Breaking with tradition this month, we invited men to our\nmeeting for an inspiring movie about the civil war that dominated Liberia from\nChristmas Eve of 1989 to 2003. To center our minds for the experience to come,\nTerra Harmatuk read a poem by Liberian poet, Miatta Kawinzi, which begins,\n\u201cThey call it history…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We settled in with bowls of popcorn to watch the acclaimed documentary, \u201cPray\nthe Devil Back to Hell,\u201d<\/strong><\/em> which chronicles the work of Leymah\nGbowee during the Liberian civil war in which some 200,000 people died. She\ngalvanized Muslim, Christian and women of diverse faiths from across her\ncountry in 2002 to demand peace. Knowing full well that they could be beaten or\nkilled, these women \u2013 housewives, fishmongers and farmers \u2013took to the streets\nwearing simple white T-shirts and using the tactics of peaceful protest. Their\nstory is one of incredible courage and success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the movie and a break to refill our popcorn bowls, we\nall returned, eager to discuss this inspiring film. Tanya introduced our\nmoderator, Diane Swords<\/strong>. Diane has been active in opposition to war and\nin support of non-violent conflict resolution since participating in demonstrations\nagainst the Viet Nam war as a college student. As a school teacher, she\ndeveloped programs of conflict resolution for the classroom. She directed the\nlocal chapter of Peace Action (then the Nuclear Weapons Freeze) for 12 years. In\n2007 Diane received her Ph.D. in Social Science with certificates in conflict\nresolution and women\u2019s studies. She continues activism, especially for nuclear\nabolition, with Peace Action and the Peace Council, while teaching at Syracuse\nUniversity in the Intergroup Dialogue Program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Diane began by referring to her friend, a Kenyan woman who\nis working on her Ph.D. at Syracuse University and who was close to the\nLiberian struggle. The friend worked in United Nations peace-building projects\nand helped Leymah Gbowee develop her leadership abilities. Diane asked her\nfriend if the women\u2019s movement occurred at the same time as the resolution of\nthe Liberian civil war and was simply a parallel event, or if the women\u2019s\nmovement can be considered a cause of the end of the conflict. The friend\nassured Diane that there was definitely a cause-and-effect connection between\nthe women\u2019s movement and the end of the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because Diane is not an expert on the Liberian conflict or\nthe current political situation there, she was not able to answer any questions\nbrought up by the movie. However, she did discuss issues of non-violence that\narise in the United States. Gene Sharp, Professor Emeritus of political science\nat the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and founder of the Albert Einstein\nInstitution, penned the following definition:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNonviolent action is a technique by which people who reject\npassivity and submission, and who see struggle as essential, can wage their\nconflict without violence. Nonviolent action is not an attempt to avoid or\nignore conflict. It is one response to the problem of how to act effectively in\npolitics, especially how to wield powers effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As an example of successful non-violent action close to\nhome, Diane cited the struggle to prevent the re-licensing of the Vermont\nYankee nuclear power plant, which is leaking radioactive tritium into the\nground water and possibly the Connecticut River. One of the main organizers of\nthat non-violent struggle, Randy Kehler, started the town meetings in New\nEngland for the Nuclear Freeze, and founded the main organization that is\nopposing Vermont Yankee. He has said, \u201cEvery time I see and hear people,\nespecially younger people, express feelings of hopelessness and despair about\nthe current state of the world, it strengthens my resolve to try, in whatever\nway I can, to introduce them to the fundamentally hopeful history and practice\nof \u2018active nonviolence.\u2019 I wish to demonstrate that positive, nonviolent change\nin our lives and in the world is not only an urgent necessity but humanly\npossible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Julienne Oldfield, who had just returned from a Washington,\nD.C., march against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, commented that the movie\nputs our own anti-war efforts to shame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Betsy Wiggins told us that Liberian President Charles Taylor\u2019s\nvideographer was the only one who recorded the ceremony of Leymah Gbowee\nhanding the women\u2019s proclamation demanding peace to the only woman in Taylor\u2019s\nadministration, as the president looked on. As a result of doing this, the\nvideographer was fired, and took all of his films with him. He eventually\nhanded these unique films to the documentary\u2019s producers, making this fine film\npossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kathy Mezzo said that she doesn\u2019t see a difference between\nthe violence of war and the violence that cities like Syracuse experience on\nour own streets. Kathy would like to see this movie shown in every high school\nin Syracuse, to show girls that they can be empowered to make change; that they\ndon\u2019t have to put up with disrespectful or aggressive behavior. Diane Swords\nreferred to the efforts of Mothers Against Gun Violence to defuse and reduce\nstreet violence in Syracuse. Renee-Noelle Felice told us that \u201cPray the Devil\nBack to Hell\u201d will be shown at ArtRage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joy Pople said that the Truth and Reconciliation Committee in\nLiberia has recently issued a report. Wrongs were reported, discussed,\nacknowledged and recompensed. The process is not complete but is moving\nforward. Joy repeated Kathy\u2019s suggestion and wondered how we could get the\nmovie shown in the area high schools. Daryl Files responded that she and\nmembers of the A-OK! Acts of Kindness Weekend committee would be meeting with\nthe Social Studies department heads of Syracuse City Schools on Tuesday, and\nwould be sure to bring this up! <\/p>\n\n\n\n Peter Swords pointed out that the Liberian women had to defy\nuniversal stereotypes. Men tell angry women that they are crazy or stupid. These\nwomen gave one another permission to be angry, to speak out, and to take\naction. This movie contradicts sexism and shows that women have rights and that\nwe need to listen to their leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grace Flusche and Judy Antoine commented about the\nre-culturization of the Liberian boy soldiers. These children were victims too,\npurposely addicted to drugs to induce them to inflict terror, rape and death. Grace\nand Judy recommended the book Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier<\/em> by\nIsmael Beah, who was a Sierra Leone child soldier from ages 13 to 15, addicted\nto killing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hal Garman asked how we can stop the flow of weapons into cities like Syracuse. He has volunteered with organizations on the South Side for eight years, and knows that guns are readily available. Helen Hudson said a CNN report revealed that the police sell confiscated guns at gun shows, either for better weapons for the police department or for funds to finance the department. These guns are resold and soon appear back on the streets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n