This is the story of the traveler. It is adapted from the one narrated by Deanna Zantingh during a panel discussion “On Being Good Neighbors” in Winnipeg, Canada.
One day, a traveler was walking down the road besides his ancestral land. Suddenly, the traveler’s journey is interrupted when he is robbed, stripped naked, left half dead and the ancestral land taken away.
• After some time a government official comes along, and on seeing the situation throws some money at the traveler, passes by on the other side of the road without actually offering to help, and continues without looking back.
• A Preacher comes by, and on seeing the traveler says a prayer, but leaves the person there on the road and continues walking.
• Some NGO workers happen to be passing by, and when seeing the badly injured naked traveler, express their concern about the situation. But, since they are too busy to offer any real help they tell the traveler that they will report the incident by publishing a statement of condemnation in the newspaper, and they move on.
• Later a development worker comes by, and on seeing the traveler tries to paint the face white, but gives up and leaves only after extracting a bag of natural resources from the indigenous person’s land.
• And then, a corporate worker comes and seeing that the traveler is already down and out, takes further advantage of the opportunity. The corporate worker floods the traveler’s fields destroying the traditional food sources, extracts more natural resources and claims the largest and most productive piece of land for the corporation. Eventually, the worker leaves on the other side of the road with his pockets lined with money.
• Later that day, a young person comes along and is moved with empathy for the traveler. The young person treats the traveler’s wounds, takes him home until the person heals, and becomes whole again. Then the young person’s relationship with the traveler grows and gets to learn about how the traveler’s life was interrupted by the robbery and beating, how his land and natural mineral resources were confiscated, and his identity hijacked. They become friends, partners in restoring wholeness as they pursue justice and peace together.
Can you identify with Deanna’s story, its meaning and the dilemmas it poses? Are we like the Government that reacts with short term measures, are we like the development worker that tries to cover up the problem with paint, or are we like the corporate worker that takes advantage to further exploit the situation? Or, are we like the young person that forms relationships with the people by building understanding while walking in solidarity and learning with them? It is through the process of addressing the issues together – step by step – which creates a far more productive, relevant and open space for open dialogue.
In a broken and fragmented society where people don’t know each other and are suspicious and too afraid to reach out and help each other, where do we begin?
In other words, it is persuading us to liberate the self, to confront the structures of domination using a holistic multi-cultural approach with a bottom-up pedagogy in the context of right relationships, mutual respect and shared responsibilities. This includes getting to know our neighbors and deconstructing the structures of violence. It is about enabling a dialogue of civilizations and consciously creating inclusive systems that uphold the relational web of interdependence. It is by inter-weaving these many different strands that the values of humanization are expressed.
Our search for justice and peace absolutely depends on how we engage these dilemmas with mutual respect and integrity. In order to create peaceful and inclusive societies in which everyone benefits we need to know each other. We need to ask what kind of relations we are cultivating. Are we building relationships of dependency, relationships of domination, fear, and injustice? Or are we building relations that nurture and cultivate right relationships based on dignity and respect, which are the foundation for holistic sustainable development and transformation that are essential for a society to peacefully coexist.
Knowing our stories helps us know ourselves and each other. There is power in knowing who you are, and in knowing each other in mutual respect that actually strengthens our ability to uphold fundamental human rights, and the equal rights of men and women that increase the likelihood for future generations to live peaceably as the propensity for violent conflict and war are systematically reduced. Clearly the honoring and upholding a people’s right has and continues to be the focus of human history.
The question remains as to whether or not we have the collective will and the prophetic imagination to pursue this revolutionary necessity of our times that is required for us to chart our own destinies in pursuit of a holistic, sustainable and dignified co-existence.
