Non-violence and Honesty

One of the great things about life in general, but especially life here in Cochabamba, is that I find myself doing things I never would have thought of before.  Since the 50^th year anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a Dream” speech just passed, I think it timely to remember the value of active non-violence and seeking to resolve conflicts (that involve deep hurts and pains) with communication that is also non-violent.  While I am a fan of non-violence, I am a novice anxious to learn more, and an opportunity came up in July to participate in a non-violence workshop.

One of the current FMS missioners here in Cochabamba has experience with a non-violence workshop constructed by Pace Bene, a group from the U.S.  Using that text and her experience with Pace Bene, she was asked to give a 2 day workshop to the group of Franciscan friar students and I got to help her out in the process, which taught me a lot. 

We started out the workshop asking everyone to light a candle and tell the rest of the group what the meaning behind their name is. It was beautiful to see a little bit of the story behind each person by a simple telling of why they have the name they have. I saw pride in each person’s identity, a connectedness with their past and with their families. In sharing the story behind my name, I also felt a sense of pride and joy in who I am and where I come from. It felt good to have the opportunity to share and be heard.

There were many exercises that challenged us on what is violence and what is non-violence in our own perceptions. When one comes to recognize all the violence within oneself, it seems a daunting task to transform it. To help, we talked about some techniques to help as well as looking at the example of non-violent people we know or know of.

Since we also talked about interpersonal relations and communication on one of our radio shows, I will share a tip that has served useful to me recently in non-violent communication and that is - clarifying perceptions - starting with asking questions. We may feel angry or hurt by something said when what the other person meant to communicate was totally different, so it’s important to clarify.

Of course another value or principle that helps in communication is honesty and August was Justice and Peace’s month to focus on honesty. August 17^th is Bolivia’s flag day and the Justice and Peace movement decided about 10 years ago to use Flag Day as an entry-way to promote that Bolivians be more honest, since the flag should represent the values and principles of a country’s people. Each year they chose a different theme, like against bribery, or in favor of fair wages and dignified work, or paying taxes instead of buying from the black market, or promoting honesty in government officials etc. 

This year the theme was honesty in education: in the family, in schools and universities, and in other parts of society like religions. Of course we all could be more honest in all parts of the world and not just in August, but it’s a good excuse to bring it up at least once each year. We had some great national folkloric music at our tent in a plaza this year on Flag Day, and were able to talk with lots of people about the honesty campaign. Talking with people about the cheating, copying and lying that happens with students at such an early age, I was reminded how grateful I am for the Honor Code I signed at my university and how much it was an expectation in the culture of the institution, which I think makes it a little easier to abide by, but it also made me wonder…what happens when honesty is not an expectation?  Food for thought!  Until next time, I hope you are well!

5 things I’m thankful for today: the unexpected rain falling on the roof and on the dry arid land; having been given another year of life; homemade yogurt I bought from a French brother; getting to sleep in on a Sunday; meeting new babies.

Encounter with the Amazon

Riding along the river Beni, heading towards the Serere Reserve, I was filled with excitement and curiosity. For the first time in my life, I was about to encounter the famous Amazon rainforest, something I’ve dreamed of but never thought would actually happen. With Franciscans International - Bolivia we organized a eco-theological retreat in a beautiful reserve just outside the National Madidi Park, in Bolivia. From the documentaries and photos I expected to see beauty but it took living in the forest for 5 days to really understand the beauty is much deeper than any picture can capture, it’s like God’s breath is all around you in a strong and very powerful way, a way that fills you with peace and awe.

Walking from the river’s edge and into the rainforest to get to our cabins, we saw at least two different kinds of monkeys along the trail—the yellow monkey and the capuchin monkey—dancing along the branches of the giant trees in search of fruit. Immediately I noticed the humidity and the warmth, but rarely did the sun manage to touch our skin because of the thick natural roof of the branches and leaves we had above us. The cabin was a raised construction, with walls made of screen so all around us we saw the forest. I realized it was similar to camping except that we had modern mattresses and beds and there was no wall of the tent giving me the impression of being separated from nature, instead I saw it everywhere I turned and felt therefore more integrated (the brain is a funny thing).

 

 

 

There were twelve of us in our group and we divided up into three groups on the morning of the first full day, to go exploring with Severo, the guide assigned to our group as one of the members of the Madidi Travel/Eco-Bolivia team. We put all our trust in this man, and he was able to teach us a tremendous amount during the week. While quietly walking through the forest, he would spontaneously tell us to stop while he pointed out different plants, vines, trees or animals, what I would call the rainforest’s gems! He squatted down next to a big red tree root, made a little cut in it and out poured a white resin, which looked a lot like Elmer’s glue. The tree’s name is “Milk Milk” and with this natural glue, he took a leaf and stuck it to my ear so I had a natural earring.

The resin of other trees however, such as the Curari, is like venom and people use it to apply to the point of an arrow to use for hunting. My favorite tree was the Cachichira, whose trunk base was so broad that it looked like a giant skirt in mid-twirl, just gorgeous. One of the Cachichira lent the hollow inside of its trunk to a large clan of bats to rest during the daytime.

For a snack, our guide opened up a fruit for us that he picked from a tree. The fruit was “Monkey Head” and it had several large seeds inside with the fruit pulp covering the seeds and it was sweet with a texture similar to mango. Another day he picked up a different fruit, “Apple of the forest” and showed us how its magical juice could be applied to our skin and appear clear, but hours later turned into a dark tattoo. It was amazing! (they washed off completely in about 2 weeks) We were explained that these natural tattoos were used as camouflage by indigenous tribes in the forest. In addition to my tattoo, I also received more bug bites than ever before at one time in my life. To console myself, I tried to think, “well, I’m giving a part of me to the forest after it has given so much to me,” but in my itchiest moments, I just thought about scratching and how much I didn’t like the mosquitoes.

At night we went out in canoes to look at the stars, and it was another incredible sight to behold. The Milky Way was as clear as could be, and the bats were having a feast over the water. We also saw many caimans (like small alligators) which we could recognize for their eyes that glowed like candle flames when we shined our flashlights towards them. The night was spectacular and in order to distract me from the fear I felt towards the caimans, I arched my neck up, trying to record the image of the stars in their glory and the soothing silence around us.

Unfortunately, not everything in the Madidi mosaic is harmonious; there are many threats toward the Park itself and the area around it including the reserve we were in. Thousands and thousands of hectares of forest have been cut down in order to plant sugar cane and coca plants, in addition to excessive deforesting (in order to sell mahogany for example) and illegal hunting that takes place. Mining contaminates the rivers and waterways. If the Eco-Bolivia team, lead by Rosa María Ruiz, were not constantly monitoring, hunters and people wanting to cut down cedar and mahogany trees would have done away with a lot of the reserve. The animals are very smart, and according to our guide, who worked in other areas as well, many animals migrated to the reserve because they know they won’t be killed there and that there is actually food since the forest isn’t being destroyed. Because of this we were able to see puma tracks, wild hog tracks, howler monkeys, spider monkeys, butterflies and many different kinds of plants and trees.

As we reflected together throughout the week, we agreed that life was much simpler without electricity, phones, TVs, radios, computers, internet, and cars. There was a peace I experienced in the rainforest that I hadn’t experienced in a very long time, it was powerful and invigorating, I didn’t want to leave! I thought a lot about my family and friends in the US and wished I could transport them there to share in the amazing experience to see and feel and taste the sweetness of the forest. I was able to encounter creation’s song and its gentle melody continues playing in my heart, motivating me to be attentive to the sacred presence in all parts of creation, no matter where I find myself.

5 things I’m thankful for today: being able to have gone to the Serere Reserve; good hugs; skype to be able to talk with my family while they were on vacation; being in Cochabamba and working with some really great dedicated people; mint ice cream.

Seeking justice in education

I didn’t know exactly what to expect when my Christian Brother friend asked me to accompany him out to a public school that was in bad shape. He said they were lacking many things a school should have and that as part of the Franciscan Movement of Justice and Peace, it would be good if I saw it to understand the situation better. I got up early one day and it took me 1 ½ hours to get to the school, just over the border of the southernmost limit of the city of Cochabamba, which is also high up in the hills.

We got out at the end of the route of the public transportation van and walked along gravel and dirt to get to the school grounds, which I wouldn’t have recognized if my friend had not pointed it out to me. He showed me a building that had recently been roofed and is used for the 1^st grade class and the 2^nd grade class, and then he showed me the bathroom that had been built was locked so the kids had to squat in the school yard or street if they needed to relieve themselves.

Next I saw the space used for the two kindergarten classes, two tiny rooms rented out from the bottom of a house next to the school property. I talked with the teacher of the 5-year-olds so I got to see her room, but not the other, although I think it is identical. There were no windows, no lights (so the only light they had was from the door left open) and hardly any furniture for the kids to sit on and work. They were really packed into a little itsy bitsy space and they are 5 years old!

(This is a view from the back, it's the smaller building on the left)

 

We talked with some of the parents, the director of the school, the director of the neighborhood committee and I left very confused with conflicting versions of the story. Together with two Christian Brothers, we decided (without telling anyone in the school or neighborhood) to visit the mayor of district to find out if he was aware of the conditions of this school that has now been in existence for 3 years. After more than 2 hours waiting for him, we got to see him and expressed our concern for the well-being of the children because every child has a right to an adequate education, in conditions that reflect their dignity. He listened to us, saying he didn’t know it was so bad because no one had informed him and of course blamed the neighborhood committee and the parents etc. We asked for dates of when the bathroom would be opened, when they would get desks for the kids and when they could build appropriate school rooms, and we got vague answers.

About a week later I found out that the neighborhood committee and the parents committee went to visit the mayor on their own initiative and got him to sign an agreement to build 4 new schoolrooms in 2013. I was thrilled! Later when we returned, they thanked us for having gone and spoken to him, saying that we helped make him aware of the situation so he was more motivated to act when they went. Now the question is at what point will he begin construction, but at least it’s a start and the community members were the main protagonists, seeking justice in education for their kids.

5 Things I’m grateful for today: seeing a Bolivian friend this morning who moved to La Paz but came back to visit; receiving girl scout cookies in the mail from my dear mother, mmmmm yummy!; having time this morning to jump rope and laugh really hard while watching one of my favorite series on DVD; finishing my laundry before it got dark; listening to a little boy on the bus sing a funny song over and over because he loved it so much. 

A Jesuit priest from South America becomes pope and takes the name of St. Francis!

“Nora!  Why do you think they keep ringing the bells in the cathedral?”  That’s when I knew a new pope had been chosen.  All afternoon I was running up and down the stairs of the office trying to listen to newscasts in both English and Spanish about who the next pope would be.  There was suspense in the air, trying to win the competition of who would be the first to find out which cardinal was elected and if he would be from South America or not. 

As Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio walked out, I watched, waiting to figure out who he was and what he would say.  When he bowed asking for a blessing from the people, whom he would be serving, before giving them his blessing, I had a good feeling.  When we found out he chose the name Francis after Francis of Assisi, the good feeling grew.  When I heard from the news commentators that he was a Jesuit, my hope grew more.  Having served in the Jesuit Volunteer Corp, I came to appreciate greatly the values of Simplicity, Community, Prayer, and Service. 

I’ve always said that Francis of Asisi and Ignatius of Loyola were very similar, despite what each of their orders say about the other in jest.  They both came from the upper classes, both were soldiers and suffered physically from battle, and while recovering had major conversions, recognizing what made life meaningful and recognizing God in other people.  Two people who really lived out what it means to love and to serve, and these same two people are clearly significant to Cardinal Bergoglio, and that type of deep respect and appreciation doesn’t happen all that often, so I was really surprised.

To be fair, I should not judge what kind of a leader Pope Francis will be based on his past.  As a Christian Brother commented to me the other day, none of us like to be judged based on our past, rather given an opportunity in the present, free of judgment.  I don’t know what Pope Francis will do, whether he will continue to maintain his habits of simplicity (taking public transportation to work, even as a cardinal; cooking his own meals), but the fact that we both share an affinity for the values and way of life of Saints Ignatius and Francis, I am very hopeful he will continue to follow Jesus’ example and teachings, using Ignatius and Francis as constant examples and inspirations to follow.

Of course it was exciting for almost everybody here in Cochabamba, Bolivia that someone from a neighboring country was named pope, that in itself is a pretty big deal.  The Catholic Church, which is made up of individual people, is extremely diverse, and it’s nice to see someone in the leadership role who is from the southern hemisphere, where so many of those individual people have lived their lives.

Yet, I’ve also heard negative commentaries in the news, mostly from people in Argentina, who say he didn’t support them when they needed support.  The Argentinian president and homosexual community have also criticized him.  I’m not sure what has happened in his life before now, but I do hope very much that he be a leader who holds true to serving the marginalized, loving and not hating, seeking peace where there is conflict, and respecting the environment in its entirety.