What we could talk about when we talk about peacebuilding

Talking about peace-building in the country is an invitation to express one’s courage and commitment to building a just, hopeful future.

The world turned upside down. Lies die hard, and red-tagging becomes a habit. Match this with the rising prices of essential commodities, and the unimaginable is a way of life now. With this, peacebuilding comes far removed from the reality of the Filipinos. So when people speak out about it in the country, they are often met with severe threats. 

Yet peace has continued to take the limelight. Last month, peacebuilder Miriam Coronel-Ferrer was named as one of the winners of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards, Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Peace Prize. The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation cited Coronel-Ferrer’s “deep, unwavering belief in the transformative power of non-violent strategies in peacebuilding, her cool intelligence and courage in surmounting difficulties to convey the truth that it is through inclusion rather than division that peace can be won and sustained.”

Earlier last month, the Department of Education was also urged to introduce students to peace processes after the department proposed a new curriculum where peace education competencies are integrated.

With this, several questions abound on what we could talk about when we talk about peacebuilding. Why should we continue discussing peace? What should be done in order to sustain a long-lasting, just peace in the country? What should we be talking about when we talk about peace? How do you approach peacebuilding while also reducing the risks and hazards it entails?

In light of commemorating this year’s National Peace Consciousness Month, Pilipinas Journal talked to Asia-based learning institute Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute Foundation, Inc.’s Executive Director Christine Vertucci. We took the challenge of this month’s theme: “Ang Kapayapaan ay Responsibilidad ng Bawat Mamamayan” (Peace is every citizen’s responsibility), by compiling the following talking points to keep the conversation of peacebuilding going:

Peace is more than the absence of war.

In an interview with Vertucci, she mentioned that peace is more than the absence of war. Peace also meant that people had enough food to serve at their tables.

“People have the basics of not being hungry. They have an opportunity for education, meaningful work, etc. [It means that we are] looking at social issues of the society,” she said.

Vertucci also added that to truly have a harmonious society, people feel they have been heard by those who are in authority in positions of power. More than that, if they feel a wrong has been committed against them, they have an opportunity to redress it, and justice will be given to them.

Peace is not neutral.

“The first step is to resolve, mitigate, and deescalate [conflict], but that’s not the end. [...] [Y]ou must look for the causes. [...] Steps must be taken concretely to change that situation. So I think you can’t be neutral with that because you recognize there is a problem and there is something not right,” Vertucci agreed.

She also added that any conflict is a warning sign that signals you that there is something that needs to be done.

Thus, peacemaking is more than a zero-sum game. This faulty view often confuses people that when you negotiate peace, you’re trying to win something. 

“When you decide to say ‘we have a problem,’ we are not afraid to say that.”

Peacebuilding does not happen overnight.

Following this debate over neutrality, it is also essential to take note that building peace, especially in a complex society like the Philippines, is something that does not change with a tap of a finger.

By that, peacebuilding means a lot of work is involved—work in yourself and work in the society you belong with.

Vertucci explained that peace is a two-way journey that is both internal and external.

She explained that the external aspect of peace occurs when you can work for justice and peace in the community. For example, you are trying to change laws, address systemic violence, or seek change against violent situations and unjust structures.

“The internal is how you as a person. Look at peace within yourself and how you practice what you believe. So if you say you are working for peace and then you are a peacebuilder, your actions have to follow your words. If they don’t, then you must be willing to challenge yourself and make changes,” she added.

She reminds: “We can’t forget that because it’s easy to be engaged at the societal level, but oftentimes, we forget ourselves personally. [I believe a key in the peacebuilding work] is also to ask ourselves if we are being authentic to what we say we believe in.”

Peacebuilding does not exist in a vacuum.

“I look at peacebuilding [as] a movement towards justice and peace. I don’t believe you could have a peaceful society without people feeling treated justly so, that to me brings me to issues to human rights,” Vertucci said.

With that, it is apt to say that peacebuilding has to be grounded in reality and cannot be separated from what is happening in society. This also includes the notions of human rights, justice, and democracy. Thus, the intimate connection of these concepts must be underscored.

To ensure lasting peace, peace processes must address the root causes of conflict.

The challenges we face today are increasingly interconnected. If left alone, the trends of conflict are unlikely to stop as these forces that sustain conflict and division remain alive and active.

“If you don’t get what is at the bottom, you will never have a resolution of anything you need to fully understand what has caused the conflict. By understanding the root causes only then you can correct and change them, and think creatively about how they can be changed so that people feel they are being heard at the same time you’re also not offending the others who are not directly involved in the conflict,” Vertucci said.

Indeed, the challenges we face in peacebuilding are immense, complex, and interconnected. There is still a lot of work to rectify historical injustices and to meet the basic necessities of life. With empathy and care, the solutions for peace are becoming clearer, one conversation at a time.

Rizal-based writer Jhona Reyes Vitor is currently volunteering as a researcher/writer at Pilipinas Journal. Her works were published in Adversity Archive, Media Commoner, and AB The Flame, the official student publication of the Faculty of Arts and Letters of the University of Santo Tomas. You can find them on Instagram @jhonarvitor.