Theatre and Peacebuilding - Ana Correa, Peru

Since my return from Kenya in April, I've been traveling and continue to explore the role of women in community healing. I recently came across the work of Ana Correa from Peru and her exploration of identity and personal narrative through the use of theatre. She reconstructs and violence of the 1990's civil war in Peru in which 70,000 people were tortured, executed or disappeared. During her performances, she sometimes recognizes women in the audience who are characters in her plays, who have suffered the loss of their sons to violence, but they encourage her to continue in order to share their story with others. It is one thing to know a statistic, quite another to know an individual and it is this personal story she is sharing through her theatre.  She explains that "the essence of being is in the encounter" reflecting the role of women who by engaging with one another in conversation, at the watering hole or shop, they discover their shared histories.

The Many Roles of Women in Healing Community

For the past three months I have been traveling throughout Kenya and Uganda exploring the role women play in community healing/peace-building.

My questions to them were:
What words would you use to describe peace?
How do you know when there is peace in your homes/community?
What do you do to build peace in your home/community?

What follows are some examples of what I was told by the women I met in both rural and urban settings. What you hear is the women singing prayers at the start of the meeting. Singing is very important in Kenya and is used as a ritual to bring calm and ease tension in difficult times. There are many different voices, many stories, many lives, many conflicts - coming together with one voice! Unity, Love and Calm - these three words were used most to describe what peace means to these women.

view on youtube at http://youtu.be/AHxXW5iPtx8

Samburu women

I will not be updating my blog for a couple of weeks as I will be spending the time pulling together all I have been learning, seeing and experiencing over the past few months in Kenya and Uganda.

In the meantime, a few more images to wet your appetite and consider the role of women in community healing

Mother and child, Samburu

A meeting with the women of Unity Village

And now I begin to wrap up my journey here, to write, to try to make sense of it all.

I have been humbled by the generosity of all whom I have met and worked with both in Kenya and Uganda. 

Asante Sana

A few women who heal community quietly

Here are some photographs of some of the women whom I have met and who offer strength and support to others. So far I have met over 550 women, many of whom have shared their stories with me and who have been kind and generous. I have spoken about some other women in other posts but these are a few more.

This young woman was nine years old when she ran away form home as her father was going to marry her, in exchange for three goats and two cows, to a man of 60 years. She walked over 100 km to join a village where she would be safe from circumcision (FGM) and a young marriage. She is 19 years old now and taking courses to learn computers.

I met this lovely strong woman before the election in the Kibera slums. She and another 6 women were educating other women on non-violence and encouraging a peaceful election. She was a victim of post-election violence, suffering tremendous human rights violations. She is mother of seven and, after being widowed, has managed to provide them all with an education.

We met at a transit stop in Kibera and then again in a meeting. She is warm and welcoming! During the election in 2007, she escaped with her life, breaking through the the bars and glass of her house windows. She hid and narrowly escaped with her life. She has survived horrendous experiences but nevertheless advocates for peace in the community that violated her.

This woman mentors women encouraging them to leave the sex trade. She became a sex worker when she was 14 in order to support her siblings. She is pursuing her secondary education at this time. She now spends her night handing out condoms to other sex workers, encourages HIV/AIDS testing for both the Johns and the women and has helped establish a medical clinic that runs from 11pm to 2am in order to care for women in the trade away form the watchful eye of the community.

 

She was imprisoned herself and now helps women in prisons by rescuing any children left behind when an arrest is made, encouraging and supporting the women while imprisoned and meeting them upon their release. She is caring for six children in her own home and is often called in the middle of the night by inmates about to be released.

These three women are all from the Gulu area of Uganda and now live in an IDP camp on the grounds of a prison in Kampala. They are supporting one another emotionally and trying to find peace after losing family, suffering through poverty, and enduring spousal abuse.

Where can a Woman find Peace in Poverty?

If a woman sees a stick for beating her rival, she will throw it away in the woods. 

(Ugandan Proverb)

How can women find peace when they have no food, little clothing, lack fresh water and access to medical treatments, have too many babies to enable them to have a restful sleep, and suffer through their husbands drink and violence? The above proverb reflects the sense of community support that seems to be throughout Uganda and acts as a way through which women survive upheaval.

The women pictured above I met on the grounds of Luzira Prison in Kampala Uganda. They are not felons, but Internally Displaced Women who were forced to flee their homes in the northern part of the country during the Kony insurgency in which over more than 20 years, 1 million people were displaced, children were recruited to be soldiers and over 100,000 people in the North were tortured and killed. These survived but left behind them orphans of their brothers and sisters, their homes, belongings and friends and landed in this place impoverished. They suffer tremendously and when asked about peace, they spoke of not finding it in their hearts as they did not have enough to feed, clothe of educate their children.

Throughout my time in Kenya and Uganda I met with over 500 women each time asking How do you know when there is peace? This day, in Luzeria Prison Jennifer spoke on behladf of the women. She explained  . . . "We can know there is peace when families are together, we are happy, children and together. You know where to sleep and your children are going to school. You are a woman needs to have something to do. The husband does not bring in much money. We cannot have enough the child works barefoot, clothes are not enough. We are just here with no place to go. We know there is problem when people sleep in the bush. We don't have peace. We the women find we have children, their parents have died, but we cannot help them. Kony's people took them in the bush and made them into soldiers. Our hearts are not content. The men feel the peace they can find is to drink. After they drink they start beating us women up. Because of worries we develop ulcers because there is no peace. There is nobody who can help us so we cannot find peace". They embody their experience of violence.

So these women, like so many others who I met, find peace is directly related to education, financial security and safety. It is found deep within their hearts and they search for ways in which to support one another and to ease their financial and domestic burdens. It seems to be through companionship, shared experience, and collaboration that they are trying to move away from their self image of woman as victim to woman as survivor: A transition that is taking time but is nevertheless a journey that is leading them towards healing their displaced community.

Widows' Village Tepesua

The notion of peace-building is broad. At its best, it involves diverse processes that contribute to building positive relationships, healing wounds, reconciling differences, restoring self-esteem, rebuilding communities, instilling feelings of security, and empowering agency. This past week, I visited one place that is a manifestation of peace-building. 

Tepesua is a widows' village on the road between Narok and Maasai Mara Game Reserve. It was established by Hellen Nykuraiya a Maasai woman who at the age of nine years, underwent female genital mutilation (FGM), was married at 11 years to a man much older than herself, and ran away to finish her education. She was shunned by her family and community. Within her cultural traditions she will never be allowed to remarry, nor has she any rights to inheritance. (Below is a photograph of Hellen and some of the other widows in Tepesua).

Early marriage is common in this community and girls are frequently traded for two or three cows and are not able to return home unless with the cows (and any of their offspring) are also returned. Due to the large age gap between husband and wife, women are widowed very young and have no inheritance rights - frequently cast out by the husbands relations leaving them to fend for themselves. But with no education, they have little skills to support their children and frequently turn to working in the sex trade to put food on the table. Hellen purchased some land and has created a village for widows to live who have been widowed or cast out by their families in some other conflict.

Hellen adheres strongly to her Maasai culture but believes even more strongly that giving a girl an education is important. FGM is a typical practice and a right of passage into womanhood in the Maasai community. Although illegal in Kenya it is still promoted by mothers and grandmothers throughout the country. It is a part of the culture. Hellen has begun to reconcile differences within the community by opening a boarding school where girls who have been brought to the authorities can live free from fear of FGM and early marriage. The children wear school uniforms on Mondays and Fridays and the rest of the week, they wear traditional Maasai clothing - a balance between traditional culture and new ideas of educating girls. To help with conflict within the community about what she is doing, the "rescue centre" is known as a school inviting boys in as well as girls. The only difference between the girls who are rescued and the other children is those rescued continue to live at the school when there is a break. Returning home would result in their circumcision and early marriage.  

Here are some of the children walking to school in traditional Maasai clothing . . .

And some of the rescued girls in school uniform

By providing these girls with an education and by challenging the traditions of her community the girls will gain agency, self-esteem while at the same time, instill knowledge and respect for their culture.

Re-storying narratives evolved into a shared vision

I want to talk to you about the symbols the women chose for their images of peace. The majority of Kenyans are very patriotic and the images the women chose to paint and embroider reflected this patriotism - symbols that focused on the unity of Kenyans - going beyond tribal difference. As one woman said this election must stand for "one Community, one Nation, one Kenya".

A couple of images focused on home and broken hearts but for the majority, as you can see in the photograph, the predominant image was the Kenyan flag as it's symbolism is important to the notion of peace: Green reflecting the abundant fertile soil; red reflecting the blood shed in the fight for independence; black representative of the colour of the people; white is a symbol of peace and unity.

When the women worked together on the final section of the work on paper - their Hopes and Dreams for the future - there was much discussion about their desire for a stronger infrastructure than currently exists within their community. They drew many hospitals, toilets, schools, transportation such as railways and roads, but they also drew flowers that they said represented new beginnings and unity - very important concepts to them all. The images and words they chose reflected a shared vision of a community that is united and peaceful.

By reflecting on their past and on how their communities were before the violence, they were able to bring forward their experiences and reflect on how those experiences have informed their desire for peace and their strong advocacy. Each narrative, rather than ending with discussions around their victimization, vehemently reflected their understanding of themselves as triumphant and their desire that, as women, they could make a difference in their communities - teaching their sons about peace , and standing strong together in the upcoming election.

Life Bloom

I want to tell you about a woman who is doing a tremendous amount to heal the community of sex trade workers in Kenya - in particular Naivasha, Maai Mahiu, and the Ngara and Kayole districts of Nairobi. Catherine Wanjohi is co-founder of Life Bloom. Since 2003 Catherine has been running leadership workshops with sex workers, women who suffer from alcohol and drug abuse, are victims of spousal violence, and rape. Many of the women with whom she and her team of peer counselors work to encourage education, reduce poverty, enhance gender equity.

Each workshop begin with a prayer that often turns to dance . . .

One of the peer counselors spends her evenings walking up and down the main road that passes Maai Mahiu town. Here, each night she talks to sex workers and truckers promoting safety, the use of condoms, and encouraging testing for STIs and HIV/AIDS. Each night she passes out over 500 condoms. She explained to me that sex workers are different from prostitutes as sex workers, given another opportunity, would leave the trade and go into another, less dangerous field. These women are doing this work to put food on their tables, to feed their children and extended family. As they have limited education - primary school if they are lucky - they have been forced into the sex trade, and stigmatization makes it difficult for them in their community.

Catherine spends her time visiting brothels encouraging these women and, in doing so, shifts the community perception and stigma. She works to heal this community through education, peer support, and leadership and advocacy work. To date, she has worked with over 4,000 women and have over 500 trained peer educators (mentors). Through her work, and that of her "graduates" she helps create relational spaces which provide a safe place for these marginalized women to gain confidence, knowledge and begin to change their lives.

Kibera Women peacebuilders

Yesterday I ran my first workshop with seven women who had suffered during the 2007 post-election violence. Hosted at the Kenyan office of Interchange, the women arrived at 8:30 and remained until 3pm when they had to pick their children up from school. They are doing a lot to build peace in their homes and in their communities in the hopes of avoiding a repeat in the coming weeks. I asked them to consider what their idea of peace was, how they knew when there is peace in their homes/community and what they do individually to promote peace within their community. They wrote their answers on pieces of paper and placed them in a basket for discussion later.

We spent the day together, talking about their experiences, the concept of peace and what is means to them individually and what they are doing in their homes and communities to promote peace. We worked on a group project that reflected their perceptions of their community before 2007, during the violence of 2007/08, what things had changed from 2008 - 2012 (perhaps the calm before the election of 2013 when they feel tribal tensions are rising again) and their hopes and dreams for the future after the election.  These women are all from different tribes, had never met before and are courageous! They worked as a group and individually.

Using Lederach's concept of Expanded Framework for Peacebuilding we considered re-storying the past and "the past that lies before us" and explored the break in their personal narratives brought on by the post-election violence. (The felt model of the framework is by Jaqui Jesso, Interchange)

At the end of the day, I supplied them with pieces of white cotton, fabric markers and embroidery thread and they were invited to re-explore the concept of peace and to create something that symbolized either the stories that they shared earlier in the day, or reflected peace in some way.  They decided they would take these individual works home with them and they said they would put them on the walls of their Kibera homes.

Women for women

The past week I have been attending peacebuilding workshops facilitated by women during which time the men who were attending said they imagined the facilitator would be a white male. I have also been speaking with women who are advocating for other women - trying to make a difference at the grass roots level. And now, I find myself puzzled with my own intellectual and research processes wondering if I am undertaking an investigation into grass roots, structured forms of peacebuilding, or if I am seeking to gain an understanding of more informal peace building/community healing processes that are seen within Kenyan society.

Let me explain. There is much research that reflects organizations that advocate for women's rights and encourages women participants in formal peace building agendas such as Women in Peacebuilding in Liberia, Women for Women, and PeaceWomen. But what happens behind closed doors, in places where there is little access to media or infrastructure. How do women who are working quietly in theri communities, bridging Tribal difference through friendships contribute to peacebuilding in a meaningful way? At the same time, I have also been reflecting on the idea why are there not more women in peacebuilding processes . . what is it that women bring to the peace table and why is their role so different than men's.

Below is a TED talk by Jody Williams: A Realistic Vision for World Peace during which a Nobel Peace Laureate articulates the need for creativity and a new approach to peace. She sees peace as "a sustainable peace for justice and equality" where people "have enough resources to live dignified lives".

I found her talk to be inspiring although it raised so many more questions about my research here in Kenya during this pre-election time when there is uncertainty and fear of a reoccurance of the 2007 post-election violence, that resulted in so much displacement of women, men and families.

I welcome your comments and ideas.

Peacebuilding takes all forms

A couple of days ago I took a half day safari being driven into the Samburu Game Park by Tom Lolisoli, son of Rebecca Lolisoli who is running for parliament here - a daring thing to do in such a patriarchal country . . . but that is another story that I will tell later.

As we entered the park we were told about a lion who had attacked a calf just on the edge of the park. The pastoralist was bringing the cattle back to his land after taking them to graze near the park. The conservationists were able to track the lion and shoot it with a dart to put it to sleep. They then moved it to a different location and placed beside it a recently killed gazelle (it had been badly injured and would not have survived so the conservationist euthanized it). When the lion woke up it was able to feast on the beast. The calf was fine as the lion had been scared off in time and the pastoralist could continue to care for his livestock.

In this instance the story ends well for all parties. The calf is alive and well, which makes the pastoralist happy; the lion is well fed and relocated; the conservationist has been able to maintain the balance between man and and the wild. But often times this is not the case. In many instances - when an elephant attacks a farm for instance - the farmer may shoot the elephant which upsets the conservationist.

These lionesses are full after devouring an injured elephant, but that is wild against wild and therefore no conflict. By the way, these lionesses were helped by 21 crocodiles who took their turn and cautiously tore pieces off the elephant when the lionesses were distracted by their own eating.

Another instance in which conflict can arise is when women go to the river to fetch water. Often they have been attacked by crocodiles and in some cases, if accompanied by men, the crocodile will be shot. Many organizations now build water tanks in villages in order to save the women and crocodiles. Here one of the women in Umoja village carries a 25 kilo pail of water back to her village. Although a ways from the village, she can gather fresh water that is clean enough to drink.

So the question is . . Is the conflict between man and animal or is it between the pastoralist and the conservationist?  There are increasing instances in Kenya and Uganda where peacebulding techniques are used to resolve conflict between the pastorialist and conservationist, between man and nature.

Community

I just left Umoja and Unity, two women-only villages in the Samburu district of Kenya. The average temperature in this arid part of the country during the past five days ranged from 41 - 47 degrees celsius. Although hot, it was not highly oppressive, as the humidity is low and, when standing along the edge of the Ewasa Nyiere river, a breeze cools your skin. However, the heat does make the lives of these women more difficult as their huts are structures made of wood and mud or newspaper. The interiors consist of three rooms. One is for sitting and eating together, another larger rooms is where the children sleep and, next to where the cooking is done, is a goat-hide upon which the mother sleeps.

Unlike most Kenyans, the Samburu and Maasai have maintained the old way of life, choosing to come together in villages rather than purchasing their own "shamba" - a plot of about an acre of personally owned land that they farm individually. The importance to people living within the villages in working together is palpable. The Samburu also have large families of 7 to 15 children making it difficult to gather enough money for food, clothing and education.

The reason why this is important to the notion of community is when people stop working together, toward the benefit of all, life can be much harder. Most of these women have come to these villages to escape arranged marriages, female genital mutilation (FGM), or they have been sent away form their husbands because they have been raped. Although performing FGM is viewed internationally as a violation of human rights, shifting cultural practice is something completely different. The grandmothers still push for female circumcision as they fear the young women who are not circumcised will not be able to marry.

 
In these villages women are truly working together and the collaboration is what is making all of their lives easier. It appears to me that they heal their community and re-story their lives through collectively working towards financial independence and building new lives for their children, other women in nearby villages, and for themselves.

Umoja, Women and Patriachy

I am in Umoja. Not the Umoja that is near Nairobi, but Umoja near the Samburu Game Reserve. The village is made up of 48 women, of which 20 live outside the village as they are taking care of goats and cattle. Located just outside of Archers Post, a training area for the British Army, it is arid, with a amttering of palm and acacia trees.You come here either by plane, that takes you low across the country, or by vehicle - about six hours by road from Nairobi.
Umoja was created by a group of women, led by Rebecca Lolisoli, in 1995. It began as a response to being raped by members of the Army, and then cast aside by their husbands. They were told to leave their homes and take their children, and not return. The army rapes have stopped now, but fear of genital mutilation, other rape and early marriage is what brings these women here.. Others come here escaping female genital mutilation, and hold seminars every May to educate women that there is not need for this ritual that is painful and causes long term health issues. One young woman, whom I met yesterday was 9 years old when she came here as she ran away form her father who had promised her hand to a man of 60 years in exchange for 9 cattle and 2 sheep - the going dowry rate in this area.  She and the other women, whom I will interview over the coming days, have come here to re-story their expereinces and find strength in each other.

They spend much of the day beading under a covered structure that they have built themselves. So far, singing also seems to be a way of greeting people. There are few tourists right now as it is too hot.

Kenya is made up of many tribes and this has caused problems, causing problems as they dispute land ownership and have conflicting customary rituals.At this point, I am exploring the notion of tribe and how important is tribe to these women as it seems to be more important to men. The majority of women are taken into their husbands tribe when they marry and how do these women, who come from all over the area, handle tribal difference, or is there a difference here. This is a highly patriarchal society and there has been much resistance to these women purchasing land and creating their own village, yet these women have managed to do this and to gain the respect that keeps men away - except for those who are trusted, or teens who are embraced by the community, helping out and learn to show respect to women. However, in this village it appears at this point in my knowledge that they are all Samburu and speak Samburu rather than Swahili, the language of Kenyans. 

There is much to learn here!

Trans-Atlantic musings

I am en route to Nairobi and at this point am somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean hurtling toward Zurich where I have an hour to gather my bags and to catch the last leg of my voyage. Once there, I will have arrived where this journey will begin! The lights are dark; my fellow passengers are asleep, or like me, in a silent state of refection. Perhaps they are ruminating over what they have left behind, or quietly anticipating, as I am, what lies ahead.

So, I am thinking about women, ritual and community healing – as I have been for months. And I wonder . . . how do we communicate ritual? How do we pass along the knowledge from one generation to the next?

Ritual is specific to occasion, to culture, to religion and to gender. For instance in West, the colour white is worn in the Christian practice to symbolize purity. My experience has been that, at first weddings the ritual is that a bride is dressed in white. Here I need to explain that I make reference to brides at their “first” wedding as I have been witness to several second and third time brides who, after the first wedding, tends to wear whatever colour she wants - I suppose as we presume she is no longer “pure”. The time that leads up to her marriage ceremony is filled with rituals that involve being surrounded by her female friends and relations. She is preened, offered something blue, borrows something old, and only after this, is her father allowed to greet her and “give her away” . In contrast, white is used very differently in eastern religious practice. The Japanese believe that white is a symbol of death and sadness, not purity and celebration.  Muslims use white to drape a deceased body. When I was in a village at the edge of the Saharan desert I was witness – albeit from a distance – to the passing of a man in the village. The men of the village gathered at this house, and from what I could see, had laid him out on a bed in the middle of his living room. He was draped in white cloth and his male neighbours and relations were keeping vigil, watching over his passing. No woman was permitted to attend or witness this passing. This ritual was for men alone.

So sometimes ritual is gender specific and at other times, generally cultural. But how do we pass on this ritual from one generation to another. How does the next generation know when and how and what rituals are appropriate for specific occasions? I suppose it is like learning a new language. We listen, we watch, we imitate, emulate and make decisions about what we will absorb as our own. So rituals change as cultures progress.

Kenya

Happy 2013!

In a couple of days I will be heading to Kenya to begin work with women exploring community healing, ritual and the role women play in the process. My hope is to undertake a project that is arts-based and will focus on the personal narratives of internally displaced women.

I'd like to explain a bit of my thinking . . . . Why Kenya? Why now?

Between 1963 and 2007, Kenyans suffered gross human rights violations. Whether victims or perpetrators, the majority of the population suffered. In 2008, the newly formed Kenyan government, passed the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Act to begin to investigate and address these violations with the objective of promoting peace, national unity, healing and reconciliation. One of the processes undertaken, was to travel throughout the country and hear from individuals to get an idea of what happened. What kinds of violations occurred and how were people impacted by the experience.

In Truth Commissions, it is important to ensure that both genders are included in a dialogue in order to gain a clear understanding of the root causes of violence and how it effected men and women. Women require special consideration as they see peace differently that men. Men view peace when the weapons and put down, and the violence stops. Women see peace when community life returns, schools re-open and people get back to work.

In 2010 a new constitution was introduced in Kenya with changes that aim to accommodate socio-economic diversity and ethnicity, and to promote gender equality, equity and democracy. Many women are unaware of the new rights that benefit them. In addition, the upcoming election in March has raised some concern over whether there will be a repeat of the post-election violence of 2007. 

Perhaps this is a good time - a period between the past and the future - in which to engage in a process of re-imagining a desired future. As Jean Paul Lederach says - relationships are at the center of social change.

I will arrive in Nairobi on Friday and will take a few days to settle in. Stay tuned . . .