ANV in Cambodia

Cambodia is a beautiful country filled with natural resources and amazing people. But many communities are under attack for their land, fisheries, forests and other natural resources. Cambodian communities are learning to make use of active nonviolent resistance and this video shows a small part of their journey.

The Banner

From left to right, top to bottom

M.K. Gandhi, "Father" of modern nonviolence. Coined the term 'satyagrahi' variously translated as soul force, or truth force and is a way of applying ahimsa (sanskrit for nonviolence) to an individual and her attempt to engage with her context

Maha Ghosananda, the "Gandhi of Cambodia" inaugaurated the dhammayietras in Cambodia. These peace walks initially went through the most violent parts of Khmer Rouge controlled Cambodia as a statement that Cambodia was no longer under the control of violence and fear.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese democratic champion, leader of the National League for Democracy, and nonviolent proponent. Her father led the nation to indepence but the country fell into the hands of the military. In 1988 a nonviolent student 'uprising' led to a nation-wide strike and led to the agreement to hold elections. In 1990, those elections were resoundingly won by the NLD, but the military reneged on it's promise to hand over power if they lost. Burma continue to struggle for a nonviolent society where peace and justice reign.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the spiritual leader of South Africa through decades of apartheid oppression. He was devoted to seeing practical and political peace, and equal race relations a reality in his country.

Marching Monks of Myanmar, the Saffron Revolution. This abortive movement rose over the increasing costs of living such as fuel in Myanmar in 2007. Thousands took to the streets. Tragically, the military junta used brutality to quash this people movement. Many monks were tortured and killed.

Martin Luther King, Jr, recognised as the spokesperson for the American Civil Rights Movement. Dr King and thousands of black and white Americans used nonviolent means to bring equality amongst the two races. Well known tactics of the Civil Rights Movement included the Freedom Rides and Lunch Room Sit-ins.

Obviously these are just the highlights, people who are symbols of a far greater movement that cannot be simply reduced to the greatness of any one person. But their stories, and the stories behind them inspire us to a beautiful world where nonviolence is the norm, peace our expectation and justice a reality.

The First Word

Unless you happen to be one of the groopies, nonviolence seems kinda wierd, doesn't it? I mean, it sounds whimpy at best, ineffective and idealist in a real world of real violence, at worst. But I want to change that perception that both you and I are likely to hold. We are told from knee-high and earlier that violence is part of the natural order. From Tom & Jerry to Die Hard violence gives us both laughs and adrenaline rushes we will be chasing for many years to come.

Nonviolence is a completely different story. Hence the title. Telling it requires patience and some eye surgery. It is a commitment to see things quite differently. A paradigm shift, you might say. And it takes some time to make the shift. It takes some healing (of ourselves and others) to deeply value it's alternative vision.

More than that, nonviolence attempts to offer concrete solutions to concrete problems. The problem of violence is not just cartoon fable, but something which assails us from many angles - CNN and BBC coverage of the "War on Terror" to news items of 15 year-olds in 'indefinite confinement' for their destructive urges. Clearly violence is more than just a projection, but a hard reality of wars both 'out there' and 'in here'.

I've found the journey to nonviolence hard work. I've uncovered violent urges I had preferred to ignore and deny, a penchant for the Myth of Redemptive Violence (more on this later) that seems almost unquenchable. At the same time I reject violence and desire nonviolent techniques for solving the most mundane to the most blood-curdling of issues. It could be argued I embody humanity's great capacity for cognitive dissonance.

I'm particularly concerned with Cambodia. With the ever-increasing economic 'development' that leaves most Cambodians with less, and a few with a lot more. It is not a new story by any means. What is new is the emerging story of nonviolent responses to violence and development-induced repression that began with Maha Ghosananda during the Khmer Rouge years. Each day new communities are forced into the economic development 'reality', and required to make a choice: fight, flight or nonviolent resistance. The few who chose the latter are often untrained in the ways of strategic nonviolence. In addition, few who try to support those local responses know much about nonviolence themselves, and focus more on human rights and legal process. These certainly have their place, yet the local Cambodian resister needs more.

Trucks empty loads of soil into the sea to create a new economic 'development', despite community protests.

I floated the idea of a nonviolent action and research 'entity' a while back with some folks and the response was positive, and any who didn't like the idea have yet to inform me! So the idea of a forum, this blog, has emerged in the attempt to be more collaborative and engaging than the current attempt at a website (http://peace-and-justice-cambodia.awardspace.com) which has been received quite well.

This blog is attempting something different, though. Rather than focusing on the negatives, the abuses, violence and general feelings of hopelessness (there's more than enough of that already), this blog will focus on thinking through what a nonviolent response could look like, and celebrating the stories that have made use of active nonviolence in some shape or form.

To end, this blog is an invitation for you to join in on telling the nonviolent story. From where you are now on the journey. Your questions, insights, learnings, hopes and dreams. So sign up for RSS, make a comment, or if you'd like to contribute a post contact me at peaceandjustice.cambodia[at]gmail.com

Peace & Jusitce: Cambodia (PJC)

End Notes:
Myth of Redemptive Violence - term coined by theologian and nonviolence proponent, Walter Wink, and refers to the notion that violence is able to redeem evil. Hence the US can start a violent 'shock and awe' campaign at the beginning of their invasion of Iraq during the 'War on Terror'. This is to say, violence used for the cause of the greater good will redeem violence used in the cause of evil.

Cognitive Dissonance - psychological term referring to the ability to hold two or more contradictory positions at one time. Eg "teenage violence is a scourge on our nation" and "anyone who opposes the war is unpatriotic".