Debunking the myth of NGOs (non-government organizations) Essay

Debunking the myth of NGOs (non-government organizations) - Essay Example ?s global justice movement and colonial amnesia† the role of NGOs in Canada, even the Left-leaning ones, is in acknowledging and supporting the indigenous struggles. The NGOs have failed to acknowledge the link between colonialism and neoliberalism though they have acknowledged the latter as their enemy. According to Choudry, the Left-leaning NGOs in Canada do not acknowledge or support the struggles by indigenous people against neoliberalism. In order to substantiate this claim, Choudry points out that the issues of Indigenous people in Canada gained international attention as is evident from the fact that the 2008 UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women urged Canada to conduct special inquiry into the atrocities against the indigenous women in Canada. Still, it is surprising to note that none of the so-called Left-leaning NGOs showed any interest or supported the struggles of the indigenous people. The reason for this is found by Choudry in the fact that even the Left NGOs are unable to acknowledge the existing element of colonialism in Canada, and hence, they adopt a ‘White progressive economic nationalist’ position. Thus, the NGOs fail to acknowledge the negative consequences of neoliberalism which surrounds them in various forms. While promoting baseless claims of nation-building, they fail to look into, or understand, the importance of the indigenous struggles. Choudry turns the eyes of the reader towards a factor that often goes unnoticed. That is nations like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S are all colonies in nature, and in all these nations, the indigenous people are in the struggle to preserve their land and sovereignty. However, the NGOs, and the Left in general, think that the struggle by the indigenous peoples for the right to self-determination has nothing to do with the global justice movement. Thus, the NGOs in Canada tend to identify the transnational corporations, powerful governments and political