Transcending Cultural & Geographic Boundaries
Honduras is one of the poorest countries in the Americas, and in 2013, had the highest murder rate in the world. In 2011, as a response to extreme poverty and weak democratic institutions, an organization led by Hondurans began to grow. Known as the National Popular Resistance Front (FNRP), they were determined to eradicate the perpetual fear that plagued their daily lives.
Tanenbaum’s Peacemaker in Action Chencho Alas recognized the power of this growing movement and its potential to build democracy within Honduras. As an established community leader and nonviolent activist, Chencho was selected by FNRP to present his own peacebuilding techniques and approaches to their organization.
Chencho knew that the newly formed FNRP would benefit from a unique opportunity: a Network Intervention. He sought assistance from fellow Tanenbaum Peacemaker in Action Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge who had intimate familiarity with nonviolent resistance, reconciliation and peacebuilding. Chencho knew that Nozizwe’s personal experience and struggle as a Quaker leader during South African apartheid would ignite hope for Hondurans. Together, they worked to develop a plan for a mutual partnership.
In 2011 and 2013, Chencho and Nozizwe conducted trainings and facilitated a South-South exchange of knowledge and capacity building for peaceful reconciliation. In 2011, they led training sessions with over 50 Honduran leaders that focused on methods of peacemaking and nonviolent resistance. In 2013, Chencho and Juan Barahona, the leader of the FNRP coalition, traveled to visit Nozizwe and other South African leaders. Chencho and Juan participated in meetings throughout South Africa to learn about the South African process and model of reconciliation. Additionally, workshops included strategy sessions for participatory planning and network building. Chencho absorbed this knowledge with the intention of adapting and replicating their peacebuilding models in Honduras. He understood the potential for integrating non-violent resistance along with the South African reconciliation process.
Nozizwe’s experience with post-conflict peacebuilding in South Africa proved powerful and inspiring for grassroots activists during the intervention in Honduras. Her struggle to overcome prejudice and her imprisonment in South Africa was a powerful example for Hondurans, helping to ignite their hope and dedication towards their own peacebuilding initiatives.
During the intervention in Honduras, Chencho presented his own approach to peacemaking that focuses on positive assessment of assets and abilities, rather than problems and needs. Nozizwe learned from this method and looks forward to incorporating this approach in South Africa.
Common challenges and situations faced by both Hondurans and South Africans helped Chencho and Nozizwe to quickly understand how South-South partnerships promote the exchange of best practices in ways that combat entrenched challenges including poverty and violence.
Following the successful interventions, the FNRP used tools enhanced by both Chencho and Nozizwe to form the LIBRE political party in Honduras. During the November 2013 elections, the LIBRE party held early leads in the polls and displayed great progress in becoming a political party that unifies Honduran society.
Network Interventions highlight the importance of the collaborative work in ways that propel substantive peacebuilding and information sharing within the Network. The South-South exchange initiated by Chencho and Nozizwe illuminates the importance of the positive relationships built through the Network and its power to transcend cultural and physical geographic boundaries.
Click here to download the complete Honduras and South Africa Interventions report.