ACTIVE NONVIOLENT RESISTANCE

 

IWP has facilitated two trainings specifically focused on nonviolent active resistance for women activists in the Burma movement and from around South and Southeast Asia. We also incorporate active nonviolence and nonviolent communication into all of our training programs. The nonviolence course included community and team building and the theory and concept of nonviolent social action, as well as strategies and methods of NVA and skills for putting them into practice.

The last few days were focused on designing campaigns for social movements. Recognizing the diverse experience and knowledge within the group, a lot of time was devoted to understanding the various movements for change within each country represented, successful non-violent actions from the region and around the world, and tangible strategies for future actions.

In addition to theories, concepts and skills building, time each day was also devoted to yoga and meditation to help participants build up the inner strength and peace necessary for social change work. Specific sessions helped participants explore fear and strong emotions to recognize when they are sources of strength and when they have the potential to block activism and change. Participants also reflected on the teachings of their religious traditions (supplemented by readings) to draw guidance about non violent action from their own – Christian, Buddhist and Muslim -- spiritual perspectives.
During the trainings, we used exposure trips to communities in nonviolent struggles to learn from the wisdom of villagers. During the regional course, we went to an indigenous village in northern Thailand where residents have been fighting against government taking over their community forests. The struggle, which has lasted for more than a decade, has been led predominantly by the women's group in the village, who have done all of the negotiating with government officials, as well as initiated many of the direct action strategies.
Women, who feel a special connection to the forests in their search for their families food, are at the fore of the struggle because of their powers in negotiation and deep rooted knowledge of the forests. As a way to learn deeper, we spent a morning harvesting rice with the villagers.
     
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