<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=koi8-r">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1400" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#f0ffff>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Cyr" size=2>Greetings OpenSpacers,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Yesterday, I had the wonderful opportunity of *participating*
as opposed to facilitating an Open Space.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>As I have written before, I am one of the
facilitators/trainers in the community volunteer conflict resolution training
program, Alternatives to Violence Project (<A
href="http://www.avpusa.org">www.avpusa.org</A>). The program started in US
prisons at the initiative of inmates in the mid-1970's and now exists both in
the community and prisons in over 30 countries.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>This was a gathering of AVP facilitators (for our personal
development) and for not-yet-facilitators who are active in the project. There
were only about 8 of us.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>A Russian friend of mine, Anna Bernikova (very active in
street orphan issues and an editor of a magazine, Bezprizornik "Street Orphan"),
who'd gotten a short intro to OST at a weeklong human rights training in Canada
(in French!) and had tried a few impromptu OS'es on her own led it. She realizes
that she wants to get more into OS. So we made a deal: I coach/mentor her in OS
and she leads a few OS's, OS's where I need/want to be a
participant.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>During the coaching, while I was demo'ing the walking the
circle, she noticed how she was starting to get sick to the stomach! I began
thinking, "my goodness, do I generate negative, destructive energy when I open
space?" An interesting doubt, but I'm inclined to think that's the effect of
entering chaos. I have heard of people being in analagous states during the
chaos stage of group formation. I told Anna, "when you open space, it's up to
you to do what feels right for you, though I feel like walking the circle is
very important."</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>So, when Anna opened space, she just stood there in the very
small circle. No speaking of wisdom, energy, looking around the room, no
breaths. Just the theme, passion, responsibility, the 4 principles, the Law, and
reports. Some of us had participated in an OS before. And of course there is no
way of knowing what would've happened had she done all those other things. For
me personally, it was a very fruitful day. 5 hours worth of sessions. I
personally proposed 5 topics! Too bad we didn't get to one of them.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>And in true OS spirit, after opening space, she took off to
take her 3 kids from one end of Moscow to another and came back some three hours
later. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Among the topics we discussed:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>1. Improving the AVP-Moscow website</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>2. Attracting more participants to our workshops</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>3. Process psychology and AVP</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>4. Making the Basic level workshop more dynamic</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>We didn't get to, sadly:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>1. developing a "moral code" for facilitators</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>2. the hidden agendas of facilitators</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>3. AVP in Ingushetia</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Yes, for an unfortunate reason, really, the coordinator (and
senior trainer) of the Alternatives to Violence Project in Ingushetia, a
delightful Chechen friend named Mir was in town. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>As some may have seen in the news in the past week or so,
there was a terrorist act during the May 9 World War II V-day celebrations in
Grozny, and the president of Chechnya, Ahmad Kadyrov was assassinated. 5
others died, including one of Mir's closest friends, Adlan Hassanov, a friend
from his student days and a Reuters journalist. Reuters organized a special
event in memory of Adlan and invited different pepole close to Adlan, including
Mir. They wined and dined all those who came, put them up in the 5-star
Radisson-Slavyanskaya hotel, treated to VIP european buffets (all you can eat
everything.) Some of the Chechens during these meals were driven to tears
because this was such special treatment on such a sad occasion and in such sharp
contrast to how they usually live. They had come out of a totally different
context. They were taken to see Swan Lake at Moscow Bolshoi Theater. One Chechen
remarked that even in death Adlan was taking care of them. And yet, when I heard
all of this I was very sad, it spoke so much to the post-modernist absurdity of
our existence. Mir doing peacework at home, organizing workshops, living on a
tiny salary (even so, there are sometimes wage arrears; and this is while
working with an international humanitarian organization!). </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I know how Mir lives, until recently he lived in a tent camp,
that is until the Russian authorities tore those refugee camps down (another
violation of international law). And he was able to secure a room in a
multi-family plywood house. Basically it's a wood house, his family of 4
has 6 square meters...The tent by comparison was a palace, at least there was
space (even if it was sweltering in the summer and freezing in the winter). And
it occured to me this morning that with the money reuters had spent on putting
him up and wining and dining, he probably would be able to buy his family a
small home in a Russian village. Living absurd.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>And it was difficult listening to him, because I heard
essentially a numbness, a pain so deep as a consequence of this death, that he
sees only a point in living today. Other than that, he has no desire for
anything, not for leaving Ingushetia (which he doesn't care for); nor for going
abroad (more loneliness); nor for moving to Moscow (constant harrassment by
authorities; being targeted/hated by others; shaken down for "chump change" by
the police here). There was nothing I could say but just listen...and
cry.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>And yet, I was very happy to see him. It's the people in
Chechnya who are trying to do *something* that give me hope. Even if there
aren't a lot of them. I look forward to going to Ingushetia in the next month of
so to work with him a little.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I had hoped during the OS to interview him (as I had done
previously) about his work, and to publish it somewhere. But, whatever happens,
happens. I had the common sense...(eventually!) to stop for a moment and really
sit down and listen instead of being the whole time in idea generation mode.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I asked myself during the closing, did breakthrough learning
happen? Yes, it did.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I guess we could call this just another day in
OS!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>To all out there a friendly salute and a warm
handshake,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Raffi Aftandelian</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Moscow</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV></BODY></HTML>
*
*
==========================================================
OSLIST@LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
------------------------------
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist@listserv.boisestate.edu:
http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:
http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist