The high degree of conflict that has built up in the state of Chiapas and the increasingly violent means of resolving differences have led SIPAZ to create spaces for reflection in order to help the participants confront differences in a distinct manner: the transformation of conflicts and active nonviolence.

The state of war that prevails in the state has caused hundreds of deaths and injuries over the last few years, as well as thousands of displaced (at least 15,000 at the current moment). In the highlands, the northern region and the jungle, there is a climate of intolerance and violence that threatens the most basic human rights.

Peace talks between the EZLN and the federal government provided a mechanism for displacing some of the tensions in the communities into a context where they could be dealt with constructively. However with peace talks frozen, local conflicts, some of which have existed for decades without notable violence, now must bear the full weight of the larger conflict with all of its local, national and international dimensions.

It is not SIPAZ’ role to resolve these secondary conflicts. Nonetheless, given their explosive potential, SIPAZ has tried to support local actors who have the greatest capacity for disentangling them efficiently. In its Statement of Purpose, SIPAZ clearly recognizes that the “negotiation, mediation and initiative that are necessary in order to achieve an eventual solution to the conflict” must depend on Mexican society. It emphasizes that SIPAZ “seeks to play a facilitative role, enhancing the context in which Mexicans are working to solve largely Mexican problems.”

A key element in our efforts to do that has been our peacebuilding workshops. These reflection spaces support the search for peaceful solutions, both among the primary actors in the Chiapas conflict and at the community level, and contribute to the movement of Chiapas’ society towards a new culture of peace.

In addition, we believe it is necessary to put imagination in motion. We think that with everyone’s participation, new methods of struggle and of responding to the complex dimensions of the conflict can be found, without giving up one’s own objectives and without paying such high and regrettable costs. A member of SERPAJ (Peace and Justice Service), who co-facilitated a workshop, stressed: “We often use the same methods (marches, sit-ins, denunciations, etc.). We lack creativity. We also have a tendency to react, not to take the initiative. We have to act, not just react; we need to take the lead.”

A wider range of workshops…

SIPAZ began offering workshops in 1996 on civil resistance, fear management, active nonviolence, etc. In 1998, they were held at least monthly. Attendance generally ranged from 15 to 40 persons. Participants included members of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and local churches, with new people continuing to join. In 1998, the central theme of the series was “Peaceful Transformation of Conflicts.” Our starting point was personal reflection (self-esteem), after which we covered other issues having to do with interpersonal and group dynamics (individual styles, communication, etc.).

ubsequently we tackled elements which help us to confront conflicts (management of fear in violent situations, for example). We ended the series with some tools for analyzing conflict situations and for identifying strategies for peace.

Our workshop series is sustained by a reflection which begins from within, a daily challenge that invites our creative internal response. “I am moving away from the idea that being nonviolent is being indifferent. Quite the opposite: rather it means being courageous about life, being passionate. At the end of the day, I realized all the work I have to do. There are many forms of violence which still occur in me,” commented a workshop participant.

Lina Maria Obando of Justapaz (Colombia) insisted during a workshop she was co-leading, “We shouldn’t imagine the violent actors as being ‘external.’ We ourselves reproduce the violence (competitiveness with fellow employees, for example), or we tolerate it (when well-being is a concept that should encompass everyone).”

This year, we are going to go more into depth on the subject of nonviolence. Each “stage” will have as its objective helping participants to deepen their knowledge of the theme and to make up a kind of “toolbox” that they can use every day in order to put that knowledge into practice.

At the same time, we will be opening a space for reflection on the theme “Conflict Analysis and Strategies for Peace” for the purpose of reinforcing the capabilities of local actors. The methodology can change, depending on the focus (by area or kinds of actors, for example).

At one of the workshops, a participant from a local NGO commented: “Up until now, I hadn’t thought much about nonviolence. I hadn’t imagined that we could find so many words to define it. In the work groups, we realized that civil society is not clear about which way to move forward. It lacks consistency. We need more reflection and analysis.”

Religious tension is one manifestation of the violence and mistrust that divide many communities in Chiapas: expulsions of religious groups that are in the minority in their communities, the closing of churches, illegal detentions, and even murders. As this problem has grown, SIPAZ has sought to strengthen the role of religious actors in the search for peace and reconciliation.

Since August 1997, SIPAZ has helped facilitate several workshops on conflict resolution and human relations in the ecumenical Bible School of Holistic Formation (BSHF). The participants – primarily teachers, pastors, catechists and health workers – experience living, studying, sharing with persons from different churches. Subsequently they are better able to encourage their communities to enhance the conditions that permit dialogue, tolerance and mutual respect. In addition to the BSHF courses, we have offered similar workshops to evangelical youths, and we are planning a workshop series this year with coordinators of Catholic youth groups and with a congregation of Catholic religious sisters.

Lastly, following up on the Gandhi exhibition (see “An Encounter with Gandhi,” in this issue), we are beginning to support training in places of formal education. We hope to offer workshops and talks in primary and secondary schools and universities on values that are important for the creation of a culture of peace, such as respect, tolerance, reconciliation, and nonviolence.

A constant learning process…

Currently, three members of the SIPAZ team are responsible for presenting these workshops. We also rely on the support of other persons who belong to Mexican and international organizations (especially SERPAJ and the Mennonite Central Committee). We belong to the Mennonite Mesoamerican Network (Mexico and Central America), which organizes workshops three times a year on Conflict Transformation. We also participate in the Convergence of Civil Organizations for Democracy gatherings which bring together groups from all over Mexico to share information and experience. The very nature of the SIPAZ coalition (many of the member organizations have years of experience in other conflict areas) is another rich resource.

We use a participatory methodology in our workshops, including group dynamics exercises such as consciousness-raising techniques, analysis, communication techniques, socio-dramas, etc. This allows the participants to play a key role in the workshops. In this way, we build on their own experience and enable them to return to their work and to apply what they have learned.

A member of the Diocese of San Cristobal assessed the value of such experiences: “It’s like we’re pushing a car up a hill, but we probably should be putting stones behind the wheels so it doesn’t roll back down. We have a lot of experiences, but we never think about systematizing and sharing them.”

In one of the workshops participants were asked to depict “What is a conflict for me?” One of the participants sketched two persons who were unable to speak with each other. In our culture and education, we are taught to discredit and to compete more than to work together. In this sense, the workshops are to a certain extent an opportunity to “unlearn” together ways of thinking and behaving that do not encourage interdependence and mutual support.

Another participant depicted conflict by drawing a rock. He explained to us later that he had chosen this symbol because, “It is hard, it can strike a blow and injure. I can try to throw it far away from me, but it continues to exist. It is a source of discomfort, like a rock in my shoe. But it is also a burden, one’s responsibility. And also, drops of love can cause it to erode.”

First achievements…

We believe that our efforts in the workshops represent another “little drop” in the long process of wearing down the rocks. They contribute in some measure to the search for nonviolent solutions to the conflicts in Chiapas. A participant from a human rights organization commented: “This workshop helped me to reflect and to realize that it is possible to transform violent situations into nonviolent situations. Everything isn’t black or gray. It’s like yin and yang. Next to the shadow is the light. There are lights of hope.” A doctor added, “This workshop has awakened my hope. Nonviolence IS something that can be attained. When we were doing the small group work on the manifestations of violence in Chiapas, we realized that there are groups here that have demonstrated how to respond with concrete nonviolent actions.”

We seek to have an impact that is both social and personal (the process of change begins when one takes responsibility for one’s own state of mind, one’s feelings and actions). A Catholic priest shared with us: “It has helped me very much to have this space for reflection where I can truly get a breath of fresh air, get feedback, affirm my own identity. It’s like a well to drink from (…) In addition, you are offering us a space in which to continue to cultivate a practice of reconciliation and mediation. It helps us to have all those elements in a systematized way. It helps me in my service of accompaniment in conflicts between pastoral agents or in divided communities.”

Another achievement is the formation of a heterogeneous support group. Nonviolence is a process that leads us to become aware of and to challenge the violence and injustice of social structures. It strengthens us to have a space where we can share with others who, in the same sense, are seeking to transform their own violence and that which exists around them.

And still a long way to go…

Because we have not been able to respond to all the increasing requests for workshops, we have sought other ways to broaden the participation of organizations that can serve as “multipliers” in their areas of influence. Some of the participants are already reproducing the contents of our workshops in other places and with other people. Such is the case with a peace education group that has begun this challenging work with community and regional officials and health workers in the so-called conflict zone. Approximately 80 persons from 28 communities are attending those workshops. They, in turn, have committed themselves to reproduce the workshops in their individual communities.

Members of this group reported: “We recognize that the communities, traditionally, have their own ways of resolving problems, with officials and catechists taking the role of mediators. Nonetheless, given the current climate, we can confirm that internal or inter-community conflicts have intensified and sharpened. That is why we see the need to create reflection spaces, so that officials and human rights promoters can identify and reaffirm values such as cooperation, understanding, solidarity, communication and equality. We also saw the importance of reflecting on the procedures for conflict resolution themselves, as well as learning about other resources that can complement and make resolution more effective and avoid the outbreak of violence.”

In working directly with the indigenous communities of Mexico, cultural aspects – such as language – make the work difficult. We find that we must translate all the contents and adapt the techniques. Our experience in this field (with indigenous women in Yajalon, for example) brings us to the same conclusions as CEPAZ (Peace Education Collective): “The indigenous way of thinking is more holistic and concrete, making it more difficult to work on a problem in a partial or abstract manner. We find it necessary to work more through exercises focused on real problems in the communities.”

Another challenge is that even when the workshops are open, there are still many sectors that are not represented. We believe that their word is not only important, but necessary, in order to build the culture of respect and tolerance for all ways of living, believing and thinking. Current strategies for broadening participation include working through the Bible School of Holistic Formation and offering workshops in the schools and universities.

By giving local activists analytical and practical tools for dealing with conflict, SIPAZ contributes to expanding the space in which dialogue is possible and to raising expectations regarding the potential for nonviolent conflict resolution. Success in resolving or reducing conflict at the local level translates into lives saved and more secure communities. It also contributes directly to the prospects of the larger peace process.