A South Asia youth workshop entitled “Peace and Development: An Agenda for Democracy and Justice,” organised by the Council for World Mission (CMW) took place in Kolkata, India, from 26-29 October, attended by 24 youth participants from across India and Bangladesh.
The workshop opened with worship led by Rev. Samuel Mall, who emphasised that peace and democracy are not merely secular concepts but key principles of God’s kingdom.
Debasis Shyamal, President of the Dakshinbanga Matsyajibi Forum (National Platform for Small Scale Fish Workers), shared his experiences with the local fisher community.
Shyamal shed light on the struggles of the fisher community as they grapple against the forces of commercialisation that threaten to not only destroy the ecosystem but also their livelihoods. He challenged participants to re-evaluate the oft-vaunted ideas of development, to examine them critically to judge if they were just or democratic, and if their benefits outweigh the costs borne by the marginalised communities who, ironically, often benefit the least from them.
Multi-faceted, on-the-ground exposure
Throughout the first two days of the workshop, participants engaged in discussions and attended film screenings to explore the unspoken realities in society, including daily struggles of the people in Kashmir as well as rampant caste discrimination in South Asia. The workshop provided a safe space for open conversations, allowing participants to share their thoughts, experiences, grief, and hope with one another.
A theatrical mime performance by Susanto Das, titled “Tale of a Fish – An Anti-Nuclear Mime Act,” offered a dramatic re-enactment of the construction of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu.
Even though no words were uttered throughout the performance, Das’ act was a showcase of resistance to the nuclear plant’s destructive effects on both the ecosystem and local communities.
Following the act, participants shared their own experiences about harmful impacts that development projects have had in their own communities, discussing how such projects, often justified in the name of progress, harm both the environment and the health of local populations.
Youth participants also visited the Kolkata Hawker Union, one of the oldest unions supporting street food vendors and other marginalised groups.
There, participants spoke with street vendors, learning about their daily challenges and their fight for legal rights as they face threats from state development projects that would have them displaced from their stalls, upending their livelihoods. Participants then presented their reports through various creative formats, using skits and videos to depict the struggles and realities faced by the vendors.
As the four-day workshop ended, Dr Sudipta Singh, Deputy General Secretary of CWM, concluded the programme with a presentation based around Micah 6:8 as he exhorted the participants to follow Jesus’ command to carry the cross and to “act justly, love kindness, and walk humbly with God” while daring to dream big to make a difference in the world around them.
