aids was, and still is, taboe so at least they could attend because there husbands/family

wouldn't be the wiser and they could get their education, information, assistance, whatever was needed. This operated pretty succcesfully and in that way we were able to help many otherwise lonely women.

I then made the link to the TSG Games and the role they fullfilled or could easily fullfill regarding SOGI(LGBT) advocacy. Giving the members of our community the chance to meet fellow members while same time respecting the social situation they might be in back home. Those who are still in the closset should be safe to take part too!

Our SE Asian, Chinese and Nepalese friends, supplemented with some Old Dutch, then concluded that these OUT games, World games, Gay Games, Pacific OUT games and whatever else they were cauled, it seemed one for each year, is quickly draining the resources of many athletes in (SE)Asia and quickly turning it into an elite event for the well to do and the general SOGI population, at least in Asia, wouldn't be reached that way! Also it ment a pretty steep inflation of these sports events, in other words, it wouldn't be long before allmost all if not all would loose interest and trow back gay sports many years.

Our moderator stated that this, plus some other things which were mentioned, might have contributed to the failed games of Vancouver.

Regional gay sports events, consisting from one sport to a wide range, could be held every year. Relatively simpely organised and be combined with general gay/SOGI advocacy, culture, etc...as desired or stimulated by the so-called local hosts. That tupperware idear. You can build things up from there, to let's say every 4 years something global.

After all (gay)sports was about bringing people together, to make people more resilient, stronger in achieving their goals. Stimulate our SOGI-community beyond its own believe!

The TSG Games take place every year, Last year, 2012, on Phuket again, it drew in even more participants then before, over 250/300. None of them comercially financed, true amateurs, with or without sponsorships by individuals or organisations to make it all possible for them to attend/participate. With an old Olympic credo still very much alive: its more important to participate then to win! Also my friends explained to our friendly Canadian friend on a question of him, that the whole TSG Games was organised by the host cities sporting activists with maximum some sponsoring from local companies and or private persons, and that the rest of the money needed came from the participants themselves!

Sporters/athletes from some countries have every time they are invited to see how they can get the money, find sponsor(s) etc. while others have to seriously safe money to attend.

Because of the friendship element involved in these TSG Games, it often happens that already on the last day of a games people already have organised sleeping accomodations at the next games with and through present (new) friends!

I made the comparrison with how most gay sportsclubs organised tournaments in Europe and travelled to these eachothers events. It ain't all that different, except here in Asia special fundraising is needed to make it possible for the average SOGI-community member to participate.

It was also mentioned that the TSG Games enjoyed receiving teams and players from elsewhere in Asia and the world, no exclusions. The last games as a result teams and individual players took part from Western Europe as well as the United States.

All participants to this workshop stated, knowing already the outcome of the members meeting earlier on the day, that it would be greatly adviced to see if it could be organised during the upcomming TSG Games of Manilla to have the 2015 TSG Games in the host city of the 6^th ILGA Conference in the same period!

At the end our Canadian friend concluded he had to rewrite most of a report he was preparing to the Board of the Gay Games, taking into account what had been said here at the ILGA conference!

We all said we were much looking forward to receiving this report.

Closing of the 5^th ILGA Asia Conference,

Sunday late afternoon all were ready to get together in the ballroom of the Palazzo Hotel in Bangkok, where the conference took place, for the closing ceremony and to hear who were elected as the new Asia Board of ILGA and who had been elected on the World Board.

The new ILGA Asia board taking in the applaus for their willingness to serve.

For me it was surprising that so many if not all delegates were still present, because the room filled up even more then during the openingceremony.

Next to the presentation of the new Board Members also the next host city was being presented: Taipeh, Taiwan, in October 2015, combining it with the Taiwanese Gay Pride.

The hope was expressed that maybe by that time it would be possible to have one real (!) mass gay wedding during that Gay Pride respectively ILGA Asia conference!

With a long big applaus the conference was closed by the outgoing World Board members wishing everybody not only a safe trip back home but also hoping to see everybody at the closing party at Telephone Bar!

After

The ILGA Asia closing party was also very well attended though some allready had to fly home, like our Vicky. Others had to depart early from it because they had to fly back that night to China and elsewhere because most if not all of these participants had to go back to work the following day! Sadly not all were able to combine it with a short Bangkok holliday.

The next day, while I sat down in the lobby of the conference hotel, it was like one big fare well reception of participants. Because my flight back to Phuket was in the early evening, I was happily able to say goodbye to new friends made. From Palestine, it was interesting to hear how his life was, as a SOGI but also as Palestinian in occupied Jeruzalem, from Bahrein, from Nepal, who told me about his university research, how he managed to get sponsored for his long distance running, the long flight to get to Bangkok (he arrived, in the end, Friday evening instead of Thursday evening) and how his trip back home was looking like. We decided to share the taxi to go to the airport later that day. But also from a wonderfull gentle gay/SOGI pastor from the Phillipines who had decided to found his own LGBT/SOGI Church with its own congregation, expressing the sincere hope he would see us in manilla for the TSG Games in October and hoped that we would be able to raise the money for the Thai/Phuket (volleybal)team to come and play again because they had become of the core of the TSG and it wouldn't be the same without them!

For me it felt like saying my goodbyes, again, to our hopes for the futur. Our hopes for the present and to those who were getting happily ready to fade away in the past, knowing the SOGI/LGBT-torch was enthousiastically carried forward with a stimulating determination!

Note: You will not find any names here in these 4 parts about the ILGA conference. If others have done so on their own sites, fine, but it was hard to tell who should stay unknown and who was comfortable about being in the open so I chose simply to avouid face shots and/or mentioning of names.

Of course the ILGA Asia board members e.o. can be found on their webistes, blogs etc..

I can only hope the readers enjoyed these impressions a little bit BUT please take note, they were from an outsider, observer with limitations but one who enjoyed attending same time though please no buffet-food for him anymore, haha

PART III of the Phoenix Rising, 

The 5^th ILGA Conference Bangkok.

This whole report thing is getting too long already, I feel, but same time I am surprised by all the impressions I got, the enthousiasm, etc.... and I was just an observer, wandering the corridors, lobby and attending workshops or parts of them, taking in all what was being discussed and going on.

Also checking up on our Phuketians, how they were doing and feeling.

First sidestepping again:

Something very sad happened as well. Tung, one of our 3 Phuketians, received an urgent message from home. He had to return immidiatly home, and so Saturday late afternoon, early evening we were busy organising his speedy return.....

Evaluations...

Our first evaluation the day before, was more one of 3 people slightly overwhelmed by the whole conference, the first impresions, etc but determined and motivated to get the most out of it.

Tungs emergency made us decide to cancell the second evaluation.

The consensus though was that it was highly interesting to see if a membership of Andaman Power of ILGA was something to seriously consider and slowly moving Andaman Power, like so many of such organisations before her all over the world, to more general LGBT advocacy without deminishing the HIV/AIDS prevention and support-work that is still the present goal of Andaman Power.

I told them that we would, if Andaman Power would ask for and obtain full membership of ILGA take upon us the first 2 years minimum of contributions which then needs to be payed and that we would help and support them were needed and asked for, as far as it would be in our power to give of course.

We agreed it would be something which should be very seriously considered once we were back on Phuket.... One thing was clear, they felt such a move woould be a very big step for them and not sure if they would be able to live up to possible expectations as a result of such a move to more general LGBT advocacy.

It was though more then clear that attending this conference triggert a whole series of contemplations about their futur, in, with and for Andaman Power, etcetera. I applauded these contemplations and let them go on with it! Such things should not be decided upon under any kind of pressure because the wish for it should clearly come from within them.

There positive toughts though in that direction made me get more seriously informed about the procedure and demands for full membership of ILGA , by boardmembers as well as secretariat, and I talked about it with representatives of Rainbow Sky, a bangkok based LGBT organisation and one of the two only Thai members of ILGA. Both applauded the idear of Andaman Power becoming member of ILGA!

Now of course we have to wait and see how Andaman Power feels, after the conference is over, Songkran celebrated and low season has truly started.

SOGI

The first time I saw this word was while preparng for the conference, and I had no idear what its meanng.

Now I do!

SOGI stands for Sexual Orientation Gender Identity.

Why? What does it stands for?

Well, as I got the explenation during a workshop by an Indonesian initiator, they got so fed up by discussions about how to describe their divers group as LGBT community, adding Q's and I's etc.

And how I sympathized with that, remembering the, in my eyes at least idiotic discussions within our (farang) Phuket community about the same.

So they tried to find an all encompassing description of what and who we are and try/like to represent.

Result: Sexual Orientation Gender Identity, short SOGI... an alternative which also sounded pretty good.

Most likely it was thought up first by politicians trying to describe some committee(work) without wanting to get into this LGBT etcetera thing and trying to be politically correct as they could be... a rather succesfull find that now also found its way into the community itself and into Asia ;-)

When they started to use SOGI, they also discovered that where first doors stayed closed for them as LGBT organisation, they now opened for them as SOGI. Weird huh, what a change of label, name can sometimes do?!

I thought, and think, till somebody comes up with something better, that this is a most pleasing sollution if and when we like to be all inclusive.

Hence, from now on, I will do my best to use SOGI instead of LGBT.

At the conference both were used, people need really to get used to this “new identity”? ;-)

Disasters (preparedness) and the Sexual Minority Community.

Won't give too long of a report on this workshop only that I was surprised, baffled, also about myself!

I can't remember any emergency, contingency plans, from the ones made on my request in my days as city manager or as acting/deputy major, which took into account the sexual diversity of the population.

The simplicity with which representatives from Japan (Tsunami), Indonesia (vulcanic eruptions and earthquakes) came with all kinds of SOGI(=LGBT) – issues which came up dring the relief actions, the discrepancies, the discrimination and lack of respect for the sexuality of those involved, how insensative people were treated. Shocking not only to hear, BUT to realize that in all those plans in my country The Netherlands, I sofar never have seen any contingency plan taking into account more then age and man/woman/(dis)ability.

It also made me pleasantly aware that our so-called community has been quite allert about this these last years here in Asia, regardless for the standing our SOGI(=LGBT)-community found themselves in, in the respective countries!

Our Asian friends, I likewise happily noted, as I did later as well when I followed the workshop about education, are quite on top of things and they try to act very practical, regardless the status of our community in the respective countries, and are eager to share their expereinces to help their fellow communities in other countries.

I wondered how things were dealt with during the Tsunami of 2004, which also, among others, devastated Phuket …..

My Phuketian friends were not aware of any SOGI-angle in disaster relief plans in case of one, which included (specialized) care for our SOGI-community. This workshop made it clear that it is something to pay attention to when the opportunity arrises!

Now of course I do not know if by now this has changed in the Netherlands, but my gut feeling tells me that might not be the case.... and the examples I heard from the what happened during the aftermath of the Japanese tsunami, made me very aware that we should review our contingency plans on this and ask our SOGI(=LGBT)-organisations to help to evaluate them accordingly!

LGBT in national education systems.

SOGI(=LGBT) in education systems specially attrackted my attention because of my own involvement in the years 2006-2008 getting this on the agenda first of the DWH, the independent gay association in Delft, as well after on that of the local and regional authorities and putting it at the attention of our national representatives, departements and parties in parliament.

So we begin with a sidestep here:

At that time we were viewed rather sceptical with our arguments, not only by the heterosexual world, but surprisingly for us who drafted the report in which this issue, among quite a couple of other issues, was put forward, also by our own membership, our own community. But we managed to overcome the sceptisisms, making us tronger with our arguments at the same time, and we spread our views as mentioned above.

To my pleasant surprise the report was rather well received and looked at, but quickly all fingers were pointing upwards, to our national political level.

At that time I had already met Kik, decided to get married, etc. and because I was now a lot of the time in Thailand, also resigned.... BUT things went so positively quickly that we hardly had to put up a complete lobby trajectory. Late 2008/early 2009 the then (relative) new Cabinet Minister of Education, who had taken SOGI-affairs as one of his responsibilities, had addopted our point of view in his paper/policy proposals for our Lower House (=2e Kamer). Since then it has not only been adopted/picked up by many others but it also became part of the policy statements by following Cabinets and is now put into effect troughout our education suystem and curriculums.

A Dutch representative was comming to speak about this and I was very curious to hear how they had implemented the whole and how the experiences had been with getting the large and very divers education boards to underwrite the new educational policies regarding SOGI.

Sadly though it was announced that the Dutch speaker had been detained elsewhere and could not make it to come to this conference after all. So far for my curiosity about these things;-)

It was then that I offered, if so wished, to at least tell the workshop how BUT more importantly why we got were we are now! With enthousiasm my offer was accepted, though I quickly regretted doing so because I had to improvise unprepared as I was, but my enthousiasm had gotten the better of me.

The Taiwanese and Indonesian initiators spoke of course first and what struck my how proud I actually felt that the respective SOGI-representatives were so pro-active. While they not even had the rights as we have in The Netherlands since the early ninyties of the last century, they already had recognized the importance of SOGI in education!

And they were making effective inroads, getting SOGI slowly but clearly established within the educational system.

Because its only when we will be able to teach the young about the normality of SOGI, the respect it deserves, as much as is given to every one else, we can truly establish a real, strongly fundamented and true emancipation of SOGI in the respective societies! Wise words aand ideas!

In The Netherlands we came with our education proposals as a defence meganism to try to keep what we thought we had established during the '80, '90 and early years of our present century, but feeling the threat by the orthodox Christinas and Muslims starting to align themselves in their opposition towards our SOGI rights!

When it was my turn to give my impromptu contribution I described mainly the process and motivation as mentioned above as well as the sometimes brutal bullying, violance, discrimination within neighbourhoods, old peoples homes, housing, schools, in healthcare and hospitals, etcetera. People looked at me with surprised faces thinking “in Holland????”. 

All of  the above triggert our policy committee to write the mentioned policy-report, to try start doing at least something and not be quiet and accepting about it as something normal happening to us as a community, which seems to be in the genes of the general SOGI population. The tollerance level of our overall SOGI-community is very, very high, too high for our own good and health!

Same time I kept on saying I was so proud on what I heard was happening in countries like Indonesia and Taiwan, and that for me they were now shining lights/examples of direction all should try to take. They clearly were pro-active instead to us, in the Netherlands that is, now being defensive. Theirs is, as far as I can observe now, the prefered, positive way.... but of course same time very glad that we have what we got … so far! ;-)

Same time by showing our struggles and fears we had and have in the Netherlands, they also felt, I hope, less alone and that even one of their shining examples, because thats how they look at the Netherlands, but also to the Scandinavian countries, still had their so-called SOGI-demons to fight.

Sadly most Asian countries were not even close to getting SOGI issues implimented and educated in their education systems, Thailand among them! And sadly a country like Malaysia, were even the opposite is now taking place!  This might turn out to become a true drama for our SOGI-community there and might very well influence over time the whole ASEAN because allready Malaysia, sadly, time after time refuses all kinds of things which include or mention SOGI-rights.... They more like to put us back deep in the closset and preferably then lock it and trow away the key, it seems.....:-(

EDUCATION ABOUT THE NORMALITY OF SOGI SHOULD INDEED BE A PRIMARY GOAL FOR OUR SOGI-COMMUNITY WHERE EVER WE ARE!

Part IV will be the last and will deal with some a workshop about ILGA and sports, as well as some observations about the conference and its closing on Sunday the 31st of March with the choosing of a new Board for Asia, etcetera, as well as  the new host city for the 6th ILGA Conference in 2015!

The Phoenix Airborn, part II

As I wrote as well at the beginning of Part I, this is not going to be a crompehensive report. I just like to write down what, for whatever reasons, struck me as maybe relevant while typing this because for one it jumped back into my mind thinking of this conference!

No doubt by now, or otherwise soon enough, good factual reports of this 5^th ILGA conference will appear and give a much beter and way more detailed idea, impressions of what has been discussed then I try or intend to do here. These are just relative random observations and impressions of an observer!

The blog of the conference is definitly an interesting read. You find it at: http://ilgatheraisingphoenix.blogspot.sg

And now let's continue!

More impressions of workshops:

Strategizing for sub-regional LGBT Advocacy, the case of ASEAN ...

Attending this workshop was something like taking a tour around Asia's LGBT communities, there present state of development, in other words emancipation, state of awareness and willingness to “get out of the closets”.

It gave an impressive overview how challenges (or problems, if thats what you prefer to read or use) are approached and it made clear that all these different cultures asked for sometimes different solutions or same sol;utions just differently wrapped up.

One thing it showed me quickly enough. That movements of emancipation of the LGBT community, inspired though it may have been or become by developments in the western world, it has to come from within the (original) community if it wants to stand a chance to be taken seriously in its region and/or country.

What amazed me, surprised me and gave me a proud feeling of my fellow LGBT memebers, was not only their reslove and enthousiasm, largly also due to their so-called youth, but also their creativity, inventiveness and approaches to situations they found themselves in.

I wondered at times: is this how my/our elders looked at us when I was a young liberal, provoking, finding new different ways to get things done or moving forward again. How we provoked and challenged the establishment. Were they likewise happy and proud to see a new generation taking over the banners.

Though being Dutch as Dutch can be, I felt proud like ... okay, lets say it … like hell, by watching and listening to these men and women.

Their futur won't be an easy one, but with their vigilance (is that the correct word here?), detirmination and stuborness, they will get ahead, maybe even all the way.....

but let them never fall asleep, thinking all has been accomplished, because then gains might get easily lost again!

• okay, so far me side stepping again -

From all the reports I heard a couple spring to mind, not because the other ones were less impressive or important, nothing of the sort... just because some (obscure?) elements of what they told struck me.

Birma

The report given here by, how could it be otherwise, a young Burmese guy, was full of enthousiasm. What struck me was that the LGBT movement started to get more then just a footnote, 2 years ago when same time the democratication of Burma started and the famous Ank Su Shi (wrong I know) got largely her freedom back and with her the Burmese people.

Sidestep again:

When I talk about people on the conference one notices I very rarely refer to people with their names. Also pictures, they mostly show backs, rarely fasces. When it happens I show fasces I know 99,5 % sure, they will not get into any kind of trouble in their homecountry because of what I have been doing here.

Also at such simple frivole thing as those poolparties we organise here on Phuket, we have gotten used to being carefull who are safe to photograph, and who is not. Pictures, when put on the internet, may it be by Facebok, Twitter, blogs like this one, can create unexpexted problems for the people in it, hence at the poolparty we ask newcommers permission (surprisingly quite a few say no which then, of course creates interesting topic of conversation later on, next to a volunteer photographer). The organisation of the ILGA conference solved this problem with handing out stickers everybody could put on his or her shirt showing yes or no, by color.

To be on the safe side I took the pictures the way I did.... specially when one realizes that this system did work on the first day, but after people strated to change clothes, the stickers started to dissapear …. this might be a new challenge for the organisers of the 2015 6^th ILGA Conference in Taipei, Taiwan.

Our Burmese initiator told us about the rapid growth their movement was making with this new gained freedom and how they same time tried to get rid of a famous British colonial left-over: Rule 377, if not mistaken, making it illegal for a man to have sex with a man, etc. …..

And there we go again, another sidestep by yours truly:

By the way, do you know that this Rule 377 (as rule 377 or otherwise), making homosexual contacts illigal can still be found all over the former British Empire, or nowadays Commonwealth? That the UK already retracted this rule/law a while ago BUT more striking, that this rule explicitly only mentions men, not women and that it is said that Queen Victoria, when asked to sign a bill with this rule, refused to sign it if it also spoke of women because she could not believe women would get involved in such acts.... to humor her, or not getting into an argument with her the then governement of the land indulged her and since that time men doing it with men where outside the law while women doing it with women were not and were likewise hardly judged or looked at suspisciously, contrary to their male counterparts ;-)

But now the former colonies, parts of former Britisch Empire are still stuck with those old laws, and instead of being forgotten they are used and lived by up till this very day, hence in Burma, they now desperatly try to get rid of this as soon as they can.

Though India got rid of this rule already a couple of years ago, Burma, amongst many others in Asia (and elsewhere!), still have it on their books!

The expectations though for its abolishments looked positive and by the sound of his words the famous Ank Su Shi and her party would more then likely support it. He also disclosed that a couple of members of her parliamentary group were members/supporters of their movement, which is, I might make clear again here, not the same as being member of the LGBT community ;-)

Our Burmese initiator excused himself for not being as informative as he would have liked to be, but then he was only active in the LGBT movement since last year, so very new. It showed same time how diverse the countries were in their progress and organisation of their LGBT movements, how divers levels exsisted of people daring to come out of the closet, not only to their families, already hard enough, but also to their fellow countrymen at different levels.

One more thing that struck me: he told us that they attended last years Cambodian Pride, after having heard of it (!) and participated in it because they could not yet, were not ready yet, to have and/or organize their own Pride, and as such giving the Cambodians the creative idear of turning their Gay Pride in an ASEAN Gay Pride... but aboute Cambodia more later ;-)

Burma presentation in full swing.

For myself: I made a mental note to talk with the Burmese delegation, or their interpretor, and make them aware that closer by home their was a long(?) Pride tradition, no doubt happy to help them express themselves. Of course I am talking about Phuket Gay Pride.

Another side step:

I like to applaud al participants, everybody adressed the meetings and workshop in English. It was wonderfull, and same time at times hard, to understand what was being said without interpretors. Same time one realizes the increasingly growing number of variations of English, dialects or however you want to call it.

Around me during meetings at first I felt disturbed when people kept wispering and as such distracting me from concentrating on what was being said... till I realised it were interpretors translating what was being said to the people around them... Burmese, Thai , Chinese..... when I discovered what was going on my annoyance dissapeared on the spot. Strange how these things work in once mind!

Later when I talked to the Vicky's friend from Chiang Mai about this.... I had seen her sitting with our delegation a lot and doing a lot of such talking to them that I then knew was translating, also when Thai people were adressing workshops and meeting, she told me that she did that to help them understand and follow the conference better and also because a lot of words being use don the conference were so called HiSo (Academic words being also HiSo words) and those needed to be translated in a way they could understand.

This side step I now realize easily creates a new sidstep about HiSo, etc.... but I won't do that, takes us too far from the main subject at hand here! ;-)

Cambodia

Cambodians LGBT's awareness came strongly out in the open when, according to the initiator, students, young artists, and others had gotten together at meetingplaces, bars etcetera in and around Pnom Phen and this urging for getting out in society and try to claim their rightfull place as part of that society.

Among others they felt like expressing it by way of holding their own Pride.

Getting there was a whole different ball game, no one really had any idear how to do it, how to get their

messages across...

First of all it had to be and come from them, if it wanted to get any significant support from the other LGBT members in Cambodia as well as from the people at large. It was, according to them, the only way!

How they went at it, as far as I was able to follow all that was being said that is....

They decided they were going to ask all the different groups they knew of, what they would like to do, how to express and what to express and then let them express it. This suggested somekind of organisation was then already in place, nothing of the sort... just members of different groups knowing eachother, infecting eachother and coordinating voluntarily between the groups..thats how they started!

And thats how the first cambodian gay Pride came into being in 2009, by a bold, liberal approach, respectfull to all its diversity, no commercialism (as of yet, I understood), keeping it quite pure!

Happy logo and slogan. The slogan is quite different from
 Phukets 2013: Sama same not different

This approach allowed a colorfull and very divers first Pride, carried by the youth of the LGBT community.

Since then of course some organising structure has come into place, a more unified voice for all, but same time they seem to have kept this pretty basic and fun approach , in way of expressing, of their Gay Pride. It was their Gay Pride! Their own responsibility to voice what they thought needed to be said on behalf of the LGBT community.

They also clearly included the monkhood, the monks and temples! And now every year the Pride chooses one temple where they all get together to ask and receive their blessings on their Pride, pay alms, and work together. Cambodian initaitor told that this approach with the temple(s), and every year choosing another one, had created a good and helpful understanding from the temples and the monks in general and likewise made it more easier for the LGBT community to come out and take part.

I got a feeling this was a more then helpful approach, also something to maybe seriously consider here on Phuket, and for sure elsewhere in Thailand, if that hasn't been done already at one stage or another... if not, it should! ;-)

And by now most of us had heard about their creative solution to get attention with relative little effort: The Tuk-tuk rally they organised last year, with ordinary as well as more prominent people along most if not all important places for the LGBT community, from past and present. Getting a group of Embassies involved helped too as well as inviting neighbouring countries LGBT organisations to participate and caling it ASEANs first Gay Pride.

With little means a most effective Gay Pride as such came into being, how clever young minds become when challenged …. by themselves!

During a series of workshops at this conference
 advocacy was beng teached in practical approach

Listening to this contribution from Cambodia I also felt again sad that the PLU on Phuket, nowadays organising the Gay Pride there, doesn't want to have anything to do with politics or what Gay Pride stands for and is mainly if not fully organised and run by expats.... it taking place remains important whatever, I think, but it is somewhat sad. Also so sad that none of their organisation had or expressed any interest in this conference., even after several times being attended to it, I so wished they would have given it the attention it deserved, it would have no doubt open some minds in a way, I realised, that could also have created, or help to create bridges towards the local LGBT community on Phuket and the LGBT community as a whole ..... well maybe by 2015 they will be ready, if still needed by then of course ;-)

Listening to this Cambodian contribution, it was clear that the Thai, and Burmese people present liked their approach, and my Phuketians: They just smiled and nodded their heads but kept quiet...again and for now ;-)

Part III will go about a new and usefull abreviation I learned, other workshops, among them

- Experiences in disaster and disaster preparedness of Sexual Minority Communities

- LGBT in national education systems

And if you wonder why not more in one go here, well, maybe your attention span, or mine for that matter but most of all I seem to have entered a fight with an adversary which you can not see but it seems to happily disrupt my normal use of my computer and as such its costing me way to much time to produce this report, while a half eye is not helping much either, hence me cutting it in parts ;-)

Impressions of a Conference,

Part I

The 5th ILGA Conference Bangkok: 

"The Phoenix Rising"!

March 2013

A most inspiring experience even though I attended only to support, assist and give feedback to the 3 person strong Phuket delegation, it felt like I got badly infected (again) with the LGBT-emanicipation virus!

NOTE: When you read this, know that this is a 2d and part even 3d version! Due to, uhum, a hick-up with my internetconnection while working online, for the first time ever I experienced a loss of more then 90% of what I had written, including pictures, etc.... So I do my best to restore as much as possible of my original thoughts put down BUT it also explains why my so called report of the conference is also somewhat late and maybe shorter and less colorfull then it could/would have been! 

This won't be a report of the conference, only an impression, and no doubt very incomplete at that, of a surprising 3 days in heat strikken Bangkok. Meetings from 9 am in the morning till 7 pm in the evening, 3 days in a row BUT very glad everywhere the aircons were working just fine because outside the temps were running close to 40 degrees. 

The Phoenix Rising

Next to opening and clos\ing of the conference, as well as the specific meetings for the membership of ILGA, which stands for International Lesbian and Gay Associations, of which most organisations active in/for the LGBT communities all over the world  are or can become member of. 

ILGA is organised not only worldwide BUT also by continent.

So these last days of March in Bangkok, the Asian membership was finally meeting again after the last conference had to be cancelled before it had even started due to fundamentalist violance  and intimidations aganst the conference in Soerabaya, Indonesia, in 2010, making most if not all of the LGBT organisations in Asia aware that their position in most societies was, and is, far from, lets put it mildly, ideal!

Opening ceremony 5th ILGA Conference, The Phoenix Rising

The shock of this forced cancellation was such that it took ILGA Asia, which has its own 8 member board, 3 years to recover, find renewed funding and a safe location to have their next conference (normally ILGA Asia has its conference every other year) because "Soerabaya" was not something which anyone wanted to experience again, not even close!

As LGBT community we are sadly used to be beated down, intimidated and al kinds of worse actions, by a mostly ignorant populations and/or knowingly by governements for whatever (sick?) reasons and/or distracting objectives.

And also individually we regularly, specially
living here in Asia, have to recuperate from physical or mental beatings.

Hence the wonderfull choice of naming the conference The Phoenix Rising, a mythical bird, close to my heart and a synonim for the nicknamegiven to me in my family, a long time ago by my stephmother... hence you find a small tattoo on my right upper arm of the Phoenix;-)

And how the Phoenix got airborn...

The 3 Phuketians, left to right: Vicky, NN, Aek and Tung

Attending these conferences is something one should preferably not do alone, except if one has to adress it, give lecture, workshop and/or moderate, etc... in other words if you just have to attend, don't do it alone!

In 3 days time more then 20 workshops were being held, as well as plenary sessions, the opening and closing ceremony, not to mention all that walking in and trough the corridors of the conference, were one truly meets his or her fellow participants, can exchange one-on-one experiences, make contacts which can and most will be maintained via such social media as Facebook and Twitter!

Conference anno 2013 and social media

I realised suddenly that the last time I attended such a conference, Facebook(FB) and Twitter, to mention the two most popular ones, didn't exsist at all. People still communicated via (mobile)phone, (e-mail)letters,  etc... and if you think that last conference was in the last century, nope, I attended these things regularly between 1977 (auuu)  untill 2004 (national and internationally, and yes, al political and partly medical, regarding hiv & aids).

Though, as you all know, I enjoy using FB, I wa snot prepared, and definitly not fast enough to follow the announcement with details, for blogging, FB, twitter etc.  When I realized what that announcement was all about the meeting was well on its way, hahahaha!

The smoking room of the conference.

I realised my learning curve was well on its way, in more directions  then anticipated BUT gratefull for it! Next such an event I will be better prepared!

To continue this sidestepping here: 

I also discovered how it is to attend such an event with my new visual handicap. How absolute troublesom it is to eat when a buffet is being laid-out, try to get your plate to your place without loosing part if not al of its contents on the way (so, location of your place is important), moving around in the corridors or lobby with a cup of coffee and your cane to so-called feel the surroundings nearby and warn people of your handicap, in a crowd were most had no idear of the meaning of the white stick with the two red cirkels round it, hahahaha... from left and right they walke dinto me because I simply could not see them so close and the first coffees went mostly there were we wouldn't like to see it go... so, though  I quitsmoking, the safest place to withdraw with my coffee was the smokingroom, which, surprise surprise with all these gays and lesbians, transgenders etc. was relative a place of quiet, Same time it turned out to be also a great place of meeting people and have a quiet chat with them ....... okay, and if I go on I make a further side step, and that is better not done in this context here;-) .

By the way, my 3 Phuketians, when around, were very attentive as soon as they noticed my predicaments with these matters!

Mental Health

The first workshop that appeared on the programm and intrigued me was the one about Mental Health.

I allways had the impression it was something easily(?) used in SE Asia to accuse and disqualify / condem, but hardly used for the positive, to help people back on their feet again if/when needed.

I was not far off.

The initiators and moderator aproach of the subject was from the Human Rights (HR) angle, rather a western aproach at that, if I might add, though in the end it all boils down to the same kind of outcome.

The other surprising observation was that all the initiators and moderator were non-Asian! Something which was also mentioned by themselves.

In most if not all Asian societies it is simply not done to talk about personal(?) issues and problems outside the family, even when certain issues can hardly be spoken about within the family, sexual orientation being definitly one of them!

This, ”can we call it a cultural taboe? ” , was also one of the reasons why no Asian initiators or moderator from Asia were found to speak on the conference. None of the attendants of this well attended workshop objected or commented on this sad observation!

But occasionally it (starts) to happen, because the one exception seems discussing issues with monks. And every now and then some of them link up with a psychologist if the religious angle is not getting anywhere. Likewise a psychologist told us they do the same, when they felt the religious approach was going to be more effective.

What surprised me the cooperation this suggested between the two, but then a psychologist in Asia still has few (proffesional) friends, it seems. But it also says something about monks realising that they can't profide answers to everything and that there is no shame, or whatever, to call in external help/angles to solve someones troubles.

What also surprised me a little bit, at least as far as I could notice, is that while the initiators and moderator where more or less challenging the audience, asking the audience for a respons in this matter, non really came forward, regardless the relative high turn-out for this workshop! Quite contrary to the active attitude I noticed during the whole conference, it became clear to me that initaitors and moderator were quite spot-on about the relative unchartered territory here and the (great?) reluctance but great curiosity by the attendents.

Well it was here that I made my first small contribution.

Workshop Mental Health 

Following the speakers, initaitors, I could not help thinking of Backstage's workshop about “Intercultural relationships between farang and Thais” during Phuket Gay Pride 2012. So I mentioned it to this ILGA workshop.

Telling that we, me/Backstage and Phuket Gay Homestay, came to organising this workshop due to our own experiences in our own long term relationships, and how we found in “Open Mind Projects” from Nong Khai, a most excellent and willing partner to give the workshop, also as an experiment to themselves.

Normally OpenMindProjects organises training for volunteers who come to work temporarily in Thailand, Cambodja, Laos, Burma and Nepal to deal with the cultural differences between them and where they are going to do their volunteer work.

This first workshop of its kind, not to mention it taking place during a Phuket Gay Pride, was more succesfull then we had anticipated. A surprising amount of couples actually turned up and actively took part. During this workshop it became clear that most if not all Thais were more or less gently forced, blackmailed or whatever, to turn up and attend by their farang (non-Thai/caucasians) partners

How it happened is still hard to tell, for me that is, but the two moderators from OpenMindProjects, from Sweden and Thailand, not only managed to get all participants to open up in this semi-public setting, at the end of the workshop it were the Thais who were asking when the next workshop was going to be, they clearly made it known they truly had enjoyed the workshop and would enjoy more of it.....

I suggested, and by the reaction not in vain, that maybe OpenMIndProjects had, maybe unknowingly, with their chosen method, found a way to get Thais to open up in a safe setting and that it might be benificiary for initiators/moderator/ILGA to maybe get in tough with them to see what might come out of it!

Want to have a look yourself what OpenMindProjects does, have a look at their website: www.openmindprojects.org and you'll notice its a more then reputabel organisation with worldwide recognition!

When I came back from the ILGA conference and was telling my hubby, he at first misunderstood me and enthousiastically asked if we were going to have another such workshop during the upcomming Gay Pride. Though he strongly objected and objects to any involvement of mine in last years and present (non-Thai) Pride organisation, it became clear he would though have applauded another such workshop!

Please forgive any typing errors or grammatical mistakes, it is not intended to be a (near) perfect presentable report;-) In other words after getting this far finally, I just prefer to hit the publication-button and get it over and done with for this first part, hope you as reader can sympathize with that ;-)

Part II will follow very soon and will cover impressions of the following workshops:

- Strategizing for sub-regional LGBT Advocacy, the case of ASEAN ...

- Experiences in disaster and disaster preparedness of Sexual Minority Communities

- LGBT in national education systems

Voorbereid op de toekomst?

"Voorbereid op de toekomst?"

Dat is een vraag die ik me eigenlijk steeds vaker begin af te vragen.

De eerste keer vroeg ik me dat 

al af eind jaren '70, vervolgens wederom eind jaren '80 en tussen 2001 en 2004. Nadien komen deze zogenaamde toekomst-vragen steeds vaker en regelmatiger.

De relevantie van deze vragen zijn beperkt, althans voor mij, maar ze zijn zeer relevant voor mijn neefjes en nicht, om maar een variant op de kinderen en kleinkinderen te nemen!

de politiek in ons land, zowel als elders, zou zich meer en indringender met deze vragen moeten bezig houden, dat zou dan vervolgens de keuzes voor de meer korte termijn vragen ietwat makkelijker en logischer maken.

Momenteel krijg ik bij het aanhoren van velen in de politiek en m.n. daarbuiten(!) te veel het gevoel van  het "na mij de zondvloed" (Lodewijk XV van Frankrijk, 2e helft 18e eeuw)

Tijd ze voor mijzelf dan maar eens te gaan beantwoorden vanuit mijn relatieve leken positie op afstand zo nu tijdelijk in Thailand zittend, en wat ik erover gezegd en beweerd heb over de jaren heen ;-)

Doe dat via mijn weblog hier... kan ik er lekker mee geconfronteerd blijven worden zolang als wie dan ook de moeite neemt deze bijdrage tot zich te nemen. Zal me benieuwen.

Weet zeker dat ik het niet altijd bij het rechte eind zal hebben, maar volgens mij moet het wel een antwoord geven op de globale richtingen waarin we gaan kunnen met elkaar, wel of niet ons gezonde boeren verstand gebruikend ;-)

Het gevecht om de immigrant is op komst....

Eind jaren '70 hadden de meeste gemeenten nog hun eigen huisvestingsverordening en werd er in elke gemeente op eigen, lokale wijze invulling gegeven aan het opnemen en assimileren van vreemdelingen. Vreemdelingen waren in die tijd niet per se buitenlanders, neen, dat waren ook bewoners van buurgemeenten, die min of meer de zelfde benadering kregen als de Spanjaarden, Italianen, Turken, Marokkanen, Surinamers, Antillianen, etc.

Ik herinner mij bijvoorbeeld dat wij in onze gemeente Rijswijk ons meer druk maakte om de aantallen en integratie van Hagenaars in het Rijswijkse dan van niet-Nederlanders.

Toen ik dan ook als Rijswijker een blauwe maandag, want lang heeft het uiteindelijk niet geduurd, plaatsvervangend Hoofd Sociale Woningverhuur werd bij de gemeente Den Haag, was ik dan ook niet alleen stom verbaasd maar eigenlijk ook verontwaardigd en vond het ook dom (en was dus ook zo stom dat goed te laten merken, maar dat was ongetwijfeld ook jeugdige overmoed)met wat voor instructies ik werd opgezadeld aangaande het toewijzingsbeleid!

Turken moesten bij Turken, Marokkanen bij Marokkanen, Surinamers bij Surinamers enz. en de Hagenezen die toevallig in de daarvoor aangewezen straten woonden konden het schudden.Herinner mij telefoon gesprekken met mensen die verontwaardigd vroegen of ze een andere taal moesten leren omdat hun buurt niet meer Haags was maar iets anders was geworden met een taal die men niet verstond.

Als een typische randgemeente bewoner, deelde ik hun opvattingen. In Rijswijk lieten we nooit meer dan x hagenaars per periode in een straat toe, zodat er geen onrust ontstond en de overgekomen Hagenaars de tijd kregen te integreren/assimileren en aldus Rijswijker werden. Vond dat toen een logisch en verstandig beleid (en nog steeds trouwens). Het creëerde rust, de samenhang bleef bestaan, rust en de sfeer die we indertijd dachten te moeten hebben in onze gemeente.

Met de koppigheid van de jeugd, zo prefereer ik dat maar te noemen, was ik dus niet bepaald willig een straat vol te stouwen met een nationaliteit en dus ook niet geconcentreerd in bepaalde stadsdelen van Den Haag. En de oorspronkelijke, Haagse bewoners uit die straten en buurten weg te drukken (velen wilde om die reden dan ook graag naar een van de randgemeenten). Iedere nieuwkomer in de stad , zo vond ik toen, moest de kans krijgen te integreren en dat doe je niet met alleen andere landgenoten om je heen, maar doe je dus juist tussen de Hagenaars het beste. In Rijswijk pakte dat tenslotte toch ook meer dan redelijk goed uit.

U raadt het misschien al, juist dit verschil in opvatting zorgde ervoor dat mijn verblijf bij de afdeling Sociale Woningverhuur van relatief korte duur was.

Ik vond het toen een stom beleid van Den Haag, en daar waar men het nog steeds uitvoert vind ik het nu zelfs dom (want volgens mij is onze randstedelijke opvatting wel bewezen de juiste geweest te zijn).

Nu leven we inmiddels al weer in het tweede decennium van de 21e eeuw. Zo, dat klinkt een lekker stuk verder ;-)

Integratie, assimilatie van allerhande bevolkingsgroepen is een groot tot levensgroot probleem geworden. We laten er tegenwoordig mede onze stem door bepalen. We zijn collectief bang geworden van al die vreemdelingen met hun vreemde godsdiensten en gebruiken. Onze openheid en nieuwsgierigheid naar alles wat anders is en van ver kwam lijkt te zijn omgeslagen.

Een verarming van onze samenleving dreigt hierdoor... een ongewenste verarming!

Door die steeds sterker opkomende vreemdelingenfobie maken we het onszelf naar de toekomst toe ook ontzettend lastig!

Ik zou er persoonlijk heel wat voor over hebben als we die attitude van ons gewijzigd konden krijgen, al was het maar, helaas ben ik nu ook wel een weinig egoïstisch, om onze levenswijze en stijl enigszins overeind te kunnen  houden!

Al sedert de jaren '80, en er zijn zat slimmeriken die het al echt eerder gezien hebben, weten we dat de babyboom generatie een kluit mensen is die onze samenleving moet zien door/weg te slikken (inclusief mijzelf, ben ik bang voor). Al jaren horen we praten over de toenemende vergrijzing, beginnen we te horen over beginnende ontvolking van dorpen in de provincies, etc. Steeds meer zullen we onze samenleving in de steden gaan concentreren vanwege de concentratie van voorzieningen en omdat dat zogenaamd goedkoper is.

Tijdens mijn vakbondstijd bij de Unie BLHP heb ik eind jaren '80 interne discussies meegemaakt over de introductie van de pre-vut, stoppen met werken op je 57,5e jaar of zelfs eerder. Als toen jonge vakbondsbestuurders, vroegen wij onze voorlieden (op leeftijd) hoe we dat verhaal gingen doortrekken naar onze eigen oude dag, want wij waren de laatste der babyboomers, toch? 

Nou, indertijd wisten ze het antwoord al: Zij voorspelden ons dat wij hoogstwaarschijnlijk tot ons 68e en misschien wel 70e zouden moeten doorwerken, Het geheel zou anders onbetaalbaar worden. Steeds minder zouden voor steeds meer moeten gaan opdraaien en tja, het moet uit de lengte of uit de breedte komen dus moesten we er maar rekening mee houden dat wij dan nu wel overal moesten gaan onderhandelen over de pre-vut, maar dat we zelf t.z.t. pas rond ons 68e konden verwachten te stoppen met werken. Ze vertelden er ook vrolijk bij dat deze opvatting ook bij de andere vakbonden gedragen werd, maar dat het simpelweg (nog) onverkoopbaar was naar onze diverse achterbannen! De geesten waren er, zogezegd, nog niet rijp voor!

De logica, kijkend naar de bevolkingsstatistieken en immigratiecijfers uit die tijd, onderstreepten dat! Er was geen ontkomen aan, toen, met de cijfers van toen!

Wij hebben collectief in de tussenliggende tijd niets gedaan om dat bijgestuurd te krijgen, integendeel, we zijn zelfs vreemdelingenfoob geworden!

Met deze kennis, zal men begrijpen dat ik de afgelopen jaren met enige verbazing en ergenis heb geluisterd en gekeken naar al die vakbonden die niets wilden weten van het verhogen van de pensioenleeftijd, inclusief mijn eigen oude vakcentrale MHP.

Ondanks onze angst en afkeer, zo lijkt het tegenwoordig tenminste wel, zullen we op het gebied van immigratie snel moeten bijdraaien willen we de boot van de toekomst niet op een grandioze manier gaan missen!

Toen Bolkenstijn begin jaren '90 de discussie aanzwengelde over ons nationale integratie beleid, heb ik dat toen niet zo ervaren als het tegen immigratie zijn, het weren van immigranten, maar juist hoe je er mee omgaat en dat we collectief toch verdomd goed verkeerd bezig waren.

We kennen inmiddels alle opschudding die zijn stellingnames veroorzaakten, en de reacties erop van de partijen en de veranderingen in de opstellingen van die zelfde partijen in het daaropvolgende decennium. Bolkenstijn had dus gewoon gelijk gekregen!

De te trage reacties, een typisch geval van "te weinig en te laat", op zijn waarschuwingen voor ons falend integratiebeleid, grotendeels geworteld in de O zo foutieve opvattingen van de jaren '70 (zie hierboven mijn eigen ervaringen daarmee) werden de vruchtbare voedingsbodem voor de vloedgolf an ontevredenheid met de politiek sedert deze 'nieuwe' 21e eeuw, met als hoofdattractie, of koppijn bezorgende bewegingen als de LPF en de PVV. De gevestigde politieke partijen hebben het er echter simpel weg zelf naar gemaakt, uitzonderingen daargelaten.

Er speelt natuurlijk nog wel wat meer bij die ontevredenheid onder onze kiezers, maar dit is bepaald geen onbelangrijke, ook niet naar onze verdere toekomst gezien!

Denkt je niet dat die verontruste, verontwaardigde Haagse bewoners (maar je kan voor die hagenaars, ook andere stedelingen noemen hoor) na verloop van tijd niet simpel weg de balen gekregen hebben van hun politieke vertegenwoordigers die doof gebleken waren voor hun ontevredenheid met hun aanpak. Ze waren in beginsel, en zijn dat naar mijn overtuiging nog steeds niet (afkloppen inmiddels of ik er inmiddels al niet naast zit) helemaal niet vreemdelingenfoob, maar hun door de strot douwen willen ze dus duidelijk ook niet, en terecht!Was zo onnodig! 

Maar goed, dit verlost ons echter niet van onze toekomst!

Onze nabije toekomst zal, zo is mijn stellige overtuiging, gekenmerkt gaan worden door een concurrentieslag op de internationale arbeidsmarkt voor arbeidskrachten in ons deel van de westerse wereld. Niet alleen voor de zogenaamd hoog geschoolden, neen, ook voor de lager, of misschien wel met name, laaggeschoolden (als we tenminste ons onderwijs weer op de juiste rails en onder de goede stoom gerevitaliseerd weten te krijgen).

Deze slag om de immigranten kan nog wel eens bizarre vormen gaan aannemen, en willen we niet ergens onderaan komen te bungelen op de immigrantenmarkt, dan zullen we zo langzamerhand moeten beginnen  niet alleen te onderkennen dat we toch echt nieuwkomers nodig hebben, maar dat we er ook een aantrekkelijk klimaat voor moeten organiseren.

En met de reputatie die we ons nu zeer snel aan het opbouwen zijn als erg onvriendelijk, licht daar dus nog een hele wereld te winnen, eentje die we moeten zien te winnen, geen keus zo ben ik bang voor!

Nou, kom in deze tijd maar eens om zo'n boodschap!

Besluiten we echter collectief voorlopig gewoon ons kop in het zand gestoken te houden, dan kan ons een aantal onaangename verrassingen te wachten staan:

Een ongewenst grotere stagnatie resp.. afname van ons bevolkingsomvang! Met alle gevolgen van dien voor onze capaciteit voor het handhaven van ons voorzieningenniveau, in de eerste plaats in de provincies maar later ook in onze zgn Randstad, onze sociale welvaartsstaat, pensionering, gezondheidszorg, etc.!

Die zullen toch al deels op de schop moeten, of we het nu leuk vinden of niet, maar als we op het vlak van immigratie en buitenlanders vriendelijkheid niets doen, is de kans groot dat het dan nog een paar tandjes erger kan gaan uitpakken.

En als ik aan dat scenario denk, dan denk ik dus en passant toch ook even aan mijn neefjes en nichtje, en hun kinderen: wat zal die te wachten staan? Bedankt Pa, Ma, Oom, om jullie struisvogel gedrag, hadden jullie niet effe meer je best kunnen doen, je wist toch dat dit ging gebeuren, zo stom waren/zijn jullie toch niet...? Een voorbereid, ergo gewaarschuwd mens telt tenslotte voor twee!

Waarom dan niets gedaan???

Hoe langer en beter je je voorbereid hoe goedkoper het ook wordt. De staatsschuld zo ver mogelijk terugdringen is een gigantische manier om ruimte vrij te maken om dat soort problemen te kunnen tekkelen... moet je het natuurlijk niet juist laten oplopen en denken, zal wel loslopen!

 

Mijn eigen club(je), de VVD, hamert daar wel steeds op, maar ze zetten het bijbehorende 'verkoop'verhaal, om het zo maar even plat te noemen, er niet goed onder neer, nog steeds niet, helaas!

Als je niet een begrijpelijk goed onderbouwd en serieus verhaal er onder zet, kan je dan verwachten dat men dat wel breed gaat volgen? 

Of is het toch meer, of ook, de mentaliteit van die Franse koning Lodewijk XV, die zei "na mij de zondvloed" toen men hem probeerde te wijzen op de steeds dramatischer wordende financiële huishouding van zijn land mede als gevolg van zijn nietsdoen!? (en hoe dat afgelopen is, weten we inmiddels: die bloederige Franse revolutie!

Als natie hebben we de Delta Werken tegen gigantische kosten op touw gezet om een overstromingsrisico die zich eens in de zoveel tig eeuwen voordoet, nog kleiner qua risico te maken. Chapeau, een magistrale prestatie...

Waarom niet iets dergelijks voor het algemeen welzijn van ons land voor een heel wat nabijer en zekerder toekomst?

Enne, uhum, we zijn niet de enige die door die babyboom fuik heen moeten, met alle ellende van dien, we zitten zowat met de gehele westerse wereld in dat schuitje, weliswaar gevolgd door een groot deel van de rest van de wereld, maar daar zullen we niets voor kunnen kopen, ben ik bang voor, dat zal het eerder nog lastiger maken! 

We zullen slim moeten zijn, wel haast briljant... Nou, een mooiere uitdaging bestaat er niet, zo lijkt mij.... En verliezen doe je er nooit mee. Tenminste beslist niet zo veel als je niets zou doen!

Hulp van de technische kant hoeven we tenslotte, zo verwacht ik althans, nog niet te verwachten. M.a.w. onze technische ontwikkeling gaat wel rap, maar levensverlenging gecombineerd met betrouwbare goed ontwikkelde robots gecombineerd met onze energievoorziening, zie ik niet op tijd gerealiseerd worden om die klap op te vangen, dat zal ongetwijfeld een rondje langer gaan duren. Jammer genoeg zal de kans voor mij klein zijn dat nog mee te maken, maar wie weet heb ik daar straks wel wat geluk bij.

Die hele bevolkingsontwikkeling, of duur gezegd, demografische ontwikkeling, gaat natuurlijk met nog veel meer maatschappelijke veranderingen gepaard, en velen daarvan zijn meer dan de moeite waard bij stil te staan en ook op voor te bereiden ... maar aangezien onze economie gebaseerd is op groei, ook van de ondersteunende beschikbare bevolking, heb ik me voor nu alleen met dit aspect een weinig, en misschien wel te summier, proberen bezig te houden.

En zo kunnen we nog wel even doorgaan. 

Het moge duidelijk zijn dat ik voorzie, ergo dat dus voorsta, dat we rap naar een gans ander beleid toe gaan werken, maar wel open gecommuniceerd met onze kiezers want draagvlak is essentieel. 

Terecht is men beu in het ooitje genomen te worden resp., niet serieus of voor vol te worden aangezien. Je hebt tenslotte voor dit verhaal eigenlijk alleen maar een gezond boeren verstand nodig, als ik het zo mag noemen, en volgens mij zijn we in ons land rijkelijk met dat soort verstand gezegend ;-)

Zij die dit speciale Delta plan zouden moeten gaan ontwerpen en plannen... en middels een Parlementaire Enquête zou het mooi boven alle partijen en partij ideologieën uit kunne stijgen (het is er belangrijk genoeg voor!), zullen,lijkt mij, in ieder geval de volgende zaken moeten analyseren en beleid op ontwikkelen (in willekeurige volgorde):

- Bevolkingspolitiek, inclusief immigratie-beleid!

- Economische ontwikkeling, onze sterktes en zwaktes afgezet tegen bevolkingsontwikkeling (verschillende scenario's);

- Ruimtelijke ordening, inclusief infrastructuur, ontwikkeling en natuur-/groenbeheer;

- Gezondheidszorg, onze sociale welvaartsstaat: wat kan, wat moet;

- (last but not least!) Onderwijs!

Hierbij zullen we collectief het lef moeten opbrengen om , zoals dat zo mooi in het Engels gezegd kan worden: "out of the box" te denken!

Als bange hazen in de koplampen blijven staren van die vrachtwagen die onherroepelijk op ons afkomt, heeft geen enkele zin/nut dan alleen ons relatieve onder-/neergang!

Het niet benoemen, het hele verhaal niet als een geheel schetsend, de onderliggende problemen/uitdagingen van het huidige beleid/koers versus de toekomst, is zo ontzettend onverstandig. Het onderschat ook onze kiezers.

Gut, en dan volgt er ook nog een betoog(je) van mij over "bouwen of slopen", grotendeels gebaseerd op de zelfde problematiek als zojuist geschetst, gevolgd door een derde betoog(je) over de rekening... uhum, die zal ongetwijfeld het summierst zijn, want daarvoor zit ik er tegenwoordig qua financiële kennis over ons nationale huishoudboekje minder goed in.

Bouwen en/of slopen?

Wie gaat de rekening betalen?