TURA: Taking note of the ‘grim developments’ in Garo Hills, the Church in collaboration with Martin Luther Christian University (MLCU) and Christian organisation World Vision India organized a consultative workshop in the spirit of introspection, to assess the volatile situation.
The three-day workshop ‘Making Sense of Turbulent Context’ was jointly organised by Harding Theological College of the Baptist Church and MLCU from June 26 to 28, as attempts were being made to find out the causes behind the unrest and to chalk out recommendations for civil society to act.
Vice Chancellor MLCU, RG Lyngdoh in his keynote address on the first day of the workshop said, “We cannot be mere spectators any more or else we will end up discussing the same issues ten years from now. Fear cannot paralyse us”.
Lyngdoh elaborated on the need for peace studies to be part of the education curriculum.
Garo Baptist Church General Secretary, Rev. Janang.R Sangma reminisced, “The Garo Hills we used to know was one without bloodshed, it was peaceful. Today there is a resounding cry for peace. Many people are on their knees. May God help us.”
The workshop included the analytical tools and mappings of the various elements which are root causes of conflicts and also provided assessments and strategic needs of how to mitigate or prevent further conflicts.
The working group, comprising of participants including members of civil societies, students, teachers of various institutions, peace activists and church leaders worked intently on the rapid history, trends, symptoms and triggers for unrest and finally concluded with some draft recommendation points.
The draft strategic recommendation called upon social-actors including civil society and the government to give serious thought to capacity building of civil society, human rights education, inter-agency engagement with the government, holistic education that includes psychosocial counselling for youth and parental guidance to children besides scaling up of livelihood opportunities.
At the valedictory function, West Garo Hills DC Pravin Bakshi in his closing remark said, “What the Garo Baptist Convention and MLCU, together with other civil society members have done, reflects the soul of the community here. We must do something now or else we will regret.”