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one A few weeks ago, Kenyan youth reaffirmed the incredible things reported in global politics. Young people are still excluded and lack adequate representation in formal political systems, including voting in elections, supporting and participating in political parties and other democratic participation.
The late Dr. Henry Charles, one of the Caribbean’s foremost experts on youth development, rightly pointed out that the root causes of this phenomenon are the failure of governments and political parties to address youth-related issues, coupled with a sense that the political process has not delivered results and there is ambivalence towards reform.
However, young people prefer traditional political methods, namely expressing their dissatisfaction with the government through youth-led protests, demonstrations, social media petitions, single-issue exchanges, etc.
The unfortunate reality is that many people view politics only through the lens of formal institutions. Even within formal institutions there are many barriers such as age, economic dependency, lack of party support and cultural barriers that make politics only suitable for older and “mature” individuals. And, rather than correcting it, adultism has crept in where attempts are made to prescribe methods of participation but only tokenistically in formal politics. This is done to satisfy the demands of young people for traditional ways of participation.
The question worth exploring is what happened in the aftermath of the Kenyan protests? Did the government change its policies? What about the necessary wider changes led by youth? Did the outcome of the protests make the movement cyclical? Or did key figures feel they could drive greater change from within formal structures and potentially become part of the problem?
It is well known that young people around the world have participated in global movements such as the Climate Change Marches, Occupy Wall Street, the Arab Spring, Black Lives Matter, etc., which have all demonstrated their tendency to respond to formal structures through radical protests and petitions. Therefore, young people will not sit idly by!
In this context, Kenya’s youth have rejected the neoliberal and IMF poison pills, leading to the withdrawal of the 2024 Finance Bill. It seeks to remove the social subsidies customary in IMF austerity measures and proposes additional taxes on financial and foreign exchange transactions, an eco-tax on imports and digital products, a motor vehicle tax and a healthcare levy. These additional taxes will be used to repay lenders from wealthy countries at the expense of ordinary Kenyans, especially women and youth, which will result in more money being spent on debt repayments rather than on critical public services.
Yet young people are on the right side of history, calling on Kenya to solve its economic woes on its own, with a reformed IMF to help but not control it.
Public debt audits must be prioritized to eliminate unjust debts. Instead of imposing harsh austerity measures, the IMF should prioritize social and economic justice over well-being. Or better yet, public external debts, including interest and commissions, should be canceled unconditionally, which is appropriate given the impact of colonialism.
There must now be a youth-led movement to advocate for this, supported by youth movements around the world and in particular in the Caribbean. This must be done because, despite the withdrawal of the Finance Bill, this does not mean that the social democratic norms required for development will automatically be restored. This must be fought for through a sustained and widespread youth-led movement for change that goes beyond protests and petitions. This must be done because young people, by virtue of their age and population size, will inherit the future and their development aspirations must be expressed and realized.
The reality in Kenya is very similar to that in the Caribbean, as we have seen in Jamaica, Barbados and other countries where social democratic gains in education, health care, social security have been dismantled in favor of IMF austerity policies that leave the poor vulnerable to economic policies.
Given the many problems facing the Caribbean, one cannot help but wonder why global movements have not created the material environment for Caribbean activism, especially given our history of radical political activism and student movements where young people have consistently contributed to the dismantling of global imperialist regimes such as apartheid.
But Dr. Trian Gilbert Roberts is right when she argues that despite their history of rebellion, young people in the Caribbean are still attracted to a political culture that tends to be peaceful, structured and traditional. This means that participation in formal activities is highly desirable. Young people in the Caribbean still politely ask for a seat at the table rather than setting up their own in the streets.
This explains our continued popularity with the Youth Council, the National Youth Parliament and the desire to effect change from ‘within’.
Even where such organic movements exist, they are sometimes hijacked and institutionalized by an elite intellectual class, and young people must be wary of this, as opposed to CLR James’s “free creative activity.”
With so many issues facing the Caribbean, such as climate change, crime and violence, debt, economic distress, etc., one has to wonder when material conditions force us to adopt traditional ways of political engagement to answer some of the questions raised by young people, rather than constantly tinkering around the edges and peace factory reform projects that are justified by the adult-centric notion that “development is a complex and difficult process” and that activism doesn’t work well for it. If we want to see the change we want to see in the Caribbean, we may need to take inspiration from traditional ways of political engagement. But always with sustained youth movements.
Rahym Augustin-Joseph is an LLB student at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus, from St. Lucia. He recently graduated from the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus with a double degree in Political Science and Law. He aspires to become a lawyer and is passionate about the intersection of politics and law and its ability to transform Caribbean civilization by empowering people. These views are not in relation to any organization he is affiliated with, but reflect his own. Rahymn Augustin-Joseph can be contacted at rahymrjoseph9@gmail.com
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