Argentina & Solidarity

It has been a month now since I arrived in Argentina to start on my one-year volunteering project in a local NGO on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. We work with disadvantaged families and provide them with education as well as food. So of course I am in a particular environment here. However, I cannot fail to notice the emphasis that is being put on solidarity. Not only is it often mentioned in the media but there are also many local volunteers involved with the NGO, something that is not that common in other countries of the Global South.

Argentina is very different in this area. The country has a long history of solidarity movements. People have been involved in social projects for decades now. Last year, for example, mayor flooding in a La Plata caused a disaster. People in Buenos Aires helped them out with donations ranging from food to clothes. At the forefront were young people not only sorting and distributing the donations but also helping to clear the houses after the water level subsided.

In Argentina, the spirit of solidarity is consolidating often quietly and without much visibility. It is that spirit that grows within, every day a little more, at home, at work, at school, on the street, even during election times when people try to engage in the issues of this country to make a more democratic society. This presence is good for a country like Argentina which is still in the process of economic, social and spiritual reconstruction after its dark dictatorship era.

Speaking to some of the local volunteers of the NGO that I also volunteer for it turns out that they are mainly involved for the following reasons: they or their family had needed support in the past and LEP (the NGO) was there for them so they now want to give something back, they want to use their skills and knowledge they have acquired at university for a social cause because it makes them feel good about themselves. However, there are also people attending courses at the NGO that do not give a hand but instead bring donations to support our work. We receive everything from toilet paper to washing up liquid and food. And I am surprised how well it works.

Often I have asked myself whether a system like this would work in Europe and to be honest I am not sure. There seems to be something about the attitude of the people here, a feeling of belonging together and being responsible for each other, that I have not encountered as such in Germany or England. I do not want to say that it does not exist, maybe I just did not talk to the right people, but I think that society ticks differently in these countries. In Europe we usually think in monetary terms, how much is something going to cost us, but here it is often an exchange of goods. It makes me think of times past in the Global North. Maybe something that is worth re-learning?!?