Confronting Violence: Civil Courage and Collective Action
Dear Readers,
This issue, like several others recently, is the fruit of an internal CCTS seminar. This latest one was held, under the above title, in response to recent discussions in committee meetings about the needs of partners living in violent situations or under repressive regimes. What are the options open to them for confronting and transforming the violence they experience? How can we support them?
In this seminar, held on 5th December 2007, we began with the choices and actions of local actors. Andrew Rigby made a short presentation on factors supporting ‘courageous resistance’ to injustice, based on his reading of a recent publication by K. Thalhammer et al. This presentation was followed by a brief discussion.
Louise Winstanley, a former volunteer with Peace Brigades International, then introduced a PBI film entitled ‘Hasta La Ultima Piedra’ (Until The Final Stone), which depicts the struggles of a community in Colombia to establish a violence-free zone in the midst of civil war. This, too, was followed by discussion.
After lunch our focus shifted to the role of external support, with two short accounts of ‘accompaniment’, from Louise Winstanley of Peace Brigades International and Floresca Karanasou of EAPPI – WCC’s Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel.
In the wide-ranging discussion that ensued, the group then considered what can be achieved by those confronting violence, how courageous local actors can best be supported by the organisations for which we work, and associated dilemmas.
The following report was written by Bridget Walker.
Courageous Resistance: The Power of Ordinary People
by Kristina E. Thalhammer, Paula L. O'Loughlin, Myron Peretz Glazer, Penina Migdal Glazer, Sam McFarland, Sharon Toffey Shepela, and Nathan Stoltzfus (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007)
Download this review as a PDF document here
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