TABLE OF CONTENTS

Cover

EDITORIAL
- Empowering the Source of our Strength

COVER STORY
- Human Rights Now...

COUNTRY SITUATIONS

- Kashmir: And Disappearances Continue

- Nepal: Supreme Court Judgment...

NEWS FEATURES

- A Week to Remember

- A Memorial Service to the Filipino Nation...

- Healing is Liberating

- “ˇPresente!”- A Tribute Concert ...
 
- Memory, Suffering and Art Counseling

- A Morning or a Dark Night for Human Rights

- Bitter Truth...

PHOTO ESSAY

- Sharpening our Healing Capacities ...

INTERNATIONAL LOBBY

- The Anti-Disappearance Treaty 

LETTER OF SYMPATHY

POEM

- For Mothers of the Vanished

Cover Story


Human Rights Now! Families of the Disappeared Assert their Right to Truth  By: Diana Sarosi

December 10 is the International Human Rights Day, a day when the principles set out in the 
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) are reiterated and celebrated all over the world. Although the UDHR, adopted almost 60 years ago, has been a noble effort to establish a frame of ethics common for all, for many, this effort has yet to materialize into a reality. Hence, December 10 is also the day, where millions of victims of human rights violations come together worldwide in solidarity in their struggle for truth and justice.

This year, friends and families of the disappeared from 8 countries gathered in Bangkok to support each other, assert their right to truth and justice and to some extent, restore their own and their disappeared loved ones’ dignity. The Asian Federation Against Disappearances in collaboration with the Thai Working Group on Justice for Peace, hosted the families of the disappeared, psychologists and activists from Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Nepal, Pakistan, Uruguay, South Africa and Italy to share their experiences on psycho-social assistance and to explore ways to better support and empower victims of disappearances. This activity, entitled: “Sharpening our Capacities Towards Empowerment,” aimed to quantitatively and qualitatively upgrade services to the families of the disappeared in order to facilitate their healing and capacity to realize their rights. 

Commencing this activity on Human Rights Day, the delegation of 30 joined with the local human rights community in Thailand and family members of the disappeared to commemorate the International Human Rights Day and also to assess the deteriorating human rights situation in Asia. Joining a press conference in the morning organized by the Union for Civil Liberties outlining 10 improvements and 10 setbacks regarding the human rights situation in Thailand, the AFAD delegation took the opportunity to raise the issue of disappearances and to call on governments to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance since, so far, only 4 Asian countries, e.g. Mongolia, Japan, India and Azerbaijan have ratified it.

Asia is the continent which submitted the highest number of cases to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and the Thai people have not been shunned from this horrific tactic of terror. Families continue to suffer from the loss of their loved ones, while state authorities persist to sideline the pledges they made in various international instruments and even manipulated domestic jurisdiction to act in their favor. Thailand’s high profile disappearance case is that of Somchai Neelaphaijit which serves as a sad example of impunity enjoyed by those responsible for this crime. For almost four years now, his family has indefatigably worked to discover his whereabouts, to know the truth and to seek punishment for the alleged perpetrators. But justice remains elusive. 

His daughter, Pratubjit, expressed her pain in a powerful speech at the Human Rights Day event organized by the UN Regional Office for South-East Asia. Her words resonated strongly in the hearts and minds of the families and friends of the disappeared who joined the event in support of her cause. Her speech of truth brought to light her continuing suffering and disappointment with the authorities but at the same time revealed her zeal and resilience to continue her struggle until her father’s dignity is restored and a society that respects the dignity of all human beings is realized. 

It was the first time that the International Day of the Disappeared was marked in Thailand as a public event. We express our thanks to the Thammasat University for providing the space for the commemoration activity which was also the place where families of the disappeared from various regions in Thailand came together to remember their loved ones on August 30, 2007 in a tree-planting ceremony. Speeches by representatives from each country were followed by poetry and music and a candle-light vigil. 

Over the following three days, the victims, psychologists and activists listened to each other’s assessment of the rehabilitation workshops that have been organized by each of the Asian member-organizations of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances. The workshops were conducted with the families of the disappeared in order to facilitate their healing process and open a path toward empowerment and capacity to change their situation. Each country reported the actual outcome of the rehabilitation as well as the difficulties and challenges that they faced to make a successful program. In many of the countries, the workshop brought families, who were left to linger on their own, together for the first time and created somewhat of a local self-help network. All the family members present during the session expressed their gratitude for having the opportunity to share and learn from others and to forge strong solidarity with them. 

The Psychosocial Rehabilitation project, initiated in December 2004 in Indonesia as a regional event, has two stages. First was the “Healing Wounds, Mending Scars” which guided family members of the disappeared to cope with various aspects of trauma and to undergo the healing process. It helped the families to understand their situation better and manage their trauma and emotions more effectively. They also learned about wholeness, wellness, and self-care. Coming from areas and situations where service assistance was basically non-existent, the workshop was the first opportunity for many to come to terms with them and to enable them to meet others who had suffered the same fate. For some, it was truly a life-saving experience. From the families’ own account, the psychosocial rehabilitation woke them up from a long sleep and returned their awareness and built their resilience to affront the challenges of daily life. 

Second was “From Victims to Healers,” which aimed to empower victims, who had already undergone the healing process by training them as co-healers. This sought to create a local pool of para-counselors among the families of the disappeared who could reach out and help in rehabilitating other families while at the same time, it could facilitate a process of empowerment within the victims/healers as it would provide them with the purpose to continue with their struggle. Both the processes as well as the results are indeed an empowering mechanism. It had penetrated both their conscious and unconscious level. The discussions on the concept of trauma were intended to lay down the foundation of understanding while exercises such as breathing and relaxation, trust-building and stress debriefing meant for appeasing the emotions. This workshop also equipped them with techniques to be good listeners and to communicate well with others. 

The summing up event was also the first time that families of the disappeared in Southern Thailand had the chance to meet family members from other countries who had suffered the same fate. It was observed during the assessment the remarkable and profound changes in behavior, outlook, and energy of the families from Thailand who underwent the rehabilitation workshops. Before, their sufferings were evident by their reluctance to speak and they easily burst to tears. But after the workshops, their inability to speak about themselves and their feelings gave way to a desire and need to speak out, to tell about what happened to them and how it has and is affecting their lives. Not only have they reached the point that they felt confident enough to talk about themselves but were also eagerly listening, comparing and learning from each other’s experiences. Although the session was full of pain, the families were able to transcend their painful experiences to renewed spirit and courage to continue with their lives. Listening to the testimonies of victims from other countries further reassured the families that they were not alone in this struggle. 

This gathering only proved the extent of enforced disappearance as not just a regional but also global problem. It constitutes a crime against humanity that is becoming a reality at home. Language may have been a barrier to utter common words of aspiration but their bodies and minds were one in embracing both the pains and hopes. This oneness is the only thing they have and the only means to ensure the further success of their struggle. United they will have the power to attain dignity and justice for their disappeared loved ones as well as for themselves and their families that will pave the way for a world that respects all human beings as worthy and equal. 


“Diana Sarosi has been working with Nonviolence International, Southeast Asia in Bangkok for 3 years. She is a member of the Working Group on Justice for Peace, an organization assisting families of the disappeared in Southern Thailand.”


VOICE May 2008

 

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