|
Chances for Change
Images from the Theatre of War
Scheemda, the Netherlands:
The line "our lives will never be the same" has been
said millions of times already after what happened on last September
11. It was my son's 7th birthday. He and I will certainly never
forget. Most people I know are still wondering how "never
the same" will look like. What has happened, what has changed
and what can be changed from here?
Peace, not passivity!
page
In order to create a platform for the immediate feelings after
September 11, we opened the Peace, not passivity! page. One of
the contributions on this page was an article by Augusto Boal:
"Talion is Judgement, not Revenge". The reactions pointed
in one direction: there is fear that the current war can't be
stopped. We're at the Theatre of War right now. Our governments
tell us that there is no place to hide: we're among the victims
or the villains, or even both.
How to say STOP!
in a Theatre of War
is something we haven't learned. It's governments and organisations
who decide about these questions, don't they? But we also remember
that the Cold War was stopped by unarmed people. If we believe
that Theatre of the Oppressed is about the desires of the people,
I think we have no choice but to work for peace.
Work for Peace
I know many of us are already deeply involved in this work. In
UP 7 we read about TO work in Palestine, and we know about the
work of Sole Purpose in Northern Ireland. In the context of (civil)
wars, TO serves as a tool for analysis, dialogue and understanding.
TO techniques are also used in the field of coping with traumatic,
war- and poverty-based experiences, especially with children.
Examples of projects cover countries like Bosnia, Georgia, Sri
Lanka, India and Kenya. But how do you stop governments programming
the Theatre of War for the next couple of years. What about the
Theatre of Peace?
Theatre of Peace?
Peace is more than the absence of war; peace is also more than
being peaceful. Sometimes you have to fight for peace. I know
some of us are in doubt if Theatre of the Oppressed is a weapon
strong enough to fight for peace ( and win! ) So what kind of
weapon are we talking about? In this issue of Under Pressure,
we will try to find out. If the answers don't convince you, just
let us know!
Under Pressure 8, November 2001
|
