Voice 1
Hello and welcome to Spotlight. Im Liz Waid.
Voice 2
And Im Marina Santee. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
It is February 2002. It is late in the day. A group of university teachers sit together. They have come from seven different universities across Tajikistan, Central Asia. Outside the cold air blows. A small electric heater keeps the room warm. The group is listening to a talk on solving conflict and building peace. The talk comes from a visiting expert in peace building. The university teachers listen with great interest. And their thoughts turn to Tajikistans earlier war. Memories of this conflict are still fresh in everyones minds. The six year Tajikistan war began in 1992. Government forces and opposition groups fought against each other. Over fifty thousand
people were killed.
Voice 2
The expert finishes talking. And the professors begin to talk about the war in Tajikistan. The atmosphere in the room becomes intense. They each have their own opinions on it. They ask the Western expert, Why do other countries not learn from our example? They are talking about how Tajikistan ended its civil war. It created a government with people from different places | and with different beliefs. It included Muslims, communists and tribal leaders. The teachers talk about what a rare success this is internationally. They continue to talk until it is chai time | time to sTOP to drink tea. During this time, the expert talks to one of the Tajik university teachers called Professor Abdul. Abdul knows some of the details about how the Tajiks reached peace from their state of war. In fact, he was involved in some part of it. He shares his story with the Western expert. Here is part of Abduls story. It is read for Spotlight by Mike Procter.
Voice 3
The Tajik government asked me for help. The government officials wanted me to go and talk to one of the people working against them. This man had a high position in his religion | Islam. And he was a warlord, a leader of his own army. He was a Mullah|Commander. He lived in the mountains. And the government wanted me to persuade him to negotiate. Now this was very difficult. People considered this Mullah|Commander to be a dangerous criminal. And he had killed one of my close friends.
When I first got to the camp, I met the Mullah|Commander He told me that I was late. He said it was prayer time. So, we went together and prayed. After prayers, he said to me, You are a communist. How can you pray?
I am not communist. My father was, I answered. Then he asked me what I taught in the university. We soon discovered that we had similar interests! We were both interested in the spiritual side of Islam | Sufism. And we were both interested in philosophy | we both liked to explore why things are the way they are! We had planned to spend twenty minutes meeting. But we spoke for two and a half hours! In this part of the world you arrive at the truth through stories.
I made many visits to the Commander. Mostly we talked about creative writings and ideas about life and the universe. A little at a time, I asked the Commander about ending the war. I wanted to persuade him to risk putting down his weapons. I visited the Commander for many months. And finally, we gained each others trust. And we began to speak truths. There was one main concern...
The Commander said to me: Suppose I put down my weapons and go to the capital city with you. Can you promise me that I will be safe? The problem was, I knew that I could not promise his safety. So, I told my Mullah|Commander friend the truth. I said, I cannot promise that you will be safe. But I can promise you this. I will go with you, side by side. And if you die, I will die.
That day the Commander agreed to meet the government. Some weeks later, we came down together from the mountains. When we first met with the government officials, my commander friend said this to them: I have not come because of your government. I have come for honour and respect of this professor.
Voice 1
Professor Abduls success with the Commander was just one of many events. Alone, it did not bring peace to Tajikistan. But it did move important people from the path of violence, to the path of peace. This was possible through the workings of one relationship. The story comes from a book by John Paul Lederach. In this book, John Paul argues that relationships are the only way to bring lasting peace. This includes relationships with friends, with enemies, with governments, and with local people. Each relationship can bring a change of direction that can influence history.
Voice 2
November the 16th is the International Day of Tolerance. This day was set up by the United Nations group UNESCO. UNESCO defines tolerance in this way:
Voice 4
Tolerance is about respecting and accepting the differences in our worlds cultures. It is about respecting and accepting the different ways we express ourselves. It is about respecting and accepting our different ways of being human. Tolerance is uniting with people even if they are different from us.
Voice 1
On November 16th, UNESCO is calling people around the world make an effort to be more tolerant. Institutions and educational centres can teach their students about tolerance. They can look at things learned from history. And they can try to avoid mistakes of the past. Individuals can also make efforts with their families, friends | and enemies. It is a time for people to sTOP concentrating on their conflicts, and past hurts. It is a time to work toward a greater, shared goal, creating an environment of peace for future generations.
