|
Conflict Theatre in Your Village! |
|
A
shadowed Shangri-la
Nepal
is known the world over as a “Shangri-la”, a peaceful and
beautiful mountain kingdom. It is becoming increasingly apparent,
however, that the snow-clad peaks cover a deeply divided and
conflict-ridden society. Sharp divisions between the high-caste
elite and the many ethnic groups and “untouchable” low castes
prevail throughout the country. Ten years of multi-party democracy
has not been able to address these conflicts. Instead, new
divisions have been developed between the urban elite, who have
become part of the global middle class, and their desperately poor
rural countrymen. The conflicts have deepened. The main actors to
step forward to use them have been the Maoist rebels. A violent
insurgency, now in its sixth year, has spread throughout the
country.
MS has
chosen " Peace, Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation" as the
theme for Global Action for 2001 and 2002. This theme is of
particular relevance for Nepal in the present context. There is a
clear need to explore peaceful and constructive uses of conflicts
to build a more equitable and just society.
As
part of its Global Action activities MS-Nepal has cooperated with
Aarohan, a Nepali theater group, to create a village theatre about
conflicts as they are seen from the point of view of the
oppressed. The long-term aim of the project is to build the
capacity of our grass-roots partners to work creatively with
conflict management. The project is aimed especially at partner
organizations representing indigenous and ethnic groups and
“untouchable” castes -- groups who feel especially discriminated
against in Nepali society. Through interactive theater in their
own communities, the participants will develop their capacity to
work constructively with local conflicts. The project will also
form the base of an ongoing network between MS minority partner
organizations working on conflict resolution.
Contents
|
