I wanted to gobut was I ready? During the week, I talked over the idea of going to the workshop with Sally Van Vleck at the Neahtawanta Center and Tom and Darylene Shea who all urged me to go. When I called Peter Dougherty, Peace Team Coordinator, his warm encouragement was contagious. By Friday, December 2nd, mid afternoon, I was on the road to Flint. Lots of questions whirled in my head: was I ready, in any way, to even consider going into a hot spot where there would be armed conflict? Bullets?! Blood?! Me?
By the time, I got onto I-475 it was dark. The map on the brochure was straight-forward. The Center is across the street from a housing project; I could see that this is a rough part of Flint. I was relieved to pull into the parking area outside St. Francis Center. The front door opened and Peter Dougherty stepped out to greet me. Leaving my duffle bag in the foyer, I stepped into the front room. Right away, I saw Randy Bond who I met in early November at a one-day workshop in Traverse City. I was beginning to feel safe and I smelled popcorn.
About 8 oclock, Peter announced that most of the participants had arrived and asked us to gather in the meeting room downstairs. Jasiu Shaffer-Milanowski and Peter introduced themselves as co-trainers and greeted the group. Looking at the faces around the circle, I exchanged expectant smiles with these new acquaintances. I felt comforted, knowing I gathered with folks of like minds. There was a seriousness about our purpose and a joy of being together to do important work. The trainers told us that all over the world, people are gathering together to practice the kinds of skills that we would be learning.
Jasiu and Peter reviewed a proposed agenda which was reworked a bit before there was consensus to adopt it. Then, Jasiu introduced us to Light n Livelys. We were asked to stand up, join hands and then make a human pretzel. We wrapped ourselves into an arms-legs-and-twisted torso jumble and then unwound without breaking the hand-held circle. Physical, funny and unexpected. We were getting to know each other. Back to business, we quickly set the ground rules for the week-end. Be prompt to sessions, self monitor to avoid domination of the group, if it's yellow, let it mellow, compost goes into the bucket, etc.
I learned that K.S. Sripada (Raju) had come from Lansing to cook for us. What a treat vegetarian meals, and fruit always available! We talked about sleeping arrangements. When Jasiu and Kerry offered me a sleeping bag, I settled back knowing that the basics were in place. With the preliminaries out of the way, we adjourned upstairs to the front-room for a sing-along. The warmth of the wood stove provided a comfy feeling. As Peter played his guitar we sang along. Christmas songs, peace songs ... and then Peter entertained us with show-stopping tongue-twister lyrics. Hes a priest and he pushed the limits, challenging my image of priestly conduct. What fun!
Early Saturday, Debbie Gorman and I chatted at breakfast. I learned that she has worked in a factory in Flint for 17 years; she has learned to accommodate new ways of doing things. Debbie asked me lots of questions about the Faith and Resistance week-end that I had attended in Traverse City a few years ago. She especially wanted to know what it was like to cross the line at Wurtsmith Air Base. As we talked about it, I remembered how well Peter had prepared us for that non-violent demonstration. Both Debbie and I were encouraged as I recalled the step-by-step approach which culminated when some of us crossed the line at the base. With a full week-end to focus on action for peace, I was eager to join the group for the first session.
When the 13 participants were asked what they wanted to get out of the week-end, I glimpsed the many applications of nonviolent responses to conflict. One of the participants, Derwin Success, shared his dream that the young black men, who he visits in jail can learn nonviolent responses to conflicts in their schools and neighborhoods. Elise Harvey announced that she is working with juvenile offenders in Lansing and the local police. Elise wants to learn how to entice the youngsters to respond to their challenges in nonviolent ways.
Later, Peter, Randy, Jasiu (who tells me thats Polish for John) and Kerry talked about several actions by members of the Michigan Peace Team. I heard first-hand stories about events at Williams International near Walled Lake, Michigan, at White Sands in Nevada, Mostar in Bosnia, Jeremie in Haiti. Betty Brenner, a journalist from the Flint Journal, joined us for most of the day on Saturday and on Sunday afternoon. Listening to her conversation with Randy, I tuned into her skepticism. Betty was probing for proof that the peace makers actions made a difference. Peter, Randy and his wife, Kay, went to Bosnia in the summer of 1993. They were among the 2,500 people from all over the world who went to intervene in the violence there. Randy said he is convinced that the peace makers presence affected the shelling there. He said, We have to learn to utilize our influence.
Using role-plays, we learned pit-falls and practical ways to use our presence in violent situations. Saturday morning, I played several roles. In a mock street scene representing downtown Jeremie, Haiti, I took on the role of a cop who beat a woman to death. Afterwards, as the group processed the scene I was surprised when I heard Peter had been yelling Kill her! Kill her! I hadnt heard a thing; my auditory system shut down during the scene. I realized that I had not actually hit Kerry with the flimsy rolled up newspaper which was the prop for a police baton. I meant to hit her but I had hit at her. Street-scene armed violence is something Ive never witnessed and even a mock experience was shocking to my psyche.
In another scene, I was a joiner who tried to disrupt a mock gay rights demonstration. Joiners are, in some instances, paid provocateurs who disrupt and confuse peaceful demonstrations. Sometimes, joiners are well-meaning individuals who join a demonstration and change the focus or agitate the demonstrators. Kerry confronted me and separated me from the group,causing me to lose my focus and get confused. When Kerry asked, Where are you from? What are you doing here?, I couldnt even remember where I was from. I blurted out Another planet. Thats how I felt.
We practiced and experimented with sitting down in the midst of a scene. Other times we chanted, The whole world is watching. The whole world is watching!. Experienced participants told us that they have started singing Peace is flowing like a river. Flowing over you and me in the presence of a potentially violent situation. We talked about using cameras to record the action. We learned the importance of well-honed observation skills. When reporting situations to authorities or to the media, peace makers gain credibility when they can clearly describe what happened.
Saturday evening and Sunday we moved from physical, action-filled activities to philosophical and visionary exercises. First, we shared our feelings of despair at escalating violence in our communities, the expected post-election support for renewed military build-up and our concern for all people whose lives are disrupted by acts of violence. Before we collapsed under the weight of it all, our trainers skillfully moved us into a series of vision-building exercises.
In teams, we took the opposing sides in Strategy Games. We played out negotiations in three scenarios. For example, one team was a coalition of Israeli officials and an internationally backed developer who were ready to break ground to establish a Jewish community in the middle of a Palestinian settlement. The other team was peace makers concerned about saber-rattling from the Palestinian leadership and reported small arms shipments into the area.
On Sunday, after sitting together in silence and then singing a few Christmas songs, we assembled to break bagels together. Fresh bagels, delicious preserves and fruit were served to get us going for the day. As we gathered, someone suggested that we collectively commend Raju for the great meals and his gentle presence. Quickly, we decided on a chant, Raju! Raju! Raju!. He came to the table beaming. Arms around the circle, we looked at one another as friends. Smiles around!
Back to work, the Vision Gallery was on the agenda. Each of us wrote a vision of an imagined event as if it had happened. The idea was to see a situation in which peace activists made a difference. Then we each reported to two others in our small groups. What excitement to hear the possibilities that are created in our minds! Peter, Wally Reese and I were together to share our visions. Skillfully Peter saw the relationships between our independently conceived ideas. When all the participants converged to share visions, Peter, then Wally, then I told parts of our vision:
Dateline April, 1996: President Clinton announces the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the border of Turkey and Iraq. The U.S. efforts to assist Iraq in maintaining control over the Kurd territory have failed. President Clinton in a media conference announced that the continued presence of an international peace keeping force in the area stymied the military strategists. Peter, still in the hot spot near the Kurdish settlement, rejoiced as he read the message on his computer screen. Wally, back at the central peace network office in Lansing, was typing the message to Peter as he watched President Clinton on television.
Wally, who had relentlessly contacted and coordinated the Americans involved in the international peace activist presence in Iraq and Turkey, was ecstatic. The electronic network and support from non-governmental organizations all over the world had been a critical part of this break-through victory for non-violent intervention. Thanks to connections that Bob Russell, from the Neahtawanta Center, had made in that international training blitz in 1993 and 1994, it worked at the grass-roots level. All over the globe people with a common vision for peace prevailed.
When Wally finished sending the news to Peter, he checked in with Mary Anne who was ready to head back to the Federal Building in downtown Lansing. She needed to check in with Linda Wan and the Lubienskis from the Michigan Peace Team. Having known them since the fall training in Flint in 1994, Mary Anne was confident that the situation downtown was still just a noisy demonstration. Linda and Sarah Theule-Lubienski were the Michigan Peace Team members responsible for coordinating with the Michigan Militia.
With just twenty-four hours notice, 40 Peace Team members had gathered in Lansing to observe the Michigan Militias efforts to close the federal building in protest of the prolonged U.S. military presence in the Middle East. Wally, at Peace Central, and Sarah had been in contact by telephone all morning. Sarah reported that the Michigan Militia captain had just stopped by to confirm that the militia had anticipated the Peace Team sit-in. Mary Anne reminded Wally that all those months of getting to know the members of the militia were paying off. Members of the Peace Team and the militia shared a vision of a safe world for their children, and their childrens children. Good news at home and in the Middle East!
On that high note, Peter, Wally and I accepted the applause of the other participants. Each group reported great possibilities for nonviolent intervention, locally and abroad. While I could reality test each idea, I chose not to limit myself and the possibilities that way. In the circle of friends, amidst the heightened collective energy, I had a dream. A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.
It was time to wrap-up. Each person wrote her/his name, address (including some e-mail) on a tablet. I volunteered to make a listing and send it to each person before the end of the month. Everyone volunteered to cleanup. A couple of us moved chairs, so Sarah could vacuum. Some of us put the compost into a plastic bag so Kerry could take it home to her garden. We scrubbed pots and pans. And, most important, we set the scene for more team-building. Now the connections have been made; now the important work begins. I encourage all readers to contact the Michigan Peace Team and get involved. Support Peace Activism.