Devi's Diary

Devi Rajab was good enough to send me a transcript of her article, entitled "Creating a Peaceful Nation," that appeared in the June 4th issue of the Mercury. I've included the transcript here, for those of you who don't subscribe to the paper:

Devi's Diary Monday Column

I had an opportunity to speak with some foreign visitors to our shores recently. A mother and son team Dr Josephine Naidoo an eminent Canadian social psychologist and her son Dr Kenneth Leslie a clinical neuro-cognitive scientist had come to conduct research in SA. Effortlessly the conversation trailed to SA and the crime and its future. Although SA is a microcosm of the world, it is significant that they felt that it displays the most pernicious form of violent crime, which involves shocking acts of cruelty reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick's film "A Clockwork Orange." They cite the example of a white man stripped naked by thugs who then crazy- glued his exercise bike and forced him to sit on it and then sealed his mouth with the same glue and proceeded to rob him. Attacks like these induce fear and revulsion in the population, and lead to a sense of hopelessness and despair. But they also tell a lot about the psyche of the perpetrators, which we need to study closely in order to understand why they do what they do. What follows is a series of questions and answers towards a better understanding of how we could fight crime by building a non-violent society.

Our prisons are overflowing. Lesser criminals become hardened, hardened become irredeemable. Recidivism is high. We spend more money on security than food and criminals are emerging like the proverbial Hydra monster, the more you lop of its head the more heads emerge. How should South Africans respond to ubiquitous crime, I asked. Other than employing private security companies, retreating to gated communities, building walls and electrified fences and filling up our jails with inmates, what should we do? “I have been reading Richard Gregg's "The Power of Non-Violence," which has helped me to better understand the principles of Satyagraha says Dr Lesley. The approach maintains that you cannot solve any problem at the level of the problem. A violent response to thugs only serves to reinforce the idea that problems can be solved through violence. In a sense, you are agreeing with the criminals, that might really does make right. The increased security approach is already showing its limitations, and it is clear that it will never solve the security problem in South Africa, or it might do so by returning South Africa to a police state.”

What about the efficacy of the principal of an eye for an eye as a quick and immediate deterrent I asked provocatively. Many South Africans are calling for the death penalty and cite the Arab method of cutting off limbs as a negative reinforcer. There is very little crime in Muslim countries where merchants leave their goods unguarded while they attend to their ritual prayers. While this may be so there is a great deal of collective violence displayed in the acts of the suicide bombers.

“ Violence begets violence and what we want to create is a society that is truly free and non violent. There is a real opportunity to explore alternative approaches to reducing violent crime in South Africa he said. One such approach would involve a Satyagraha campaign aimed at discrediting the use of violence. After all Gandhiji was also a son of Africa and for 21 years he incubated these ideas on this very soil”.

But surely this is a tall order and out of synch with the dominant culture I asked? Non-violence is wonderful as a philosophy but how do we translate this into some concrete proposals?
”Before we can begin to articulate a plan for a campaign against violent crime, it is important to understand the psychology of our opponent. A vital tool in disarming our opponents is empathy. I would argue that the men who stripped that man of his clothes and crazy glued him to his bicycle seat, have, themselves, suffered from feelings of being emasculated and rendered helpless and voiceless. From this perspective, their violent act can be seen as a tragic attempt to seek empathy, in this case, by victimizing someone else. An important part of our strategy is an attempt to help our opponents remember their humanity (by treating them like human beings instead of enemies), and help them recover their sanity.” Change will hinge on helping people to disengage themselves from their identity as gangsters, and help them instead to realize their own capacity for feelings of vulnerability and love. It is important to remember that this identity is only a persona, and not who the person really is.
Progress will depend in part on getting past enemy imagery, and seeing the humanity of our opponent, but what then?

“ The next step involves identifying opportunities for contact with violent criminals, and then creating situations where the power of non-violence can be used to maximum advantage. South Africa has many violent criminals in prison. Instead of judging these people, and reinforcing their identity as the "worst of the worst," which just plays into their egos, and reinforces a culture of violence and retributive justice, we could instead adopt methods pioneered by Kiran Bedi who reformed the infamous Tihar jail in India which many described as a hellhole and converted prisoners into noble citizens through a course in Vipassana, an ancient technique of self-purification, which has experienced a public revival in India after having been all but lost for centuries. Participants spend a rigorous ten days of meditation and prayer, learning to observe themselves. As the course progresses, the participant is brought face to face with himself. This experience has had a positive impact on many of the prisoners who claim that the course rehabilitated them as it forced them to look directly and without excuses into their dark sides.”

How can we confront violent criminals in a non-violent way that communicates self-respect and respect for the attacker, without taking foolish risks? “The answer will require more research, and I think it will involve Non-Violent Communication, and a delicate balance between asserting one's right to personal and economic safety and a willingness to let go of one's personal possessions. This idea could be extended even further: a willingness on the part of wealthy South Africans to embrace voluntary simplicity and live with less, and instead invest in strategies for making sure that everyone's needs get met, including the need for economic and personal security for all. This, along with access to education and opportunity, can help South Africans create a peaceful and prosperous nation.