Boycotts: peaceful protest or shooting ourselves in the foot?

CAIRO: As devastation hit Gaza last month, a peaceful form of protest against the violence inflicted on the Palestinians has been gathering pace. An extensive campaign in the Arab, Muslim world has been urging people to boycott American companies over the Bush administration's support for the aggressive Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip. Email, SMS and social networking sites are all alerting people to the campaign and thousands of people across the world have already contributed to the boycotting efforts.

The companies mostly targeted are Starbucks, McDonalds, Coca-Cola, KFC, Marlboro, Pizza Hut and Pepsi Cola.

"There is a general feeling in the Western and Muslim world that the scale of the Israeli campaign and the number of civilian casualties is unjustifiable, and sympathy for the Palestinians is growing," says Mohammed Bakri, professor at Kalimat Language and Cultural Center. "The boycotting of US products is a peaceful way for individuals to express their dissatisfaction and to control where their money is going."

The movement gathered pace when Arab mobile phone subscribers received text messages telling them that the above companies were to donate their next two weeks of earned revenue to Israel. The SMS then urged people to boycott these companies and to forward the message to everyone they knew. The rumors have become so widespread and damaging that representatives for the US companies in the Arab world have been forced to issue statements denying the accusation, and some have posted statements on their websites.

Facebook has proven to be a very effective tool in mobilizing people and raising awareness through shared groups, due to its global outreach with more than 60 million active users worldwide.

'I won't support Starbucks, I won't give the Israelis the money to kill us' has nearly 9,000 members. 'Boycott McDonalds for helping Israel kill innocent people' has over 2,000 members.Aa There are also numerous groups calling for the boycotting of Israeli products specifically, 'Boycott Israeli Goods' has nearly 3,000 members and you can find names of common Israeli brands.

Boycotts have long been used to express social and political dissatisfaction and take many forms, from the boycotting of social services to the boycotting of products and brands.

Dr. Martin Luther King famously organized the year-long boycotting of buses in Montgomery, Alabama to oppose racial segregation on the public transport system.Aa

Most recently here in Egypt was the boycotting of Danish products after offensive cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad were published in a Danish newspaper. There was a significant drop in their profits as the boycott was instituted on the state level proving to be very effective.Aa

Even when profit margins are not much affected company image definitely is, and such boycotts make big corporations conscious that people are aware of their actions and that they must hold some notion of accountability.Aa

Boycotts allow people to be mobilized and fight indirectly which is literally giving power to the people.Aa

"I've been boycotting US companies and products for years and try to make people aware at university," says Mahmoud Rahman, a Palestinian student living in Cairo.Aa

"People can exert power over big corporations, we can change their image and what they're worth. People just have to think every time an individual buys something they are making a choice. This is something small in my everyday life that is intelligent and legitimate, and I will never give my money to the US."Aa

Boycotts are another form of democratic participation, they enable citizens to educate and empower themselves by choosing where their money goes and by holding companies to account.AaAa

It is a way for people's voices to be heard against big businesses and politics, and it is a type of protest that is inclusive of age and class, and is legitimate and peaceful.

"Any form of passive resistance is great, and the boycotting of products is a useful tool of protest in the Arab world where demonstrations can often result in violence and people may be too scared to express their opinions," argues Attorney-at-Law Nagla Nassar. "But you have to be realistic; cutting yourself off from all US products is cutting yourself off from the world.Aa What about hi-tech goods?"AaAaAa

The boycotting of US products can be dubious because of the way the world's interconnected economies work. The Apple iPod, for example, is built and assembled in different countries across Asia so boycotting Apple hurts the developing world as well as the US.

People have to consider the local nature of business and evaluate whether it's an appropriate way to further their cause. "I always fully research what I'm doing, I hate it when people do these things because it's fashionable," says Mahmoud Rahman.AaAa

"You have to be careful because sometimes it is the locals who are disadvantaged and not the big companies," argues Bakri. The US companies provide precious local employment and boycotting these companies in Arab countries can affect the local infrastructure and not the US economy.

"People have to take the time to educate themselves and see what products are produced in the US and what products are produced locally," said Nassar.Aa

Daily NewsEgypt 2009

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