Do the possible, and don’t be overwhelmed by what is seemingly impossible.
Nine cities around the world have done just that to find creative ways in overcoming
violence. Representatives at the assembly are showcasing what they have done, to inspire
others to deal with violence which has become a daily feature of life.
Inspiring and challenging stories from local peace-building initiatives in a WCC-inspired
campaign were shared in a "Peace to the City" Padare yesterday.
In 1994, the WCC central committee, meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, approved the
decision to establish a Program to Overcome Violence (POV). Out of it grew the Peace to
the City Campaign.
The focus of the campaign was not on violence in the cities but on imaginative efforts to
overcome violence through cross-community work to build bridges between, and reconcile,
communities drawn into conflict by violence.
The goals were "building a culture of peace through practical means to overcome
violence at different levels of society, encouraging the churches to play a leading role
in using non-violent means such as prevention, mediation, intervention and education
appropriate to their particular contexts", according to a central committee mandate.
The campaign concentrated on seven cities where both destructive and constructive forces
are at play — Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Boston, USA;
Colombo, Sri Lanka; Durban, South Africa; Kingston, Jamaica; and Suva, Fiji.
These cities are symbolic of efforts to overcome violence — urban, ethnic, economic,
political, inter-religious — all over the world.
Bethlehem, in Palestine, and Tuzla, in Bosnia, have also joined the campaign, bringing
examples of peace-building from the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
Members of the reference committee, an advisory group to the POV which is moderated by Dr
Janice Love from the United States, speak of "a powerful response" to the Peace
in the City campaign in the short timespan since it was launched.
"The first most critical step is to have the commitment. If the commitment is there,
the resources will follow," says Dr Hizkias Assefa (Ethiopian Orthodox Church,
Kenya), a member of the committee. "This is what are we trying to do in the campaign
videos and books — to show cases of what people were able to do with their own
resources.
"The POV is really meant to challenge the churches, to learn from the examples of
these cities struggling with violence, to see what resources are available in their own
community, to mobilise and take action on these issues."
Dr Rubem Cesar Fernandes, another committee member, adds, "The issue of violence is
becoming a central concern all around world. It’s no longer a marginal issue where
some countries are involved in war and others in peace, some in civil war and others in
harmony, some people involved in crime while others are good citizens. Even countries
which have never experienced an internal war like Brazil find themselves shaken by daily
violence."
Such daily violence at the local, national, and international level continues to be the
focus of the POV.
Says Dr Assefa of the stories from the cities: "This truly is a story of realised
hope."
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