The World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) welcomed the New Year by calling on the youth of the world to continue the fight against imperialism and for a new world – even in the face of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
The YCL is Britain’s affiliate to WFDY, one of over 180 progressive and anti-imperialist youth organisations from more than 100 countries that are members. WFDY organises campaigns as well as solidarity brigades in support of peace, self-determination for all people and social and economic progress.
The end of this anomaly 2020 and the beginning of 2021 are near. It was difficult to foresee when we started the year, just days after the 20th General Assembly of the World Federation of Democratic Youth, how the year would develop.
The sharpening of the inter-imperialist tensions; the ideological, political, economic and military offensive of the imperialist forces; the rise of reactionary, fascist and extreme right-wing forces and the consequent promotion of racist, misogynist, LGTB-phobic and class ideas to divide the working class. These were some of the ideas that came out from that General Assembly, as well as the need for the anti-imperialist youth all over the world to work together to face the number one enemy of the people: Imperialism.
The outbreak of the pandemic of the COVID-19 at the world level shook our world. In the same way, it seemed to disrupt the analyses made that month of December 2019. Nothing could be further from the truth. It was not necessary to wait too long to see how the pandemic would exemplify every one of the illnesses we pointed out about the imperialist system, that is, to see how Imperialism multiplied the effects of the pandemic. The dialectic relationship between pandemic and Imperialism has been a constant that has caused great suffering to the peoples of the world this 2020.
But this 2020 also leaves us with a new example of how the best thing has always been the people. In the face of the miseries to which the ruling classes condemn us, the youth and the working class have organised themselves to confront their offensives. We can find examples of this in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America.
Last November 10 was the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the World Federation of Democratic Youth. We face the coming year with the honour of paying tribute to millions of young people who have given their lives for the World Federation of Democratic Youth. For all those who have gone before us, for all those who will come: may this 2021 be a year in which the peoples of the world take centre stage; may we finally put an end to the number one enemy of the peoples, Imperialism; and may we finally build the world we have dreamed of and fought for.
World Federation of Democratic Youth
Challenge News Desk
