Pa Kher!
I started this travel blog when I landed in Bangkok, Thailand at the beginning of my Rotary Peace Fellow journey in January 2019. Time has flown as I journeyed around SE Asia and in and out of peace and conflict resolution techniques, teachings and realities - with experiences from around the globe as my teaching lab. This entire journey has been deeper and more life changing than I ever imagined. It has been filled with kismet - a truly divine sense of being exactly where I was meant to be at the right time. Thank you to everyone, old friends and new friends, from communities near and far, that I have learned and shared with. What an amazing and growing global family!
Our time together culminated in a Public Seminar and Graduation. I had the chance to be part of the panel on Truth, Reconciliation and Reconstruction and facilitated the creation of global reconcilation ribbons. This was a definite highlight for me!
Swimming Together
I have mentioned throughout this blog series the opportunities we have had throughout the program to share our cultures. This has included a great deal of dancing, singing, ceremonies, storytelling, language sharing and, of course, eating food together. This brought us closer as Peace Fellows. Even those who felt like they did not have something “cultural” to share found that simply sharing where they come from and something about their family and friends, they were sharing culturally. We all come from somewhere and we all have customs, traditions and values that inform who we are in this world. These roots serve to guide us and give flight to our wings as we journey through the larger world.
So, what kind of camaraderie leads to the development of new skills, ones fulfilling a lifelong dream and changing the future? The type of friendship and trust that develops in a program like the Rotary Peace Fellowship – that is exactly where this type of organic growth of this type occurs.
In Depth with Marty and Nasir
Meet two of the Peace Fellows with the most incredible story of friendship, filled with teaching and learning - Marty Allison and Nasir Afridi. Marty is naturally a leader with his kind, coach approach and his smile and laugh that can light up a whole room. Nasir is one of those people you meet who immediately makes you feel at home with his warm eyes and his easygoing, lighthearted demeanor.
Early every morning at Chula, Marty could typically be found swimming laps in the olympic size pool. It didn’t take long for Nasir and Marty to realize that Nasir had a keen desire to learn to swim and Marty had just the skills and desire to teach Nasir, along with other Peace Fellows who were eager to participate in the early morning ritual. Swim club was thus born and with it, meaningful and lasting sharing was sparked!
According to Nasir, the first time he jumped into the pool, he asked Marty if he would protect him and without hesitation, the answer was yes. Nasir dived right in! In just 10 weeks, Nasir went from not knowing how to swim at all to swimming 30 laps in a row in a 50-metre pool!
I had the opportunity to catch Nasir and Marty mid-swim late one night and to chat with them about the mutual joy and fun they had swimming together. Watch the video and learn how swimming has created a lifelong friendship and the plans Nasir has to teach his children to swim.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/G6k5PcsvUiRdF4fm8
The Teachings
Peace in Action in the Philippines
We were so lucky to have the chance to spend time in the Philippines, learning about the unique peace process underway in the Mindanao region. The Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB) is the peace agreement that was signed between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in March 2014. Under the agreement, the Islamic separatists turned over their firearms and the MILF agreed to decommission its armed wing, the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF). In return, the government agreed to establish an autonomous Bangsamoro.
Bangsamoro, officially the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is now an autonomous region within the southern Philippines. Replacing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region was formed after voters decided to ratify the Bangsamoro Organic Law in the January 2019 plebiscite. This marks the beginning of the transition of the ARMM to the BARMM. Another plebiscite was held in nearby regions that sought to join the area in February 2019. This plebiscite saw 63 of 67 barangays in North Cotabato join Bangsamoro.
One of the most salient points about the peace process that will stick with me for a long time, as shared by the Non-Violent Peaceforce is, “Reconciliation is about recognizing the atrocities committed by both sides. The approach to reconciliation has to be local. There is not one model that fits all. Look deeply at the cultural context.”
Mam Inday Irene Santiago
We had the pleasure of spending more time with Mam Inday Irene Santiago - but this time in the Philippines! I spoke about Irene in an earlier blog. Irene is a peace negotiator and is Chair Emerita and Chief Executive Officer of the Mindanao Commission on Women. She is also the Peace Advisor to the Mayor of Davao City. Irene is well known for her role in bringing a gender lens into peace building processes and has the distinction of being the only woman in the world today who has been a member of a peace negotiating panel as well as chair of a body implementing a peace agreement. It is not surprising that Irene has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize!
Irene says the most important aspect of peacebuilding is to not delay joy. Here is Irene live, sharing her inspirational words with the Rotary Peace Fellows, Class XXVI:
Explorations
The historic city of Ayuttaya is a short journey from Bangkok and was founded in 1350. It was the second capital of the Siamese Kingdom. The city was attacked and burned to the ground by the Burmese army in 1767. Today, the historic city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the ruins have been uncovered, repaired and in some cases reconstructed. This city is an archeological marvel. One could wander for days in complete awe!
We had the chance to explore northern Thailand further and to spend some time in Chiang Rai. The Golden Triangle is an amazing place of confluence, with a complicated and rich history. One of the highlights was our time at the Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort and learning all about elephants from the Mahouts. Here are some highlights of our time in Chiang Rai:
And here are just a few of my most spectucular moments in Bangkok during my last couple of weeks:
Gratitude
My gratitude for being able to experience this all as a Rotary Peace Fellow is unquantifiable. There are experiences in life where you just don’t have the words to say all that it has meant. This is one of them. I know I am changed. The global family I have in even more places in the world will forever be a part of me. The hearts that have shared their hopes, dreams, happiness, sorrows and commitments to creating a better world will forever guide and fuel me with further passion!
Without Rotary International and the dedication of Rotarians around the world to creating a world that prioritizes peace, this would not have been possible. Thank you, Rotary! A special thanks to District 5360 and the Calgary West Rotary Club (and Calgary Olympic) for believing in me and supporting me the whole way. A giant thank you to the Rotary Club of Bangkok for being such wonderful hosts. I could not have asked for a better counsellor and will forever be grateful to Vasana Mututanont!
Thank you to the Rotary Peace Centre Program Staff at Chulalongkorn University, especially Vitoon Viriyasakultorn!
I tend to leave a piece of my heart in every single place I visit and with every community that I spend time learning with. My Elders always encourage that with every journey, to be sure to call your spirit back as you head back to the place you call home. I waited until the very last minute, allowing my entire being to savour every second of Thailand and SE Asia in general before I started calling my spirit back, encouraging her to journey with me home. I called in all four directions as I have been taught. I think part of her came but a lot of my heart still feels rooted in the place that I learned to call home over the last few months. For this, I have so much gratitude for my family and friends, around the globe who have encouraged and supported me in many ways, including calling my spirit back and helping me see that life is about connections. A piece of me will likely live on in Asia now but that's because it has become home too.
Your Thoughts
I started out asking each of you what peace means to you. We explored in one of the blog posts the idea of positive peace, which speaks to peace being much more than just the absence of violence or fear of violence.
Mam Inday Irene wisely says that peace is about increasing connectors and decreasing dividers. I don’t think I could possibly say it more succinctly.
What you can do within your own institutions and structures to increase connectors and decrease dividers?
What’s Next?
The peacebuilding journey does not end here!
I am very excited that I will continue my learning journey as an Ambassador with the Institute for Economics & Peace! I will be delving into the Global Peace Index, along with the related Pillars of Peace. Find out more here: http://economicsandpeace.org/research/#positive-peace
I will also be helping to establish a Calgary Indigenous Relations Office! I am over the moon about this! I am so excited to be bringing this recent experience with me for this next stage of the project. Some of you have asked about the project I was working on as part of my Individual Conflict Analysis (ICA) and this was my primary focus. I am excited to dig in and apply what I have learned.
Thank you all for sharing this journey with me. Stay connected and in the words of Irene, don’t forget to keep on increasing those connectors and decreasing those dividers among people.
All my relations,
~lorelei