The Road Not Taken: My reflection on field studies trip or Robert Frost’s journey?
During our field studies trip in Chiang Khong, we visited the Thai Lue village after almost three hours Cruise on the majestic Mekong River. What is unique about this village is that they grow cotton and use it to weave products, such as tablecloths, sauces, napkins, sue pat, which is a kind of a long – sleeved shirt with no buttons. This group of women working on the cotton fabrics was...Read More
Learning in Difference
It has been six weeks since we began our Rotary Peace Fellows’ journey and I would like to reflect on what it means to learn in an environment of difference. I talk about difference rather than about diversity. Difference acknowledges that ‘diversity’ is actually different across many dimensions. While diversity can paint a simplistic, rosy picture, difference is more of a middle path term....Read More
I’m Proud to be a Butterfly
THE ARMED ETHNIC CONFLICT BETWEEN HEMA AND LENDU IN ITURI, NORTHEASTERN DRC To be a very beautiful butterfly, it needs time and many processes to transform. To be a good Peace Builder also needs a lot of time for educating, training, dedicating and self-development to qualify as well. Since I have got the fellowship from The Rotary Foundation I knew this is the big step...Read More
CHALLENGES OF SPIRITUAL SUPPORT IN MULTIFAITH SURROUNDINGS – A PATH TO PEACE
Being a Christian priest anywhere in the world is not an easy task, and it is especially challenging in a non-Christian country. Prolonged stay in Thailand, a devoted Buddhist country, is at the same time a rewarding experience and a challenging pastoral task. Veneration of Buddhist monks in Thailand is huge, sometimes incomprehensible for a cleric from the Abrahamic religions (Judaism,...Read More
Calling ‘Other Worlds’ into Being
It is one month since I arrived in Bangkok, ready to join Class 28 of the Rotary Peace Fellowship at Chulalongkorn University. A few days ago, I had my first moment of feeling what I can only describe as impending nostalgia. The program is only just staring, and yet it feels like it is flying by. That sentimental wistfulness I foresee in my future, comes from a place of appreciation and hope:...Read More
Still building peace one person at the time
The week 3 of our Rotary Peace Fellowship at the Rotary Peace Center at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok was dedicated to the diagnosis and analysis of conflicts. With the guidance of the week’s guest speaker, Martine Miller, we were introduced to the basic conflict analysis tools like ABC triangle, conflict tree, and force field analysis. The week turned out to be an intensive one: We did...Read More
The Mighty Mekong
What an eye-opening and life-changing experience I’ve had visiting Mekong River communities in Thailand and Laos with my Rotary Peace Fellows Class of 28 and on my own! I feel very blessed to have gotten to experience the deep wisdom connected to tradition, culture, land and water that the local communities we visited in Chiang Khong and surrounding areas possessed. While villagers hosted us...Read More
FASCINATNG INDO -THAI CULTURE
It has been over a month already, yet the excitement of having gotten into this transformational course feels like I am still going thru day 1. Coming from South India, there are many things that fascinated me here in Thailand; some of them seemed very familiar to me. Without getting into too much of analysis, here are the similarities that I could see between Indian and Thai cultures...Read More