Carl Stauffer, PhD, Academic Director of the Caux Scholars Program, writes: 

 

On the heels of the tragic AME Church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, the subject of forgiveness has once again been thrust into the public domain of race relations in the United States. And once again, a rigorous debate has been launched around the merits and demerits of forgiveness with those who praise this pubic display of mercy as a expression of the Divine, to those calling it a shameful miscarriage of justice and a dangerous short-cut to the structural change that needs to happen. In this conversation, the critics and the advocates alike often end up concentrating on the individual acts of forgiveness giving little attention to the political and social dimensions of forgiveness. This is a travesty. It is high time we have a serious dialogue around how it is possible to hold mercy and justice together which is the essence of a growing social movement called Restorative Justice. The conceptions of mercy and justice need not be mutually exclusive in theory and practice OR on the micro and macro levels of society.

 

Individual Dimensions of Forgiveness

In some circles forgiveness has become a dirty word in the conversation on race in the United States. And rightfully so, as forgiveness has often been distorted as a form of absolution for the dominant white community and a mechanism of silencing the voices of protest calling for an end to structural racism and its prevailing violence in communities of color across the country. Of course, one of the greatest misconceptions of forgiveness is that it is a "gift" to the offender when in fact, all psychological research indicates that the process of forgiveness is even more importantly about the victim-survivor "letting go" of the hold that the memory of the offender and the enacted violation may have over them...

 

Read more about the political and social dimentions of forgiveness

 

Check out Carl's interview with the Huffington Post on this same topic.:

Christie Shrestha (CSP 2004), originally from Nepal, shares her reflection on the recent Earthquake in her country. She recently joined Initiatives of Change USA as Program Manager for the Caux Scholars Program - Asia Plateau. 

 

On April 25, 2015, a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal, my country of origin. Since then, much smaller, but nonetheless powerful magnitude of 5.0 and 6.0, tremors continue even today. As I reflect back on the early moments immediately after the tragedy hit, I remember feeling overwhelmed with fear for my relatives, who live in Nepal, and a sense of deep loss of watching the place where I grew up, the old neighborhoods that I hung around, and so many historical and cultural heritage sites and architectural treasures turned into rubble in a matter of seconds. For me, the sense of loss was deeply impacted with a loss of identity as a Nepali. The tangible and material things, the nostalgia of Nepal, the temples and sites, the streets, my old neighborhoods, and the vibrant life, all were parts of my childhood memories that I identified as being a Nepali.

 

Watching the devastation unfold, I felt helpless. However, amidst all the chaos and destruction, I witnessed through social media a rise of new visionaries and leaders - the Nepali youth. Within hours of earthquake, the Nepali youth groups organized themselves into numerous smaller groups and were in the forefront helping the Nepali army and police and International search and rescue teams. Setting aside their pain and suffering, the youths marched on (literally and figuratively) with a dedication to rebuild Nepal brick by brick, house by house, and village by village. Read more ...  

Laurin Hodge (CSP 2013) shares what she is learning about setting up an NGO:  

 

Leading a business requires focus; discipline; commitment; out-of-the-box thinking but most importantly find your "tribe." My advice to anyone looking to pursue a path of entrepreneurship is to become a part of a community that supports you. Creating a business can be lonely at times. When you are plugged into a nurturing network of like-minded people you will survive the tough times and learn to trust yourself, your vision, and your abilities.

 

Mission: Launch, Inc. is a 501(c) (3) tax-exempt organization. Our mission is to improve social outcomes for marginalized communities by building software to uphold human rights, designing opportunities for civic engagement, and amplifying inclusive thought leadership as well as personal narratives. The corporation is committed to the elimination of bias and barriers so that returning citizens (people returning home from prison/jail) can rejoin society and live out their full potential, contributing in meaningful ways.  

 

I made the decision to start this corporation while enrolled in a business masters degree program at The Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD, USA). It was 2010 and I was searching for what my next steps could be professionally, so I enrolled in a competition - winning 3rd place. For a few years I was still pursuing other passions but 2 years ago I decided that this was the business I was called to create and pursue. The passion for Mission: Launch was sparked by my personal experience.

Read more ... 

Jose Carlos Vargas (CSP 2005) attended the Healing History gathering in Richmond this past April. He and his wife created an organization called Solidaridad Internacional Kanda (SiKanda) , which focuses on social inclusion and economic development of people who live in slums and landfills in southern Mexico.   

 

In Mexico there is a common belief that we are a society where economic disparities and classism exist, but we do not acknowledge the presence of racism in our culture.  Yet in every advertisement, in every TV program, and in the majority of universities, companies and government entities, middle or top officials featured are white, or have a fair skin tone.

 

The Healing History conference made me better understand how various practices, customs and ideologies in my society seek to justify the unequal distribution of privileges, rights or goods among different racial groups and also across gender.

 

One important lesson that I learned at the conference is that privilege, particularly the one linked to whiteness and maleness, is an institutional, rather than personal, set of advantages granted to those of us, who by race or gender, resemble the people who occupy powerful positions in our institutions.

 

But how do I change that privilege? A simple, but effective step that I learned is not to fall into the making-decisions-for-everyone syndrome. Read more ...  

Janjarang Kijtikhun (CSP 2010) was chosen as one of the finalists for the Social Impact Award for a project called 'TeaRak', or 'the beloved' in Thai.  She writes about the needs that propelled her to take on this work:

Just like most tea growers in many countries, tea farmers in Thailand receive low and fluctuating prices for their produce and are the most vulnerable group in the supply chain.

 

Last year, through my work on rural development, I visited the region called Mae Salong, a mountainous area between the boarder of Thailand and Myanmar. The area is home to many ethnic minority groups known collectively as the hill tribes. All year long, the region is surrounded by mist, mountains, and vast areas of tea plantations.

 

Amid all the natural beauty lies the not so pretty story of hill tribe people, who are the poorest and the most marginalized group in Thailand. An average hill tribe person lives on less than 1 USD a day and most of the families do not have enough means to support their children through primary school.

 

I believe that we can change this inequality, and we can do so by marketing one of their best products, which is 'tea'. Cultivated with great care and long tradition, our tea collections come from different hill tribe groups. It is one tea, one tribe, and one unique flavor. Read more ...  

For years Berea College in Kentucky has been sending students to participate in the Caux Scholars Program. Dr. Michelle Tooley, an Associate Professor of Peace & Social Justice at Berea College, ensured this connection continued through a Berea-funded CSP scholarship. Sadly, Michelle passed away in May 2015. We asked some of her students, who are also CSP alumni, to share her impact on their lives. We have been so grateful for her support over the years. 

Winnie Arthur, Ghana, (CSP 2012): Michelle was my advisor for all four years at Berea College. She encouraged me. She pushed me. She taught me. I unlearned so much because of her. During my fourth and final Model African Union conference in DC, Michelle came knocking on my door to wake me up: "Winnie, have you forgotten that you are chairing Assembly of States today? Why are you still asleep?" In my head, I was like, "Bruh, it's 5:30am!" But that was Michelle. Always making sure you knew what was expected of you.

She was left-handed and scribbled fast when she wrote on the board. She talked about Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HPIC). She talked about dialogue and systemic violence. She talked about undocumented students and access and nested models of peace and the language of debt and forgiveness and self-care. She was a boat-rocker, gathering her truth and laying it neatly at your feet. She was clear.

I am a Caux Scholar because of Michelle. I'll be resuming my studies, focusing on post-conflict reconstruction in the fall because of Michelle. Yet I have no language for this loss.

Read additional tributes from Nadine Umutoni, Rwanda, (CSP 2014) and Sai Thiha, Burma, (CSP 2012).

We hope you enjoyed this issue of Cauxmunique. Please share this newsletter with your friends and forward it to those you know have a passion for peacebuilding.