“La paz no es solamente la ausencia de la guerra, sino, es la solidaridad entre los hermanos y las hermanas.”
Graffiti on a wall in Bolivia
I remember seeing the above quote many years ago, long before I joined MPI. It states that peace is not just the absence of war, rather, it is solidarity between brothers and sisters. This has been a guiding message for me as I have tried to be in solidarity with those with whom I live and work in whatever context and culture and has extended as much as possible to be in solidarity with our environment in order to work toward a holistic peace.
After ten years, I decided to retire from my work with MPI as of the end of January 2024. It was a difficult decision, made in part so that I could spend more time with Jet, my spouse and life partner, who already retired. I also felt that with Chris Vertucci leaving as director, it was time for the next generation to bring MPI into the future.
In my younger years, I had worked in Northern Samar, which was an area of conflict during Martial Law, in Mindanao amid some of the most violent years in Mindanao in the mid-1980s, and in post-war Nicaragua. Northern Samar was so critical that it was off limits to other US Peace Corps Volunteers, with whom I was working, and taxis even refused to go to the urban poor communities in Davao City and Managua, where we were assigned.
Even though I joined MPI when I was already 55 years old, I learned much from my experience and from the people with whom I worked, especially the many MPI alumni. Interacting with participants and facilitators, even if mostly in supportive and background roles, I was able to integrate the experiences in those violent contexts with what I had learned in observing classes and assisting in online courses.
While I never formally studied information and communication technology, I often served as a bridge between the NGO world and the tech world. This came to full fruition with MPI as I took on the role of the Technical and Institutional Capacity Building Officer. While working in this role, I never imagined that I would then become immersed in digital rights and digital peacebuilding. My first involvements were through training programs and workshops with the Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA). Through that connection, I attended the RightsCon conference in 2015.
The most rewarding experience was to be part of the cohort of the Southeast Asia Digital Rights Collaborative (DRIVE – SEA). It was through this that MPI implemented the Digital Rights and Digital Peacebuilding in Mindanao project. I am grateful to MPI for allowing me to be part of DRIVE – SEA, to the Association for Progressive Communication for accepting me as a representative of MPI, and especially to the MPI alumni who participated in the project.
It has been a great privilege to work with MPI. I am especially grateful to have had such dedicated co-workers with whom I shared both challenging and joyful times. I am also thankful to the MPI Board of Trustees, the amazing facilitators, those who have volunteered with MPI, and to all our alumni and network members.
I will be keeping alive my passion for peacebuilding and digital rights and continue to find ways to stay involved. I also will continue to support MPI, the MPI network, and the many peacebuilders as best I can, especially in assuring that our digital technology is a tool for good and building peace.
Let us remain in solidarity with one another and with the earth to create a more just and peaceful world.
Peace,
Fred