Liberia Peacebuilder Initiative
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During the last few days of my visit, we were joined by Molly from iLEAP : it was through this small Seattle based nonprofit that I met Emmanuel, as they brought him to Seattle as a promising young leader from the developing world. Molly came to Monrovia to get to see Emmanuel and his organization, PCO (Population Caring Organization), first hand. Unfortunately she didn’t understand that you need a visa, so Emmanuel ended up having to run around to manage to get her one from this end and then send it to her in Kenya where she was visiting in the days before – He managed it well, but it became one more pull on him that took him away from the training. PCO had so many logistics to juggle, they were often pulled away. For me, as a sole trainer, the most stressful moments were those when I found myself without PCO staff to help translate or adapt what we were doing at crucial moments. Still, we always managed to muddle through, and by the last day of training I felt so proud of the Core Team and all that we had accomplished
One evening I got to visit Emmanuel’s home, share supper with him, and met his daughter Jerrine and nephew Stanford (who are living with him. This warmed my heart – and gave me a chance to see a typical neighborhood more closely. Behind Emmanuel’s house were shacks barely protected from the elements. The well was down the street – no running water in any homes. Electricity is purchased from a private agent: $45/month per ‘limb’ — for power from 8 pm to 5 am – on a good night. If you have an air conditioner or a TV you would need two limbs. Think about this tonight after your hot shower and you lie comfy in bed watching DVDs at any hour!
On Sunday we went to visit Teresa, one of the Core Team members who had sadly lost her oldest son to illness just the week before. She is an amazing, powerful woman – one of the market women who helped end the war. (Did you see Pray the Devil Back to Hell? If not, do so ASAP! Inspiring and compelling) –as were a number of our Peacebuilders including several women who went to Ghana. I was delighted that Sara and Stephen, two, other Peacebuilders, came to join our visit – I believe the group is really bonding and forming relationships.
We were welcomed with open arms by Teresa’s whole extended family – from her mom to her grandchildren. Her home seconds as a little restaurant – and we were graced with a wonderful traditional meal, where everyone eats from the same bowl. Everyone enjoyed the fun of taking lots of photos. It was a warming and loving circle.
Last day of training was Tuesday, the day after the Community Summit. In our debrief, one of the Peacebuilder shared an interesting experience from the World Café: in his circle, one of the participants refused to take the talking object. There was some discussion and initial insisting… Fortunately our Peacebuilder remembered to listen for the facts, feelings and values –and ultimately discovered that this person was from an ethnic group that believed taking a stone would bring misfortune and was a bad omen. This led to a lively discussion in our group – We talked about the need to be culturally sensitive; how the actually holding of the object wasn’t essential, rather the taking of turns. But then Ibrahim, another Peacebuilder, passionately interjected saying “No! We need to leave all tribal practices and differences behind.” Many in the group got triggered and the debate was off and running…. I reminded them to use the skills we have learned, to listen from the heart, to seek to understand not persuade… When we were able to reflect Ibrahim’s deepest values, (“You are worried about divisiveness and are really wanting to find unity, so everyone can move forward to a peaceful future”) he completely relaxed – and then everyone was able to see they all shared that value and common ground – we went from debate to dialogue and speaking from the heart. Ibrahim and the group came to understand that honoring culture and allowing for different practices didn’t need to divide. It was a great reminder to all about how easy it is to polarize and get pulled into debate – and how the practices we are learning can create the turning point and bring understanding.
This final Graduation day ended with great celebration. We were honored with the presence of Dr. Latard, the Director of the Interfaith Church Council where we held our training (and who has offered Office space to PCO in the same building for a generous affordable price); this wise elder gave a stirring speech with encouraging words for the Peacebuilders and the important role they need to play to manage the challenges ahead with elections coming to Liberia in October. The political parties thrive on dividing people along ethnic lines and the youth are especially vulnerable to their offers of money and small gifts to get their support. There is concern that violence will erupt since with so many candidates (up to 27 for President right now!) there are bound to be many many disappointed groups. Many of the Peacebuilders are engaging in voter education around such issues.
The Core Team was thrilled to each receive a gold-seal certificate – and a set of chimes. Far East Handicrafts donated 35 sets of chimes so each of our Peacebuilders now has one. They are founded on Fair Trade principles and support the making of new items in traditional and ancient art forms plus support many medical and educational aid projects in Nepal.
Finally, training was ended! All responsibilities were fulfilled! We got to walk to the beach just down the street – yet my first time there! And, joy! We had a party my last night! What fun! We came to my little apartment and the guys made the dinner: Alex Morris was the chef, Emmanuel was sous chef, and Madison did the dishes (reportedly the first time he washed dishes at a sink with running water.) The bar-restaurant upstairs happily loaned us a big pot and extra plates.
The next day we did a little shopping (I bought a flipchart for PCO!) and some debriefing. I was chagrined to learn that what I thought was welcomed coaching from the side felt uncomfortable for two of our Peacebuilders at the Community Summit: I thought we had made clear agreements at our training that I would step in whenever it seemed needed, to support them and the process in this their first experience at facilitating large group dialogue… But I now learned, the more culturally appropriate way to partner in public would be to quietly go up to the person and whisper in their ear, rather than to add remarks publicly. Sigh. It was painful to learn this after the fact! Cross cultural communication is such a challenge! You just don’t know what the invisible barriers are until you slam into them.
This is all part of the Journey of being a Global Citizen. It is never easy, but always ultimately rewarding in growing and learning and deepening the possibilities for mutual understanding and ultimately building a sustainable peace — especially in a nation as challenged as Liberia, with its post-war devastation and trauma. I think our whole circle of Peacebuilders, with all of our diversity, learned so much from each other. I was heartened by the commitment the group expressed, and their willingness to continue their monthly practice groups even when our small funds run out in September. May their skills deepen and grow and may they spread the practices they learned far and wide throughout the counties of Liberia!
What a way for this American to celebrate the 4th of July! Our Liberia Peacebuilder Community Summit was a great day, with well over 100 diverse people in attendance – primarily community members, with a sprinkle of NGOs and Western expats. Our theme was, How can we Build Partnerships and Strengthen Peacebuilding Together? NG0 + Business + Community + Government
It was a day that began with torrential rain and thunderstorms – despite our many efforts to influence the weather patterns through pleas, visualization, prayers and any ways we could imagine… WAWA (“West Africa Wins Again” – our code word for the unavoidable complications and chaos that arise in a developing world with minimal infrastructure and different views of time)… Arrival for everyone was delayed well beyond the usual, due to the rain… Plus, the AV guy with the sound system was nowhere to be seen and the generator was locked up and no one present had the key (yet all parties had been pre-paid for their services). The noise from the rain was so intense that we felt we couldn’t begin the program without amplification. Fortunately, the culture troupe was there – and they were great troupers indeed, offering a wonderful morning performance even before they had their costumes on. Finally, we decided we’d just have to make the best of it and get started with the program, sound or no sound… And happily, in the middle of Emmanuel’s welcoming remarks, the AV guy showed up.
A small group of our Core Team and I had worked hard on Saturday to prepare all the signage – and to take on the facilitation. I prepared a sample script and coached them Saturday afternoon, with the assurance that I would be ready to intervene and support them on Monday. It was a thrilling to witness them stepping up to leadership as I stayed ‘in the wings’ and played a very minor role. The World Café was a powerful way to begin the morning and get everyone engaged and intermingling across the many differences present in the room: men/women, elders/youth, educated/illiterate, Christian/Muslim/Traditional – and 16 different ethnic groups, plus Westerners. We used stones gathered near the beach for talking objects. The questio
ns:
Round 1) Think of the times when you had successful partnerships across sectors…Share the highlights. What made it possible?
Round 2) What are the challenges that keep you from building stronger partnerships?
Round 3) What can you do to build better partnerships?
The notes from the debrief have not yet been typed up – I’ll post those to a later blog. The Open Space generated about 20 topics for the two sessions. It was great to see many in the group really get the idea of the Law of Two Foot – and move around amongst sessions. However, what I noticed during many of the sessions was a tendency for one person (typically an elder male) to become the director of the session and, rather than generative conversation, the group tended to just list ideas for the ‘director’ to record. Observing this in so ma
ny sessions opened my eyes again to how many skills and experiences we may take for granted that are essential building blocks for the capacity for generative conversation: asking questions, taking turns, building on each other’s ideas (rather than making parallel speeches), being open to new ideas or uncertainty or not knowing, etc. In the future, I would recommend that a Core Team member attend each session to help serve as a facilitator with the goal of facilitating conversation and brainstorming. In any case, the day brought a sense of community and empowerment to all who attended, and a number of ideas and action plans were set into place. You’ll hear more in the next few days!
Yesterday’s marathon of meetings went very well: We began at the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and were promptly introduced to the best program for us to connect with — Community Support Services, Psychosocial and Community. Their director was very interested in our work and would like a train-the-trainers of his team of social workers.
We were well received by the PBO (Peace Building Office): this time they really seemed to hear and appreciate that we have something unique to offer. We are exploring how to incorporate some of our training into theirs, to make it more experiential and work on the ‘inside out’ personal transformation. They are key players, as all the UN Peace funds flow through them. They are beginning to establish Security Hubs – one per three counties – which will aggregate police, immigration, security teams – so they are de-centralized and not all in Monrovia. They want to do community outreach and dialogues…
We also met with the Commissioner Oversight (Program / Planning) from the Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR) – a great guy who had a compelling personal story of having to flee the country. He was rescued by Amnesty International sending him funds to flee – and ended up working for them for some time. His Commission is tasked with taking over and completing the work of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission: quite a daunting challenge, which includes establishing Reparations (challenge: how to determine who what gets and how much? What measurements?); Prosecution of war criminals ( tricky business when so much of the country was implicated on various sides and many of the warlords are currently sitting Senators; should they do this alone or with International help?); Memorialization. And finally, the part where we may get engaged: Reconciliation and Palaver Hut Forum Discussions.
In the cool shade of his garden, encircling a tree, we enjoyed a fascinating visit with Emmanuel Bowier, a wonderful man who is an expert on Liberian culture: we may partner on the INCHR proposal. Emmanuel B explained how originally the Palava Hut process was a circle ‘owned’ and initiated by the community. In more recent years, it has become more Chief focused and run – which has undermined its effectiveness as many of the younger generation don’t have much regard for chiefs or elders. They grew up in the chaos of the civil war; many were combatants or forced companions to combatants. They didn’t have any experience of an intact culture. And women hold little trust with any justice system, traditional or legal. There is indeed often abuse. Plus the chiefs often ask for money. So there seems a genuine opening and need for Restorative Circle practice – which in a way is bringing them back to their roots since it is so akin to the Palava Hut. One traditional practice that E.B. described seems like a brilliant option for RC: the conflict parties would typically bring a Respresentative (perhaps their sister or mother or father) who would speak for them, rather than their speaking directly. This makes especial sense in Liberian culture which tends to be much more indirect in communication style. And it creates even greater safety – very wise in so many cases, such as a victim of any violence in a Circle with the actor. As an aside, EB’s personal history reflects a common challenge in Liberia where past affiliations make it difficult to find current day roles. In the early days of the overthrow of the government when hopes were high for a more just and inclusive Liberia, EB served as Minster of Communications under Samuel Doe. Of course that regime became increasingly brutal and was overthrown by factions that threw the region into brutal civil wars for 16 years.
For our last meeting, we met again with Grace – the County Superintendent for Montserrado (which encompasses Monrovia – the largest City that holds over half of the country’s population). She was very receptive to our ideas and thoughts about next steps with the Peace Island issues. Emmanuel can help set up Peace Cells, as he did in Budumbura Camp – and now deepen the dialogues using Compassionate Listening. Also, help establish Restorative Circle practice: we talked about how the Pre-Circle process is so important – so before the whole Circle comes together – as more or less they did earlier in the week at their Town Hall – each party is fully heard and listened to. So when they come to the meeting, they may feel a bit more open and ready/able to listen to the other… We also suggested beginning each meeting with a silent mediation – reflection, setting intention, etc. – after the prayers, which often become fiery sermons that in fact stir people up. Grace was excited by our ideas and asked Emmanuel and team members to meet the Election Team she’ll send out there on Wednesday!
We are encouraged at the level of interest in the work we are doing with Compassionate Listening and Restorative Circles – though so far no concrete signs of funding. Emmanuel’s strategy will be to volunteer and work with some of these groups in the hopes that then they will find a way to fund continued partnership…. Our funds will soon run out… To continue the program with strength takes about $1000/month to cover tiny staff stipends, phone cards, gas. transportation & food for a one day gathering of the core team, etc.
As I reflect on all these possibilities — the challenge for me is to realistically assess the capacity and ability of the Core Team here: what are they ready to contribute and take beyond their own communities at this point. Would such extended activity, i.e. with national programs, require more training and or mentoring from me directly or can they go it on their own. Would I want to return and how soon could I do that. And of course – how would that get funded. Are there others in our Compassionate Listening circles who might want to get involved?
Today I spent working with a small group of our most skilled Core Team members – coaching them to facilitate Monday’s World Cafe and Open Space – and getting all the posters and materials prepared.. We expect over 100 people! Excited! It will be great to see them facilitate.
Well, about time to turn in: I am a bit tired this evening, as I had a rough night – LOUD music till 1 am that was not only insanely loud (shaking the walls) – but AWFUL. I mean I hated it! And then – I was plagued by a mouse in my little studio apt. I’m trying to befriend the mouse… but it is so jarring to be relaxing and then be caught-surprised by something scurrying by in the corner of your eye. It makes me uneasy in bed at night… They have set up ‘glue’ traps (little strips of paper with glue) and plugged in ultra-frequency emitters that are supposed to make them want to leave… Many sightings last night and this morning…. So far none this evening. So I am hopeful!!
Pictures of my abode – including the hot water heater that never did manage to provide hot water!!! The view was great (or should I say grate)… and the sounds of the ocean lulled me to sleep. The mattress proved to be a great deal for my chiropractor!
Have we really finished the 4th day of training???
Oh my, I am exhausted. It’s been an intense time, training all day everyday. Liberia is in the middle of its rainy season… Incredible thunder, lightening, downpours with such intensity I’ve never seen. In many of the poor slum communities it gets very nasty, with lots of flooding. And TV, internet, water, electricity is off more than on. Traffic becomes nightmarish, with huge puddles and then many stalled cars. So transportation becomes an even greater challenge. Our participants are supposed to arrive between 9 and 10 for breakfast – with training starting at 10. Today at 10:30 we only had about 6 of our 35 Peacebuilders present…. By 11:30 we had 22… There were 6 or 7 who never made it. So this is very disheartening but typical of WAWA (West Africa Wins Again).
Still, we may be moving slower and getting through less material than I’d hoped – but the participants are so committed and dedicated
. They have been taking turns in leading exercises and explaining the model. Slowly but surely they are getting it – how we need to connect to our core-pure essence-loving heart and listen beneath the story of the other to their core – how we can recognize their anger or meanness as protection and defenses covering a tender, wounded heart – rather than getting hooked or triggered by it. They are saying over and over – thank you – we are finding our love and compassion and learning how to bring peace to our communities.
We held a ‘mini’ World Café this afternoon, to help get them ready for the Summit on Monday. The questions were around – how can they sustain and integrate what they learn even when our funding runs out, how can they support each other as a network of Peacebuilders. I was thrilled when they began to take some responsibility. One person proposed they meet regularly each month at one of their member’s communities and each bring small small money (like $1 or $2) to help their host buy water for the attendees. Another person pledged that she will write letters to try to find a sponsor from local NGOs or businesses – and leaders from the Tribal Governors and the Tribal Elders Councils will join with the Interfaith Council to work with her. And another suggested how each person can set a regular meeting within their own community – and once the idea builds, ask the members to each bring some small thing to share with others – a scrap of soap, an egg, whatever they might have to share. My heart is singing as they are finding their own power even within their poverty and difficulties.
Yesterday we were invited by the County Superintendent to attend a Town meeting in a very poor slum community known as Peace Island. It was fascinating to witness. We gathered at their ‘community center’ which consisted of a corrugated steel roof and woven mats as walls with thin wooden slats as benches. There were probably 60 to 100 people. Our group was seated up front with the Superintendent – along with the Superintendent and the Commissioner. Also –the community leader appointed by the State Senator – who was accused of ‘eating’ the money sent to build roads and schools. He claimed he held meetings (no one seemed to know about them) and kept good records (no one saw them.) The elders had organized themselves into a council to try to improve the community. The community leader said he was never asked to meet with them. They decided they needed a meeting place, which they build adjacent to the school. The community leader believed it was not a good place/choice because the school will need to expand, so he had it demolished. The elders want compensation for all the money they lost in what they had spent to build the meeting place. There was a lot of contention and arguing and counter-accusations.
The Superintendent stayed calm and said she needed evidence – so invited them to submit reports and records from each side, which she will review, analyze and come to report/decide upon. She also directed them to have elections – she will set up an election committee to help them to do this – to elect a community leader and an Elders council, so they will have the legitimacy of the community. She also launched into what was really a sermon (indeed, she is an awesome preacher – I met her last Sunday when we went to her church). Anything with God, Jesus and biblical references has a powerful impact here. I was a bit stunned when, at the end of this meeting, she said, “Now let’s hear from our Peacebuilders.” !!**##@!!! What to say? I decided to do my best at Compassionate Listening – and simply to reflect back the facts, feelings and values that I had heard (how the community just deeply wanted to secure a good future for their children – they want schools and roads and trust in their community) – and my compassion for their struggles – and how I noticed that essentially this was a problem of no one really listening to each other. Emmanuel followed up with a great, passionate and generous offer to bring our Core Team to help them work through their issues in any way they could.
Happily, I’ve had some success in setting up some key meetings for us. Tomorrow we’ll go to the Peacebuilding Office with a hope of finally breaking through to getting some funding from them. And I’ve connected with the guy who is the head of the Cooperative Association – helping groups form cooperative businesses. He was excited by my proposal for partnership – he has the expertise in setting up cooperatives, LPI (Liberia Peacebuilder Initiative) can help with the people side of things so the coops can work through their conflicts. We will try to meet with the Ministry of Health, the new Commission on Human Rights — And we will go out to meet with Superintendent to see how LPI can work with her communities.
Right now I’m waiting in the bar above my residence for Emmanuel T Dolo (Not my partner Emmanuel GV Dolo) – who is a well known Liberian author and thinker. I am excited to anticipate our conversations. So I’ll pause for now and come back later to write what happens…
…Well. On the one hand it was a good start; on the other hand E T Dolo spent as much time on the phone as with me. He did promise to give some thought to helping us find sponsors and will be interested to meet his fellow Emmanuel Dolo – my Liberian colleague/partner, the founder of PCO (Population Caring Organization.)
For now I say, good night!
Today was the Second Day of Training – and the Core Team members demonstrated facilitation of many exercises and explaining the model. They are learning well! It is thrilling to see the confidence and skill they are building—thought there is still much to learn and deepen. Today I introduced the ideas of Deepening Inquiry and they seemed to really take hold of the idea of asking questions to serve the speaker – than just for your own curiosity. Their stories of how they are applying and integrating what they are learning are amazing. They face so many challenges and bring great courage and their big big hearts. Here are some highlights:
There was a conflict in Alieu’s community that kept festering; the parties had young children and could never come to meetings. Our Peacebuilder was able to help them come to resolution by inviting the children to come along.
Jerry was able to resolve a land dispute by using Restorative Circle practices. He also helped calm a group of youth around a contentions election where there were many arguments. He noticed one party was especially traumatized and remains hesitant to participate in the circles – but he is able to understand and accept this challenge, with compassion for the person’s trauma.
Obediah worked with his community around a dispute over flooding in the community. A number of people had tried various ways to divert the excess water, but it often ended up flooding another person’s home. He helped the community come together and recognize their inter-connectedness: they agreed to work together to dig a ditch so no one’s home will be impacted.
William witnessed a car accident and helped assist the injured party. The police came and took everyone to the police station. William asked to manage the conflict between the parties. He convinced the police by showing them his Peacebuilder Manual, reassuring them he was a Peacebuilder: they released the parties to his guidance, thus avoiding costly fines and hassles.
Kollie is using Compassionate Listening to build a sense of community.
Susanna was able to help her family work through a difficult land dispute: she kept herself calm and centered and was able to calm all of the parties by listening deeply and not getting upset or triggered.
Tamba brought all parties to a property issue together following someone’s death. Using Restorative Circle processes, she insured that each person was heard in a fair manner. They were able to come to an agreement without going to court.
Sofia’s community has many issues. She has learned how to cool them down through listening, one on one, so she can help get all the issues on the table.
Emma was the absolute hero: yesterday, as she came home she found a crowd in front the door to her building. Her neighbor was screaming at her husband… with a knife in her hand. The husband had a machete in his hand. Emma was able to breathe, center, stay calm and offer a strong presence. She walk up to her neighbor and said, “Give me the knife” – and the same to the husband… Then she guided them to her apt. –a neutral ground- where she helped them cool down and listen to each other.
Lydia’s community has many of domestic issues. She has learned to offer a calm and compassionate listening ear, without judgment – which is helping people resolve their issues without escalating.
Rose has learned how to forgive and let go of past resentments, which has brought her great peace.
Martha helped resolve a longstanding troubling issue: seven months ago, a land lord’s renter left without leaving word or any rent money and with the door locked. When the renter returned, the landlord wanted the back payments; and the renter wanted his possessions which had been removed from his house. Martha used what she had learned, bringing the parties together and helping them listen to each other’s side and they were able to agree – the renter would accept the loss of his belongings and the landlord would accept the loss of rent payment.
Gov Musu helped resolve a violent episode with the market women and successfully kept it out of the police’s hands – which saved everyone difficulties and fines. The head woman had gotten very agitated and knocked another lady down. The police came – but Musu was able to keep a strong and calm presence and gain the police’s respect so they would let her handle the investigation and resolution on her own.
Tawah went up to Lofah county where she learned about a long standing issue the community was unable to resolve, even with the Commissioner’s intervention. She went around to listen to everyone, along with Tamba, and learned the truth of what was troubling people. The people had been to scared to say the truth. Tawah brought the truth to the Commissioner –without judgment or blame—and they were able to settle the situation.
Deddeh was able to bring a family that had a domestic quarrel home from the police and cool them down so they were able to solve their issues on their own. She also worked with a neighbor’s child who had run away: she brought him to her and listened to him with compassion. He was able to open his heart to her and decided to go back home. Prior to this training she said she and the community would have alienated him further by judging and shunning him, and he would have been lost to the family.
Agnes was thrilled to experience her first success at resolving a challenging conflict. The Youth Team was experiencing conflicts around their finances and money that was not accounted for. Agnes was able to sit down, listen to each one, from her heart, without judgment – so they were willing to speak and share their truth. She created a very safe space for the truth to come out and then the group was able to come together and find resolution.
Musu found she has built great confidence. Her older sisters family, with five kids, were often very rough and disrespectful with her. She spoke to them from her Heart and even shared the Peacebuilder Manuel with them. They now have greatly improved relations.
Abraham is using all the skills in his work with youth in preparation for the election. He is sensitizing them to avoid negative statements during the campaign. He is forming a committee that will work like a Restorative Circle to deal with conflict. He is teaching compassionate listening to avoid fights if a person’s candidate is defeated. They are planning a fast to draw attention to this message – interfaith, with both Christians and Muslims.
As we reflected on these amazing stories, the group reflected on the lessons learned: what does it take to be a true Peacebuilder? Here is what they came up with:
Saturday I got to meet with the Pt. Bushrod Island community of “Liberian Returnees Women For Self Empowerment.” They are courageously creating a vocational skill training center with practically no resources – volunteer teachers, little or no equipment or supplies. Sewing with two machines and occasional fabric; soap making with intermittent ingredients that must all be imported; computer skills with one broken and one functioning computer (no internet connection). Today about 20 of these women gathered under the leadership of our core team member, Emma. 
After leading us through a meditation and paired listening, she asked her boss to tell the story for our facts-feelings-values exercise. It turned out to be a very live and hot story that involved Emma herself, her boss, another core team member as well as another woman who was not present. Many feelings were stirred, so we got to apply Compassionate Listening on the spot as it seemed wise to listen to each of the involved parties. It was challenging, and there is still more healing to do around their challenges – but the circle left feeling inspired, motivated and ready to learn and experience more.
I get to speak to all kinds of interesting people in the bar upstairs during the evening… Last night I learned about a very disturbing situation with large Chinese fishing boats: there are supposed to stay 5 miles off shore, yet come right in to the bay – several boats, with nets cast between them – which of course trumps the local small fishing industry. Indeed, several times the small local boats (more like canoes) have gotten caught in their illegal nets and people have drowned. When taken to court, corrupt judges here just pocket a bribe of $20k and dismiss the case without levying the appropriate multi-million dollar fines. Needless to say, many Liberians feel cynical and helpless with the level of corruption here and the apparent inability or unwillingness of the government to clamp down on it. Still, most people I talk to believe re-electing Ellen Sirleaf Johnson is the best choice at this point…
Today (Sunday) was very packed. In the morning I went to the Muslim community for a baby-naming ceremony. I sat on the floor behind the scrim curtain with all the festively dressed and veiled ladies and their darling, cooperative babies. (Although one toddler burst into tears when he saw me… I hear he just received an injection from a white lady dr. last week.)
Then we went to the Pentecostal church of the Superintendent of Montserrat County (home of Monrovia): she is a remarkable leader and an awesome preacher. I loved her sermon – yup, the nice Jewish girl was enthusiastically yelling out Hallelujah between all the glorifying of Jesus’ name. She talked about how we all have the keys to Heaven and everything we need. It’s up to us to use them. When Emmanuel and I got to meet with her afterwards I explained how LPI is working to teach people the skills so they can use those keys. She was very interested and receptive, especially when we mentioned the Restorative Circles and how we will have some trained facilitators who can help with community conflicts. She invited us to join her to go to a community meeting with a difficult land-ownership issue on Wednesday. And she agreed to come to our Summit – so we are thrilled to be building this strategic relationship.
Later in the afternoon we headed way out of town to the poor community of Rock Crusher outside of Paynesville where there is an orphanage/school with 30 orphans and 90 children from the community that attend the orphanage sponsored school. Today was their K2 graduation and we were treated to song, juggling, spelling bill, samples of homemade jam, demonstration of sign language. It was a very sweet little place filled with loving, devoted teachers and volunteers.
Finally, we crawled out way through horrendous traffic to way other side out of town ‘to meet with another core team member’s womens’ group. Christine did a great job facilitating and demonstrating some introduction to Compassionate Listening… And it has been extremely instructive to see how our group is translating what they learned: I have a clearer idea of what is needed to strengthen their ability. The list is long and a bit daunting… But I know some of the members really get it and will help the others step by step. At one point Christine kept disappearing from the Circle, worrying me a bit – how could she leave the group? Then she returned and said, “Please follow me.” Very mysterious… It turned out she had prepared a fabulous Sunday supper for Emmanuel, PCO staffer Pauline and I. YUM.
Well, dear readers. It’s getting late and I have lots of preparations for tomorrow’s first day of the training! I’ll head up to bar with hopes of an internet connection so I can post this…
Emmanuel and our loyal PCO crew (Alex, Madison and Pauline) delivered me back to The Tides, where I am staying, after a satisfying day in the field. Now I’m sitting on the open air deck of the café/bar above my little studio – with a lovely cool breeze, the sky pulsing with lightening flashes… but alas, no internet connection nor TV-cable signal. WAWA (West Africa Wins Again), especially in the rainy season. Hopefully by the end of the night I’ll be able to get on line and send this message!
We began with a visit to the Council of Tribal Elders, where we were greeted and endorsed by the National Chief. Two of our Peacebuilders are part of the Council, so they gathered a dozen people to demonstrate/explain what they’ve been learning. More were expected – but
people’s mobility and activities are often curtailed during raining season. [It’s always hard to get around – it often takes an hour to flag down one of the drop-taxis, which cram as many bodies as possible in for a cheap fare. In the deluge-pouring-rain it is even more miserable.] Alas, none of the women were here. Still, the two guys did a sweet job of sharing the importance of what they are doing – and they gave a little demonstration of compassionately listening to each other. They did a great role play with one of them acting very upset and yelling at the other, who managed to stay calm and centered and listened actively and (with a little coaching from the side) reflectively.
Later that afternoon we visited the community of one of our Imam’s, Muhammed, who gathered about 20 men and 2 women (behind the curtain) at the local mosque – very apologetic to not have more. He is a great speaker and really gets the essence of what Compassionate Listening is all about. Together, we led the group through paired-listening and then facts-feelings-values. They had great questions about challenging situations. I left feeling hopeful that Muhammed has a responsive and receptive community to work with. It was a beautiful sight to see the Muslim men deeply engaged in compassionate listening in their mosque.
Today started with a two hour wait for Emmanuel: car break down and other complications… Now I am holed up in an Internet café, as the internet at my lodging is down. So dear readers – appreciate the comfort and infra-structure ease with which you are probably viewing this entry!
Side note: Life is quite dear here, especially when you consider the low low wages: $4/gallon for gas. $5 for 15 eggs. $1 for the cheapest small bottle of beer in the market. $9 for ‘chicken wings’ as a snack at the bar. $11 for a simple lunch at a restaurant. Most people have to live on $1-2/day … so the struggle for survival is intense.
Countdown to Tuesday, when I return to Liberia to complete the train-the-trainers program with our 35 incredible core team members. I hope to blog daily while I am there, so stay tuned! Emmanuel G V Dolo and his staff at Population Caring Organization have been working hard to prepare everything to make the best use of my time there on this, my third trip. We will have 5 days of training with the core team plus another all day Community Summit – which I will coach the team members to facilitate. My goal: by the time I leave, they all feel ready and inspired to teach Compassionate Listening to their community, establish Restorative Justice Circles to resolve conflicts, and adept as facilitators of World Cafe and Open Space to empower their communities to find their voice and create action steps to create a sustainable peace. I’ll arrive in Monrovia next Wednesday night.
Climate – it’s hot and humid, but not as bad as I’d feared. Think Hawaii, more than anything. Well, Hawaii without the ocean breeze, without the cleansing rain. Hawaii with a constant smell of smoke in the air and a layer of haze that just never leaves that’s made of fog, smoke, dust, and who knows what.
Security – while there are police and soldiers everywhere (all packing the ubiquitous Kalashnikov) they seem quite benign for now. We went up today to the school that Prosper is building in the province of Cibitoke. The province is on the border of Congo. A year ago, another visitor said they had to pass many military checkpoints to get there. Leduc says that 3 months ago there was heavy fighting in that area and the road was to all intents and purposes closed. Today, the road is open to anyone willing to face the bonecrunching potholes.
Bugs – Again, not as bad as I’d feared. I’m usually a pretty tasty morsel for mosquitos, but I haven’t seen (or heard) them in throngs. We use mosquito nettings at night, but I think my hand presses up against it because I almost always wake up with a new mosquito bite or two on the back of my right hand. Maybe it’s the spider who lives in my closet who’s snacking on me nightly. If so, I’m glad to feed him if he’s keeping the mosquitos down.
Distances – are mostly small. The hotel Prosper has put us at is out of Bujumbura city center. It’s a nice place near the edge of Lake Tanganyika. It’s simple, but (to me anyway) completely adequate. It’s maybe 5 or 10 minutes to Prosper’s office downtown, and maybe 10 or 15 minutes from there to Carama. Maybe 15-20 minutes to the airport.
Roads – are abominable. Really really bad. The main roads through Bujumbura have sections where the tarmac is completely worn away and you bump and jolt your way along like a carnival ride. Peculiarly, while the cars travel on the right, like in the US, the steering is also on the right, like in England. This is a really stupid idea, because the driver is on the curb side rather than the center side of the car. In the constant weaving in and out, passing trucks, slower cars, potholes, pedestrians, or whatever, the driver has a worse view of oncoming traffic than the person riding shotgun. This can make riding shotgun a harrowing experience. Whenever I ride shotgun I try to maintain a peaceful acceptance. The speeds are generally not high, and accidents are probably not usually fatal, and the driver must know what he’s doing. Right? That’s what I tell myself, anyway. I’m actually more concerned for the bicyclists and pedestrians that we pass with what seems like millimeters to spare, it’s amazing that we don’t see carnage of bicycle riders and pedestrians who were too slow everywhere. When Wes rides shotgun he jokes and makes a girlish “AAHHH!” when we make what seems to be a close call. It’s usually pretty funny but it can be a bit distracting to my otherwise zen-like calm.
Language – French will really take you a long way here. Lots of people, especially in Bujumbura, speak French. In the countryside, French is less helpful. It’s easy to pick up a smattering of Kirundi (Hello, thank you, peace) that will get you in peoples’ general good graces, although maybe they’re just laughing at the stupid white guy. Kiswahili is also used a bit – particularly the word “musungu” which is a semi-pejorative term for “white man.”
We started with a meeting with the Pygmy Association. We got there at
(reference note: I think that the Hutus and Tutsi refer to themselves as Bahutu and Batutsi. Or, for women, Wahutu and Watutsi. So I think the American dance of the early 60s, the Watusi, may be named for the women of this country)
We learned about the plight of the Batwa. They are the most marginalized of the three major ethnic groups in this country. They are approximately 1% of the total population. So that compares to what? The Eskimo population in US? Probably smaller than the total native American population. Some say the Batwa are the oldest people here, that the Hutus pushed out the Batwa and that the Tutsi came along later and started pressuring the Hutu. Who knows what balance of peoples would have been found here if the colonialists had come 100 years later?
The Batwa are traditionally hunters, so I imagine that they are less tied to the land than the Hutu crop gatherers or the Tutsi cattle ranchers. Which leads to their further marginalization.
In the Hutu/Tutsi violence, the Batwa were mostly independent. That did not, of course, completely protect them from the violence. In some cases they were simply caught in the crossfire. In some cases, they were in a Hutu or Tutsi neighborhood and had to adopt that loyalty to survive – which of course made them vulnerable to the other side. In most cases, I think, as in any society under stress like war, the most marginal people get marginalized further.
In brief, any problem that you see in
She told of how it’s typical for a Wutwa (I think that’s the term for Batwa woman) to be married at 14, and it’s not unusual for a woman to be a grandmother before she’s 30. She told how they’ve been able to get 3 graduates through university, and have 4 currently attending.
She didn’t directly ask for our support, but of course she needs it. She asked that we tell her story; that we try to find others who can support her.
Our next appointment was with Sister Connection. This is an outfit that Wes has heard of, one of his many pastor friends spoke about them at a conference. Wes had insisted that Prosper set up a meeting. When we got there, of course, the woman who runs it is a good friend of Prosper’s.
Sister Connection is housed at
We went into a very nice ante-room, where we waited for our hostess. Justine had joined us (more on her later), she is the woman who manages Susan Bradbury’s microfinance project. We’d met her briefly before at Carama.
Justine joined us as we were ushered into meet our hostess. I don’t think we got her name, but from what I remember reading on the web her first name is “Joy”. From the web, the story of Sister Connection is that a woman in
Joy is another soft spoken woman. There’s something very submissive about many of the adult women we meet here, they speak softly with their head tilted forward as though they are trying to hide their mouths. They may say forceful things, but their demeanor is often submissive.
They focus on helping widows and orphans. They have several programs, from direct support (like Save the Children you can sponsor a Burundian widow for $30/month) to building houses, to “special needs” support for people who have a specific crisis. Joy’s husband is president of the university. They got a donor to the university to make a deal where he’d build a music center (currently housing the library) as long as Sister Connection was given an office on campus in perpetuity. So their costs are extremely low.
They way they build houses for widows is quite different – Prosper has a whole operation dedicated to putting a cookie-cutter house completely built on a piece of land. Sister Connection provides a direct grant – here’s $600, here are some contractors we trust, you can go build your own place.
She shared with us some of the list of widows who are awaiting support. The stories were heartbreakingly tragic. One woman’s husband had been killed, she’d been beaten and raped, her children’s birthdates were all after the date of her husband’s death so they are probably children of rape. She’d spent a year in hospital and is now struggling to make her way.
Another woman, best I could tell from the notes, had had her husband and most of her ten children killed, and then later when living with a daughter, had many of the daughter’s children killed.
We returned to the hotel, where I had the chance to talk with Justine. I wanted to understand, how does the microfinance project work?
Justine is a very trim woman, short and slender. She seemed to be telling Wes at one point that she’s 50 years old but I wouldn’t guess her at more than 35. She is very business like, in a blouse and skirt. Her hair is trimmed fairly close and in a slightly angular style. She usually seems serious, even somber. When she rubs her eyes, you can see lines of deep sadness around them.
We talked about the microcredit operation, about the successes and the failures. It seems to really be giving people just a wee help up out of the worst poverty. The loans are only $50, and charge about 8% interest. As I understand from Susan B, she pays Justine about $150/month. I would expect that to be a pretty hefty salary for this region, but it’s apparently quite a struggle for Justine to make ends meet. She has to take her transportation costs out of that amount, and that can mount up. She takes bicycle taxis sometimes to Carama. Recently she fell from a bicycle taxi and had to spend some time recuperating. She struggles to send her children to school, she doesn’t have a proper house of her own (which I interpret to mean: she has a place with mud brick, thatched roof, no stucco, no doors and windows.)
I’m not doing justice to this story, and I think I need to stop now. Justine broke my heart, she’s not just a name or a tragedy on a piece of paper, here’s a bright woman who seems very successful and western and modern. The amount of work that it takes her to keep up is staggering, and her ability to get ahead is so slim.
I was ready to wrap up the meeting, but it was at loose ends – Prosper had dropped her off here, how would she get back? Would she have time for lunch? It became evident to me that she was on her own, she would have to find her way back to town on a bus or bicycle taxi or by foot. She would probably skip lunch. I asked her about that directly and she said, “Oh, yes! I forgot all about lunch!” and was totally unconvincing. She didn’t forget. How could she forget?
So I insisted, you must stay for lunch, I’ll buy you lunch, I’ll give you money for a taxi. The hotel was in the frenzy of setting up for the children’s lunch, so I said, we’ll try to eat before the children come storming in (for the art camp).
We had a nice lunch. The lunches here, with the locals and especially the kids, always surprises me. A little six year old kid can pack away a plate of food that would have me choking. I guess it has to last them longer. Justine, likewise, loaded up a large plate of food for such a small woman and patiently put it all away.
I had left the table for a minute, and when I got back Bob had joined Justine and Leduc for lunch. I guess Justine had asked something about Bob’s religion and he was drawing a diagram – Abraham, Jesus, Mohammed, all followers of one book. Justine didn’t like this, Bob, you must follow Jesus. How can you not follow Jesus? She asked me, where do I fit on this picture? I said, “I’m not on this picture, I’m on a whole different picture.” That made her very sad. How can you not follow Jesus? I tried a little version of a universalist god-spirit but she was having none of it.
“Well, you are both very good people so I know you will go to heaven,” she said. Then she said, mostly to me, “I am a very poor woman, I cannot give you a gift, but my gift to you is that I will pray for you to find Jesus.”
That’s the most precious gift I will take from this place. I don’t expect to find Jesus, but Justine’s prayers will be with me.