Armed Conflict, Adult Education, and Social Change in Asia, Africa, and Latin America

Rey Ty, Anu Rajbhandari, Michael Tusiime, and E. Hunting

Abstract

The Third World experiences intense economic, political, and cultural crises. In the Philippines, Nepal, Rwanda, and Nicaragua, rebel forces have been or are still engaged in armed conflict with government forces. Intervening in armed conflict ridden societies, adult educators (a) recognize inequality and negotiate social participation, (b) support conscientization and direct action, or (c) engage in post-conflict social reintegration and social reconstruction. As catalysts for social change, adult educators use the available political space in difficult situations.

Introduction

Research Problem and Questions In parts of Southeast Asia, South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and West Asia, groups resort

to armed conflict to resolve crises. Given that each co-author has personal experience in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, all co-authors engaged in the comparative analysis of these societies. As a result, this research raises the following questions: What are the social and armed conflict contexts in these societies? How does adult education facilitate political consciousness, social action, and social transformation of these societies? What are the learning contents and agendas which the adult educators aspire to achieve?

Importance of the Research to the Practice of Adult and Community Education

This study is important to the practice of adult education because it (a) presents four case studies of how adult learning in social movements plays a concrete role in the transformation of societies, (b) reveals and shares findings regarding the best practices used in the education programs that can be applied in bringing about social change in other societies where the context of conflict necessitates an adult education intervention, (c) presents a grounded model based on the analyses of the cases, and (d) argues that adult education is an agent of change that promotes social change here and now, despite the armed hostilities, as well as economic and political difficulties, with which the Philippines, Nepal, Rwanda, and Nicaragua were or are confronted.

Methodology

This paper is a qualitative research that highlights the role of selected non-governmental organizations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America in advancing political advocacy and grassroots development projects amidst difficult political times. The case studies selected were based on the knowledge and experiences of co-authors in the Philippines, Nepal, Rwanda, and Nicaragua. The data were gathered through document analysis, collaborative critical reflection, and participant observation. The emerging themes provided the inputs for the generation of a grounded model of best practices in adult education as an agent for social change.

Findings Social and Armed Conflict Contexts Philippines. The Philippines was at the throes of dictatorship. When the people’s power movement overthrew the Marcos dictatorship, formal democracy was restored. However, deeply

rooted historical problems persist. Social problems include foreign domination, feudalism, and corruption, for which reason, many remain affixed in poverty (BAYAN, 2009). Today, due to these entrenched social problems, (a) the government of the Philippines, (b) the National Democratic Front and its revolutionary forces, (c) the Moro Islamic Front, and, in the past, (c) the Moro National Liberation Front have been engaged in armed conflict. Nepal. Nepal is a Third World country, among the poorest and least developed countries in the world with 40% of its population living below the poverty line (Bhattarai, 2008). Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, providing a livelihood for over 80% of the population and accounting for 40% of the gross domestic product (GDP; “Nepal Facts & Figures,” n.d.). Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of agricultural produce. Lasting for almost 20 years, the armed conflict between the government and the Maoist insurgents resulted in more than 12,000 lives lost, including bread winners (“Nepalese Civil War,” 2008). Malnutrition and poverty have hit women hardest. In most rural areas, women participate in planting rice, weeding and herding of cattle. In urban areas, they are employed in domestic and traditional jobs, as well as mostly in the low-level government jobs. Although the government has enacted many laws in providing equal opportunities in all aspects to women, their educational level has taken a big hit since the percentage of enrollment and dropout level of girls have been very high.

Rwanda. Rwanda has a per capita GDP of only $260 (“Background Note: Rwanda,” 2008). Rwanda gained its independence from Belgium in 1962, which created division among Rwandans by favoring the Tutsi against the Hutu in access to opportunities. When Belgians left, the majority Hutu systematically discriminated against the minority Tutsi. The conflicts culminated in the 1994 Tutsi genocide that left 1 million dead and the country with a ruined social, economic and physical infrastructure. Beginning in 1997 the broad-based government with all relevant stakeholders drafted a road map to development, dubbed “Rwanda Vision 2020” (Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, 2002) with six interwoven pillars: good governance, a literate skilled human resource capital, a vibrant private sector, world-class physical infrastructure and modern agriculture and livestock. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have engaged in development work using this development road map.

Nicaragua. Nicaragua is an underdeveloped country which is one of the most impoverished countries in the Western Hemisphere (“Nicaragua Backgrounder,” 2009). The United Nations Human Development Report (HDR; Watkins et al., 2007).) ranks Nicaragua 110 on the Human Development Index, and 47% of the national population lies under the poverty line. While there have been some advances in development and ranking higher than its previous ranking (118 according to the HDR in 2004; Fukuda-Parr et al., 2004), Nicaragua remains significantly impoverished. The enactment of the Central American Free Trade Agreement expanded the opportunities for agricultural and manufactured goods exportation; Nicaragua continues to struggle with widespread underemployment, second lowest per capita in the Western Hemisphere (“Background Note: Nicaragua,” 2008).

From the Somozas came a presidential dynasty of corruption which pilfered $100 million from the national coffers. The Somozas appropriated Nicaragua’s select property and commercial interests, while not providing for the poor basic necessities such basic sanitation, health care, and education (Walker, 2003). The peak of corruption came during the misappropriation of foreign aid after a massive earthquake that decimated 50% of the capital, Managua. This was a fertile ground for the Sandinista Front for National Liberation (FSLN) to rebel against the regime. Ousting the Somoza rule, the Sandinistas took control of the

government, which subsequently led to the Contra War. Backed by the U.S., the Contras staged a guerilla-style war with the FSLN that left the country devastated and impoverished. What followed was a relative time of peace. The FSLN was voted out of office by Violeta Chamorro (Walker, 2003). Unable to rebuild the country from its massive accumulated debt, the party once ruled by the Somoza family, the Constitutionalist Liberal Party (PLC) regained power in 1996. Misappropriation of foreign aid after Hurricane Mitch led to the eventual arrest and detention of the PLC president. In 2006, the Sandinista party was re-elected back into office. Although there is no current armed conflict in Nicaragua, the effects of the Somoza era, Sandinista revolution, and the subsequent war with the Contras, has left the nation recovering from extreme poverty.

Adult Education, Non-Governmental Organizations, Conscientization, and Social Change

Philippines. Filipinos involved in social movements have always been actively working against injustice, oppression, and repression, for which many have become victims of involuntary disappearances, torture, illegal arrest and detention, and political killings. However, they are not silenced by state violence. Rather, they courageously redouble their efforts in grassroots-based popular education, learning in social movements, as well as fighting for justice, human rights, and national and social liberation (BAYAN, 2009). Due to state repression, many were forced to go underground. NGOs actively use popular education as a tool for conscientization, organizing, and political mobilization against oppressive power holders. Many NGOs provided relief and legal services to victims of human rights violations. Nepal. The Women Awareness Self Reliant Center (WASC) is a non-governmental, non-political and non-profit organization (Rajbhandari, 2008). It is affiliated with Social Welfare Council, the governing body of the NGO sector in Nepal and World Association of Non-Governmental Organizatioins. The WASC was established in 1999 aiming at the socio-cultural and economic development of the community. The center has been involved in improving economic conditions and aiding in health needs of communities through their own initiative which improves the general life quality of women in rural areas. WASC believes that work provides self-reliant and sustainable development thorough peoples’ participation. It has been helping women learn the basic skills that are necessary for women to make a living or contribute to the household where they are able to at least meet their minimal requirements. Also, it provides financial and emotional support to the women of Nepal. WASC provides skills training, such as teaching women to learn different languages, weaving, housekeeping, driving and other means to help them. WASC also asks the government to help these women to be entrepreneurs, by providing them with opportunities, such as loans that will enable them to start a business.

Rwanda. Haguruka (meaning “wake up”) is a non-profit making, and politically neutral organization established in 1991 to defend the right of women and children through training, social-legal assistance and education. After the 1994 Tutsi genocide, women comprised 52.2 % of the population and 34% of the households were headed by women (Mutamba & Izabiriza, 2005). Their literacy rates were estimated at 47.8% for women, compared to 58.2% for men, and 25% of them had never attended any literacy program (Mutamba & Izabiriza, 2005). Haguruka, as an association, believed that post-conflict development would not be possible if such a huge part of the population was not facilitated and emancipated to participate in the country’s development efforts. In a patriarchal society, many widows were not allowed to inherit their deceased husband’s property, Haguruka has helped to solve this problem by training women on their rights and by advocating for legal amendments that have now allowed women to inherit their husband property for the welfare of the family. Haguruka also funds and facilitates human

rights groups where women and men participate by role play and drama to educate the population about literacy programs and reconciliation. Together with other women and advocacy groups, Haguruka has influenced policy and legal reforms. Women’s representation, numeracy, literacy and political representation have a stable increase. In January, 1997, women's representation in the Chamber of Deputies rose to 17.1%. By November, 2000, it rose to 25.7%. Fourteen years after the genocide, Rwanda’s constitution was adopted after a referendum held in 2003 which guarantees 30% quota of the 80 seats in the Chamber of Deputies for women (Mutamba & Izabiriza, 2005). In the September 2008 parliamentary elections, women occupy 56.2% of the seats in parliament, and Parliament voted in the first ever woman Speaker, setting a record as the first female-majority parliament in the whole world (David, 2000). Haguruka has provided legal support for genocide orphans against domestic violence from foster parents as well as trained foster parents on child rights. Some orphans are funded to attend formal schooling of basic vocation training. This is a great input in a country that, according to Lisanne et al. (2007), had an estimated 300,000 genocide orphans.

Nicaragua. In the past, NGO educational efforts focused on literacy rates. Currently after decades of civil strife and devastating natural disasters, the focus has generally been on vocational and sustainable development training as a means of alleviating the effects of poverty (Walker, 2003). One such NGO that has put forth this initiative is the Center for Development in Central America (CDCA), located in Ciudad Sandino. Developed by the Jubilee House, Inc., the CDCA aims address the needs of the community by helping them to achieve self-sufficiency, sustainability, and democracy (“What is the CDCA?,” 2008). The CDCA began in 1994 at the request of the FUNDECI, a development foundation located in the nation’s capital of Managua. The organization works with Ciudad Sandino, the poorest municipality in the nation, which has been a forced retreat for the victims of natural disasters. In response to needs of grassroots initiatives, the CDCA works of with worker-owned cooperatives, organic farmers, and health care professionals. The CDCA is focused on communities as a whole with the belief that life is sustainable within communities, meaning that the CDCA aids in organizing democratically elected outfits (“What is the CDCA?,” 2008). The aim is to identify needs and priorities as to not impose values that are not consistence with the community’s ideas. What the CDCA provides as an educational entity is the opportunity to for community members to gain knowledge that will allow them to become independent by means of sustainable vocation, development, and agriculture, a goal achieved through educating co-op workers in cooperativism, management, accountability, administration, marketing, and import/export laws (“Fair Trade Zone,” 2008).

Learning Contents and Agenda for Change

Philippines. In the Philippines, the masses of the people, composed of peasants and workers, join hands with their allies, in the broad democratic mass movement. Each sector or group has its own agenda. Workers demand, among other things, just compensation and humane working conditions. Peasants clamor for comprehensive land reform. The indigenous peoples claim their ancestral domain. Women fight for equal rights, women’s rights and social liberation and against state repression. Students fight for nationalist and scientific education and culture. But the movement of movements, taken as a whole, struggle for national and social emancipation. Nepal. WASC plans to provide at least 75% of rural women with some form of a job that enables them meet their family requirements (Rajbhandari, 2008). One of the first priorities that WASC puts on the agenda is to send women to school so that they can at least read and write. Along with education, WASC helps women to be independent so that in case of a loss of a

breadwinner, they can still make a decent living. They can also contribute to the household instead of having only one bread earner. WASC is committed to empower the women with education and training that would enable them to get a chance of benefiting them and their family. WASC creates awareness on woman education, health, and sanitation by establishing training centers, academic institutions and health centers and hospitals.

Rwanda. Haguruka believes that massive social change is possible when all key players get on board to advocate for economic and political participation of all subgroups in a wider society. Haguruka plans to continue widen its information dissemination strategies by holding televised and radio debates to diffuse information to a wider audience. Haguruka expands its programs by broadening its support to literacy training program, basic skills training, research, writing pamphlets and building networks with national or international government or non-governmental organizations. Haguruka has another project of building a half-way house, serving as a temporally safe house for abused children or women to regain social or emotional stability. This transit house aims to reduce rental expenses; hence, a huge sum of the budget shall be channeled to activities that directly benefit the vulnerable population.

Nicaragua. With several cooperatives established within the municipality, the CDCA plans to continue their efforts to advance sustainable development and vocational training. The CDCA has already achieved part of the goals by the creation of the worker owned Women’s Sewing Cooperative in Ciudad Sandino. Functioning as an independently owned and run co-op, the Women’s Sewing Cooperative is a worker-owned fair trade zone providing a means of subsistence by organic and fair trade sewing. This gives workers equitable pay, a voice in the decision making process and a means to raise the standard of living.

Conclusion

Summary of the Findings The following summarizes the results of the research. One, the Philippines, Nepal,

Rwanda, and Nicaragua in the recent past have experienced varying degrees of armed conflicts at the national level. Two, adult learning in non-governmental organizations indeed makes a dent in the lives of people at the grassroots level. Three, the implementation of grassroots programs provides data regarding best practices of how adult education programs promote advocacy or community development for change in war-ravaged societies.

Contributions and Implications

This paper reveals that historical, social, economic, political, and cultural contexts matter (Freire, 1970). People are affected by the hegemonic structures of domination as well as use their human agency to bring about changes. This research confirms that adult education plays a crucial role in facilitating critical consciousness and grassroots empowerment. This transformative learning is an imperative primary stage that provides the venue for people to engage in meaningful social action that benefits the masses of the people.

References

Background note: Nicaragua. (September, 2008). U. S. Department of State, Bureau of Public

Affairs. Retrieved February 16, 2009, from http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1850.htm Background note: Rwanda. (2008, June). U. S. Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs.

Retrieved December 10, 2008, from http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2861.htm

Bhattarai, P. (2008). Political situation in Nepal. Retrieved on November 20, 2008, from www.takingitglobal.org/action/projects/download.html/1821/ PoliticalSituationinNepal.doc

BAYAN. (2009). About Bayan history. Quezon City, Philippines: Author. Retrieved August 4, 2009, from http://www.bayan.ph/about%20bayan%20history.php

David, K-M. (2008, October 6). Rwanda: Female majority house elects speaker after historic poll. Retrieved November 19, 2008, from http://allafrica.com/stories/200810070155.html

Fair trade zone, The. (2008). Center for Development in Central America. Retrieved, 17 Feb, 2009, from http://www.jhc-cdca.org/index.html

Freire, P. (1970). Pegagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum. Fukuda-Parr, S., et al., (2004). Cultural liberty in today’s diverse world (Human Development

Report 2004). New York: United Nations Development Programme. Lisanne, B., et al., (2007). Psychosocial benefits of a mentoring program for youth-headed

households in Rwanda (Horizons Research Summary). Washington, DC: Population Council. Retrieved November 27, 2008, from http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/horizons/RwandaPsychOVCImpactSum.pdf

Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Republic of Rwanda. (2002). Rwanda vision 2020 (Draft 3). Kigali, Rwanda: Author.

Mutamba, J., & Izabiriza, J. (2005). The role of women in reconciliation and peace building in Rwanda: Ten years after genocide, 1994-2004. Contributions, challenges and way forward. Kigali, Rwanda: The National Unity and Reconciliation Commission.

Nepal facts & figures. (n.d.). South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. Retrived on November 20, 2008, from http://nepal.saarctourism.org/nepal-fact.html

Nepalese Civil War—1996/2006. (2008). B's Independent Pro-Peace Initiative. Retrieved on November 25, 2008, from http://www.bippi.org/bippi/menu_left/conflicts/Nepal/Nepal.htm

Nicaragua backgrounder: Structural adjustment and free trade policies. (2009). New York: MADRE. Retrieved February 17, 2009, from http://www.madre.org/index.php?s=9&b=27&p=72

Rajbhandari, S. (2008). About us. Katmandu, Nepal: Woman Awareness Self Reliant Center. Retrieved on October 12, 2008, from http://www.wasc.org.np/about%20us.html

Walker, T. W. (2003). Nicaragua: Living in the shadow of the eagle (4th ed.). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

Watkins, K., et al. (2007). Fighting climate change: Human solidarity in a divided world (Human Development Report 2007/2008). New York: United Nations Development Programme.

What is the CDCA? (2008). Center for Development in Central America. Retrieved February 17, 2009, from http://www.jhc-cdca.org/index.html

________________________ Rey Ty, Michael Tusiime, & E. J. Hunting, Northern Illinois University: rty@niu.edu, mtusiime@yahoo.com, ehunting1@niu.edu; Anu Rajbhandari, Women Awareness and Self Reliant Center, Nepal: anurajbhandari@hotmail.com Presented at the Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, Community and Extension Education, Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago, IL, October 21-23, 2009..