STRUCTURES AND IDENTITIES IMPEDING THE "GREAT TRANSFORMATION"
The Wisdom
of a Life’s Journey
Wolfgang Schonecke (born in 1938) is since 2001 head of the Network Africa Germany in Bonn (www.netzwerkafrika.de). From 1965-1982 he worked in the pastoral care in Uganda; from 1982-1992 Schonecke took over tasks of leadership in the Society of the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers); from 1994-2001 he led the Pastoral Department of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA).
Yago: Wolfgang, welcome to this blog where we are exploring efficient ways to deconstruct today’s energies of enslavement. This is done mainly through new forms of awareness. I appreciate very much your willingness to share with us your life experience serving in this demanding field of Justice and Peace. We shall pay special attention, among many issues, to the structures and identities perpetuating modern slavery. I would like to begin this interview asking you about the hardships at the very beginning of your life. You were born in Germany just before the Second World War. Could you share with us your early childhood, how the war affected you and in what ways it has shaped your commitment to Justice and Peace?
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| Berlin in ruins, 1945 |
Meditating on the person of Jesus and
reading about other prophets of non-violence I realised that there is another
way: not suppressing the memories of violence, but rather addressing the present
reality of violence and trying to change it in a non-violent way.
My experience of violence is ambiguous. It
awakens strong feelings against the perpetrator, but it also gives me a greater sensitivity and more
compassion towards people whose integrity and dignity is violated. Somehow my
commitment to justice is a fruit of the experience of injustice, in childhood
but also in many other situations in my life.
Yago: You have been for decades in the field of Justice and Peace in Africa and
Europe, could you share with us briefly your life story in this field? What role has your on-going
formation and sabbaticals played in this journey?
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| Luzira Prison, Uganda |
During the civil war in Uganda I did
chaplain work in the central prison of Luzira. The place was overcrowded with
some 2000 political prisoners who were never sure if they would survive the
next day. I never experienced so deeply the power of God’s Word. In that
precarious situation we read together the difficult and misunderstood book of
Revelation and it became for them a source of inner peace and confidence.
The years of political oppression and civil
war in Uganda under Idi Amin and Obote left their mark on me. My formation and
my own self-image did not allow me to run away from the dangers. I was
responsible for the group and thought I could not admit to weakness. It was only when I moved out of Uganda that the tensions
began to show and I went into depression. It was a very hard, yet fruitful
time. I learned more about myself and the workings of God than in all my formative years.
Later I had the privilege to do a Sabbatical
at the Maryknoll School of Theology. It was a time of blessings and insights
and a time of inner healing from the wounds of violence. The beauty of nature
surrounding the house, the riches of relationships among the students from all
over the world and the many moments of sharing our experiences and searching
for answers, a fresh look at the bible and the insights from liberation
theology, and most importantly, the listening
ear of an emphatic counsellor, all contributed
to renewing my vision and my commitment.
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| Fr. Peter Henriot, S.J. |
Yago: You talk about the complexity and
confusion of today’s political machine in Germany. This makes very difficult
the task of Justice and Peace. John Paul Lederach says in his interview that
peacebuilding has always had the temptation to
move very strongly towards the structural side. He mentions that the big
challenge is to retain a sense of purpose in an ever-evolving creativity? Would you care to comment
on that?
Wolfgang: Justice and peace work involves two levels. The level of awareness:
becoming and making other people conscious of injustice and their own
responsibility, changing innate prejudices and challenging false value systems.
The other is political: trying to change the political and economic structures
and power arrangements that create and perpetuate injustice. Lederach is right:
in the “justice and peace community”, we tend to spend a lot of time and energy
in campaigns and actions and to neglect the ethical, spiritual dimension of all
justice problems. To change structures is hard enough and succeeds only
occasionally. To change the mindset of people is harder. But it was the
starting point of Jesus. His first appeal was for a change of thinking.
Yago: Resiliency is a fundamental requirement for peacebuilders who insert themselves in
the middle of conflict. Could you share with us the importance of developing resilient
skills for our vocation?
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| Refugees Great Lake Region |
Yago: This is a challenge for all of us. Quite often
in our vocation on Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC), we see problems and people from a negative, critical
stance. This blog stresses the importance of incorporating a non-dualistic mind in our Justice and Peace field, a form
of thinking that begins with a Yes of “basic acceptance” of the conflict
in which we insert ourselves. How do we develop a mind
that can deal with this tension?
Wolfgang:
As a product of a Jesuit school I
have a strong inclination to look at conflicts and most other situations with
an analytical, critical mind. My corrective is a constant going back to the
bible with its holistic and hopeful view on the world and on people.
The first
page of the bible is a powerful antidote to negativity. “He looked...and found
it very good.” With the same eyes Jesus looked at every person and he saw goodness
in the most wicked. The substratum of all reality is goodness, evil is put on later. But it takes effort and discipline to
constantly return to the divine view of people and search for their basic
goodness.
The first
page of the bible is a powerful antidote to negativity. “He looked...and found
it very good.” With the same eyes Jesus looked at every person and he saw goodness
in the most wicked. The substratum of all reality is goodness, evil is put on later. But it takes effort and discipline to
constantly return to the divine view of people and search for their basic
goodness.
Yago: Jesus attitude is very much
rooted in a non-dualistic mind.
Today we are witnessing an on-going integration of the wisdom of the Eastern
religious traditions and a re-discovery of the essentials of the quality of
presence, mindfulness, living in the now, in our Christian living. How does
this trend affect our JPIC vocation?
Wolfgang: In my work I have to read a lot of
documents and have discussions with many
different people. By the end of the day my head is overcrowded with many facts
and figures and faces. The Eastern traditions and techniques offer me a way to
clear out my inner house, to empty my restless mind and become present first of
all to myself, become present in a deeper way to the people I meet during the day without really meeting them. Then,
it happens occasionally that I wake up in the early morning with a sense of
great peace and the unsolved problems and the mental confusion has cleared away
and everything seems to have found its proper
place and I can put into simple words what I had struggled with for days.
Yago: The openness and inclusion of the
“big mind” of Eastern Religions is helping us to open new areas of reflection
in the field of Peacebuilding (JPIC). This has already been reflected in
previous interviews on this blog. We are beginning to embrace and assimilate new
concepts like fractal, holographic Universe, field and string theory. We are
talking here about the New Physics and New Cosmology, what is your general
impression of these new ways of thinking?
Wolfgang:
I read the interviews with great
interest. Some of the reflections were unfamiliar to me and I am not sure that
I understood them fully. But I am convinced that we have to find new images to
express our vision of reality today. The old church language no longer conveys
the message to a younger generation that has grown up in a different age and is
in touch with many different cultures. To use images from scientific thinking
and theory can be very stimulating and opens up new vistas. Yet, we must keep
in mind that they are images and comparisons of realities that defy language.
The use of scientific narratives to describe spiritual realities looks to me a
bit like the parables Jesus used: The kingdom of God is like... One must also
be aware that only a relatively small group of people are familiar with these
scientific theories. For many the idea of a holographic universe means very
little.
Yago: Diarmuid O’Murchu talks about the
crucial role of Patriarchy and Anthropocentric worldview as key perpetuators of
the energy of enslavement that keeps millions of people in situations of
physical and non-physical slavery. What would you say
to this?
Wolfgang:
If we understand by Patriarchy
the domination of men over women, I am a bit skeptical. The key issue is rather
domination of one human being over another. Historically, men have oppressed
women for centuries. But women are just as capable of oppression. Political Thatchers,
tyrannical mother superiors in convents, wives dominating their husbands, cruel
women guards in concentration camps, women involved in the sex trade of women
are also sad realities. Power can corrupt both men and women. And both need
conversion. The call to all, men and women, is to become servants of each
other.
An anthropocentric world view has indeed led
to a terrible abuse of nature. But I am as weary of the tendency to swing to
the opposite extreme: that as humans we are identical with nature. Both are
true: we are part of the natural world, we are
one with the whole of reality and at the same time we stand vis-a-vis nature in
awe and admiration seeking to understand it, something no other part of nature
can do. Let’s keep the balance!
Yago: In your
mind, what are some of the hidden motivators (the subconscious elements) that drive modern
slavery?
Yago: You speak about the challenge to
identify our subtle mechanisms to achieve domination over others. Today’s world
is built on an unjust economic system. There is an urgent call to reconsider,
reformulate the world’s economic system. Could you
comment on your work in this area?
Wolfgang:
For ten years, our network of
religious congregations have worked on various
issues of global justice or rather injustice: the debt problem, arms trade and
child soldiers, unfair trade relations and patent rights. When you analyse
these issues you become aware that all have the same root: an economic system
that no longer serves the needs of people, but uses natural and human resources
for the main purpose of maximising profits. Increasingly we are becoming aware
that this system is dysfunctional. It widens the gap between a few superrich
and the “bottom billions”. It uses up natural
resources and creates pollution at such a rate that the very survival of the
bio-sphere is threatened. It puts such pressure on employees to produce more in
less time that burn-out becomes endemic.
Worst of all, it destroys the human spirit
by changing “homo sapiens” into a “homo economicus”, defined exclusively by the
capacity of producing and consuming goods. Our specific human capabilities of
creative reflection, freedom of decision and selfless love are systematically
undermined.
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| Routledge, 2011 |
But there is a rising outcry and a call for
a “great transformation”. This is how the Scientific Council of the German
Government has called it in an impressive document that describes in detail how
our economy has to be changed if we are to survive physically and socially.
This is at present my main area of interest. There is a growing literature to
show how we can live better lives without plundering the earth, like Tim Jackson’s recent study “Economics for a finite planet”.
I am glad to note that Pope Benedict talks frequently about this great challenge to humanity. But unfortunately most church leaders are still unaware of the threat. I was among a group here in Germany which three years ago issued a “Call for a Prophet Church,” challenging their fellow believers to become aware of the dangers to humanity and engage in a dialogue about the needed alternatives as the prophets of old did whenever their society was threatened by national disaster.
I am glad to note that Pope Benedict talks frequently about this great challenge to humanity. But unfortunately most church leaders are still unaware of the threat. I was among a group here in Germany which three years ago issued a “Call for a Prophet Church,” challenging their fellow believers to become aware of the dangers to humanity and engage in a dialogue about the needed alternatives as the prophets of old did whenever their society was threatened by national disaster.
Yago:
Unjust economic systems have caused
tremendous pain and suffering throughout history.
Acknowledging the harm caused by centuries of oppression
and colonization and healing the wounds from
both sides would appear to be crucial for a new
world order built on permanent peace. What are your thoughts on this?
Wolfgang:
Admitting guilt openly is
probably the most difficult task for any individual and even more so for
communities and institutions. My experience in Africa is that the acknowledgement of personal guilt happens
only between true friend or in the sacramental celebration of reconciliation
where the secrecy of the confessional offers a safe space to face the truth. Unfortunately,
the Churches don’t give the good example themselves. They are afraid to admit
their grave historical failures for fear of losing
their credibility. If the Churches find it impossible how will a whole race or a
civilization admit to centuries of racist attitudes and criminal behaviour?
Especially the fear to be asked for concrete acts of reparation paralyses
governments. But the public admission of guilt clears the royal road to
reconciliation.
A classical example is the reconciliation between the archenemies Germany and France after World War II 50 years ago. Could something similar happen between the colonial powers and the colonised? It is all the more difficult because the colonial structures of exploitation are still in place in many different ways. Neither is the admission of guilt a one way street. The slave-trade and the colonial exploitation were only possible through the cooperation of corrupt and willing local elites. It is no different today.
A classical example is the reconciliation between the archenemies Germany and France after World War II 50 years ago. Could something similar happen between the colonial powers and the colonised? It is all the more difficult because the colonial structures of exploitation are still in place in many different ways. Neither is the admission of guilt a one way street. The slave-trade and the colonial exploitation were only possible through the cooperation of corrupt and willing local elites. It is no different today.
Yago: The same energy that avoids
acknowledging harm is also the one that keeps
prolonging slavery in today’s society. What are some of
the structures which perpetuate modern slavery in its various forms?
Wolfgang:
Let me mention just a few among
many enterprises of modern slavery.
- · The most terrifying example is human trafficking. Tens of thousands of young girls and women from Eastern Europe and the Global South are forced into prostitution in Europe which prides itself of the rule of law. Criminal elements on both ends of the chain are involved.
- · Another frightening form of neo-colonialism is called land grabbing. Huge stretches of the most fertile land are taken away from local communities and handed over to banks, investment funds, agro-industries, biofuels companies and other interested parties.
- · Debt has been another structure to exploit the poor. Corrupt governments take up credits. The money often either disappears or is used for unproductive projects. Then the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund impose a “structural adjustment programme” that hurts the poor and only profits the investors and creditors. I have seen it happening in Africa in the eighties during the “lost development decade”. Today we see the same pattern at work in Greece creating social chaos. Our German debt network has argued for years to create a structured arbitration process for over-indebted sovereign states along the lines of an insolvency law for bankrupt companies as a fair solution for the present debt crises which cripples so many countries.
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| African Debt |
The surge in land acquisition is connected
to the series of crises the world has experienced in the last decade. Climate
change and the realization that oil is running out
lead to the idea of using land for biofuels and so creating a competition
between food and energy. In the US 40% of the maize harvest is turned into
ethanol. Then came the food and the financial crisis of 2008. Food importing
countries like the Gulf States decided to look for fertile land abroad to
guarantee food security for their own populations as they could no longer rely
on the world markets. After the financial crash investors were looking for new
opportunities and land promised safe and profitable returns. Other factors also
contribute: fast growing cities, mining activities and an expanding tourist
industry, all require land, usually land where other people are already living.
Very often their traditional, communal land rights are simply ignored. They are
driven off their ancestral land without any meaningful compensation.
The rural
poor are thus losing their last resource and their livelihood. They migrate
into the slums of mega-cities or try their luck in some other country.
If the churches are serious about an option
for the poor, here is a valid cause to fight for. There is a powerful 1997
Vatican document on land reform condemning strongly - very much in the
tradition of prophets like Amos or Isaiah - “latifundia”, the accumulation of
land in the hands of a few. But most bishops have kept quiet, partly because
the church in some countries is also an important landowner.
Yago: In what
way has the historical Jesus become a
source of inspiration for your vocation in JPIC?
Wolfgang:
We studied the gospels during our
“spiritual year” a period in our formation dedicated to greater self-knowledge
and an encounter with the living Lord. In that context Jesus was presented to
us mainly as a friend and a personal guide. The political dimension of his
provocative words and actions I understood only much later.
Recently, I was
very inspired by José Antonio Pagola’s “Jesus – a historical approximation.” He
balances so well Jesus’ call for personal change and his prophetic stance for
social justice and social change. What challenges me most is Jesus’ almost
violent critique of religion and religious institutions whenever they become
oppressive themselves or legitimize oppression. Some of Jesus’ critique applies
to my Church, but I lack the courage to say so clearly. It is hard to criticize
your spiritual mother to whom you owe so much.
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| Jose Antonio Pagola |
Yago: Jesus was profoundly
compassionate with the “sinners” and the oppressed people of his time. He
understood the psychological mechanism of internalized oppression and the lack
of basic needs of his people. How does Jesus’ wisdom challenge our demanding
vocation to walk with “broken people”?
Wolfgang:
Only a direct personal contact
with the victims of religious, political and economic oppression awakes us both
to compassion and to commitment for more justice. When I lived in Africa that
direct contact with the victims of injustice was simply part of daily life and
it was easier to feel compassion. In Europe I find it much more difficult. The
anonymity of a city like Berlin and the institutionalization of compassion in
social services make it harder to meet the poor as a person. The system pushes
you to deal with injustice on a more theoretical level. Yet, there is so much
loneliness and distress hidden behind closed doors, but only on rare occasions
do I get really close to it.
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| Charles Lavigerie |
Wolfgang: There is no magic recipe to create a world where all live in dignity. But I can see two levels of engagement that we need to tackle simultaneously.
The first is on the level of our
consciousness and involves a change in our ideas, in the vision of ourselves,
of our fellow human beings, of the society we want to live in, of nature, of
our spiritual identity. It is a slow process and it
has to start within our own mind and translate into our way of living. It has
to restart in new generations.
The second is on the political, structural
level. It involves rethinking power relations, institutions, laws. A first
necessary step is to analyse critically and denounce the deficiencies of
present structures and systems. But this in itself never leads to change,
unless we creatively imagine and experiment with alternative solutions. Often
we stop at the critique. But we can win people’s hearts
only with an attractive alternative vision. We tend to point at all the things
that are destructive and unjust in our world. Jesus won people’s hearts with a fresh vision of God and of the human person.
Yago: Is today’s religious formation
holistic enough to equip us to deal efficiently with the demanding reality of
today’s world? Do you agree that our formation is still extremely
academical/rational?
Wolfgang:
Yago, we lived together in a
formation house some years ago. I suppose it has not changed much since. An
academic training is necessary. Students need to acquire not so much
information, but a capacity to analyse critically and to reflect creatively.
They also need to learn certain skills: to express themselves clearly, to
communicate effectively, to dialogue respectfully, to promote community. But
these are only tools. To become peace-makers, reconcilers and justice promoters
we need to connect to and constantly drink from the source of the living
spirit. We do not give enough time and attention to open up to the Spirit, to
allow the word of Jesus to challenge us and to share our insights and
experiences in community, neither in formation nor afterwards. It is easy to
write about it but to do it in our hectic world with its constant challenges
and changes remains a daily struggle.
Yago: Thanks a
lot for your wisdom and time granted to this interview.
Wolfgang: Thanks to you,
Yago!
