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Last Revised: October 1, 1995

FEATURES

CHINA, WOMEN
MY CUP RUNNETH OVER

by Mary Moore

THERE IS JUST NO WAY to write about sharing a space for 10 days with 35,000 opinionated and powerful women from around the world and do it justice. And then there is the rest of the story about seeing a little bit of China with 138 of my United States sisters from the Women of Color delegation in which I traveled after the N.G.O. (Non-Governmental Organizations) Conference was over. So what you're gonna get is some bits and pieces with not alot of flowery prose to tie them together. Think of them as little snapshots exploding from my tired brain.

* Like the thrill of the opening ceremony in Beijing when we first encountered all these women in their native dress crowding into the biggest stadium that China could provide. We didn't expect to attend because the seating couldn't begin to hold everyone but at the last minute our entire delegation got tickets. Getting back to Huairou afterwards (not enough busses in China) was in itself a sight to behold and experience--a gridlock and caravan of aging behemoths going 5 to 10 miles an hour all the way. We definitely got used to this. No complaining here--most of the Chinese were on bikes.

*And the first morning at the forum, the buzzing in the Global Tent was like those insects in the trees in hot climates. The excitement plus the mix of so many different languages all at once was music to the ears.

*In one of my first workshops I found myself sitting with women from Austria, New Zealand, Brazil, China, Thailand, Belgian, S. Africa (liberated), Persia, Canada, Losotho, India, Kenya, Hong Kong, England and the Netherlands.Those were just the ones I jotted down after introductions--many of them came in late.

*The physical site which made up the N.G.O. Forum was several acres covered with old school buildings, administration buildings and tents, tents, tents. There was a tent for every conceivable grouping and long, long walks to get to different places--the longest being the Cultural Palace which was over a mile away and wrong on both maps used at the Forum. That was where I ended up doing the workshop on Bohemian Grove. More about that later.

*Imagine our shock to come upon the Ronald McDonald clown sitting on a bench in the middle of our forum fronting a small McDonalds booth where women were lined up for their Big Macs. I was up in the communications center one morning when I spotted a flyer on the wall (every surface was covered at all times with flyers) with big letters saying "WHO INVITED RONALD McDONALD TO THIS FORUM?) and underneath this headline was a litany of McDonald's crimes against labor, the environment, women etc. etc. It also said there would be a protest the next day at noon so naturally I left my workshop for that. I spent most of my time at the protest encouraging women to leave the food line since there were all sorts of wonderful, specially prepared ethnic foods around but some of the organizers overturned Ronald, which left him with his butt in the air--an ideal place to post a flyer advertising my workshop against corporate influence and domination. We were not successful in closing down the McDonalds outlet at the forum but we did get rid of that silly clown on the bench. It was gone that afternoon and the point was made and heard by many women who boycotted Big Macs for the duration.

*Every day there were protests--loud, soft, big and small. I joined in several including a large one organized by lesbians from around the world. "Gay Rights are Human Rights" was the rallying cry. And in subsequent conversations I learned just how alive and well homophobia is in otherwise enlightened circles. In one talk with a woman from Kenya I was told that being gay is considered to be "Un-African." On every other issue we were in complete agreement.

*One of the protests that sticks with me was organized by Korean and Chinese women against the Japanese government. They were asking for reparations for old war crimes, of which there were many. In a unique response some women from the Japanese delegation hung signs up all over their tent that read "WE'RE SORRY CHINESE AND KOREAN PEOPLE" They publicly apologized for their governments. What a concept!! Charla and I were tempted to go to the European tent (There was no U.S. Tent) and put up signs that said "WE'RE SORRY NATIVE PEOPLE EVERYWHERE FOR THE PAST 500 YEARS"!! Women aren't waiting around for their governments to do the healing!!!!

*The most-asked question I've had since I've been back is "Did you see Hilary?" So let me make this perfectly clear. I was not interested in seeing Hilary and I was quite disgusted with the silly display of all the women waiting in the rain who tried to see Hilary. We learned later that all the tickets for inside had been given out the night before so even those true believers that got up at 5:00 A.M. to stand in the rain at 6:30 A.M. were out of luck and got only a poke in the eye with someone's umbrella for their troubles. Actually as fate would have it, she was scheduled to speak the same day as my workshop on Bohemian Grove so I was also standing in the rain along with my sign stating that Hilary would not be talking about the Multi-National Corporations or the World Bank. I had some wonderful conversations with women from many different countries out there in the rain while Hilary spoke inside. And many of them made their way to my workshop in the remote spot where we were finally able to talk about corporate influence on both the world and this forum. (Too much to say here--please see open letter to the N.G.O. Forum elsewhere in this paper) I made some important connections at this workshop. That was the real beauty of this conference; whatever your issue/subject was, there were women ready and eager to talk about it and to do something about it. We heard later that almost 5000 workshops were given, some official and some not.

*No report back would be complete without the toilet stories!! This was a big shock to Western women but business as usual to the rest of the world. I have to admit to having a bit of a toilet phobia myself but I had to get over it fast! I've been to Nicaragua and Cuba where, because of the U.S. embargo, they didn't have toilet seats but this was my first experience without the toilet itself. The squats were everywhere and luxury became finding a real western toilet. They were there but you had to know where to look. Just when I thought I had this hangup under control I had my first encounter with a communal squat. That ended up being kind of fun--by then I'd gotten to know the other women pretty well. Another form of bonding.

*There were lots of workshops about things unfamiliar to most Western women. One subject was that of the military "comfort women", a huge issue in Southeast Asia even after all these years. Some things will never heal until they are acknowledged and rectified. (take note KPFA management) Another issue was that of genital mutilation of women, a practice in, but not limited to, some African and Muslim countries that includes the removal of the clitoris and in some cases more. At the 1985 Womens' Conference in Kenya it was just emerging as an issue. A lot of Western women were outraged at the practice but were told by their African sisters to butt out, that it needed to be changed within the culture. Those African women have been busy over the past ten years and it showed with over twenty separate workshops on that subject alone.

*Just a short word about Chinese TV Never have I been more aware of how violent and noisy American TV is! I loved Chinese TV I managed to catch some daytime dramas and drama is the key word here. They were dealing with many of the same issues as women in this country and it didn't matter that we couldn't understand the language. In fact Charla and I had fun guessing what they were saying because the themes were so universal. But what I liked most was their station breaks and in some cases long programs that consisted of beautiful photography accompanied by sensitive and inspiring music. Pictures of trees, mountains, bubbling brooks and waterfalls, faces of children, of elders, shots of temples, flowers opening with this awesome music backing it all up!! It was so soothing at the end of a long intense day of saving the world!!

*I'm not ready to say that it's only women that are going to do this saving, as I continue to believe that racism and classism are issues every bit as important as sexism, but after hanging out with these 35,000 worldly women I do feel more hope than I have in awhile. Women are doing clean-up work in every little corner of this planet. My wish is that while we continue to do this necessary work we will also begin to focus on the rich, white, male elite who are making the mess often with our manipulated compliance and aid. We need to stop this compliance and we need to expose those who would profit off the planetary pain and suffering.