Practical tips

Image by WOCInTech

by Anton Lutz

Today’s blog is in the form of a letter to a friend from me. I hope you enjoy it.

Dear Gertrude, 

I’m sorry it’s been so long since you’ve heard from me. You’ve taken the brave step to do something about Sorcery Accusation Related Violence in your community. Well done. What you’ve decided to do isn’t easy, but luckily there are more and more people like you who are joining the movement. 

As you know, I’ve been doing this work for a little while now, and I’ve been so privileged to learn from others along the way. I’ll try to pass along what we’ve learned and what has worked, so that you can benefit too. 

First, get connected with others. 

• SARV is illegal and against the word of God. It hurts people and destroys gutpela sindaun in communities. It is blocking the good future that PNG is working toward.  
• That means there are already allies on the ground. Women’s leaders. Church members. Court clerks. Youth. Police. Someone also cares about this issue and the victims. So talk to people. Meet with groups of people. Raise your concerns and ask them to be part of this with you. 
• Get each others’ phone numbers. You never know when you will need each other’s help.
• Make contact with your local police station and talk to the Commander about the issue and what role the police will play in future incidents. The police are well aware that SARV and GBV are major issues facing our communities. Work with them. 

Second, plan and act ahead of time.  

• By the time violence is happening, it is very difficult to intervene. Even armed police will hesitate to go into a mob and try to stop torture. What can you or I do?

Part 1, We have to play our part ahead of time. 

• We can meet with stakeholders in the community. Churches. Schools. Community groups. We can make a plan with them about how to educate about this issue, and how we can act together if there is ever an accusation or attack in our community. 
• This is so important. A community that is talking about SARV issues and making a plan for what to do if there is an accusation is a community that is prepared to do the right thing. 

Part 2, We have to be ready to act when we hear about an accusation or attack. 

• We should know who to call. We should know whose vehicle we will use. We should know what we will say and who will say it and how we will say it. 

• Some ideas of what you might say to calm down a tense situation: 
  • Don’t take the law into your own hands but let the police and leaders handle it.
  • This is not how we want to solve our problems. Let’s have a community meeting about this.
  • This is against the law. We will report you to the police. 
  • What if your sister or mother gets accused? Will you treat her like this?
  • This person is made in God’s image and their body is God’s temple. It is not right for us to hurt the person just because we are upset about a spiritual samting.
  • Let us take the patient to the hospital and let the doctors and nurses tell us what is happening, instead of just guessing or listening to the glasman. 
  • The rest of the world will hear about what we are doing. We will make our leaders look like idiots and primitives when the internet hears what we’re doing here in the village.
  • Let us take the accused person to the church where the evil spirits have no power. Then we can decide what to do later after we all calm down. 
  • The police already know what is happening and are coming to arrest you.
  • I know you will have lots of ideas, so keep adding to the list! 
• If there has been an attack and there is a survivor, what will your group do? Can you assist to get to hospital or safe house? Can you report to the police? 
• If there has been no prior planning, you will feel helpless and confused. This is why creating your network beforehand and making plans is so important!

Third, understand your part in the big picture. 

• Papua New Guinea has a rich and unique heritage. Unfortunately there is bad as well as good. Our job is to minimise the bad and promote the good, so that the next generation has a better future. 
• One of the very bad parts of culture in Papua New Guinea is the fear and violence that comes from sorcery and magic beliefs. The fear and violence has negative impacts on individuals as well as communities. 
• Many other nations have had to go through this transition as well, as they move away from harmful practices such as SARV and GBV and focus on what makes our communities strong and vibrant: effective services, eliminating corruption, justice, caring for our environment, etc. Other nations are doing it. We can do it too. 
• There are many others just like you who care and want to help. You are not alone. There are NGOs and community based organisations who are helping victims and educating communities. 
• Here on this website, look for the links and contact details if you want to learn more. 

Fourth, take care of yourself and others. 

• Caring about SARV and trying to make a difference can be a heavy burden for anyone to carry. 
• Remember that it is not your burden to carry alone, but a burden that we all must carry together. Reach out to your friends and relatives and tell them why you care about this issue and let them support you. 
• When we experience or witness violence or are under threat, this can leave us with trauma. Trauma can then affect every aspect of our lives, leading to depression and harming ourselves and others. This is why it is so important that we not only eliminate SARV from our society, but that we take care of ourselves while we are doing this work. 
• It is ok to take a step back from the work and let others carry it for a while. You are not the Savior. That is Jesus. You are just trying to do what you can where you are. Work smart, work hard, work together and remember to rest and recover when you need to. 

Fifth, welcome to the future. 

• There will come a time when all of these SARV cases are just ancient history. Smart students will learn about SARV in history class in school and they will be sad that people were once so ignorant and violent, and they will be happy that a generation of Papua New Guineans rose up to stand against the violence and end it once and for all. 
• When that day comes, Gertrude, you and your team will have been part of making it happen. Every meeting you have, every phone call, every protest march, every blog or facebook post, every training: it is shaping the future. 
• I know you won’t give up. I’ve seen how you care. I’ve seen how committed you are. 

So there you go, Gertrude. Thank you so much for your letter and for reaching out. I hope these notes and the other resources here on the website have been helpful for you. Please use them and talk about them with your friends and network. 

For the innocent men, women and children of Papua New Guinea and around the world, let’s not give up. The future really does depend on us. 

Your friend,

Anton