law of two feet and respect for elders; follow-up meetings

Raffi Aftandelian brynza at online.ru
Wed Mar 26 10:29:07 PST 2003


Dear openspacers,

Wanted to extend my thanks again to those who have replied offlist to
my questions. I do hope to hear more, however, about how folks conduct
follow-up meetings 2,3,6 months on after an OS with a client. What is
the content of the meeting? Do you use OS to conduct the meeting? What
questions do you ask? What other things to consider in conducting a
follow-up?

Question two:
How do you reframe the law of two feet in cultures (I'm thinking
specifically of Chechen culture, a Muslim people) where respect for
elders is important? I would imagine that the Law would need to
couched in such a way so that it would seem natural and accessible.

As an example, if an elder talks to you, you are expected (this is
what I understand, I may be wrong) to fully hear him/her out. You
cannot just say, "Uh, excuse me, but I have to go." I recall once
being in a position at a training with Chechen youth. A man of 50 or
so staying at the same hotel as us entered the hall and asked what we
were doing. As the oldest male present, it was explained to me that it
was incumbent on me to sit with the man and listen to him, talk to
him (even though I didn't want to and didn't quite find the
conversation quite interesting; the tradition in and of itself I found
most curious).

I'm sure folks have had to deal with this. Chris (Corrigan) for one, I
imagine you've had to deal with this issue in working with First
Nationers...

Holding my breath!
Raffi

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