What's needed for effective solidarity?

Over many decades of participating in anti-imperialist solidarity movements, I have watched--as have we all--the horrors and dangers of imperialism expand daily in what many consider its death throes. Effective global solidarity to oppose it and support popular struggles has always been key, but it is now become critical for our collective survival.

What have we learned from our many decades of anti-imperialist solidarity? What are the particular responsibilities, pitfalls, and opportunities for solidarity movements originating in the Global North, i.e., those of us in the imperial core, the US and its European colonial and settler colonial allies?

From challenging World War I to opposing the Vietnam war to the current movements to stop genocide in Palestine and defend the people of Venezuela, each movement is unique, yet they have many commonalities.

I see these tasks as integral to our current work supporting the rights and sovereignty of the Venezuelan people and stopping the US war on their country, a struggle emblematic of this current virulent, unmasked stage of imperialism we’re now enduring.

We are beginning to see an important shift. These movements are not only connecting the different struggles to resist imperialism around the world, such as Palestine and Venezuela, they are also linking these external solidarity struggles with the internal solidarity of protecting immigrant communities in the US from the ravages of ICE. And of the solidarity of community connection expressed in the mutual aid movement motto: “We keep us safe.”

Below I list the tasks I have observed, some of which are being brilliantly developed while others are in more incipient stages. Note that though singled out for purposes of discussion, these tasks are connected and simultaneous.

I focus here on Venezuela, a struggle so central right now to the fight against imperialism. However, my aim is to articulate tasks common to solidarity activism as a whole.

• Build a complete picture of the situation, including context and theoretical framework. Counter the propaganda the US Government and other pro-imperialist interests spread about the targeted people and expose the divisive effects of this propaganda in our movements.

• Do our internal emotional work as individuals and organizations, acknowledging the complexities and challenges of being denizens of the country(ies) perpetrating imperialist aggression on the rest of the world. Understand and heal from the conditioning we’ve been subject to so we don’t act it out unconsciously on the people we are in solidarity with.

• Unify around Basic Demands. Comrades, friends, and allies may disagree about many things, but a solidarity movement requires unity around a few fundamental demands. In the case of Venezuela, those demands are for the US to halt its US war on Venezuela, including all political, military, and economic attacks; free Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores from their illegal detention; and respect international law, national sovereignty, and the Venezuelan people’s right to chart their own path toward socialism, as embodied in the Bolivarian Revolution. It is especially important to maintain this basic unity in the face of vicious attacks such as those Venezuela is facing now, which include all manner of attempts to undermine unity both inside the Bolivarian Revolution and in its worldwide supporters.

• Seek the whole picture, situating US imperialist aggression against Venezuela in the context of attacks on independence and popular power in Latin America and other countries, throughout history and in many places currently. Recognize the opportunities and the dangers of this present stage of hyper-imperialism, that is, imperialism that is failing as a project capable of organizing world society, but ultra-armed in myriad ways, and unchecked by any of the legal and other mechanisms that may have, to some slight degree, limited its violence in the past. Likewise, connect anti-imperialist solidarity, as is happening now, with defending immigrants fleeing the devastation in their home countries caused by imperialism and colonialism. Other aspects to connect include the movements challenging race and gender oppression, environmental destruction, and more. While effectiveness of resistance requires focus, making these conceptual and real connections among movements is essential.

• Act as equal partners and comrades with international solidarity movements. Take direction from indigenous leadership and from mass organizations and other experienced grassroots movements in the Global South. Set aside first world and Global North assumptions and behaviors, such as our colonial conditioning to feel ourselves superior in intelligence and other ways, resisting pulls to be critical and divisive, cultivating a humble attitude and an open mind. Understand and develop our specific role as forces that live and work within the belly of the beast we’re struggling to transform.

• Ascertain what material support, both urgent and ongoing, is most needed, realizing that providing this support is essential to our own survival as well as that of folks in targeted places. As equal partners, remember that such material solidarity differs from charity and that we are mutually dependent on advancing our struggles for survival. Focus on solidarity with groups on the ground who make these connections and who not only aid but educate and organize together with the people.

These are some of the main components of solidarity that I see. The exciting thing is to watch and hear the stories of how this work unfolds in real time all around us.

And to join in!