Diamonds and plenty of blood
I was invited to come with my Bossman from the office, John Caulker, to talk about reconciliation on the university radio here in Freetown (found out it was broadcasted on several channels nationwide). We discussed (I mainly learned from what was said, to be honest) how reconciliation can come about in a variety of ways; how justice can/must play part in reaching genuine peace and many other interesting issues.
The trial against Charles Taylor, a really bad boy who allegedly screwed up most of West Africa in his personal pursuit of wealth and power (see post below for more on wealth stemming from diamonds). Reading this short article on the trial and some of the horrible things that took place, I struck me how incredible it is that Sierra Leone is such an open, warm and welcoming country in so many ways. The fact that the streets of Freetown, full of people who played big parts and did unmentionable things in the war, are safe and filled with a lot of happy faces, in my opinion is a huge tribute to mankind! Hooray for the good in man (and woman)
January 10th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Hej Jacob, a little hilsen from rainy Copenhagen!
Interesting to read about your project in Sierra Leone. Can’t believe it is possible to be there in this country, about which I only read in connection with children soldiers, failed state, warlords and worst crimes on all humans living there. Incredible to read that everyone is smiling in Free Town.
I feel, like this is typical Africa, too. In Senegal, where I was so lucky to be one month, people always danced in the streets, smiling, even though they had to face the hardest situations at home. I am happy for you that you can be there now!
By the way, the approach of your organisation reminds me of a (maybe) similar approach from South Asia - The ho’o ponopono approach. I took part in a course by the Center for konfliktløsning and we did such a reconciliation simulation, which was wonderful. The idea is, that a crime is not committed by one person, but by a whole village. So in order to overcome this problem, everyone sits down and goes through a process where you think about what you did in the moment when the crime happened, what you could have done instead, how this would have affected the whole situation, you say sorry for what you did or did not do, come with ideas what you will do better the next time, and in the end there is a big party with lots of food and dance for everyone.
Just had to share this with you - it is great, maybe you know it already, if not, maybe inspiration……..
Have a good time - and enjoy the SUN
Karoline
January 11th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Hola Karoline,
hanks for the comment! I didnt, actually, know about the approach from Asia… I will definitely check it out when I get the chance. Do you have a link?
Talk soon ehen I get back to NYC. I think I have to hook you and Katrine up for a Deutsche-date again