Unfortunately, there exist throughout the world certain brothers, sisters and laypersons who have risked their lives because of their solidarity with the poor and the victims of oppression. In their daily lives they are constantly confronted with violence, war, ethnic and religious discrimination. They find themselves in situations where they have to act fast and hard to denounce the brutalities and massacres, and fight against oppression. In these situations it is imperative that a counter-power emerge almost immediately. Often, the only way this can happen is through outside intervention from the international community, where there is greater freedom.
Pakistan is a country where the population is 96% Muslim. Since 1977, the Sharia (Islamic Law) has become the law of the land. Religious minorities are subjected to a great deal of pressure and are restricted in their freedom. An attempt to have the religion of the person printed on their ID. card was overthrown thanks to the efforts and public outcry of the people. In 1985, the "Law Against Blasphemy" was passed, whereby all persons accused of blaspheming the name of the prophet Mohammed were subjected to the death penalty. In the Muslim tradition, the name of the Prophet is always accompanied by a formula of praise to God; thus anyone who does not respect this tradition can be accused.
This law is highly discriminatory and promotes the method of the "settling of accounts". Because of this many Christians have been brought before the courts without justification. In 1992, there was a great public outcry caused by the fact that a young Christian was summoned before the courts and risked being condemned to death. The Christians, being such a small minority called for the help of the international community.
The Dominican family joined with the people of Pakistan to protest this law. by sending petitions, telegrams... This massive mobilization was successful and caused the Law to be revised.
This type of mobilization can be very helpful to defend someone who is being accused unjustly, to protect someone whose life is in danger (or threatened), to abolish unjust legislation that goes against the Charter of Rights or to establish new laws for the protection of these rights. The role of national and international public opinion in these types of situations forces the authorities to act openly, influences the decision-making process by exerting international pressures and proves to the powers in place that they cannot do whatever they please... Such interventions help the balance of power and require that there be transparency in the decisions. By so doing they help put an end to the exercise of violence and injustice.
The brothers and sisters at the Fray Francisco de Vitoria Center in Mexico fit well into this picture, in the sense that they work as a counterbalance to injustice. By making public the assassinations, the violations of human rights, and the cases that the police want to keep secret, the people at the Center are leading the fight for greater justice. A detailed account of their methodology is presented in the appendices of Workbook #4.
The role of the networks has already been presented in Workbook #1. This method is particularly well suited for emergency situations, where rapid and widespread information is the key to success. The job of the network is to inform the members about situations as quickly as possible, so they can intervene in a firm and forceful manner. In order for this to happen, there have to be correspondents (in the provinces and congregations it can be the justice and peace promoter) who accept the responsibility for getting the information out to the local communities. It is always good to have a "mailing" ready : fax or telephone numbers, address labels... The network informs and suggests the immediate actions to be taken. This type of intervention often takes the form of a petition to be signed, or of a letter (or a fax) to be sent.
| It is important to remember to send a prototype letter that the participants can copy. The letter should be written in the language of the receiver; although it should not be contentious it should be firm and to the point. It is important that we clearly state the facts that are being denounced and with which we do not agree. Keep the letter short. There may be circumstances when it would be good for the signatory to state his/her religious or civil status...and finally, never forget to give the address where the letters (or faxes) are to be sent! |
We should try to get the media involved in as many instances as possible, for they are the means we have to convey to the public at large and to the politicians the importance of the cause to which we are committed. This task is far from easy because reporters are constantly being bombarded by information or are subjected to ideological constraints... In order to help overcome these difficulties it would be good to write a press release where we clearly state the facts and the proposed plan of action, (for example, the signing of a petition and where they can go if they wish to participate), that can be copied by the journalists. It is of utmost importance to give the name and telephone number of the person the journalists can contact in case they want to ask questions or get more detailed information.
If we really want to have an impact we must find other allies besides the media. It would be good to contact the NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and associations that work actively to promote Justice and Peace, national and diocesan Justice and Peace committees, those responsible for the Conferences of men and women religious, specialized commissions such as the United Nations Commission for the Defense of Human Rights, (such as our Franciscan brothers and sisters who have a representative at the U.N, in New York)... If we are to be efficient we must reach out to people beyond the borders of our Dominican Order. The type of information we are talking about here is most effective when it is kept short, direct and to the point.
As we said, the secret of success in an emergency situation is to act quickly. The best thing would be for every Justice and Peace promoter to have a list -- on computer if possible and up to date -- of persons outside the Order who should be informed in the case of an emergency situation. The setting up of such a file, beyond its pre-emptive use, makes it easier to work with local officials and is one of the very important aspects of the mission of the Justice and Peace promoter.
Petitions and letters of protest are not the only forms of possible action. Press conferences (this requires that you have good media contacts and a substantial amount of information), symbolic protests (fasts, prayer vigils, putting up a monument), marches, boycotts can also be organized... Remember to send us any other good ideas you may have for such types of action. Thanks!
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JUST ACT is an initiative taken by the group of Dominican brothers and sisters who are the Justice and Peace promoters for North America; they send a monthly news bulletin to all of the convents and houses. All information figures under three main headings.
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"Just Act" is a very simple tool, yet most effective in raising the awareness level of the brothers and sisters.
When a situation calls into question the reputation of our brothers and sisters, the truth of faith, or perhaps even the future of evangelization, we cannot afford to act as amateurs, or wait until the situation explodes. The same holds true for emergency actions resulting from natural disasters and extreme situations that affect the life of the regions where our brothers and sisters live. The recent conflicts in Rwanda, Burundi, former Yugoslavia... call us to vigilance and organized solidarity.
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