SV: OS in oral cultures - long

[Thomas Herrmann]

Thanks John, Berndt and others...
for sharing and bringing these stories to me over here in Sweden. I have
learnt a lot from you. I very much admire the work you are doing!
I wish you, Berndt the best of luck while opening space in your upcoming
event.
Best regards
Thomas Herrmann

> -----Ursprungligt meddelande-----
> Från: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU]För john engle
> Skickat: den 18 september 2002 22:45
> Till: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Ämne: Re: OS in oral cultures - long
>
>
> dear bernd,
>
> sorry that it has taken me some time to get back to you. i've been
> traveling.
>
> last month i did another open space meeting with a group of
> people, most of
> whom do not read and write. we decided to have no signs,
> nothing written to
> make sure that noone felt alienated.
>
> this time, i had noone else with me who was familiar enough
> with open space
> and who could help me to communicate the principles and law
> by doing a skit.
> i just simply explained them as clearly as i could in their native
> language-haitian creole. they did just fine. subjects were
> presented-lots!-and people sub-divided in groups throughout the day.
>
> the group was 35 woman and 5 children. the woman are victims
> of the haitian
> military during the coup years in '93. they were raped,
> beaten in most cases
> imprisoned and some watched as family members were killed.
> some have aids as
> a result and some are raising children that were born from rape.
>
> there is an international law firm that is working to bring
> the perpetrators
> to justice and they invited me to help the women to become
> more organized
> together and skilled in communicating in public.
>
> as you can imagine, i feel so inadequate with group such as
> this. its like
> when i work with kids who have lived on the streets of port
> au prince. i
> can't begin to imagine the pain and suffering that they have
> experienced. i
> can only be present with them. open space, listen, and support them.
>
> i had been meeting with 12 of these women regularly for 6
> months before we
> did the open space meeting. there objective was to reach out
> to other woman
> who had been raped and to attempt to integrate them into
> their efforts. they
> were pleased with this one day event. one result of the day
> is another day
> of open space scheduled in november.
>
> keep in mind, everyone involved with this group of woman
> knows that things
> are going to take time. for me to push to converge or to be too
> interventionary in any way would be ridiculous. they seem to
> find tremendous
> strength and encouragement when they simply come together. i
> simply try to
> take care of the logistics to make it possible for them to
> come together,
> open space, am mostly silent in the large circle, and always
> am trying to
> affirm their process, which is often chaotic, slow, and the
> furthest thing
> from smooth.
>
> ...when it comes to being with people who have histories so
> very different
> than my own, which includes not knowing how to read and
> write, the laws of
> spirit seem to be particularly important:
>
> 1. show up and be present
> 2. tell the truth without blame or judgement
> 3. follow what has heart and meaning
> 4. let go of attachment to outcome
>
> bernd, would be great if you could come to the haiti open
> space on open
> space june 20-23, 2003. we would love to have you. do you by
> chance speak
> french? i also will be unable to go to osonos in australia,
> regretfully. i
> will be in israel/palestine in november.
>
> sincerely,
>
> john
>
>
> http://www.beyondborders.net/experiment.htm
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Discutez en ligne avec vos amis ! http://messenger.msn.fr
>
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