CHOOSING TO LIVE FOR PEACE
Pupils are learning to make choices that bring light to their communities
WE CAN recreate a new narrative from an old story. A story of duality that pits good against evil and is usually reflected in terms of light and darkness. These are the choices that we have in life, darkness or light. An eternal African proverb reminded me about this.
An elder, a teacher of a village spoke to a group of young boys and girls about the gift of choices that each one is given upon being born. He then said that in each one of us two animals will always live. One is an animal of darkness and the other is an animal of light. These two animals are always fighting to control the life, body and mind of a person. A little girl then asked the elder, which animal wins control over your life, body and mind?
The wise elder answered: the animal you feed. If you behave badly, dishonestly, unethically, unjustly, violently and uncaringly you feed the animal of darkness, which will then grow stronger and defeat the animal of light. If you are consistently gentle, respectful, caring, loving, helpful, peaceful and actively oppose violence then you feed the animal of light, which will be able to overcome the animal of darkness. This is the gift of choice that we all have been given, and by our choices we choose light or darkness.
The significance of this African proverb emerged at a recent Writers for Peace workshop that we convened for young aspirant peace writers. A young teenager who was shot four times at close range shared his story with the rest of the group. He stated that he was playing football with a few of his friends in Hanover Park and he saw another young teenager whom he knew walking towards the park. They were both at the same primary school and lived in the same area, but their paths never crossed in the neighbourhood. This boy strolled up to within one metre of him, pointed a gun and fired. Four bullets hit him and the shooter ran away. Everyone panicked and screams pierced the sky and there was blood everywhere. He was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment. The news spread rapidly across the community and there was angry talk of righteous retaliation, and a hunt for the shooter started.
The young teenager who had been shot received a hospital visit from a group of young men who vowed to take revenge. He said to the eager
“avenging angels” that he did not want anything to happen to the shooter or his family members. They tried to convince him to agree to vengeance, but he insisted that they respect his wishes.
At the Writers for Peace workshop, he shared that his story about how he made the positive choice for peace after he attended a Peace Ambassadors workshop at Groenvlei High School in 2017. This pilot project was underwritten by the City of Cape Town. The peace training he received changed his thinking. He quietly explained that he had learnt so much at the Peace Ambassadors training about the importance of making peace choices instead of angry choices that could lead to disaster. Everyone listened with rapt attention as he said that when he first heard about the Peace Ambassador workshop at the school, he immediately agreed to attend. He then had a naughty smile and “confessed” that he really just wanted to get out of the classroom. He needed a break from school work, and there were refreshments and something different to do.
He said that when he joined the workshop he suddenly discovered that the words of peace spoke to his soul. The workshop ended and he was ready to engage in peace projects with his friends. For him, the most important part of the workshop was about inner peace and making choices for peace. Participants cheered when he had completed telling his story.
Riedwaan Samuels, who was shot four times, will tell his own story that will feature in a book about peace, hope and inspiration. The book launch will take place on Human Rights Day, March 21. Community Chest chief executive Lorenzo Davids, who is passionate about peace, supported the project concept that his senior management team approved.
Saint Francis best depicts the purpose of the book about peace, hope and inspiration when he stated that “all the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle”. Inspirational words are the candles of 50 young writers who will feature in a book to light the way for those lost in a world of hopelessness.