Allies and Diaspora* of the #MilkTeaAlliance What can we do? 8 practical steps.
We are not there… But we care. What can we do to help? This is a question that I have been asked and been asking myself recently. I have been on a journey in this and felt my thoughts might be useful to others.
This is a basic primer into what we can do to help while being a step or two removed. It’s not exhaustive, it’s just ideas. This is a starting point. I hope it helps. So here are 8 things (Because 8 is lucky, lol) that we can do.
Listen.
This is the most important thing to do. Listen to those on the ground, who are being directly effected, who are facing the challenges and suppression on the daily. These are the people we are trying to help. What do they want, what are their challenges, what do they want the world to know, what help do they need? There are some core #MilkTeaAlliance accounts for each of the countries/movements in the alliance, these are a starting point but also find activists in each movement to listen to. There are activists on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Learn.
Depending on your relationship with any of the movements you may know some, a lot or nothing. I would speculate that none of us are experts in all the movements in all the countries that the #MilkTeaAlliance covers. It is therefore important that we learn. What does the #CDM movement stand for? What are the 5 demands in HK? What are the 10 demands of Thailand’s democratic youth movement? While not important to know all of these in detail for everything, it helps to know the broad situation (so you don’t put your foot in it). Lastly it’s important to remember that even if you have learned a lot, you still need to listen, situations change, don’t talk over those who are on the ground.
Amplify.
If those voices on the ground are talking (some won’t because oppression e.g. National Security Law, Internet Blackouts etc). Raise up those voices, a retweet or a share is easy, it gets their message out there. If there are not many tweets or posts, there are plenty of others that need highlighting. Or search for stories, that are relevant. Keep at it. Also not just on social media, talk about it to your friends, family, show that it is something that you care about!
Advocate.
If you live somewhere where you can put pressure on your government, your representatives, it is worth doing! Write to them, Email them, tag them on twitter, get them to raise the issue in the legislature. Sometimes you don’t win, #genocideamendment in the UK, sometimes you do, Canadian parliament voting to recognise the genocide in Xinjaing (East Turkmenistan). Sign the petitions, these often don’t do a lot but it can show governments the depth of feeling and help raise the issue. This may put you on the same side as people you would not usually work with. If they are campaigning in good faith hold your nose.
Show up.
Awareness raising can happen where you are too! Is there a #MilkTeaAlliance related protest, demo, vigil or similar in your area. Go to it, even if it isn’t directly #MilkTeaAlliance related, it is still worth being an ally to adjacent causes, especially if they also interest you. We are stronger together! Refugee and Asylum rights: Show up. LGBTQ+ rights : show up, Women’s equality: Show up, Workers Rights: Show up! I could go on but you get the idea. Build wider alliances, you might find more friends and allies, they might show up for us! I recently supported a small protest about a primary school, spent a hour or two there and posted a few tweets about it. Built a few initial links with people there and now they are seeing more information about what is happening in Hong Kong, Myanmar and Thailand.
Build.
Nothing nearby? Build it! This might be a bit easier for diaspora folks who can start tapping into their networks but slowly building up a group of friends who are local to provide mutual support and interest is possible everywhere. A reading group or book club with #MilkTeaAlliance theme? Suggestions welcome!
Donate.
IF (and only if) you can afford to, donate to causes or movements. Bail defence funds, mutual aid orgs, NGOs doing work on the ground, independent journalists and media outlets that are doing good work. Do your research, make sure they are legit. Sometimes a little donation can go a long way.
Boycott.
This is the other side of the coin as such. Big corporate making money from a regime or oppression or silencing people? Find someone else to buy from. It’s hard to keep up with as global supply chains are complicated but important to try. Also call them out! Pressure both ways is important. Couple of examples below:
E.g. Blizzard: I used to play lots of the Blizzard games, they banned Blitzchung for speaking out about Hong Kong NOW I DON’T, uninstalled them all, cancelled my subscriptions, found alternatives.
E.g. Apple. Apple lobbied the US government to slow the roll-out of Sanctions on Xinjiang over forced labour and they prevented some updates to signal & a well known VPN in their app store putting protestors in Myanmar at risk. Wasn’t an apple guy but definitely won’t be switching to an iPhone any time soon.
JOIN A UNION.
Okay this isn’t necessarily a #MilkTeaAlliance issue but rights and freedoms need defending at home too! Likely in many countries, I feel this is a good place to start!
Anyways these are my thoughts and again it is just a starting point, I hope it is useful to you. The #MilkTeaAlliance has grown dramatically since it’s early days and even if it does not grow beyond a rallying cry on the internet, the loose alliance of movements and tactics sharing between those facing oppression, it’s quite incredible!
You can find me on twitter https://twitter.com/XunlingAu
Footnotes and explanations.
If you have no idea what the #MilkTeaAlliance is I highly recommend this thread on it’s origins. https://twitter.com/NiaoCollective/status/1320613362267545600?s=20
Exactly which movements and struggles are in the #MilkTeaAlliance is a matter of discussion. I might write another piece on that at another time.
*I would place myself in the “allies” category more than the “diasporic” category (although this does depend on how widely/narrowly you describe diasporic).
Diaspora will likely have more links back into one of the countries where the #MilkTeaAlliance is “operating” but likely not all of them, so much will still hold true. Given the scope of the #MilkTeaAlliance I expect that very few people count as diasporic to all causes.
