PB #13 Pulling a Vivi

Life has been non-stop since … well, all of 2006, but particularly since I got back from the States in early October. After one of my co-workers recently interrupted a staff meeting to ask me if I’d ever considered taking up meditation, I decided I needed to pull a Vivi – sneak away to the ocean and not tell anyone. So that’s what I’ve done. Besides soaking up some sun (and moon), I’ve put together a couple of mix cd’s and reviewed the last few months. Here’s what I’ve been up to for the last few months …

As part of an initiative to develop a network of human rights organizations, we are conducting some trainings on human rights documentation. We’re not above asking the difficult questions, as you can see in this photo.

My former housemates are on the border now, waiting for resettlement to a third country. The main motivation is for this youngin’ to get a decent education. He’s a rambunctious kid, and recently their Thai neighbor got tired of the noise he and his friends were making and came into their yard and threatened to cut off their legs so they couldn’t run around any more. The little one was freaked out and wants to either get back to Chiang Mai or onto the 3^rd country asap … anywhere but next to that scary neighbor.

On October 16, my friend Thet Win Aung, who had been a political prisoner in Burma since 1998, died in prison. His death came after long bouts of illness, including malaria and depression, due to poor prison conditions. (He was put in prison for helping organize peaceful student protests against the military.) His colleagues on the border held a memorial service to honor his life, and his case was added to the long list of atrocities committed by the military. His death hit me a bit hard, the most personal I’ve taken the work I’m doing here. This photo features his photo and a bucket of donations that are provided as alms to the Buddhist temple that conducted the memorial service.

At the end of October, I went to Bellagio, Italy for a conference on Transitional Justice. There were some heavy-hitters there, including people who had written books I read in grad school. The conference was called “Rethinking the Toolbox on Transitional Justice,” so there was lots of talk of nuance and contradictions and the need to prioritize local views. The conference center is designed for relaxation, and includes a villa where writers can stay for a few months. They do it right, as you can see – this is the view from my bedroom window.

I got back from Italy just in time for Loi Krathong, a Thai holiday that marks the beginning of the cool season. Fireworks abound, but the main idea is to create a float (krathong) with flowers, incense, a coin or two, and a part of one’s self (e.g. a bit of fingernail or a strand of hair), then make a wish for the following year and launch (loi) it onto a body of water. The krathong carries away sins and bad luck as well. The sky fills up with lights, too, as people launch paper balloons into the sky.

Liane, Guy, and I sent up a balloon as well.

The next day, I was completely wiped out and stayed in bed for 2 days, making it outside only to get to a doctor for medicine for a throat infection. I recovered just in time for another documentation training. Here participants are demonstrating a favorite team-building exercise – the human knot.

Kristen came into town and immediately went to get her hair did. She told Wit, her hair-doer, that she was going out dancing so he gave her some special curls.

The second half of November was consumed with the visit of Cecile and Solange from Friends Peace House in Rwanda. Both are genocide survivors now working to bring communities that were once united back together again. Solange (in red) conducts trauma-healing workshops, and to hear her talk about her own survival and compassion for the trauma that everyone in Rwanda has suffered is some of the most powerful testimony I’ve ever heard. Cecile (in yellow and black) conducts dialogues between widows (whose husbands were killed during the genocide) and wives of prisoners (whose husbands are in jail, accused of killing). Through sheer force of will, she has helped women recognize their common humanity and move past the labeling of the others as enemies.

Over two weeks, we hosted six different events among Burmese communities. Laura worked with the Women’s League of Burma several years ago and recently finished a two-year stint at Friends Peace House in Rwanda. She came up with the idea for Cecile and Solange to come to Thailand after seeing so much affinity between the work there and the work that the Women’s League of Burma Peacebuilders Team is doing.
















In Mae Sot, they visited the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

As we checked out the exotic delicacies in the Mae Sot market, the vendors were checking out Solange’s corn rows, calling out “sud-yawt” … “excellent!”

The two-day seminar in Mae Sot drew nearly 70 people to discuss lessons learned from the Rwanda experience, asking how Cecile and Solange not only forgave those who killed their loved ones, but actively work to encourage peace and reconciliation in their communities. While their responses were full of compassion, they made it clear that reconciliation is not easily reached, and the perpetrators must provide the truth of what they did. The reclamation of a peaceful community is tied to justice.

Solange's hair remained a popular attraction during a rest stop on our return to Chiang Mai.
















Exhausted, I left the next day for some R&R at the beach. Ed’s place, The Souk, is on the east side of the Koh Chang island. The west side, with its gorgeous sunsets, is a tourist ghetto. Ed once told me that on full moon nights, he gets naked on his deck, smokes a bit, and soaks up the moon’s energy. Imagine my surprise when I realized that my second day at The Souk would be a full moon. For better or worse, Ed had family visiting so he had to keep his clothes on. Still, we watched a dramatic moon rise every evening.

I should pull a Vivi more often – good friends, good air, good wine, good food. And they’ve just built 5 new bungalows, so if anyone has a Thai holiday planned, I can recommend The Souk, especially if the moon is full.