Category: Peace – Frieden

A call for lateral love from down under

Today I learned through a follower of this blog about an important indigenous healing initiative in Australia. It is called Lateral Love Australia and is intended to explore and help overcome the opposite of lateral love: Lateral violence.

Lateral violence happens when people who are both victims of a situation of dominance, in fact turn on each other rather than confront the system that oppresses them both.

I was touched by this initiative. I have witnessed many instances where people in marginalized communities I served in were hurting each other. Instead of pulling together towards healing from various forms of colonial trauma, people engage in acts of lateral violence (gossip, bullying, blaming, alcoholism, drug use, domestic violence, suicide). This only creates more hurt and pain, helps reinforce stereotypes, and perpetuates racism.

Inuit children in Ikaluktutiak/Cambridge Bay practicing lateral love. Family dance Christmas 2008.

Continue reading “A call for lateral love from down under” →

Teach me to stop and listen

Watch out, the ultimate commerce season is upon us! I went for a walk in the beautiful winter sun and decided to stop for coffee. There it was: the first Christmas tree and the entire store already decked out in red and green, seasonal symbols, and superfluous merchandise. I got all worked up about it and decided that this is the last time this year that I will stop at Starbucks for coffee!

Teach me to stop and listen,
Teach me to center down,
Teach me the use of silence,
Teach me where peace is found…

I really needed these words after my walk. They were helpful for me to find my calm again. Continue reading “Teach me to stop and listen” →

Feast days – “but where is the feast”

Between waking up and preparing breakfast, I asked Celia about the significance of this day – November 11. This kind of dialogue is one way of sharing about the diverse cultural traditions and experiences that we bring into our relationship.

Of course, for us here in Canada it is Remembrance Day,

a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. […] Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the end of hostilities of World War I on that date in 1918. Hostilities formally ended “at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.” (Wikipedia)

I am honouring, without special form, the men and women who serve a country and do this by conviction and for the common good. I believe it is each individual’s choice to serve by going to war – but there are times where people in power will make the ‘choice’ and sacrifice the lives of so many for their purpose. I have difficulties celebrating war heroes and indirectly glorifying the practice of armed conflict and the use of any form of violence- whether as an act of aggression, liberation, or defence. Continue reading “Feast days – “but where is the feast”” →

Military-industrial complex: The human version

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Dropping off and picking up passengers at the Mao Airport (Kanem Region/Chad)

I find it neat to find common experiences in the most unexpected places. As I was doing some banking today, the investment advisor and I got into some casual conversation. After all, he has all kind of private information about me at his disposal on the computer screen. He inquired about my employment status and whether I am still working with MSF/Doctors WIthout Borders. He showed a genuine interest and so I told him a little bit about my mission to Chad last year. Continue reading “Military-industrial complex: The human version” →

Ofradix – the name

The name for this blog came to me as I was soaking in the bathtub.

OFRADIX. I didn’t want to use my more common web aliases, but still felt that it would be nice to have some consistency. So I started again with my initials. They have helped me as markers of identity since high school. Then they helped with my company logo years before the advent of the Internet. I added the -radix to indicate the importance of being radical in my way. I wanted the name to be unique – and a google search confirmed that this word has not been in use as such.

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Monday Morning

As I spend some more time with the new blogging tool I discover how difficult it is for me to write to an anonymous audience. So far, I have mostly used letters and letter-style emails to communicate. What is it really that people “out there” are interested in? What are the relevant thoughts that I like to share? What am I comfortable with sharing with a wider audience, possibly a public audience?

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