Report from Africa by George Lakey, Training for Change. May 2004

"You are delayed!" the student leader burst out.

The other students in the room laughed uproariously at the remark, partly from agreement and partly from embarassment at the uncharacteristic challenge flung at a foreign guest (me).

Gerald Gomani, who organized the meeting, laughed along delightedly. Gerald, an internationally experienced trainer, is director of Zimbabwe Institute for Cultural Affairs and the sponsor of my trip.

In other meetings a range of Zimbabwe civic leaders was more tactful, but the message was consistent: in Zimbabwe we've been suffering increasing repression while our democratic dreams fade, and we're not getting some of the practical help we need on the ground. The international boycotts are helpful on one level but they also intensify the free-fall of the economy: the gross domestic product has shrunk one-third in recent years!

90% of the population is beneath the poverty line, according to the Zimbabwe government's own figures, and inflation swings between 500 and 700%! While leaders gave me statistics such as these, I saw small gardens sprouting in the capital city as the unemployed seek desperately to get nutrition for their children. Meanwhile, corruption at high levels is rampant, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Unable or unwilling to correct the economy, and suspended by the British Commonwealth, the government has been tightening the screws. Demonstrators are beaten and arrested for the tamest of protests. The last independent daily newspaper shuts down. The leader of a major coalition of nongovernmental organizations is beaten and left for dead. Lawyers can be tortured for representing clients who are critical of the government. We talked with a lawyer with a women's nongovernmental organization who is now wrestling with whether to return to a rural site where she was threatened.

Zimbabwe has ample resources for a good living for its fourteen million people, strong education and health care, and effective reduction of the AIDS epidemic. The government's energy is, however, going into fighting the opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The government deposed the elected MDC mayor of Harare and has arrested a number of Members of Parliament. This after stealing the last election (2002), according to international observers.

The government tries to deflect criticism through attacks on gays, white farmers, the independent newspaper published weekly, and the British government, but the increasing desperation of governmental moves suggests that scapegoating is not working.

While I was there, state-controlled media attacked Roman Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube for defending human rights; he is working with South Africa's Desmond Tutu on this and says the attacks will not deter him. Tutu is challenging the world, saying it cannot stand by and watch a tragedy unfold "without becoming complicit through apathy."

What is "delayed"?

The student's outburst -- roughly, "What took you so long?!" -- came after I described Third Party Nonviolent Intervention as used in other countries where human rights are abused. Third Party Nonviolent Intervention (TPNI) offers protection to people trying to stand up for justice. TPNI offers four techniques which increase the political space on the ground, giving people a chance to take more risks in working for change: (1) protective accompaniment (also called unarmed bodyguards), (2) monitoring and observing, (3) presence, and (4) interposition. Which TPNI techniques are used depends on the local situation and the requests of the people at risk.

In every one of the ten meetings, leaders said there is a pressing need for TPNI in Zimbabwe; most said it needed to be in place "yesterday." They also, however, pointed out that the need will intensify in the months preceding the March 2005 parliamentary election, when widespread violence and intimidation is expected. Since a TPNI operation was not available yesterday, one wonders, could it be put in place by the end of the year?

In discussing the TPNI application of nonviolent action, Gerald and I explained that it is more likely to be successful if there's solid training, and at the moment there's only one African trainer we know of with experience in core TPNI training -- Gerald! He co-facilitated TfC's 18-day pilot training in 2003 for Nonviolent Peaceforce in Thailand. which field-tested the new TPNI training curriculum Opening Space for Democracy.

Training was where the legacy of colonialism often came to the surface. Briefly stated: African trainers need the capacity to do training for TPNI. Most of the Zimbabwe leaders interviewed who have training programs as part of their organizations expressed strong interest in pulling their colleagues into a TPNI Training of Trainers.

While Training for Change is not itself a provider of TPNI services, I agreed before leaving to relay to appropriate TPNI organizations what I learned about Zimbabwe's need. This trip underlined the importance of building peacekeeping capacity in Africa, and the Global South more generally, including developing regional TPNI trainers. Because of TfC's experience and relationships, TfC can play a unique role in partnering for this work.

Many thanks to the community of support which is making TfC's Africa work possible, including Central Philadelphia Friends Meeting, the Pemberton Fund of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of Friends, and generous individuals