JOURNEYING TOGETHER
ON THE PATH OF PEACE
Thirty
two people from twenty two countries embarked on a journey to Northern
Ireland. Each one coming with a different personal story, different
experiences in peace work, and different exposures to violence both
structural and direct. Each one brought his/her own baggage of pain, hope
and joy and the richness of a cultural diversity to share. We came with
hopeful expectations
An
open space was offered to us by the World Council of Churches at St.
Clements Retreat Center in Belfast St Clements, situated on the slope of a
hill, lush with foliage and tall trees faced the open sea. With this
scenic view in front of us and plenty of cool fresh air to invigorate us,
it was a place where we could rest for a while and breathe more easily.
At
the opening session, each one of us brought a symbol representing the pain
and hope of our people to share with others. Within two hours the altar of
St. Clements was transformed into a colorful mosaic of symbols and
stories. Images of the sea were presented to us by Solomon Islands and the
Philippines. Sierra Leone and Lebanon gathered nuts. Testimonies and
emblems of reconciliation and hope were offered by Chile, Colombia,
Indonesia and Romania. The aroma of India’s incenses and flowers were
enhanced by the touch of Sri Lanka’s betel leaves. Four countries,
shared their rich colors — Zambia and Nigeria, a native costume,
Guatemala a Mayan doll and Nagaland, a warrior shawl. Other countries also
brought special gifts — Fiji a fan., Rwanda a woven basket, Palestine a
Coptic cross and Canada sweet grass. carved fish and maple syrup. Pakistan
offered a hand made cushion for us to rest on along the journey. Mexico
offered a bouquet of doll pens to rewrite our own stories. Puerto Rico
brought part of its shore in Vieques contrasting the beautiful creation of
Gods sea shells and the destructive human made bullet-shells. The US with
a heaviness in the heart brought a brochure for the George W. Bush
campaign entitled "Because a dangerous world requires a sharpened
sword” as well as a dollar bill.
During
the first days each one of us opened his/her own baggage of suffering,
pain, hope and joy. With every new story we recognized more and more that
there is "no monopoly over pain.” And while each country and region
suffers from a different expression of violence and injustice, a common
pattern and source could be identified. These were structural violence
present in forms of economic exploitation, increasing globalization,
militarization, ecological destruction, media manipulation, increasing
consumerism and weapon and drug industry. Direct violence expressed in
genocide, gender violence, human rights violations, marginalization,
domestic, ethnic and religious violence and discrimination, violence
against indigenous people and armed conflicts increasing the spiral of
violence.
A
full day was used to undertake a journey into the context of Northern
keland - one that engaged both the heart and the mind. The first included
an academic analysis of the struggle by the Irish School of Ecumenics and
the Corrvmeela Community. This showed the complexity and ambiguity of the
history of this people. The more we recognized the complexity of the
situation, the more difficult it became to understand. The heart came into
action while visiting "interface areas” where different communities
arc onh separated by a road or a wall. The name given to this wall - the
peace wall” struck us as incongruous Suffering and pain on all sides,
stories of life and death present in the memories of all. The images of
hope and despair on the faces of small children are etched in our memory.
Deep in our hearts are also the stories of women like Claire. a housewife
and mother. who experienced violence at her doorstep and was moved to
become pro-active in working for peace. We also saw seeds of hope in the
trusting spirit of the people we met and in their warm welcome.
Returning
to our reflections later that day we felt the strong bond of solidarity’
with them which we expressed in our own words “....we cannot be
indifferent towards the pain that is being lived out in such a
Along
the journey of sharing our pain, hope and joy, and in exchanging our
different experiences in terms of both the content and the methodology of
our work, we arrived at an open space which gave us an opportunity to
unpack our various experiences. In the process of sharing our experiences
we were able to arrive at a set of guiding principles that will help to
forge creative links between us peace educators from around the globe.
Peace
Education requires:
-
discovering ourselves as an enormous resource of richness and creativity
-
developing a shared vision, one that gives meaning to our life and work and keeps our hope alive.
-
working for justice, reconciliation and healing. Justice must be a prerequisite for lasting peace. the interrelationship between peace, justice and sustainable development also needs to be recognized.
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respecting human dignity and diversities, promoting the ability to see “the other in me” both individually and collectively and developing relationships that give a face, a name and a story.
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fostering values of love, respect and forgiveness. Respecting the sacredness of creation.
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developing a methodology that is critical, participatory, dialogical, constructive, contextual. expressive, holistic and liberating.
-
recognizing the complexity and specificity of each context
-
linking the local with the global.
-
promoting a prophetic voice that speaks out against human rights violations, injustice and violence.
As
the journey progressed we found ourselves bonded together by a common
vision and faith. Together they united us into a living community of peace
educators dedicated to peace and justice in our context and in the world.
This coming together as a community especially’ during the creative
morning worship brought strength and hope to each one of us manifesting in
an act of solidarity’.
And as we return each to his/her own home, we start a new journey of
commitment and solidarity with each other and to the cause of working for
peace. A commitment to a living network that reaches out to each other
sharing resources, personnel, ideas, stories, prayers, poems and anything
that has worked for us. Sharing as well the risks of our involvement and
offering one another a safe place in times of pain and suffering. A
commitment to being supportive consultants to each other in specific
initiatives. A commitment encouraging our centers as well as other
institutions to join in the journey with us
Although we speak various languages, we leave this resting place having
experienced a language that goes beyond mere words, a language that unites
us in understanding each other’s laughter and tears, enabling us to
continue our sacred journey to peace.
Participants
of the Networking in Peace Education Consultation
