experiment for me, to which i owe a huge debt of gratitude to many
people - not the least, Samantha, my team here in Cambodia, and many
patient human rights workers. Its been a journey of learning how to
deal with evil in it's specific manifestation of violence. A good
friend recently asked me what's my vision for Cambodia? My response
was to see Cambodians responding nonviolently to domination, violence,
aggression, intimidation, in the form of, and in response to
land-grabbing, forced evictions, illegal land deals, and massive
internal displacement of peoples due to unchecked and unregulated
investment and development. Some of which is actively predatory, some
in the guise of aid, eg the ADB. Those most affected by these issues
are the rural and urban poor, as well as ethnic and religious minority
groups, including indigenous groups. Responding nonviolently means
seeking peace by peaceful means, in the face of a world that seeks
peace and security, not to mention harmony, through violence and
domination. Many of you have followed the events at the Dey Krahom
community, so you've 'seen' peace and harmony at work. Walter Wink
writer of a myth of redemptive violence. In a nutshell he's saying the
'world' has bought a lie, believing that violence is a reasonable
method for solving problems, and is in fact a moral imperative for
those mandated with our security. Police, presidents, espionage
agencies, are invested with the power to use violent force 'to keep
the peace'. The prophetic is seeing this in a different light, that
violence and peace have nothing in common, and that violence begets
more violence, not peace. Give eg's here. Also explain direct and
indirect violence. This quarter will focus on the prophetic current,
and i want us to look specifically at the issue/problem of violence.
Not just in our communities, but in the structures around us, our own
lives, and possibly even innerchange and CRM. For many of us, violence
is so steeped in
--
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