... To my utter relief, it became apparent that our visit to the airport camp had created space for a genuine exchange, and was a source of real hope and much-needed encouragement for an entire community scraping out an existence in the margins … and all too easily forgotten.
Read More... This was my first experience of the raw reality of life in a camp. Pictures are one thing; personally embracing innocent victims of unutterable tragedy is another.
Unsurprisingly, I was also wrestling with concerns about potential exploitation … drive-by photo-op relief missions … questions about what could really be accomplished given the built-in limitations of our visit. I confess to some inner ambiguity as we stepped from the tinted interiors of our black SUV’s into the blazing African sun.
Read More... Whatever official story would emerge in the press, they wanted us to know: “This woman is free because of the message of Bridges to Common Ground!”
Furthermore, after reporting to the rest of their leaders about our meeting, they reached consensus that the anti-Balaka should rejoin the peace process, which they had withdrawn from just a few days prior. They expressed renewed hope that real peace could come to their country.
We were stunned.
Read More
