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Understanding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
With all the animosity and negativity in the world around us today, it is imperative that we become agents of hope, peace, justice and positivity.
The Alternative to Violence Project Malaysia (AVP) and Friends Peace Teams (FPT) know this only too well as they work mainly with refugees, immigrants and communities in conflict. Heeding Pope Francis’ call to be inclusive of all groups of people, Caritas Malaysia partnered with AVP Malaysia and FPT to organise a Power of Goodness project to inspire the general public about the importance of being kind and welcoming when interacting with people who are different from us. The two-hour program titled Storytelling On Justice and Peace took place at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit Penang on October 4.
The purpose of this programme is to use the power of storytelling to explore practical ways to act with courage and bring goodness in our lives. This program is grounded in values that resonates deeply across all faiths and religions – the call to love, the pursuit of justice and the commitment to maintain peace.
These values, that are typically shared by many spiritual traditions, remind us of our responsibility to care for one another and to seek non-violent solutions to conflict and injustice. Though we are of many faiths, we all share a common vision of the world where peace prevails. This programme therefore, offers participants the opportunity to explore ways to make that vision a reality in our communities.
An estimated 50 participants from various parishes, ministries, faiths, Rohingya communities and non-governmental organisations attended this interactive programme. Melanie Siaw, who currently resides in Pennsylvania, USA was invited to facilitate the programme. Though a pharmacist by training, she became a passionate advocate for justice, peace and positivity due to her many life-changing experiences. She currently serves in the North American Regional Team with Friends Peace Teams and is deeply involved in supporting invigorating justice and peace works in diverse communities. She was also one of the pioneering members in Caritas Malaysia before she left for America. She is committed to nurturing communities of love and conscience and offers a transformative approach to stopping violence that is rooted in compassion and respect.
Having embraced the AVP skills and tools, she teaches and equips people of all walks of life to use their listening and speaking skills as a way to spread kindness in hopes to eradicate violence and oppression. The ultimate hope is that communities will learn these skills, make it a lifestyle and eventually employ it in all areas of their lives.
During the programme, participants were encouraged to connect and socialise with one another through sharing in small groups and ice breaker games. In these, participants were taught to practice their listening and speaking skills by taking turns as they shared their views and opinions on the topics presented. Among the fun filled games, participants were asked to use positive adjectives to describe themselves based on the first initial of their names and reintroduce themselves to one another. In a nutshell, the programme showed participants interactive ways to connect with one another with calmness, gentleness and positivity.
Source: HERALD Malaysia
Caritas Malaysia
Caritas Malaysia is the official arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia (CBCM) engaging in works of integral human development, charity, relief, care for creation and social services.
