The International Institute for Research and Education, Islamabad, organized a five-day-school titled "Global Justice School" from 9th to 13th October 2010. The school was attended by around 20 participants from various parts of Punjab and Pakistan-administered Azad Jammu & Kashmir. The participants were the activists of different organizations working for the rights of women, youth, workers, peasants and other underprivileged sections of society. It was the first time for most of the participants to attend such a long-week residential school.
The International Institute for Research and Education, Islamabad, had arranged accommodation for the participants besides providing them with food and other refreshment for five days. The institute also constituted cooking, cleaning and other committees to run the affairs of the event in a smooth way. During the event the participants demonstrated comradely spirit showing an eagerness to work in a cooperative way. The senior members left no stone unturned in helping the junior carrying out different works.
On the first day of the school, the event was divided six sessions. The first session began at 9am and ended at 10am. During the first session the registration of the participants was carried out followed by an introduction of the program and that of the participants. The moderator of the programme Nisar Shah highlighted the importance of the event besides informing the participants about the principles that the participants had to follow during the event.
The second session, which started at 10:05am, focused on the origin of capitalism and its present stage. The lecture was delivered by senior journalist Abdul Sattar. During the one hour and forty five minute lectures Mr. Sattar discussed various aspects of capitalism. The lecture was followed by question answer session.
The third session culminated in group presentations for which an hour was allocated. The participants were divided into three groups with a task to have a brain-storming session on what they had learnt during the lecture. Later on the group leader came up with his or her comments about the various aspects of capitalism. The participants had a lunch break from 1pm-3pm.
The fourth session began with an introduction of socialism by Mr. Abdul Sattar. The speaker also discussed how socialism could be an alternative to capitalism. One hour-long lecture was followed by questions and answers. The fifth session of the day consisted of group discussion and presentations. Each group's leaders shared the views of its members with the rest of the participants. The presentations were followed by a dinner-break.
The sixth session had soothing effects on the participants when they had an opportunity to watch two documentaries. One of the documentaries focused on American militarism and war-mongering. The participants were amused to watch it. The second documentary was about a movement waged by Indian tribal people against the onslaught of multinational companies who are hell-bent on exploiting the natural resources of their beloved land. The participants discussed the contents of the documentaries before going to bed.
The second day of the school discussed the Communist Manifesto. The day was divided into three sessions with two session focusing on reading of the communist. Khadim Hussain and Nisar Shah highlighted the historical significance of this pamphlet, which still haunts those sitting in the portals of power corridors in London, Paris, New York and other bastions of capitalism. All the participants had been provided with a copy of the Communist Manifesto in Urdu. The participants read the paragraphs of the manifesto and would seek the assistance of senior comrades if they were unable to comprehend any line. The senior would explain the difficult words. One quarter of the communist manifesto was read during the first session. The session was followed by questions and answers.
The second session of the day consisted of group presentation and group discussion. The participants were divided into three groups as usual. The groups' leaders offered their comments but this time many participants also raised questions about various lines of the Communist Manifesto, which were answered by Khadim Hussain and Nisar Shah.
During the third session of the day, the second quarter of Communist Manifesto was read. The participants had a group presentation in the fourth session and fifth session consisted of a documentary and open discussion on the day-long activity. The third continued the reading of the communist manifesto. The day was divided into five sessions as usual and followed the same pattern as mentioned earlier.
The fourth day of the school focused on transitional program. Farooq Tariq discussed various aspects of the transitional program. He talked about the political demands that should be the focus of revolutionary parties during this transition. The day was divided into five sessions as well and every session was followed by a group presentation. Fourth day event ended with a social gathering and singing programme, where participants sang mystic songs and read revolutionary poets. These events were followed by outside dinner.
The fifth day discussed various topics which included the significance of a revolutionary party in any society, the role of revolutionary parties in history and Russian Revolution. Nisar Shah discussed at length the role of revolutionary party in various societies and shed light on Pakistani politics as well. He also talked about the ideology and organization of a revolutionary party and shed light on differences between a bourgeois political party and a revolutionary party.
On the fifth day before ending of the school, all participants submitted evaluation forms of the five days activities. This school was a first unique experience for all participants.
Nisar Shah,
Director,
IIRE Islamabad,
E-mail iireislamabad @ iire . org