At the end of a long training trip in the Philippines I headed to Davao City, Mindanao with three of the staff from the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches (CPBC). We were scheduled for a 3-day training on interfaith peacemaking.
Mindanao has been the hottest place in the Philippines in terms of violent conflict. The majority of southern Filipinos are Muslims, concentrated on the islands of Mindanao and Sulu. A major ethnic group among the Muslims are the Moros. For decades the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) has been fighting for independence, but has in recent years established a cease-fire with the government. Meanwhile an Islamist group spun off from the MNLF, calling themselves the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The MILF has been in recent peace talks with the government of the Philippines, but those recently broke off. There's also a small more extreme group called Abu Sayyef. Alongside that conflict is another decades-old conflict with the New Peoples Army (NPA), a Communist insurgency that had declined following the 1986 People Power movement that ended the Marcos dictatorship. But the growing economic disparities and desperation of the poor have brought new life to the NPA insurgency.
So we were intending to focus on interfaith relationships as one particular peacemaking component. I'd hoped to have a more equal participation of Christians and Muslims, but that wasn't what developed. We had a large group of Baptists, one Pentecostal, and one Muslim. The Muslim was a young imam named Karem from a nearby mosque who could only be with us the first day. So I knew I'd have to be flexible in my workshop design to make the most of the situation which presented itself to me as a trainer.
The first day we dealt with more of the theory of conflict transformation that was most relevant to the situation in Mindanao. We covered getting to win/win solutions with a special emphasis on identity conflicts. We also did a lot of work on mainstream/margins. The imam was an excellent participant, not being intimidated by being the only Muslim in the group (definitely margin in this group!). He had a deep commitment to peace and broke a lot of stereo-types that the Christians in the group had.
The second day we focused on interfaith relationships. But we were all Christians since Karem had to conduct exams at the Islamic school at his mosque. We began with a little exercise called "The Big Wind Blows" that is kind of like musical chairs (without removing an additional chair each round). I said, "The Big Wind Blows for everyone who has been inside a mosque." Only one person had! These are the leaders and peace people in a conflict area where Christian/Muslim relationships are one of the key fault lines. So I knew we had to change that right then and there.
I asked the pastor who had invited Karem (and was the only one who had been in a mosque) if he could arrange for us to visit Karem's mosque later in the day. Meanwhile we worked on a number of interfaith relationship issues. We also exercised our curiosity about Muslims and constructed a list of questions the group had.
At about 2:30 we walked from our retreat center to the mosque (we'd been able to hear the calls to prayer throughout our time at the center). Karem greeted us warmly. We were given a tour of the school, spending time with short discussions in various classes. We discovered that half the teachers were Christians, though all the students were from Muslim families. We met with some of the leadership in the school to ask our questions about Islam and the various practices of their faith.
At the time for prayers we went into the mosque for, the men in the main hall, the women in a smaller area partitioned off in the back. We observed the prayers. Then we talked a bit more with Karem about the prayer time before heading back to the retreat center to debrief our experience. I closed saying, "The Big Wind Blows for everyone who has been to a mosque!" Everyone laughed and cheered.
We closed out the workshop on the third day looking at various strategies for building relationships for peacemaking work and how to move people with varying degrees of support or opposition to the issues that concern us. Participants worked on specific plans for their return home, including dealing with disagreement within their own Christian communities about even entering into positive relationships with Muslims (a challenge in many U.S. congregations, too!). The participants all left feeling very positive about what we had achieved. Afterward I talked further with the CPBC staff about next steps in peacemaking and training, both training that would involve me and things they could do on their own.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Building Bridges in Manipur, India--July, 2011
Manipur is the state with the highest killing rate in India. Meiteis, Kukis and Nagas struggle with different political concerns, religions and living contexts. There are multiple insurgent groups and civil society groups that join heartily in the conflicts. I've been there a lot, initially working on Naga reconciliation efforts. Now I'm expanding to deal with the larger circle of conflict. I've been especially excited to connect with a new peacemaking network called the Peace Dialog Initiative (PDI). PDI is a network of Meiteis, Kukis and Nagas chaired by Deben Sharma, a delightful kindred spirit.
We met for two days in Imphal at the Krishna Consciousness Center. The first day was spent in making position statements with spokespeople from each of the conflicted ethnic groups. Then there were responses from each group. At the end of the day it would be easy to despair because positions were hard and fast and totally opposite. Because the issues had to do with identity the problems weren't solvable by finding a meeting point halfway.
I was given the responsibility of facilitating Day 2, trying to help participants find a way forward and conclude with some sense of hope. I began with a few educational pieces to help participants reframe the way they were looking at the conflict as defined by the position statements the day before. We tried to think "outside the box" those positions created and brainstorm in dialog with one another. The brainstorm was begun in pairs from different ethnic groups coming up with ideas for specific steps forward and picking the three best. Then the pairs formed fours, shared their ideas and picked the best three ideas. Then we made eights and picked the best three ideas. I gathered the refined list and grouped them into 6 categories. Then we had participants cluster around the category that most interested them. The new groups then worked up specific plans to turn the ideas into substantive programs the participating organizations could carry out.
After feeling frustrated and hopeless at the end of Day 1, the PDI participants finished Day 2 excited and with a specific work plan to advance peace and understanding in Manipur. We ended with an appreciation line including many hugs. There's still a long, long way to go in Manipur, but a key step in the journey is to give birth to hope for the people who will create the peace imperative.
We met for two days in Imphal at the Krishna Consciousness Center. The first day was spent in making position statements with spokespeople from each of the conflicted ethnic groups. Then there were responses from each group. At the end of the day it would be easy to despair because positions were hard and fast and totally opposite. Because the issues had to do with identity the problems weren't solvable by finding a meeting point halfway.
I was given the responsibility of facilitating Day 2, trying to help participants find a way forward and conclude with some sense of hope. I began with a few educational pieces to help participants reframe the way they were looking at the conflict as defined by the position statements the day before. We tried to think "outside the box" those positions created and brainstorm in dialog with one another. The brainstorm was begun in pairs from different ethnic groups coming up with ideas for specific steps forward and picking the three best. Then the pairs formed fours, shared their ideas and picked the best three ideas. Then we made eights and picked the best three ideas. I gathered the refined list and grouped them into 6 categories. Then we had participants cluster around the category that most interested them. The new groups then worked up specific plans to turn the ideas into substantive programs the participating organizations could carry out.
After feeling frustrated and hopeless at the end of Day 1, the PDI participants finished Day 2 excited and with a specific work plan to advance peace and understanding in Manipur. We ended with an appreciation line including many hugs. There's still a long, long way to go in Manipur, but a key step in the journey is to give birth to hope for the people who will create the peace imperative.
Kenya--June, 2011
In June I was invited to Kenya by Wilson Gathungu and a team from Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City where Wilson has been a student. In a class with Terry Rosell on Christian ethics Wilson wrote about the political violence in December 2007 and January 2008 around the national election. Rosell challenged Wilson that what he wrote shouldn't just be a paper but a project. Wilson in response established the Kenya Peace Iniative, a project that took him back home to do the organizing work for a major effort at conflict transformation training and grassroots reconciliation activities.
Terry's wife Ruth is also a professor at CBTS, and she grew up as a missionary kid in Kenya and Tanzania. Terry and Ruth and their four adult children took on the KPI as a personal concern, helping to raise the funds and go to Kenya to participate in the project. One of their children, Nehemiah Rosell, participated in an 11-day training I led in January 2010 to train people to do the kind of training I do. In additional my wife Sharon joined the team. We ended up with Sharon, Nehemiah and I as the training team with Terry and Ruth providing devotional leadership.
Meanwhile Wilson was doing some of the best organizing work I've ever seen. He pulled together a large planning team that drew from the two major conflicted ethnic groups as well as two other groups. Church leaders from various Christian denominations got excited about the training as well as many university students and leaders from various social and political sectors. Wilson used the planning process to draw many people from communities throughout the Molo District into the initiative. Then he worked out follow-up plans that built naturally on what we were doing. He did fantastic work in both design of the project and in the hard nitty-gritty work of contacting and organizing people.
There were 5 days of the centerpiece project our team led alongside Wilson. The first day was hands-on reconciliation work with the 50 participants from the various ethnic groups and organizations. We went to one of the IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps. Then we built two homes--one for a Kikuyu family and one for a Kalenjin family, with Kikuyus, Kalenjins and others working side-by-side. I helped in hoisting up the roof beams. Sharon took off her shoes and jumped into the hole in the center of the house where mud was made with foot power to then plaster the walls.
Later in the afternoon we went to a school that was near one of the hottest spots in the violence. We planted a "peace forest"--over 50 trees with students of various ethnic groups joining our mixed peace workshop participants in planting the trees as a sign of peace. Then we all ate "out of one pot" from the different ethnic dishes.
For three days Sharon, Nehemiah and I facilitated a conflict transformation training. We covered topics of conflict resolution, nonviolence, trauma healing and reconciliation. We utilized many simulation games and other participatory activities. People commented about how there had been many structured dialogs by various groups to try to build peace, but they had never learned so much as at this training. That's the value of experiential education!
On Sunday our team went to a Kalenjin church only a few yards away from a Kikuyu IDP camp. Wilson had organized the people from the church and the camp to get to meet each other. They joined together in worship with Wilson preaching on reconciliation. Then people from all the various churches and communities in Molo District gathered in Molo Town. We had a big march with the Salvation Army band leading the way. We headed toward the soccer stadium for a peace rally.
Just as we came on the road to the stadium the skies opened with a torrential downpour that lasted almost an hour. We were all soaked and huddled under the only shelter in the area which was too small for us all. Pastor Grace, who had been in the workshop, praised God for the rain (we were on the edge of the drought area that was to make awful news in Somalia and parts of Kenya a few weeks later). She led the band out into the mud, celebrating. I would have called the rally off, but people aren't so easily discouraged in Africa! When the rains stopped everyone gathered by the soaked stage. The music started, and they did the whole program. I was the main speaker, preaching on Romans 12.21, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Since nobody else shortened what they did, I didn't cut it short either. We had a great time closing out an amazing chapter in the journey toward reconciliation in Kenya.
Wilson has continued building on what we started. We regularly connect with and consult with participants from the workshop. I'll be returning in June 2012 before the next election to continue to build on the work Wilson and others have been doing.
Terry's wife Ruth is also a professor at CBTS, and she grew up as a missionary kid in Kenya and Tanzania. Terry and Ruth and their four adult children took on the KPI as a personal concern, helping to raise the funds and go to Kenya to participate in the project. One of their children, Nehemiah Rosell, participated in an 11-day training I led in January 2010 to train people to do the kind of training I do. In additional my wife Sharon joined the team. We ended up with Sharon, Nehemiah and I as the training team with Terry and Ruth providing devotional leadership.
Meanwhile Wilson was doing some of the best organizing work I've ever seen. He pulled together a large planning team that drew from the two major conflicted ethnic groups as well as two other groups. Church leaders from various Christian denominations got excited about the training as well as many university students and leaders from various social and political sectors. Wilson used the planning process to draw many people from communities throughout the Molo District into the initiative. Then he worked out follow-up plans that built naturally on what we were doing. He did fantastic work in both design of the project and in the hard nitty-gritty work of contacting and organizing people.
There were 5 days of the centerpiece project our team led alongside Wilson. The first day was hands-on reconciliation work with the 50 participants from the various ethnic groups and organizations. We went to one of the IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps. Then we built two homes--one for a Kikuyu family and one for a Kalenjin family, with Kikuyus, Kalenjins and others working side-by-side. I helped in hoisting up the roof beams. Sharon took off her shoes and jumped into the hole in the center of the house where mud was made with foot power to then plaster the walls.
Later in the afternoon we went to a school that was near one of the hottest spots in the violence. We planted a "peace forest"--over 50 trees with students of various ethnic groups joining our mixed peace workshop participants in planting the trees as a sign of peace. Then we all ate "out of one pot" from the different ethnic dishes.
For three days Sharon, Nehemiah and I facilitated a conflict transformation training. We covered topics of conflict resolution, nonviolence, trauma healing and reconciliation. We utilized many simulation games and other participatory activities. People commented about how there had been many structured dialogs by various groups to try to build peace, but they had never learned so much as at this training. That's the value of experiential education!
On Sunday our team went to a Kalenjin church only a few yards away from a Kikuyu IDP camp. Wilson had organized the people from the church and the camp to get to meet each other. They joined together in worship with Wilson preaching on reconciliation. Then people from all the various churches and communities in Molo District gathered in Molo Town. We had a big march with the Salvation Army band leading the way. We headed toward the soccer stadium for a peace rally.
Just as we came on the road to the stadium the skies opened with a torrential downpour that lasted almost an hour. We were all soaked and huddled under the only shelter in the area which was too small for us all. Pastor Grace, who had been in the workshop, praised God for the rain (we were on the edge of the drought area that was to make awful news in Somalia and parts of Kenya a few weeks later). She led the band out into the mud, celebrating. I would have called the rally off, but people aren't so easily discouraged in Africa! When the rains stopped everyone gathered by the soaked stage. The music started, and they did the whole program. I was the main speaker, preaching on Romans 12.21, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Since nobody else shortened what they did, I didn't cut it short either. We had a great time closing out an amazing chapter in the journey toward reconciliation in Kenya.
Wilson has continued building on what we started. We regularly connect with and consult with participants from the workshop. I'll be returning in June 2012 before the next election to continue to build on the work Wilson and others have been doing.
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