There is a lot which can go wrong within peace-building programmes, awareness-raising projects, and other organised attempts to help marginalised communities. That much I learnt while attending my minor in Conflict Studies. Western countries have a tendency to project their own frames onto situations of conflict, leading to, at best, oversights of local nuances and cultures, and, at worst, a deescalation of existing conflicts.
It was difficult not to become at least a little pessimistic hearing about these (sometimes) well-intentioned projects being so blatantly un- or misinformed. However, I found Dr. Bahirye Kemal’s lecture on “Women Writing Syria Against Displacement, War, and Genocide” a very good example of a well-informed, grassroots-based effort to raise awareness and actively aid a community in grave danger.
As I mentioned, external (international) efforts are often misguided in their efforts because they do not fully take local frames into account. When setting up projects that aim to help communities, it is of extreme importance that one considers cultural nuances; you cannot assume all people think the same, and need or desire the same kind of aid. In “Frames, Local Violence, and International Intervention” (2015), Séverine Autesserre highlights that projects should be sensitive to “social routines, practices, discourses, technologies, and institutions” (252).1 Disregarding these sensitivities—and, in turn, assuming the predominance of western culture—is a big misstep, and possibly a protracted result of the West’s colonial ideologies.
The projects Dr. Kemal discussed in her seminar, however, took an approach I consider very commendable. The main focus was not imposing Western ideas of peace, culture, and aid, but rather actively listening, and building on what Kurdish women themselves communicated. I found the attention for community and creative practices especially well-done. It is something I had not seen much before, even throughout my minor, which seems like a shame. Hearing that these projects were focused on documenting, and letting the women speak on both problems and solutions themselves reminded me of the fact that aid can be carried out with absolute consideration of the people you are aiming to help, instead of merely acting from your own frames of reference.
On a more personal note, I have always believed that literature is a brilliant way to convey community and culture, and as such a gateway to offering adjusted and considerate aid to communities that have been overlooked or downright ignored. This belief was shaken throughout the years because I did not come across any examples of it being applied in practice—I thought maybe I was being silly and overly optimistic. Seeing Dr. Kemal speak about her experiences and additions to these project therefore moved me deeply. Additionally, hearing Fozya Aldared and Khbat Talas read their respective works and with that convey a deep sense of both individuality, culture, and resistance was eye-opening.
This brings me to my last point; which is the importance of academia. I firmly stand behind the idea that studying is an absolute privilege. This is something that is easily forgotten through all of the many assignments and lectures that every student likes to complain about. We, however, are in a position where we have the resources to both learn about and spread the causes of people who cannot easily do so themselves. This was highlighted in Dr. Kemal’s seminar as well. It is easy to get lost in the theoretical nature of academics, literature in particular, but this seminar was a great reminder that we have actual, concrete power to help. Even if it is merely through listening to voices that are often unheard, and raising awareness among our fellow students. This is what I wanted to learn about and achieve when I began studying literature, and it was, again, a privilege to see it done in practice. Literature holds such a unique position; it can convey culture, individual self, collective experiences, cries for help, resistance, and many more things, all which are crucial in providing actually productive aid. Initiatives such as the ones Dr. Kemal spoke of are ones I think should be more prolific, but are unfortunately overlooked quite often.
- If you are interested in peacebuilding theory, I highly recommend the book this article is published in; The Routledge Handbook of Peacebuilding and Ethnic Conflict (2023). ↩︎
Works cited
Autesserre, Séverine. “Hobbes and the Congo: Frames, Local Violence, and International Intervention.” 2009. Routledge Handbook of Peacebuilding and Ethnic Conflict, 1st ed., Routledge, 2023, pp. 249–80. doi.org/10.1017/S0020818309090080.