Transitions to Peace: letting go of the past

Commonly we are met with the need to look at history to understand how we got to where we are. However, at certain times it is deeply urgent to let go of that knowledge. A singular situation when letting go of past events is needed rest with the collapse of a state. When a state experiences a collapse there is usually many groups that try to seek legitimacy to power. Such power grabs are often reasoned within history. This reasoning is rarely helpful to building peace. When a state collapses, the causes of that collapse often reset during negotiations of rebuilding. Thus, the entire process is sent in a spiral of never ending blame or victimization. We can see this taking place with the many agreements being worked on at this moment in both Libya and Syria. In both areas there is a strong attachment of past government leaders or strong military groups fighting to take power. In each case the need to work on delivering a process for government formation can be delayed. This delay costs lives as groups continue to fight which only prolongs the agony of the collapse state. We can look at Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine and others as to how the many groups seeking power do great damage by delaying peaceful progress. The reasons many groups slow the progress of peace is easily understood. The reasons deal with political representation and for people to get a system they feel is best for the country. As they arguments for the delays are made, the information is rooted in history. Groups often point to past wrongs to solidify arguments. Even though these concerns are easy to support in understanding, there is often a subtext of delaying peace on purpose for a certain group to gain support/power. Knowing these tactics are often employed points to the complexities of a peace process. At the root of every process is the desire and need to trust. However, trusting every group can lead to great damage and even further delayed peace process. To take control of such chaos we have the need to use deadlines for these peaceful transitions. Building a new set of governance guidelines requires forward thinking. At such a point the negotiations are not about righting past wrongs. The ultimate point is to set up a system the people can trust to deal with such issues within the new context. For example, during the negotiations concerning Syria we have seen the Assad question left out. The single purpose of that rest with the fact that the people of Syria are to handle that situation under the new system. All the rhetoric of ousting Assad or supporting Assad has been taken out of the process. The historical contexts of how the war started has been let go of. Similarly in Libya we are witnessing the same situation as new systems are being implemented. Progressing through such stages of peace takes great courage. One of the hardest steps to take is to let go of past events and move forward with building a new reality. Once that new system is in place the healing of society can take place. Again, these steps take a great deal of courage and work yet the need to be peaceful is always paramount. Otherwise we will be trapped in a spiral of chaos.

Every country is an experiment of governace

Transitioning of political power is a delicate process in any country. Even in the most peaceful countries there is always an unease within the population about who will be the next government. We often talk about the winners and losers. Rarely is the talk about the reality of success when a peaceful transfer of power takes place. We tend to ignore the efforts put into building a peaceful society, to maintain a peaceful society and to keep the focus on retaining the hope of a peaceful society. Every country is an experiment of governance, social cohesiveness and peace. Each election or transition of power is a focal point of these experiments. On experiment that we should take great amounts of information from is Russia during its bold steps of transitioning. More recently, there are a number of experiments taking place right now that should be a lasting education about what it takes to transition from one government to another. These experiments are Libya, Syria, Yemen, Egypt, Burma, Ukraine, Argentina, etc… At the top of the list for world attention would be Syria. The transition of power in this particular country is an example of what not to do. There is no one side of this situation that can say they have acted with great peaceful intentions. The leading military powers have supplied weapons to ensure the violence escalated. If not weapons the supply of money was sourced. If not money, weapons it was a hands off approach or not our problem ideology. For those that strongly supported the removal of Assad they have not learned from the many experiments we have gone through on power vacuums. Libya was one such experiment that took place at the same time as Syria. Knowing how difficult it is to maintain peace, that task of keeping peace in a divided society provides more complexity. Such complexity requires a great effort to manage the tempers of society. The emotions of the people need to be vented, allowed to be released and carefully managed. What to do now in Syria? There is no other way but to walk from one side of Syria to the other and back for as long as it takes. As we do this we leave peace in the wake. We only move at the speed of peace. We hold the lines of chaos. We ensure that the people who are in the care of peace territory know they are going to remain in that care. That strategy understands that there will be attacks within peace zones. Those attacks will become less as the people begin to stand up for peace. As the people return to a place of peace, rebuild a new Syria and regain their communities, slowly the world can return as vacationers.

The chaos of war in Syria: What is going on here?

Syria is a classic proxy war for many groups and governments. With all the different groups fighting plus those who are providing financing, the complexities have become a real monkey fist of a knot. There will always be tensions of violence when competing interests clash. At the moment, there is a complete lack of understanding as to what the interests are of every group involved in the Syrian war. As the groups talk and seek paths of co-operation within Syria there are outside pressures also being fought under the Syrian war banner. In absolute truth there is no such thing as a new war. As always, there is a deep history of issues being brought to this war. For simplicity sake the world has taken the Arab Spring movement as the initial point of the Syrian war. A request for a change in government, an opportunity to take land and a strong grasp to both hold on to power and grab power. That sentence is exactly what is taking place in Syria at its most simplistic essence. From there we can mix in politics, religion and human rights. Mix into the issues (why are groups fighting), there is very little trust or understanding of each others goals or reasons why the fight has taken place. Due to that lack of trust, understanding and knowledge, tensions are boiling over. This is how we have a Russian bomber shot down by Turkey. As crazy as it sounds, we now have to add disrespect within the context of the Syrian war. One of the little known issues being waged deals with the area known as Kurdistan. This is a long standing claim of sovereignty rights. The most notable people are known as the Pashmerga and the Parti Karkerani Kurdistan (PKK). The territory span includes the eastern half of Turkey, northern Syria, northern Iraq and western Iran. As you can imagine, these countries are not willing to give much support to the idea of a sovereign Kurdistan. With that opposition, there are going to be some uneasy background issues. This background story is indeed complex. In the realm of international law, the people who are seeking an independent Kurdistan to have a legitimate claim. Sadly having a legitimate claim does not mean anyone will listen or determine what will happen. Furthermore, the very act of fighting (war) to stake that claim can be viewed as a terrorist act since Kurdistan is not a recognized country. The government of Turkey has fought the PKK for decades. Due to this, Turkey has worked very hard to get the PKK listed as a terrorist group. The drama of this war is very interesting. Who knows where it will take us. I do feel that there is no one in control at the moment.

The Daesh offensive begins

How to defeat Islamic State The only way to defeat Islamic State in the long term is through education. Building peaceful and strong communities starts with education of a peaceful life. In the most simple ideology, it starts with a do no harm outlook. From there the educational programs of how to live a peaceful life begins. That is the long term strategy. The irony in that strategy is that every terrorist group uses the same strategy. Instead of do no harm they call for a do harm strategy. Also, instead of education the communication is called indoctrination, others call it radicalization. Whatever term used the reality remains that an educational format is used to bring in people. In another simplistic ideology we all know that hate is taught so peace must be taught. At this very moment we are engulfed in a war where hate has brought us to the point of maddening horrors. In the short term the path to peace is currently bringing the world through hell. There is no other way through with the current realities as they are. Large scale war that has millions of soldiers on the ground in the Middle East is taking place. We are in this fight and as a result we must expect to get hit and get hit as hard as the opponent can hit. This is what war is and we have been at war with these people for decades if not centuries. Sadly we are locked in a physical battle and we are going to get hit. Already the pain is heavy in my heart as I know that many brave and wonderful people are paying the ultimate price for peace. We did not ask or want this but we have work to do. We must understand what we are being asked to do. Our task is to return peace and that involves a great many methods. As mentioned above the physical war is already waged. How much attention we put to that physical effort is now our decision. The ultimate question is - What does it mean to be all in? Once the physical battle is over the mental (educational) battle rages on. This battle takes place in every single person and is why such will never end. This war is not about religion it is about hate, fear, control and power. It rests in the hearts of each individual that is lost then fueled by a desire of revenge. Again, in simplicity, we are in a battle similar to Fascism and Nazism. As engage in the educational and humanitarian efforts we have to keep a strong focus on culture. Religion is a major factor in this battle which Islamic State has brought to the world. Since they have used the religion of Islam in their name religion is a factor we must deal with. Ironically, religion is not really part of the battle since Islamic State is the farthest thing from what Islam preaches. To be fair each religion has similar factions that have created war based upon false pretenses. So here we are. After four years of doing nothing the elite military powers are finally going to work together. Now the physical fight is looking more likely to begin. This should be interesting.

Peace education from youthful wisdom.

Lasting peace has one very singular and paramount strategy. That one strategy is to educate youth as to what a peaceful mind and world is. The reality must be understood that peace is just like every other skill we pass from generation to generation. When we teach children to be peaceful and reinforce that education with actual life experiences, peace will take root and expand. That ideology is not a hypothesis, it is a well known fact. When we look at rebuilding any society (post-conflict) there is a strong need to educate everyone. Peace is embedded in education and for peace to last it can never be taken lightly or stopped. Furthermore, peace education must take place in the camps where children are forced to take refuge. Strong connections to community has to be retained and children must be given the tools to rebuild both their lives as well as their families, communities and countries. Such a thought is not too much to ask of youth. They often have the same capacity as adults to come up with solutions to rebuild, when given equal supports and opportunity. I have just read a report title I am Here, I Belong: the urgent need to end childhood statelessness. This report was created by a United Nations High Commission on Refugees. For me it really pointed to the need for education programs on the topic of peaceful communities. Although the report looked at youth from war torn areas, the information can be equated to other youth as well. Youth who are feeling left out due to economic factors, racism, body image slander, etc… can also benefit from this report. More important at this time, adults should learn a great deal from this report. The crucial point is the underlying call for youth to belong and pin that point to any youth that is left alone. This report reminds me of another report written about youth in conflict zones. That report was title Listen. It is a collection of stories from youth in conflict zones about what it is like to a youth and what they wish would happen for peace to become a reality. From these reports we can take a great amount of information as to how peace can be achieved over time and sustained. These youth are telling us the hard truth of life and show us a way to end the brutality of war. What is needed is the willingness and courage of adults to take up the challenge of peace. We have to begin somewhere. http://www.unhcr.ca/news/urgent-action-needed-to-address-child-statelessness/ http://www.unhcr.ca/news/the-kids-foraging-for-a-future/

Break the violence in Syria

We are well aware that bringing peace to a chaotic situation can be a very difficult task. In Syria, the task of bringing peace is difficult yet has been delayed. That delay is due to a strong unwillingness of the main actors to work with each other in the common goal of peace. In the past few weeks there has been a shift in the willingness to work together. Why? As Islamic State fighters recruited young people from around the world, the countries that these recruits came from became fearful. Again the spiral of chaos started in other areas of the world such as Europe, Australia, Canada and others. Hostage takings became a daily news headline as Syria increasingly crumbled. As the world trembled in fear Syrians ran anywhere they found the smallest evidence of safety. Then the turning point of the Syrian war has been the body of a three year old washing up on a beach. That single event brought great shame on the entire world for doing very little. The shame was so great that the collective heart of the world bled to reveal the core needs of what it takes to be peaceful. The core needs for peace to take hold are true for the single person’s life to an entire world. Both the single person as well as the entire society there is a challenge to enact patience, kindness, compassion, understanding and the ability to let go of past wrongs. Looking at the Syrian war we can see how these core needs gave way to old wounds. Old wounds kept the world as well as the individuals from rising to the challenges of enacting the core needs of peace. The old wounds have been unhealed for thousands of years. Also there are conflicts only decades old at play. These conflicts have allowed the world to let Syria fall into hell. Meeting after meeting was held to give the perception that something was being done. In reality we were being lied to. These lies fueled the pain of the old wounds. Further to the old wounds, newly inflicted wounds are being cut. Here we are in a turning point as a group begins to break through the old wounds. The break down of the old wounds has put the world in a position where the New World Order hope of the late 80’s and early 90’s can be restarted. Before too much hope is put upon the table of the Syrian peace efforts we must recall the core needs of peace. Patience allows us to work through the vital/priority tasks which (singularly) is bringing peace to the communities of Syria. The path to peace has been written about so many times in my previous articles yet there is one path that needs to be reviewed. The one path is the building the connections of communities from refugee camps, internally displaced camps and those living in destroyed communities. This path is very much an education/communication program and one I have written about in a previous article. There is a great opportunity to break the violence in Syria. What we do know is that the battle of peace never ends.

Syrian Peace

In many of my past posts I have spelled out plans (paths ways) to peace. We are now seeing some of the efforts taking place that should have been taken four years ago. These efforts are sitting down and talking with a broad coalition and the main parties being the military elites. Without the strength of teamwork amongst the elite military power there was no hope for an end to violence. Sadly the violence will have to increase for the short term. The next step is to put people on the ground. There is no getting around this fact. This was a reality four years ago and has only grown since. The team work of United Nations agencies and other NGO’s will have to organize and prepare for a lengthy rebuild. Yet the issue of Assad will be a sticking point, so how do we get past that point? Assad must be voted out by the people. This will give the people the ultimate point of control and allow the process of bringing legitimacy back into democratic society. Now what needs to be understood is that elections can not take place within the next two years. The two year wait allows for people to return, communities to rebuild, power vacuums to settle and a solid education of what the people want for government leadership to take hold. From my experience two years has often been too short of a time frame but it is a target. On a regional scale we must understand that Syria will remain in a state of harm as long as Iraq is in chaos as well. The two countries need to have a strong working relationship focused on mutual peace. Of course the entire region is in the same situation. Since we do not have the courage to encapsulate the entire region in a ceasefire/weapons ban we must work with one country at a time. This will be done by strengthening all borders as strongly as possible. As mentioned in past articles, there will be a strong need for an alternate governing system that focuses on security first and social norms second. What this means is that the international forces on the ground are there to enforce the ceasefire agreement first (weapons checks). The social factors such as education, hate literature, religion, etc… are to be dealt with by local authorities and non military NGO agencies. This is a very simplistic outline as the logistics become very complex, to be truthful it is already very complex. Who goes in, where, when, how are all to be determined. What will most likely take place is that the airport which Russia is currently using will be a staging site. Next Damascus will become another staging point as will Aleppo and Homs. I hope that Syria will return to peace as soon as possible.