Essays

Author: Carlos Andrés García Carvajal (Bogotá, Colombia)

“We propose new symbols in public spaces. Symbols that apologize for violence are imposed in all public spaces in Colombia, we have to look for other symbols that reconcile us with all the actors that exist in Colombia” (Secretary of the Indigenous Authorities Movement of Colombia, 2021).

The recent "national strikes" in Colombia have made visible the need to ask about the relation between the uses of the public space and their relationship with troubled pasts and present injustices and the need to understand reconciliation as a broad process that affects and even includes people who have never been involved in an armed conflict. For this reason, this essay will begin by presenting the connection between reconciliation and peacebuilding in divided societies, and then present a quick context of the current situation in Colombia, in order to address the question of what is the sense of working on reconciliation in a divided society? The resources used are data from the government of Colombia, which will allow presenting a current social and political panorama; the interviews carried out with three Colombian social leaders, which will allow having a comprehensive perspective of the challenges and possibilities of reconciliation today; and the experience accumulated in my work at the University of Los Andes. This, framed within the general themes addressed throughout the course. In addition, some photographs were used to better understand the artistic actions that are currently being carried out in the country to reconfigure, reappropriate, or resignifying public spaces. This work is carried out within the framework of the “Peace Building in Divided Societies” summer course, offered by the Peace Academy Foundation (PAF) developed between July and September 2021.

Author: Dominique Samantha S. Dulay (Manila, Philippines)

Stanton argues that ‘phronetic knowledge’ is important in its ability to allow actors effective navigation of complex and uncertain contexts. Moreover, the success of peacebuilding initiatives is improved by the skill of context-dependent judgment.[1] It is generally agreed that peace is sustainable only when driven by members of the affected community or country, who are knowledgeable of the context, capable of judging the relevance and potentiality of measures, and in possession of the motivation and the networks to ensure the long-term implementation of peacebuilding efforts.[2] Periods of active, ongoing, and/or protracted conflict test the mettle of such local peacebuilders and programs, but also emphasise the importance of this phronetic knowledge to navigate the assuredly challenging environment. This essay provides an initial analysis of the value of local practical wisdom in the effective implementation of peacebuilding measures particularly in the context of Myanmar’s Rakhine State.

Author: Marisol Ortiz Acosta (Bogotá, Colombia)

“(…) “The training must be so hard that the war feels like a rest” that says everything! You cannot cry. The songs are important to encourage things, for example: I want to bathe in a pool, full, full of blood, subversive blood or am I the black vampire, I never had a mother, I will never have her, the last one I had, last night I stung her. Horrible things one says, how could I sing that? you must sing it, that is part of manhood. You are a man and if you must kill your mother, then you kill her (…) I became a very strong, very disheartened” AUC ex-combatant, Colombia[i]

Introduction

Most combatants in conflicts are men, but that does not mean that men are naturally violent. Gender is a social construction, and a particular notion of masculinity can play a role in driving and maintaining armed conflicts, especially in profoundly divided societies. Therefore, peacebuilding efforts with a gender perspective should critically examine the roles and experiences of boys and men during war and promote peaceful masculinities[ii] that favour non-violence, reconciliation, and gender equality. Uttermost, the peaceful masculinities approach should be applied in post-conflict settings and as a preventive measure in non-conflict affected countries. There are already several examples of NGOs and local actors' programs in various countries that engage boys and men to promote gender equality and non-violence with demonstrable positive impacts that organizations and institutions could apply in other contexts.