Message-ID: <Pine.A32.3.92.960426093432.32838A-100000 Date: Fri, 26 Apr 1996 09:42:38 -0600 From: T Hodges <mailto:thodges@FREENET.CALGARY.AB.CA> Subject: Re: Massacre and Development (fwd) To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L <mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU>
The experiences of Baha'is communities (in Iran over the last 100 years, in countries such as Uganda, Liberia, Zaire, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Central and South American countries more recently) have demonstrated that a strong religious belief requiring respect for people of different cultural backgrounds can allow people to live and work together without one group dominating the other. I realize it is now unfashionable to talk about religious belief being an instrument for overcoming religious and ethnic prejudices, but one must look at the real world. Baha'is communities have consistently demonstrated this capability as have some other religious communities in some places.Tom Hodges, mailto:thodges@freenet.calgary.ab.ca
> From: James Mccoy <mailto:james.mccoy@CHANNEL1.COM>
>
> Having lived in Sri Lanka several years ago and Uganda more recently,
> I really do not believe intervention to bring about unity provides
> much beyond temporary relief for the opposing forces to regroup. It
> is only when one or both of the competing factions have been defeated
> or destroyed that any sort of unity will be achieved. One could
> argue that such unity is repression or domination -- which it is --
> ... [snip] ...
> Lessons? Not very desirable to the western world but the best options
> are to stay out of the way, provide limited humanitarian assistance
> so both sides and all constituents realize the suffering, and make no
> promises of external assistance to rebuild what is destroyed by the
> short-sighted actions of the warring factions. Some sort of unity will
> eventually result and it will probably be more enduring than some
> brokered or imposed concilliation.
>
> Just one point of view...I'm sure there are many others. Please keep
> in mind the difference between reality and idealistic optimality.
>
>